This bird was customised years ago by the owners father, after he passed the son put in the later engine. Texas car.
That would be my 55 it was in Hot Rod Magazine January 1980, Car Craft also did a shoot in November 1979 , I still have it ! I am currently redoing it . My avatar pic is around 1975 at Irwindale Raceway CA 427 tunnel ram Chevy , Ford Toploader 4 speed 5.14 gear best ET 10.57 @ 130 MPH street car drove it to the track ...
Thought this Kool Kar Lot looked familiar…… Just look @ the rolling stock in the background in upper shot!!!!!!!!literally millions of $’s just siting there… This is none other than “The World Famous Colorado Bl” in the late sixties. The identifier is the Milne Bros dealership across the street. today instead of selling kool Motorcycle’s & AMX’s-Jeeps, now serving alternative circular products (Dominos Pizza). The lot where these fine automobiles were repurposed is now furnishing replacement vehicles to “Enterprising”consumers……..
Does anyone remember a drag car T Bird about 1970 in south Minneapolis inside a chain linked fenced vacant lot with the lettering on the side that said "Little Thunder".
Possible a rare or custom 57 dash. No radio or heater in the car, base 292 2V engine, 3 speed. Right air knob by the glovebox.
I've only seen one other two-barrel factory bird before. But I knew they made them. Interesting radio and heater delete, never seen one of those. I have seen the radio delete as a fill plate? Looks like it may have been No power steering car too. Wow, saving money wherever they could!
I’ve always liked the 55-57 T-birds. I didn’t care for the later ones since they only got bigger and bulkier every new generation. Now I’m OK with the 58-66 models but nothing newer.
Hello, While I was doing some research, I came across this old 1956 photo of a T-Bird racing at the NHRA So Cal Regional Championships. In between all of the race cars in the Chrisman Garage in So Cal, this T-Bird was a part of the tons of neatly designed, powerful builds. Who would have thought? In 1956? That photo was reported as a Blown T-Bird (McCullogh/Paxton version?) well known as a fast stock car… but, with Chrisman Bros. tuning and set up. If Art Chrisman and Frank Cannon continued with the T-bird in competition many years later, perhaps it would have been the next generation paint scheme to see Norm Cowdry’s motor in the his Green Austin Healy body. The level of competition would have been in the AA/SP class with the powerful supercharged motors. Jnaki So, following the Hustler 2 being a streamlined FED in the A/D class in 1959, we would have seen this paint scheme on the supercharged Chrisman/Cannon motor in the Thunderbird in the following years? Yowza is right!!! old Friday Art Chrisman Cannon 1959 Riverside Raceway December 1959 But, as history provides us with information, they were too happy going 181 mph in the Hustler 2 FED. 1959 Riverside Raceway… but it could have been Note: But, where is that fast, stock 1956 Thunderbird from the So Cal dragstrip classes? By late 1957, the stock T-bird had turned into this wonderful injected hemi powered sporty car. Art Chrisman who had built the engine for Frank Cannon’s original Hemi Powered T-Bird that graced the cover of Hot rod Magazine in January 1958. Remember, count back two to three months for photos to appear in a newly published magazine… Note 2: “Tom's car is a great tribute to Frank Cannon and the Chrisman brothers; a team that exerted a profound influence on early drag racing and launched the Chrisman legacy. It's a fantastic re-creation of a mainstream fifties hot rod that retains its timeless appeal and qualifies as a genuine alternate supercar…” “Frank Cannon's T-Bird was not red, so Curnow's vision is a departure from the original, but its an appropriate choice for a hot street car. It serves as a fitting reminder that great hot rods are built, not bought and you can often create a spectacular machine from a car that the guy before you overlooked. If you were driving a hot machine like this in the late fifties, you were one bad hot rodder. We'd say that is still the case today.”
JNAKI!, I've seen that red Hemi-Bird up-close at Bonnievill and it is a real treat for the eyes. Thanks very much for sharing your thoughts and info.
Hello, Thank you for the nice comment. When we saw the beautiful colors of the Hustler 2 at the 1959 Riverside Raceway drag meet, it was a show car and race car to the extremes. Since then it has been a favorite in style and design. So, in recent months, I have been looking at several old hot rods and drag racing cars to see if one would not apply to the same builder/racer. They had a competitive T-Bird and this "...could have been..." I did some research and saw the information on the red T-Bird. But, my drawing was taken from the old Hustler 2 design scheme from 1959 and hoped it could have been in place somewhere in history. Jnaki It would have been fun to see the red T-Bird and listen to the rumble from the motor. Thanks...
1956 Thunderbird Ex-Minnesota car converted to RHD in the States before being shipped to Australia in the Mid 1990's. The conversion and restoration were completed in Minnesota and the car retained it's original colour scheme. It has changed hands since being here in Australia twice. We are chasing some additional information about the origins of the car and wondering where would be the best place to start. Everything around the firewall and engine bay completely reversed. It has been done very professionally and has stood the test of time considering it was done over 27 years ago. Probably looks very unusual to most having the steering wheel on the right. We know of only three others here in Australia for Baby Birds. Amber indicator lenses replace the clear reversing ones. At home in it's new Aussie garage. The Continental kit we believe was done in Minnesota at restoration & conversion. Completely at home on Aussie Roads.
Wow, can't even imagine how much work that would involve doing a conversion. At least to make it look like a factory reverse anyway.
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