Ford Thunderbird, for sale in Arlington, Texas, for $36,000.

1955 Ford Thunderbird - Fully Loaded

While the tri five Chevys were the poster cars of the 50's there was another branch of classics tearing up the street. These were the cool Roadsters that were made up of the Corvettes and Thunderbirds. Well the Thunderbird you see here is not only in great condition but is packed with all you could want. This 1955 Ford Thunderbird was all restored and runs very well. The original California car was factory ordered with all the fully loaded options available. The car has power steering, power brakes, power windows, fender skirts, and even the dealer added extended continental kit! You rarely see a T-Bird fitted with the continental kit which really changes up its look a lot. This set up includes a Spare wheel that folds down to allow access to the trunk and gas tank. All of the chrome on the car is in beautiful condition and has a great shine. The bright 93 Mazda Pearl Yellow Metallic paint looks great outdoors especially packed with all that pearl flake. The car has the correct style hood with scoop and chrome grill. It has all the correct trim in place that has a nice finish. The lights are all working just as they should and are all nicely mounted. One of the coolest parts about these classics is the options they give you. Cruise around with the top down, top up, or easily transform it into a coupe with the matching yellow hardtop. The canvas top that is on it currently is showing its age but the car come with a complete top kit. The car has a nice solid stance and rides on the original style wheels and hubcaps with white wall tires. The car has been brought back to an original style that really looks great. Check out the following tables to get a review off Motortrend as well as specs and a data code breakdown:

Time to turn back the pages of history as we bring you our latest salute to 50 years of Motor Trend Magazine. This time around, we kick things off by revisiting our first test of the '55 Ford Thunderbird, Dearborn's sporty two-seat response to the Chevrolet Corvette. In addition to chronicling significant historical moments that occurred during the month of June over the decades, we'll also journey back to 1979 and take a look at what passed for performance 20 years ago. Closing the show is a selection of classic ads that pay tribute to the great American musclecars of the thundering '60s. Read closely and you'll also discover which GMC offering served as a harbinger of today's contemporary sport trucks, the identity of the last driver to win a Formula One championship for Ferrari, and when exactly the first production Corvette rolled off the assembly line. Excerpts from our original Ford Thunderbird test-Dec. '54 The accusation that American car manufacturers couldn't build a sports car-even if they tried-is no longer valid. The first indication was the Chevrolet Corvette. And although Ford is the first one to deny it (Ford calls it a "personal car") they have a sports car in the Thunderbird, and it's a good one. After pushing the car around the handling course a few times I soon got confident enough to begin taking the corners at 55-65 mph. With more practice, I felt sure that I could up the speed. That's how the car impresses you. The ride is unlike that which the diehard sports car addict has come to expect from a sports car. It's firm enough to prevent too much bobbing coming out of a dip or flying over a bump. The Thunderbird will go with the best of them, even with the Fordomatic automatic transmission. In fact, with the Fordomatic, a hotter engine (198 hp) is used, compared to the stick shift's 190-hp engine. A time of 11.5 seconds is what we got for 0-60 mph, putting it into sports car company. Acceleration at passing speeds is impressive. We averaged times of 4.2 seconds to get from 30 to 50 mph, and 11 seconds from 50 to 80. That's enough to indicate that the 'Bird meets its advertised claims of "sports car. . performance. " The Thunderbird has three basic points in its favor: a rakish, ground-hugging style, performance to match good sports cars, and a design that has built-in comfort for driver and passenger, with no penalty whatsoever to pay for fun. - Walt Woron, Editor Today's PerspectiveThe Thunderbird was Ford's answer to the Chevrolet Corvette. Even though the T-Bird came out two years after the Vette, Ford found instant success with what it called its "personal car. " Chevy built the Corvette to look great, but only sold 1700 in '55. Ford, on the other hand, built a sports car that would sell. Dealers moved over 16,000 Thunderbirds that same year. Sadly for Ford fans, the T-Bird configuration changed to a four-seater in '58 and became less of a sports car and more of a stylish gentleman's cruiser. While the Corvette has stayed true to its sports car roots, the Thunderbird has gone through several identity changes since '55. Nostalgia is big, and it's no accident that the recently introduced 2000 Thunderbird looks remarkably like the '55. If you want to relive the '50s, plan to shell out between $30,000 and $60,000 for an excellent condition '55 T-Bird with both the hard and soft tops. - Chuck Schifsky
Read more: http://www. motortrend. com/auto_news/112_9906_1955_ford_thunderbird/viewall. html#ixzz1ekXQk2hD

1955 Ford Thunderbird

Ford's most exciting news for 1955 was the introduction of the 2-passenger Thunderbird! The new V-8 powered bird was introduced as a sporty competitor to the Vet, but included a full line of luxury options and based on a full-sized Ford. The first year Ford exceeded its projected sales for the T-bird with 16,155 produced. Introductory retail price was $2,695, just $5 less than the 1955 Corvette. Over 5,000 names were considered for the all new Thunderbird, including Hep Cat, Beaver, Runabout and El Tigre. Alden Giberson, a Ford stylist submitted the name Thunderbird based on the legend from the Southwest. The first Thunderbird rolled off the line on September 9, 1954 and was announced as the new sports car by Ford on September 23 and went on sale on October 22nd of the same year. The public responded well to the Thunderbird by placing more than 3,500 orders in the first 10-day selling period. The media responded as well, Motor Trend named the Thunderbird as one of the six best looking cars of 1955 in its September issue.

1955 Ford Thunderbird Production and Specifications

Model Number Body/Style Number Body Type & Seating Factory Price Shipping Weight Total Production P5 40 2 dr Convertible - 2P $2,944 2,980 lbs 16,155

Chassis Data

Model Wheelbase Overall Length Overall Width Front Tread Rear Tread Tires Thunderbird 102 in 175.3 in 70.3 in 56 in 56 in 6.70 x 15 tubeless

P - V8 292 cu. in. 5 - 1955 F - Dearborn, MI H - Thunderbird 40 - Thunderbird V - Goldenrod Yellow Paint D - Black and Yellow Interior

Powering up this classic is a 292 V8 that runs very well. It has an original appearance with the block, heads, and air gap manifold all coated Red. The original style chrome air cleaner has a great shine and still has some original decals. The car shifts nice and smooth and with no problems. The interior of the car is all original with nice White vinyl. The dash has been left in the original style with all the great looking chrome trim pieces. The underdash dealer add on A/C unit fits nicely in place and blows cold. The car has been converted to 12 volt and everything works great.

This car is truly fully loaded. Search around and you won't see many cars with all the features this one has, especially for this price. With one purchase you could have one of the rarer 50's classic made. You won't find another one with all these factory

features for only $40,000.00!

NOW REDUCED DOWN TO $36,000.00!

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