Owned Birds since 1976 & currently have a 57 and a 63 Roadster. Each generation has its own appeal and following. The 58-60 have a lot of room under the hood and can be built to run very strong. I think a 430cid was available for them which could have a lot of torque to move all that weight. All are fun cars, lots of parts support and draw attention at shows.
my mom had a robin egg blue with black leather interrior 60 when i was a kid ... fell in love with them back then ..... looked and looked for one for me and finnally found a 60 that was in my price range and wasnt a complete rusted pile of junk ... mine needs alot of work but its not as bad as most ive seen its in my avatar <<<<<<<<<<<<<<< YEAH , IM INTO EM
Had a 58 convert. years ago.. First old car I finished...Square birds were customs straight from the factory.......
I always liked square birds. You could get a 352 or 430 430 I think was 59 & 60 only The 60 sunroof or golde top is sweet but pretty rare If the 58 the o.p. is looking at is a vert, grab it they're rare to find
I had a 60, it lives in Sweden now. I thought it was cool, my girlfriend drove it around more than I did
Cool cars. A friend had one a long time ago, I remember the swing away steering wheel and I swear it had swivel seats. Can someone verify the seat option? Also the back seat was a wrap around style.
I've got a bone stock black 1960 convertible with red interior and a white top. They do look custom right from the factory. This was my mom's car and truly the only car I'd never sell. I'll have to dig up a picture. It was on the cover of the Thunderbird Headquarters parts catalog last year.
i bleed chevy orange,but i love the lines of a square bird.been thinkin about gettin one,still get em pretty cheap.i know nothing about them tho,what are the soft spots that come up most on these cars.i.e. rust spots/areas parts that are hard to find. what do i need to look at on the cars before i buy one.
the main area to check is the rocker panels from behind the front wheels all the way to the rear wheelopening and of course the floors they are the original unibodys the front fenders do not unbolt and they dont have any type of frame to mention so the rockers are under alot of stress 58's and 59's have coil spring rear axles the 60's have leafs for this reason alot of people prefer the 60's better ride supposedly (matter of opinion)
I recently got a 1960 t-bird that my grandmother bought new in 1960. She parked it in her garage in 1978 with 70,000 miles. I recently pulled it out and got it running. I wasn't really into the look until I started work on it and I quickly fell in love!
i'm not sure but i think you can register those black cally plates.what a tribute to grand-ma. cool car have fun with it.
Thanks King! This car will definitely be fun, can't wait to take my grandma for a ride in it! Lucky for me, my father-in-law is walking me through the process since I am pretty new to all of this. I will have to check out registering the plates!
Pitts, I agree. I was lucky enough to get two of my favorite cars this last month! A '59 Bird and a '65 Riviera. Both look like customs straight from the factory. The Bird runs and drives but needs some TLC. It was last licensed in '88 and has just over 100k miles. It's the best color for these cars (IMHO ) BLACK. They just look wicked! Can't wait to cruise low-n-slo with this one. Later, Mike
Neighbor bought a new one in 1959- three on the tree. Didn't think much about till later when I realized that those 'birds were personal luxury cars, and not many had stick shifts...matter of fact, I think 59 was last year for that. dj
Here's mine: '58 with black interior from a '60 460 motor from a '73 Mercury C-6 trans w Hurst V-Matic II shifter 9" rear with Detroit Locker and 4.10 gears Original coil-spring rear susp. was replaced with a std. leaf spring/ladder bar setup. Rear fenders "opened up" by a very skilled craftsman in Nebraska. You wont see another one like this.
When i moved here to SoCal in '69, my Uncle had one. I thought, man, my Uncle has a car with a hood scoop!! How cool. Some day I will own one. Those 58-60's are great looking cars
IIRC, only the '58s had rear coil springs, so if you have air bags in mind, a 58 would be an easier job. Beautiful cars. Wish I had one. Good luck with your search!
I like 'em real well, the '58 is my darling although I have no good reason why. if I could find a good solid non-runner I would be somewhere close to heaven. I just happen to have a one year only 390 that is just begging for the perfect body to inhabit. Of you don't mind boxy they have very good lines. I'm not sure the 430 was offered in '60. I do know that a factory original 430 '59 is a pretty rare bird. The wife and I tried to trade for a Red '58 HDTP in '70. We had a '58 Merc and the guy wanted 50 dollars difference. He had a '60 he would have traded straight up, both were good cars but we wanted the '58. One of the two cars she is still mad at me about. Just something about '58 model cars that we like. Pretty goofy I guess.
My neighbour just bought a 60 t/bird 2dt. htp. 352 auto. Rear end has a "howl" in it. Is this a 9" rr. end??? Can't find any sites that state what size rr. end is???? As soon as we get it home from seller[ on trailer],going to check for fluid 1st. as car sat for awhile. thanks Pete
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