Since I sold my beloved 1939 Ford Deluxe coupe, I feel like a red-headed stepchild on the hamb. I must be the only guy on earth hotrodding a 1955 Tbird! I'll be the first to admit nothing says hotrod like the 39 Ford coupe, but my tbird has a phony Boss 351 with headers, straight pipes, manual shift C4. It sounds and rides kinda like a hotrod. I gotta ask, where did all your 1932 Ford coupes come from???
I think 55 T-birds are cool+. In high school,early 1960s,I dated a cute gal,that looked just like this,maybe better to me at lest,her Dad gave her a white 55T-Bird with pink seats. So when AG came out,I freeked out at the shot.. The match up was spot on. Carlene,even let me drive some times,when we took her Bird.
No, you're not the only guy. This guy named Doane built an early bird years ago, and he also built a pretty cool 32. All of my 32 coupes came from southern Ontario, but I also only have one. Well, most of one, little bits at the bottom are missing.
Love a guy who will hotrod a 1st Gen T-bird. I'm so tired of wide whites, wire wheel covers, and fender skirt cruisers. What's a "phony Boss 351"? Aluminum 4V intake and factory finned aluminum valvecovers on a 2v Cleveland?
The two-seater birds make great hot rods, and as others have said, kinda tired of the wide-whites, continental kit car show birds. At the Northwest Arkansas Hot Rod Hundred a couple of years a go, a rumpity-rump early bird showed up that was ALL hot rod! Way cool!
I've got a 55 bird, and it's very much a hot rod with a much modified Y block. It's the original Thunderbird Blue. Kind of a chick magnet color, but at 70 I'll take all the help I can get.
MeanGene427 thread from above ^^^^ ---> https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/fiddy-six-bird.1140919/
Not long before I got drafted there was a 57 T bird for sale here for a rather friendly price. I ended up getting drafted before I could come up with the money for it. I've always like them even though no there is no way I can afford one.
I would love a 55 T bird , but dayum, folk were small back then. I cant fit my 60yo, 220lb, 6 foot carcase behind the wheel, infact I struggle to even get in if the roof is on it. Awesome cars tho. But for the less well fed hot rodder.
My 351 Cleveland has 2v heads(all I had left), .510 lift cam, Edelbrock performer intake with a 3310 Holley, block hugger headers, electronic ignition, made by me rear sump oil pan, engine setback 4 inches. There was a guy had a '56 tbird back in the 60's that raced at Irvington north of Omaha. It had a 406 4 speed. Beat more than a few Corvettes. Thanks for the support. I have wanted a 33 or 34 ford 3 window since I was 12 years old reading HotRod.
I would actually rather have a hot rodded early Tbird than a 32 Ford...but that's just me. It isn't that I don't like 32 Ford's, but it does seem pretty much everyone has one.
I don't know, I see some come up for sale pretty cheap, of course, relative to what it is. Maybe not out west.
First off deuce coupes are like '68 black on black RS/SS Camaros. There are more of them on the road today than ever produced. I don't like you which you already know but here is the truth. There would be more rodded tri five birds today if there was more of them available. I do not know where they went but they are as cool a car as ever rolled off the line. You cannot ask for a better ride that a '55-'57 Bird. Hot rodded or stock. You should develop a strut in the hot rod world.
My friend John Fabela had one a 56 with a home made (Hilborn style) injected 263" Buick here in NY. His nephew Ronnie Famiglietti (sp) and Henry Wilko (pictured) would drive at Westhampton, Dover and Island. Just like Corvettes there is nothing better than a "modified" one, stockers do nothing for me. Actually it is still out there somewhere, it had a tilt nose and a Willys chassis. Pat
Early Birds are great looking rides, build it and run it hard. If its not doing it for ya, sell or trade for something else. Trading in general may be the best thing going at the moment.
I'll add some inches and raise ya a couple pounds. I sold a project 57 bird to a shorter buddy for him to hot rod.
She should have a very lucrative career representing "Wendy's", in their public relations department.
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