1966 Ford Thunderbird – Project Profile

Ask people to name a famous classic American Ford and most, if not all, will give the Mustang as their answer. It’s a good answer too, but there were sexy blue-badged brutes cutting about way before the birth of the original pony car and the Ford Thunderbird is one such example. Hitting the streets a full ten years before the Mustang the Thunderbird (by God do we love the Yanks and their naming conventions) was originally marketed as a luxury car rather than a sports car and it was a huge success for Ford. Stylish, refined and packing a burly V8 under the hood Ford’s new two-seater “personal luxury car” cut quite the dash. Going on to span 50 years of production through 11 generations the Thunderbird remained a popular model for Ford although later iterations lost some of what made the earlier cars so appealing. Earlier cars like this fourth-generation model we have available for those of you with a penchant for spending countless hours ensconced in the garage surrounded by spanners. And spanners is what you’ll need, those of the imperial persuasion that is, because this particular T-Bird is going to need a little work to get it back on the blacktop where it belongs.

What is it?

This is a 1966 Ford Thunderbird two door hard top that has recently been imported from Oklahoma in the US, which is rather fitting considering that state’s particularly rich Native American history. The Thunderbird is named after a legendary, mythical creature from the American indigenous peoples’ culture after all. It is currently UK registered and comes complete with its official V5C document as well as new classic black and silver aluminium number plates. The engine is the standard factory 390cu V8 fitted with an Edelbrock four-barrel carburettor that was good for 315bhp when new and power is transmitted to the rear wheels via an automatic gearbox. The car is being sold to clear some space and it starts, runs and moves under its own power but there are a few areas to address.

Why is it a project?

Make no mistake, you can’t turn up, hand over your four-and-a-half grand and cruise home, waving at passers by like JFK. This car will need to be trailered but that doesn’t meant the work is insurmountable. Far from it. It looks like a fairly simple, straightforward project on the face of it but you’ll need to dig a little deeper to be sure. For starters it will need a full mechanical service, a) to get the V8 running as sweetly as possible and b) so that you can actually stop the thing as currently the brakes don’t work. It also needs some repair work to the front floor pans and boot floor so you’re going to have to break out the welding gear.

Five things to look for:

1) Engine

With a brand new starter motor installed the seller states that the original V8 starts, runs and sounds “sweet but spluttery”. This could simply be a case of a decent tune up and carb fettle but it may be a sign of more serious issues. It’s an inherently strong motor though and parts are readily available so a full rebuild won’t be a roadblock. A full service at the very least will be the order of the day.

2) Body and chassis

The bodywork actually doesn’t look too bad from the photos. Yes, as mentioned above the floor pans and boot floor need addressing but what other rusty surprises is the car potentially harbouring? Check the chassis for any rot, damage or shoddy repairs. Previous era Thunderbirds were of a unibody construction but Ford switched to a body-on-frame configuration for these fourth-gen models so if there are any issues it’s not the end of the world, depending on the severity of course.

3) Brakes

There aren’t any. Well, not any that work anyway so depending on how far gone they are you may want to factor in a complete brake system rebuild or better yet a more modern set up. Front discs came as standard from ’65 onwards so there shouldn’t be too much messing around involved if you do choose to upgrade.

4) Steering and suspension

If the engine and brakes are tired, chances are the steering and suspension will be too. With no brakes it’s going to be difficult to assess how straight the thing drives but you can check all of the bushes along with the state of the track control arms for wear and deterioration. The suspension should be soft and offer a good quality ride without being overtly wallowy.

5) Interior

The cabin would once have been a resplendently futuristic place to be but sadly old father time has had his way and there are various areas of dilapidation now showing. The vinyl seats are splitting, the door cards are worn and the original stereo is missing. It’s far from a basket case interior though and everything should be either repairable or replaceable from suppliers like RockAuto so go through everything to see what is actually required so you can guestimate the costs and workload involved.

What should you do with it?

This 1966 Ford Thunderbird is a cheap project that could be roadworthy with little effort. Get that 6.4-litre V8 running right and tweak the rest of the mechanicals first, then fix the speed holes in the floor and get it a year’s MOT. You can worry about any bodywork and interior fettling later on, treating the car as a rolling restoration whilst you iron out the kinks, all the while enjoying what is a very fine slice of classic Americana.