We made a appt. to see this 55 tbird advertised in the local paper it was described to us as a restoration started in 1976 that had not been touched until being removed from the building last week..complete and restorable..... it is was shown in a loose pile ... the one slick is shot the other side is still a roller some odd hand painting names on the deck lid the cowl/door posts.. one is gone the other barely there 1 glass front right side fender 1 NOS stock 57 left frontfender asst. pieces in the trunk no floor- barely any rear fenders the engine froze all the chrome pieces we saw were rusted and tweaked missing were skirts, hubcaps ,exhaust.. and well we just tried and tried to figure a way to justify the price! clear title.... o ya it was black originally! it comes with a extra 57-58 312 bird engine with the good valve covers (very crusty aluminum)and exhaust manifolds.. $ five grand $ i believe its to far gone for us ...hmmmmm what do guys think?
nope and he was dead firm on $$ and its restorablilty too.. i guess anything is possible ... just not by us.. sad i lost a nights sleep ... hopin and dreamin and then the tarp came off .....hah
we have a 57 bird now that we love so this one was gonna be a cutup sport racer/drag machine ..but noooooooooooooo
Offer $3500.00- You could make a few $ parting it out at that price. it would take $40,000- 45,000 to 'bring it back" Mine started out equally as bad. Won't tell 'ya what I've got into it so far, except to say 3 yrs. and counting...
There is actually a 55-57 drag Bird around the corner from my house. Literally, go 3 houses down, make a right, 1 house, right, then 5 feet, left....that close. Heres the kicker, old cat owns it, doesnt trust many people. I have never seen it, but he does have a few old cars outside his house (one formerly owned by my next door neighbor), one of them being a 54 Merc 4 dr. I think it has a 292 in there, 3 speed with OD, stock non OD rear, F1 truck springs...its a mile off the ground but the ride is supposedly very nice. Now...back to the bird. It is supposed to have a 406 w/ tripower, conduit exhaust (like 3" or so) and a 4 speed. Hes been around old cars his whole life, but doesnt drive it because supposedly it was too fast and spooked him. Definately on my priority list to see/take pics of. If I do Ill post em here. Sorry for the hijack, we now join "Bullitt" already in progress...
accrding to the man .. it was this way when he got in 1976 this bad at 20 years of age? stored on concrete indoors for the last 30 coulda been with that okie belvedere by the looks of it interesting it came from what i could consider my hometown area
Urgh.... I love those years of 'Bird, but wow..... But he obviously sees it as a "classic" and all. Seriously, I love these things and in kick ass condition they bring $25,000 on a regular basis. And those ROLL on their own power. The only excepetion to the rule is if the 'Bird is powered with a dual quad 312 or has the (drooooooooooooooooooooool) McCullough Supercharger option. I'll give ya a hug for the valve covers though...
we have looked thru the inventory list hood ,deck, winshield ,chassis and so forth including the elusive pass. door mirror mount but i don't get near that total unless the title is worth a couple grand itself .. its a early car no options .. man o man i'm a optimist about all cars too ???? p/m me i can give the guys number to ya
I wish I had a decent photo. I customer of mine bought a 57 bird on E-gay and said the owner said it was rough, turned out that was a true statement. it had been in a fire then rusted all to shit. no chance for restoration but much lighter than stock with all the rust holes. it's together and street leagle I like the Chev motor even
huh the 55 really had its doors blown off.. noname.. thats a way better start for sure even with the sbc
I wouldn't give that bird floor space..... some people don't realize there's a difference between a classic and a classic POS...I've looked at cars people were selling, the cars were old and thats it....
You're kidding, right? Our turnkeys average around $60,000, and they're fiberglass kit T-birds. A real steel one restored for $45K is a pretty good price...
There is a 55 or 56 T-Bird in Chillicothe, IL at a small used car lot. The car has an incorrect 302ci engine in it but over all the car is decent looking. It has sat all summer with a $17,000.00 price tag. - Tad
It is red; the car was still there as of a week ago. I don't go by it very often, if you want the contact info I can get it from a friend of mine that lives in Chillicothe.-Tad
I gave what was left of this one to a friend the summer before last, I bought it for several parts, It to had been in a fire, then left outside to sit for a couple years in a storage lot,..... hard to believe but He recently said the frame and most of the body is done, but he is on the hunt for repairable doors.
Wow if this is close to bein on the road maybe i'm too picky Yes i believe that any car can be redone and if not parts are always needed by someone... money ,time ,ability, and a VISION If this 55 bird pile were cheaper we'ed been haulin it home by now... i have been rethinkin the 312 engine ... he said he would sell it seperately .... hmmmmmm gonna go look at the t-bird catologs and do some pricing!.....
Is there no end to the sacrilage foisted upon the greatest car company in the world. This is like retouching a "Picasso" with Behr interior/exterior latex. What a damn shame.
@ 5 grand ... it is rough ... But ... it would be a decent candidate for a street/strip drag car. Way better to redo this one for a drag car than buying a good bit better one and cutting it up. Just my nickel ...
i think its a shame some a-hole let an at one time very cool t bird turn into the worthless rot box you guys had the pleasure of looking at today what a shame .
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