Before making SUVs (including Mustang-badged), Ford was in the business of actually building cars. You know, the type of machines that would be remembered down the ages and, more importantly, become sought-after collectibles.
The Thunderbird is exactly such a car. Introduced in 1955 as a two-seater convertible, the name quickly expanded to include coupes and sedans, with either two or four seats. The moniker stayed in production from ‘55 all the way until 1997, and then was briefly resurrected in 2002.
Presently there are no new Thunderbirds rolling off assembly lines, and often times we wish that could change. Until it (hopefully) does, we’re left with sipping through countless Internet pages hoping to find one that could remind us of the good old days.
In doing so, we came across this first-generation, restored 1956 Ford Thunderbird, presently listed as for sale on the Classic Cars webpage.
For sale at the hands of a group called Sports Car Company from La Jolla, California, this particular Thunderbird is the embodiment of everything the auto industry lacks today: personality, prestige, and the sheer joy of motoring.
The people selling this car hint the restoration process cost somewhere around $80,000. For some reason, they are selling it for only $49,998, so that may be seen as a steal.
As per the information posted on the seller’s page, the car was stripped to the bone before being repaired, upgraded and repainted. The V8 engine and the 3-speed transmission were rebuilt, the body was cleaned of rust and then painted a shade of creamy white – including the hardtop, while the interior was given the shiniest touch of red.
We can’t be sure how this car runs, but the restoration work, albeit not perfect, is definitely worth the title of best we’ve seen this year. True, just three days went by in 2020, but still, the best.