The 429 was dropped, and all Thunderbirds now had the 460 as standard, for a less than stellar 11 mpg. Thanks to the new rear bumper, curb weight was up to 4800 lbs. One of the T-Bird’s defining features, bucket seats, were eliminated for ’74. While attractive, it was not as good-looking as the full-width tail lamps and integrated bumper of the 1972-73. Sales went up again, with over 87,000 sold for 1973.įive mph bumpers were added to the back for ’74, so a similar restyling was applied to the back of the car. It was initially an option, but was soon made a standard feature. Also new was an opera window in the C-pillar, a must-have on ’70s personal luxury cars. Thanks to the 1973 federal bumper standards, the ’73 T-Bird got a new nose (shown above) with requisite chromed battering ram, a new grille, headlights in separate pods, and new parking lamps. Like the previous Thunderbird, the ’72 shared a lot of parts with the Mark – the windshield and side glass were identical between the two, not to mention most of the dimensions and the running gear. Either way, you could have any transmission you wanted, as long as it was the 3-speed C6 automatic. The 429 CID V8 was standard equipment, with a 460 optional. The 1972 model came in a single Landau two door hardtop bodystyle – the four-doors were history – and was priced at $5293. Total length was now 214 inches, with a 120.4″ wheelbase and 80″ width. The 1972 Thunderbird (and the Mark IV) were approved by Ford President Bunkie Knudsen just before his departure from Dearborn. The 1972 Thunderbird was completely redesigned, and shared much with the also new for ’72 Continental Mark IV. More wheelbase, more front and rear overhang, more luxury gadgets, and more velour. During this time, sales were slowly but surely sinking, from 77,956 in ’67 to only 36,055 ’71s. Then, in 1970, a ‘Bunkie Beak” was tacked on to the 1967-vintage body, making it look like a Grand Prix. Of course the two-door hardtop returned, for a somewhat more traditional Thunderbird experience. A neat idea, but was this really a T-Bird? This mini-Continental sported center-opening doors and Brougham-tastic landau irons on the sail panels, which hid the cut lines for the rear doors. It was replaced with – are you sitting down? – a four door sedan. First of all, the convertible was gone, a victim of low sales. Much was new for the 1967 Thunderbird, but not all of it was good. The last of the Flair Birds came off the line in 1966. By 1964, the smooth, sporty looks of the 1961-63 ‘bullet bird’ gave way to crisp, rectangular lines, and one of the coolest interiors of the Sixties. She kept it all the way to 1977 she liked it that much. That Pontiac was traded in on a navy blue ’65 Thunderbird convertible, with a white leather interior. When my dad was a kid, my grandfather, who was a lawyer and an insurance executive, had a ’62 or so Buick Electra, and my grandmother had a metallic lilac ’60 Catalina convertible with a white interior. Folks who would never have considered a Ford in the past – people who were doctors or lawyers and drove Lincoln Continentals, Buick Electra 225s and Oldsmobile Ninety Eights, were looking at – and buying – Ford’s personal luxury car. Ford really had a knack for creating new market areas, and the T-Bird was one of their best exploits in that area. The Squarebird gave way to the Bullet Bird in 1961, a very sporty and luxurious mode of transport for the Jet Age. Low, sleek and powerful, the T-Bird became a luxury Ford – an oxymoron at the time, for even though it was a Ford model it was considered on par with a Lincoln – unthinkable ten years prior. The 1958 Squarebird added a back seat and, with the possible exception of the 1953 Studebaker Starliner, created the personal luxury car market. This was not the Thunderbird’s first drastic change. It’s hard to believe this car is related to the trim, befinned 1955-57 two seat T-Birds, but the Seventies changed a lot of people–and cars. The biggest Thunderbird ever built, a Mark IV in disguise.
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