Curbside Musings: 1964 Ford Thunderbird – How Things Make Us Feel

1964 Ford Thunderbird. Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Saturday, September 30, 2023.

I’ll state from the jump that this week’s essay is mostly a means by which to share pictures I had taken of the featured Thunderbird last fall, but I do have some other ideas about it to share, so I hope you stay with me.  Much has already been written about this generation, colloquially referred to as the “Flair-bird”, and I’ll link some of our homegrown content below.  I had Las Vegas on my mind at the time of this writing, as it had been just under two weeks since I had returned home to Chicago after spending almost an entire week there on vacation.

The Tropicana Hotel & Casino. South Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, October 1, 2023.

At the Tropicana.  Sunday, October 1, 2023.

This year’s Vegas experience was different than in years past, as I had mentioned in passing in last week’s Curbside Musings.  In addition to celebrating the 50th birthday of a good friend and former high school classmate, I happened to be on the Las Vegas Strip the week before the famous Tropicana Hotel & Casino was to be imploded to make way for a new sports complex for the soon-to-be-former Oakland A’s baseball team.  I had stayed at the Tropicana back in 2014 after a bud had found an incredible deal there for our friend group.  I had loved the experience of staying at what was one of the oldest and most storied properties on the Strip.

The Tropicana Hotel & Casino. South Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, October 1, 2023.

The Tropicana had originally opened in 1957 as one of the costliest-to-build and most upscale resorts in the area.  By the time I had stayed there, it was fifty-seven years old and had gone through multiple owners, renovations, and expansions, but it was still a very nice property.  Even though I was staying in one of the hotel towers that had been constructed much later (either in 1979 or ’86), the entire complex still seemed to maintain much of its posh aura, including the giant stained-glass ceiling that had been installed over the main casino floor in ’79.

The Tropicana Hotel & Casino. South Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, October 1, 2023.

By the standards of the ever-changing Strip, the Trop was no longer the biggest, flashiest, most spectacular anything in particular by the time I had stayed there.  What I do remember, though, is how I felt as I walked through the property.  It was the magic of feeling somehow connected to all of the glamorous people throughout the years who had stayed, performed, spent or won money, and/or seen a show there.  Just by being in this space, I had felt adjacent to history and this casino’s spot in Las Vegas lore.  The experience of being there with friends who were and are like chosen family added to the special feel of that trip.

1964 Ford Thunderbird. Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Saturday, September 30, 2023.

Similarly, the Thunderbird had possessed the aura of being an extraordinary car in its early years before the arrival of many other personal luxury coupes.  It was an aspirational Ford and a halo model, much like the Tropicana had been referred to as the “Tiffany of the Strip” in its heyday.  Long before it shared both a platform and market segment with the Lincoln Continental Mark series, the Thunderbird was a Ford that would be right at home amid cars from much more prestigious makes, both foreign and domestic.

1964 Ford Thunderbird. Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Saturday, September 30, 2023.

Sixty years removed from when this ‘Bird was new, it’s still not hard to imagine its appeal off the new-Ford showroom floor.  It’s beautifully and deftly styled, looking much lighter than its 4,400 pounds.  Stretching 206.4 inches on a 113.2″ wheelbase, it was also 77.1″ wide and just 52.5″ tall in the standard hardtop form we see here.  The 390 cubic inch FE (“Ford-Edsel”) V8 provided 300 horsepower, which drove the rear wheels through a three-speed automatic transmission.

1964 Ford Thunderbird. Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Saturday, September 30, 2023.

Overall sales of almost 92,500 for the redesigned ’64 were smartly up by about 46% from the prior year, with the Thunderbird offered in three body styles that were carried over from before: the standard and Landau hardtop coupes, and the convertible, with the low-take, two-seat Sports Roadster being left behind.  This generation of Thunderbird seemed to retain much of its popularity going into its second year, with sales dipping just 18% to a respectable 75,000 units for ’65.

1964 Ford Thunderbird. Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Saturday, September 30, 2023.

I’m originally from Flint, so when I think of this generation of Thunderbird, I’ve asked myself which ’64, between the Buick Riviera or the Ford Thunderbird, I would prefer now or would have preferred then.  Buyers overwhelmingly chose the Thunderbird, with just 37,700 second-year ’64 Rivieras sold in its one body style.  As far as which car I find more aesthetically pleasing, it’s a slight lean toward the Buick at this writing, though on some days it might be the Thunderbird.  Both cars are immensely appealing to me.

1964 Ford Thunderbird. Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Saturday, September 30, 2023.

Getting back to the Las Vegas metaphor, this Thunderbird certainly does have the visual flash, sparkle, and allure of one of the old-school, coin-operated slot machines, a handful of which are still left in operation at the California Hotel & Casino downtown near the Fremont Street Experience.  I have yet to see a slot machine that has been deliberately made to look ugly, but I hope you get my idea that all of the chrome adorning this Thunderbird helps to give its occupants, and especially its driver, the sense that its interior is a special place in which to spend time.

The Tropicana Hotel & Casino. Wednesday, October 2, 2024.

The “Trop” on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, exactly one week before its implosion.

Much like the Tropicana was imploded in the early morning hours of Wednesday, October 9, 2024 in order for its valuable real estate to be developed into something newer and with a much bigger footprint, Ford dealerships have had nothing like the Thunderbird in its stable since the last one rolled out the door in 2005, which is now literally twenty model years ago.  The non-Mach E Mustang appears to be the last new, domestic Ford passenger car for sale.  It’s a changing landscape, everywhere.

1964 Ford Thunderbird. Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Saturday, September 30, 2023.

I recall having heard as a young adult, perhaps from one of my college professors, that others may not necessarily remember what you did or what you said.  They will, however, remember the way you made them feel.  A classic Thunderbird like this ’64 will always be fondly remembered as “that car” by many who recall how special they felt when they encountered one either firsthand or in someone else’s driveway, the dealership, or the parking lot.  Like the Tropicana, the Thunderbird is gone, but unlike that famed resort, there are still many examples of the latter still in the possession of their owners with elevated taste.  Long may they soar.

Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada.
Saturday, September 30, 2023.

For additional CC Flair-bird content, click on the following links from Aaron65, Paul Niedermeyer, and myself.