![]() ![]() How about for one that only goes 11 miles? Even less acceptable?īut the Bird redeemed itself with a decent 50-80 mph passing time (time not given), which is probably a more relevant criteria. Remember, it’s all about being envied, while cruising, not racing.Īcceleration from 0-60 was 10 seconds, which CL deemed “ the borderline between acceptable and unacceptable performance for cars consuming more than one gallon of gas for every 20 miles traveled”. CL points at that a car like the T-Bird shouldn’t just “ sit there and look pretty, but perform as well.” Good luck with that these were just not a driver’s car, period. The degree to which it will take a curve at high speed depends much on the smoothness of the pavement. Who else but Car Life (or R&T) would even ask these questions? I’m trying to imagine a Thunderbird with a three-on-the-tree and armstrong steering. CL duly noted than manual steering was not available. The steering was quick, but not surprisingly, lacking in feel. All those long overhangs are not exactly a good recipe for handling: “ causes handling around curves at higher velocities to be somewhat uncertain.” The soft springs and “ wishy-washy shock absorbers” play their part too, but CL notes that a set of stiffer aftermarket shocks can go some distance to improving that. Despite its 205″ length, it sits on a rather short 113″ wheelbase, 1″ less than a Comet’s. It’s heavy, weighing almost as much as a larger Cadillac. But due to the Thunderbird’s very high resale value, the actual cost of ownership wasn’t quite as hard to come by as it might seem at first jealous glance.ĬL points out that anyone concerned about fuel mileage probably isn’t really qualified to be in the market for a Thunderbird. Of course, all this attention didn’t come cheap, between its 11 mpg thirst and almost $6,000 price ($60k adjusted to 2022). “… you soon feel all eyes upon you…sometimes downright jealously“. You probably won’t be surprised at their conclusion. Car Life tested one to see if it drove as well as it turned heads. And if one really wanted to be seen, then the convertible version was even more magnetic. It was the eminent car to be seen in it turned heads like no other, even “in car blase Southern California”. To see over 80 photos of this car, including under carriage please visit our website review puts the Thunderbird in proper context as “The supreme status symbol of the younger set”. In our opinion, the third generation T-bird especially the 1961 model is one of the most striking of the “big” birds. The car comes with receipts of maintenance and care dating back over twenty years. It goes down the road as it should with all lights in working order. ![]() This car is in excellent mechanical condition, with the turn of the key the engine starts right up and idles quietly. The interior is original with the exception of a carpet kit. This T-bird still shows a lot of originality with a re-paint some years back. This particular beauty comes out of long term loving ownership and excellent care. A total of over 200,000 Thunderbirds were produced in three years. It could be purchased with A/C, power windows, seats, AM radio and fender skirts. The T-bird had strong sales numbers and was a market leader in luxury, performance and automotive firsts like the swing away steering wheel that allowed for easy entry and exit. It was also the Pace Car for the Indianapolis 500. The third generation Thunderbird was introduced in 1961 and had a short run of only a few years. ![]()
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