In 1955, Ford started making the Thunderbird as the personal luxury car the Americans never had from the Blue Oval until that point. Targeting the image-conscious customer, Ford bet big on the model and it was soon deemed essential in keeping the carmaker’s reputation levels.
So essential, in fact, that it was kept in production well into the 1990s, covering a total of 10 generations (11, if you also count the brief revival of the nameplate in the early 2000s). That basically means a lot of them have been made over the years, in a variety of body styles, and with a massive choice of powertrains.
The Thunderbird we have in the gallery above is from 1966, which makes it part of the very short lived fourth generation. It also means it belongs to the early production years for the model, the ones that have gained notoriety for the nameplate.
The car is available for sale on a specialized website pretty much in the same shape as it was decades ago, when it first left the assembly lines, and that makes it particularly appealing. As does the engine that made its way under the hood.
For that generation, Ford’s engine lineup for the Thunderbird included the standard 390ci (6.4-liter) and the top of the range 428ci (7.0-liter). The one here is powered by this larger engine, which back in the day had a power rating of 345 hp. The odometer shows the powerplant has been used for around 72,000 miles (116,000 km) in all.
Both the exterior and the interior are pretty much in the same shape they were when it rolled off the lines, down to the still functioning gauges and glass. We are not being told what, if any, work has been done on the car’s body itself.