(first posted 10/5/2011)
Walking past the train station the other day, I found this lovely Ford Thunderbird parked at the commuter parking lot. It immediately got my attention, because it seemed to be in such a lovely cared for but decadent condition, halfway between being a daily driver classic and a rolling resto project. How in the wide wide world could this car land in this particular spot?
Sweden is full of Americana. American cars are abundant, especially on the country side. Sweden has a long tradition of importing cars from the states, from the fifties and up. Cars that have been cared for decades are now exported back to their country of origin and sold for big money. But of course, people with that kind of inclination seldom stay without a project, and other cars are imported back to Sweden in return.
And so I guess it is with this car. It has obviously been living in a very hot part of town. I’m not familiar with those kind of rust patterns, they look positively sun burned more than anything else.
O’Brien Ford, Monroe. Land of Lincoln. AAA Michigan. Does that make sense to anybody?
What boggled my mind was the way it was rust proofed and painted. Instead of doing the whole car, it has been fixed in patches. The paint has cracked and flaked, the rust has simply been brushed off, with a brush by the look of it, and the metal then spray painted in different colors. Somebody wants this car in this particular way. Somebody wants to live their life in a patinated way.
I will call this town Hick Town, Sweden. It is an economic backwater pocketed into the most fertile land in Sweden. Just miles away, the scene looks differently, with larger towns and a life that seems so far away from this little parking lot. Taking the train home from Big Town, I was just so flabbergasted by the look of this car.
The baseball cap on the gear selector simply says “Thunderbird”.
Interesting how much sculpting went into the body. Not like today’s cars that are mostly flat panels and rounded corners. Boring!
” O’Brien Ford, Monroe. Land of Lincoln. AAA Michigan. Does that make sense to anybody?”
Good catch there, Ingvar !
Actually, that O’Brien Ford emblem is a small ad placed there when the car was offered for sale back in the day. Dealers here in the states like to put their ads on our cars so that they can gin up some new business. The emblems were almost universally metal until a few years ago. Now the dealers use decals. ( Which people like myself quickly remove with a hair dryer and some patience)
AAA Michigan is the Michigan state chapter of the American Automobile Association. They like free advertising, too.
And Monroe is in Michigan, south of Detroit.
I love the tail styling, like the exhaust nozzles on a B-45 Tornado with the aerodynamic tail tucked under for more speed. It almost made up for that ugly chrome mess in the front. The next gen looks a LOT better.
I had never really, really looked at the details of the Squarebird until now. That sculpturing on the tail is quite complex…very rich in detail. It’s not for everyone, but it really grabs me.
I agree that the nose styling is still kind of off-putting, and the bullet bird is a much better design overall, but I do like the tail treatment here.
The baseball cap isn’t on the gearshift actually. The chrome handle on the right of the column is the column shifter for most likely a Cruise-O-Matic. Thunderbirds had Consoles from 1958 through 1966, but I don’t think they ever had console shifters Ironically.
That is desert-coastal rust. The kind you find on the West Coast…the sun burns right through the paint; and then the salt air attacks the metal.
It hasn’t been in Illinois long. And if he doesn’t get some paint on it, it won’t be long for this world. The Great Lakes area is notoriously damp and humid.
They’ll rust like that in eastern Washington, Oregon, or in Nevada too, once the sun burns the paint off. “Just a little surface rust….”
The Land of Lincoln slogan is on an Illinois license plate mounted behind the Swedish plate.
A quick google showed that there is an O’Brien Ford in St. Claire Shores, Michigan. So this car began it’s life in the state of Michigan (hence the Auto Club decal), and eventually moved to the state of Illinois (“The Land of Lincoln”).
What’s uglier than the back of a Squarebird?
The side profile of a 1960 Plymouth.
Good one, BOC. I was thinking front of a 59 Lincoln or a 61 Plymouth. You could make a real Frankenmobile from cars of this era.
Dodge 1960-1961….those taillights on the side like fish gills.
Practically anything.
I can only imagine how much that thing must cost to drive in Europe. The only downside to the Squarebirds was the engines – either that doggish 352 or the super fuel sucking 430. In 1961, Birds got the 390 and all was right with the world.
In response to 73ImpCapn, I kind of like the back of the squarebird. Nothing else had that kind of deep sculpting back then. The 60 with the triple taillights (which I believe this one is) is my fave of the SquareBirds.
Fair enough, JP. This era Ford doesn’t really do much for me, although I like the 60 Skyliner, which was kinda odd in a different way.
Ingvar: Where’s the local Swedish license plate? Surely that’s required.
Actually, it is the Swedish license plate. Look closely, and you’ll see that the Swedish plate is grafted on to the original plate. The Swedish license registration pattern is three letters followed by three digits. Unless the owner wants to personalize and get a possible seven letter/digits combination. Which costs about a thousand dollars for a ten year lease.
However, because of different standards, some cars are exempt from the proper plate standard size. Especially American cars seems to have a smaller plate holder, and thus in those cases, the plate have to follow suit. I guess that’s why it looks so international.
Of course! I just didn’t look closely enough. That distinctly European font for the numbers should have tipped me off.
I rather like it. What’s uglier than the back of a Squarebird? How about the Squarebird that could have been?
http://public.fotki.com/mrjynx/ford/thunderbird-prototypes/thunderbird57-vi.html
‘that prototype is utterly Batmobile-like!
And was ultimately used on the Chrysler Turbine Car.
i suspect the weird paint job is just a low rent attempt to halt the rust. i could see someone doing that while they saved up for a proper respray. beautiful find. someone loves that car. when i was in norway this summer, i saw someone driving their kids around in some kind of surplus off road thing (bigger than a jeep but not a humvee) complete with u.s. army camo. i thought you scandinavians were supposed to be a sensible people…
You see, that’s what intrigues me. Someone had this car shipped from the states, all over the atlantic. In this shape. And someone like that surely has the means for a proper restoration. No, I’m fairly certain this car is meant to be had that way. Perhaps someone tired of all the concours cars, someone that just wants a mechanically sound classic with a lot of history.
It must be the fall season. Last few days saw several “cassic” americans leaving their garages in the Cote deAzue. 1960’s giant chysler sedans, Lincolns of verious epochs. Damed Cogar that had morffed from TBird. Chysler somethings that looked like maseratis.
For all the love hatred of American iron, our euro buddies really do have an envy thing with it
Clean straight original old car the paint is just sunburned off somr body definitely loves that old bird its flown a long way from home. Looks like a kiwi reg plate
Roy Obrien Ford at 9 Mile and Mack in St Clair Shores. Been there 50+ years. About 5 miles from my house.
That’s the first one that popped into my mind as well, but why does the emblem say Monroe? Was there another one down there at some point?
There is a Monroe, Michigan.
I know there is a Monroe, Michigan, but was there ever a Roy O’Brien Ford there?
You are correct. I did not catch that first time through the article.
Thats an Illinois plate.
Had a friend with one of these. Went completely through it using navy workspaces and all when we were in the shipyard at phillie. Kept it for years and called it thunderchicken. Memories.
Oh well, I don’t want one but there are two examples of this style sitting about 5 miles from my home and they have been sitting there for years.
I was thinking Monroe, Wisconsin. It’s about twenty miles north of Freeport, IL, or an hour northwest of Rockford.
Collectible Detroit iron must be popular in Sweden. I sold my ’57 Chevy about two years ago at a swap meet in SoCal to a buyer from there for a very good price. It was an older restoration in daily driver condition.
The buyers are likely into Raggare, a Swedish subculture influenced by “American Graffiti” & “Rebel Without A Cause.” Allegedly there are more restored ’50s American cars there than in the USA.
A wonderful re-post. I’m glad I got to see it this time around. Both the car and the words have a certain melancholy beauty. The condition of this car certainly is a paradox as you’ve pointed out, Ingvar.
A 1960 Squarebird. The 352 V8 provided adequate performance, which I wouldn’t characterize as a “doggish”.
I liked this generation, especially the final year, 1960. Here is a nice photo for all to enjoy.