Owning seven old cars has painted me as a man with no impulse control, but that’s a little unfair. In truth, most of the cars I have bought had been part of the plan months or years in advance, manifesting themselves at the exact moment when I was least inclined to resist them. Of course, that manifestation was almost always the direct result of my actively looking for them, but why split hairs when there is a Thunderbird to introduce?
In this case, I’ve actually wanted a Bullet Bird for 23 years. As a 19-year-old college student, I daydreamed of a silver 1961 Hardtop, but over the years that aspiration grew a few hashmarks on the doors and changed into a 1963 model, and a 1963 model it has remained for about six years, ever since my wife caught me looking over a ’63 for sale in Escanaba, Michigan. I didn’t buy that one, but I didn’t forget it either.
Therefore, when I spotted this ’63 in Hemmings, and it was a mere two hours away, and it was painted in a nice ’62 color (Acapulco Blue), and it seemed so ready made for a guy like me, how could I NOT call about it? A nice ex-schoolteacher lady was selling it to settle her late uncle’s estate, and this was the last car to go. It had a completely rebuilt engine and transmission (as settled by my borescope’s images of freshly finished cylinder bores), a nice interior, older paint, a rust-free undercarriage, and an entirely new brake system.
A few problems, of course, were immediately obvious as well. It had old tires, it wouldn’t idle without surging, the idle mixture screws were unresponsive, none of the power windows worked correctly, the shifter and swing-away steering wheel were in desperate need of help, and the power seat didn’t work. Knowing my car count and storage situation, I offered a dollar amount I wasn’t sure the owner would take, mentally prepared for either eventuality, and ended up driving the car two hours home with my wife following in her car.
My first job upon getting the car situated was to get it running well. The carburetor wasn’t much of a problem; the power valve was loose, which caused fuel to leak from the float bowl into the intake manifold. I also changed the carburetor lid and choke mechanism for an improved system from a ’66 model Autolite 4100. Finally, I replaced a leaky secondary diaphragm. The other problem was the distributor: it was simply worn out. The advance mechanism was sticky, the points cam had a mile of axial play, and the points were filthy. I replaced the whole distributor with a new one from the parts store, set the timing, and enjoyed a smooth running 390. As of now (and I’ve only been able to put a couple hundred miles on the car so far), the only problem is a finicky cold start that I’ll have to work through.
I’m not sure why a car with a clean engine compartment and an obviously new engine (judging by the smell of combustion the whole way home, I was the guy breaking it in) had worn out ancillary equipment, but no matter. I now had to move on to other “new” old car issues.
I hate needless complexity, which makes a ’60s Thunderbird a terrible choice for me, in all honesty. The swing away steering wheel and shift mechanism is, in my opinion of course, a labyrinthian device designed to frustrate the average home mechanic. The shifter flopped around due to a cracked shift collar and a worn business end (the end that engages the shift detent plate inside the column). Fixing everything was such a comedy of errors that I didn’t take pictures, but imagine a guy wrapping himself in fiberglass welding blankets to MIG weld a broken tab on a shift tube inside the car, and you get the idea. I hated that job, but now the car starts without jockeying the shifter up and down.
Not much better was the power window situation. So far, I’ve replaced two switches (modifying them along the way because reproduction parts sometimes suck), cleaned two, replaced a relay and a circuit breaker, disassembled and cleaned a motor, fixed some hack wiring, and lubricated everything I could get at. As of right now, the front two work fine, and the rear two will work perfectly once I remove the door panels to lubricate the tracks. I’ll save the power seat for later.
Even if a ’60s Thunderbird is somewhat irritating to work on (how could such a big car have such a cramped engine compartment?), it rides beautifully. It’s quiet and relaxed, even at a registered 83 miles per hour (which is actually 70 mph…another problem). It’s obviously beautiful, if not a little obnoxiously styled. Compared to another of my vehicle loves, the ’63 Riviera, the T-Bird is a bit Vegas Strip compared to a boat ride on the Thames, but who cares?
One thing it is not is fast; whoever put the “390 High Performance” sticker on the air cleaner was kidding himself. It’ll one wheel peel with alacrity, but we’ll call acceleration “refined.” I’m pretty sure my ’65 Skylark will walk away from it, and it’s not a fast car. But who buys a T-Bird to go fast? Not me. Unfortunately, that lack of speed will certainly be paired with dismal fuel mileage. Maybe I should have bought that Volvo P1800 I’ve been lusting after.
Eh, who am I kidding? I probably will someday. Until then, this T-Bird will need new leaf springs, a light buffing with some compound (it has at least two paint jobs under the top coat), new tires, and a few other odds and ends. Considering I haven’t been able to drive it too much thanks to an endless Michigan winter, I can’t yet say that “Aaron hearts T-Bird,” but it’ll happen soon. Since I’ve waited over 20 years for a Bullet Bird of my own, what’s a few more months?
If you’d like to read about my other automotive exploits, please follow the link:
Aaron65’s Continuing COAL Series
What a nice way to start the day. A girl I dated a few times in college (1967) had this identical car. She was wonderful. (I liked her a lot more than she liked me. Not the first or last time for that experience.) The car was not all that wonderful. It was four years old and had a number of problems, brakes being the most serious. Fuel economy was horrible. But, the car like my old friend sure was beautiful.
This car is a beautiful work of art. Interesting that you termed this a large car, to me this was like an intermediate size, in the right proportions.
That cockpit of an interior sure looks nice. The way they set up the dash in front of the driver to evoke an airplane cockpit (appearance wise to me anyway) looks very pleasing. Never mind it is a tad over complexified.
Now if this winter will ever see its end you will get to take her out for some nice spins! Enjoy!
Love it! Is that not the best interior of all the 1960s? And Ooooh, air conditioned!
Yours is in the condition that I should have held out for when I bought my 61. Mine turned out to be a kit car that needed serious work on almost everything. It was an unhappy experience and in truth I hardly ever got to drive it in the 2 or 3 years I owned it. And yes, these have the worst ratio of overall size to engine bay size of anything ever built.
My shift collar was cracked too, I had been told that the rebuilt transmission had a tendency to stick in Park and that the prior owner had busted the shift collar trying to shift into reverse. The trans shop finally fixed it (before I got it) by removing the parking pawl, giving the car two Neutrals. Yay.
Personally I still prefer the cleaner side styling of the 61 but acknowledge that the 62-63 is much more owner-friendly due to improved front and rear suspension setups. I am still on the fence about the hashmarks and extra creases on the 63, but yours (in that color) sure works.
Much admiration for your relentless pursuit of a bullet bird and knowing revival of the car.
I’ve liked these cars since they were new; they started my interest in Thunderbirds. I’ve owned other T-Birds but not a bullet bird. I have several of the original AMT 1:25 scale promo models of these too. And along with you, the ’63 coupe is my favorite. Enjoy the car; the article was a fun read.
Very nice, yes seven cars is way too much, although as I recall they are all different so that helps. As a guy with 10 guitars under his care I can understand.
Your rebuilt engine with worn out ancillaries reminds me of my VW beetle restoration. That’s what happens when professionals do the work. The invoice says rebuild engine, not rebuild engine and ancillaries. The interior on my VW had been redone, but there was a very clear line where the agreed scope ended.
When I fix things myself I fall into “if I just do this little bit more it’ll be SO much better”. Professionals don’t do that.
Beautiful car Aaron. I used to consider the Flair Birds to be my favorite, but now I think I like the Bullet Birds a little better. In fact the last year of each, and in that very color, too, would be in my dream garage.
But a ‘Bird would have to wait for me until I could afford one, and by then it was an Aero Bird. I had a few of those, followed by an MN12 (two if you count the ex’s Bird).
Almost three years ago, in March of 2016, I kept seeing a ’63 Landau (in your color, but with a white top) every day for about a month or so being used as a daily driver during our horrible rush hours on I-95 in the Baltimore/Washington corridor. While I appreciate that a car should be driven and enjoyed, this was kind of extreme for such a classic…
Ok, I’m not sure why the picture did not post. I’ll try again…
Ok, it was a 2.3MB picture. Maybe that was the issue. I resized it to medium size at 276KB. Maybe that’ll work…
Doesn’t it look like a spaceship out there among ordinary traffic? Love it!
Old T-birds are works of art in progress.
It appears that you have the patience to refine it to perfection.
Hope spring comes soon so that you can Enjoy the ride!!!
It is difficult to explain just how singular Thunderbird was for a car-crazed little kid in the 50’s. I was five when the two-seater came out. I collected ads, models, even the tiny plastic toy Thunderbirds that came in cereal boxes. The introduction of the four-seat T-Bird was a sensation in 1958 and I was over the moon when my Dad’s friend got a beige hardtop – nothing else like it. In the early years Thunderbird’s advertising – “Unique in all the World” – had credibility.
Dad took me to my first new car show in fall of 1960. It wasn’t easy to drag me away from the display of the new 61 Thunderbird and Lincoln Continental. I got double sets of the brochures for each and spent hours memorizing every detail. One of our neighbors got a new 61 Thunderbird coupe in baby blue and I lived for the moment that car went streaking by. I would send in the card with the Ford Buyer’s Guide each year to get a promo model of my choice and still have the 63 in its tissue-lined box. I also have my 61 AMT kit convertible.
Thunderbird was more of an aspirational car for the working and middle classes in those years (my Dad was a Untied Steelworker) – it was sold through Ford dealerships and the cars made affordable used car purchases when the next generation models came out. In early summer of 67 we got a lightly used beige 65 hardtop and my dream came true (my Dad loved T-Birds as much as I did). I drove that car on every opportunity but the lousy gas mileage (8-9 miles per gallon) and my bus boy wages did not allow for many long cruises. The 65 had a couple of great improvements over your 63: front disk brakes and modern-type flow through ventilation. Our swing-away steering column worked perfectly but the cranky operation of the one on your car was not uncommon when these Birds were only a few years old. In 66 I was looking for my first car and despite my meager budget we test-drove a white 61 and a turquoise 62 T-Bird. The 62’s steering column and shifter were already out of alignment and you had to jiggle the shifter to start the car (one nice thing about the left side ignition switch used through 63 was both hands were available to effect this maneuver).
Your car is a beauty. The cushy ride and quiet operation were hallmarks of these cars; braking, handling, initial acceleration, and gas mileage were not. I hope you make this the first in a series of updates. I’ll be part of an eager audience.
“The 62’s steering column and shifter were already out of alignment and you had to jiggle the shifter to start the car ”
In my experience this was a problem on Fords with fixed steering columns too. Drivers of the big 64 Fords had the worst combination after they moved the ignition key to the right side, requiring a left hand stretch up over the wheel to pull the shift lever up as the key was turned.
Yep, it was pretty much a given that one would have to jiggle the shift lever on late fifties/early sixties Fords in order to get them started. At that time most of us felt that was the reason that Ford put the key on the left side of the dash, so you could jiggle the shift lever with your right hand and turn the key with your left.
I don’t recall any of our Fords exhibiting this problem except my mother’s 1970 Maverick. It was an early production car with the ignition switch mounted on the dash rather than the steering column. You had to move the shift lever above park and hold it there while turning the key to start the car – a two-handed job. I don’t think it was ever repaired to work correctly.
It is hard to believe that once upon a time, a car like this could be designed, sold and bought. It is outrageous in every way. It was more than brougham. It was sporty cocktail NASA baroque. Fur coats. Sinatra. A little James Bond.
What a great car.
Welcome back to the ranks of contributors. I still have my pix of Model T school if you write up that adventure some day.
the pix of the engine bring back memories of the 390 in my 67 Thunderbird, back when the earth was young. While mine gave me some automatic choke grief, the real concern was it’s inclination to drool vital humor.
There is a story of hormones, teenage hi-jinks and a 62 Thunderbird……
One quirk of 390s, including my 67, a friend’s 62 Bird, and, when I mentioned it several other former 390 owners with a variety of Birds and Galaxies reported the same experience, is starter funkiness. Once the engine is thoroughly warmed up, stopping it, then trying to restart after only a couple minutes would result in the starter seemingly being barely able to turn the engine. Wait maybe 5 minutes, then the starter would spin the engine up just fine. The problem crops up only in that narrow time band, as if heat soak affected the starter, but the starter was able to dissipate the heat and recover in only a few minutes.
I’ve loved the ‘Bullet Birds’ ever since the 12-year old me drooled over my mom’s bosses’ 1961 model when he stopped by our house. That was in 1963…. Twenty-three years later, I bought a driver-quality ’62, in that beautiful turquoise green that Ford had. Unfortunately, I got taken, finding out a short time later it had a spun crankshaft bearing. I could drive it around for a little bit, but the sound the engine made let everybody know it was in bad shape. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the money for an engine rebuild at the time, and ended up selling it off a couple of years later, never really getting to enjoy it.
Congratulations on a splendid addition to your growing fleet. We’ll have to do a CC Meet up at the Aaron Collection one of these times.
These were pretty much the most impressive car for me as a kid at the time. I could not stop ogling their interiors. Much more compelling than a Cadillac.
And when I would see them with their hoods open at the Ford dealer, I also noted how crowded the engine compartment was. The price of being so low and sleek.
I’m leaving now. I’m assuming east of me, someone fill in the deets. See you there…
Your new T-Bird is a beauty. The Bullet Bird has always been my favorite, ever since it came out. Thanks for sharing it and congrats!
Oh, hey, that is really sharp. Elwood Engle’s designwork, no? I’m more familiar with his workspan at Chrysler than before that at Ford, but whoever designed these birds, I like ’em.
I appreciate your thoughtful upgrade philosophy as exemplified by improving the carburetor with a more refined choke from a few years later, rather than ripping it all out and plopping something aftermarket on (yes, I know I’m saying that just shortly after writing this—the world has shades of grey).
And I envy your welding skill. The last time I tried welding was many years ago in high school metal shop (when that was still a thing). Apparently it’s not like riding a bicycle; I’d managed to weld together a sculpture out of leaf springs when I was 10 or 11, but this time the welding rod quickly stuck in place, grew orange-hot and shed its flux, and Mr. Schultz had to cut power to the welder. I haven’t tried again since.
I’ve heard a few stories about the design origins of these T-Birds…Engel’s name has been bandied about, as has Alex Tremulis’s and Bill Boyer’s. Ford was committee driven in the styling group compared to GM, so it was probably some combination.
On the other hand, a lot of the styling cues came from the Ford X-100 (see link).
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2015/04/27/the-car-with-the-most-gadgets-lincoln-x-100-couldve-become-the-continental/
On the other hand, a lot of the styling cues came from the Ford X-100 (see link).
The X-100 was at the Motor Muster last year. Looked at the rear and bullet Bird came immediately to mind.
Engel was primarily responsible for the Continental design, which was originally intended to be the T-Bird. McNamara saw the design and had it changed into the 4-door ’61 Continental.
The X-100 definitely had influence on the ’61 Bird, but the primary designer that seems to get the credit was William Boyer. When the “Engel T-Bird” became a Lincoln, William Boyer had’s design that he’d been working on in the background. This design moved to the forefront. Initially his design had some rather large fins but eventually evolved to have tail section similar to the X-100.
“…needless complexity…”, “…designed to frustrate the average home mechanic…”
That’s pretty much been my lifelong experience when trying to work on any Ford. It’s like a foreign language to a GM fanboi like me.
I’ve learned how to speak MoPar, Subaru and even a little bit of Honda and Nissan.
And my good friend and next-door neighbor who’s been a lifelong Blue Oval guy sure knows his way around Fords, as does a mutual friend who’s had the 4.0 in and out of his 2003 Explorer so many times (timing gear cassettes!) he oughta be in the Guinness Book of World Records. Ok not really but it was in and out enough times last year for us to lose count.
Just seems like there’s a philosophy behind the mechanicals of every manufacturer. Unlock it and everything else gets a bit easier. Then again it’s probably me.
Yeah, there’s Something Wrong With Me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzwR0o23rO8
All this said, the four-seat Thunderbird was indeed “unique in all the world.” It took the entire Ford brand upscale a few notches, adding credibility to subsequent premium offerings from LTDs to King Ranch Super Duties.
This just has to be one of, perhaps the, my favourite American cars of all time. Just gorgeous, and that interior is a match for it too.
Sounds like it is in good hands – I hope you get to enjoy using it as well as fixing it.
Sweet ride. Does this officially put you in the ‘different classic for every day of the week’ club?
Yes it does! But then again, do I want to be a member of a club that would have me as a member?
hehehe. Now I’m wondering, will your next car be a Volvo or a De Soto?
There are no AMCs or Studebakers in the Aaron65 Collection yet . . .
Seriously, I love Aaron’s variety and salute him for his method. Most guys with multiple cars seem to have a tight grouping of similar cars that they become experts on. Aaron’s way is to become seriously multi-lingual (to use an anology suggested above). I eagerly await future reports as he scales yet another learning curve.
JP…I could be very happy with an Avanti or a Hornet wagon or a ’65 Rambler American hardtop.
I’m seriously out of storage. Before all that happens, I’m going to really have to consider buying a storage area rather than renting. As the kids say, first world problems. 🙂
You bet your life it will probably not be a DeSoto………..but I never say never.
Beautiful T-Bird Aaron, and fantastic to see you contributing again. I always enjoy your articles and I am somewhat jealous of your mini collection of vintage cars. I have a friend who currently has about 6 classic cars, but he’s’ in a constant state of flux, buying and selling cars. I live vicariously through him and his two massive garages, while I barely have room for my two old cars. These bullet birds are right up there at the top of my list for favorite T-Birds. Ever since i was a young boy, I was enamored with the style of these Thunderbirds. My preference is for the Sports Roadsters. I thought the convertibles looked a little nicer than the coupes, and I liked the Kelsey Hayes wire wheels with no fender skirts for the sportier look. That said, I’d gladly take a coupe any day.
On the rebuilt engine with the old worn components, I wouldn’t be surprised in the previous own simply had the long block rebuilt and then reused most of the old parts. It seems to happen pretty often. Otherwise the car looks in great shape, and fairly well restored. Wishing you many happy miles of motoring.
It’s so hard to believe that the Thunderbird name has been put out in the barn and is now covered in layers of dust and chicken shit. The The Beach Boys song “Fun Fun Fun” was released in early 1964, just before the Mustang changed all of the rules. In the song you can hear just how cool it was to have a father who had Thunderbird. My father had a Pontiac Star Chief. Love you Dad, but it’s just not the same.
Wow, it’s wonderful, congratulations! We spent much time ogling T-birds at Staunton Classic Cars this summer and one does need to be on my bucket list. You blew my mind with the Volvo P1800 reference though, not what I expected (at all) from you, but certainly meets with approval…Looking forward to updates on the T-Bird down the road, enjoy it!
Looks like your 53 Buick made a cameo appearance!