My 1960 Thunderbird Golde Top
Lonely Thunderbird This car was being offered for sale by Bob's Bird House starting in the winter of 2000-2001. I came across these pictures of it at Spring Carlisle 2001, and after seeing the car in person, I decided to give it a new home.
Restoration Dream - I want to restore this 1960 Thunderbird in time for the Ford's centennial celebration in Dearborn in 2003. See what I got now, and what I envision the project to look like in the end.
My 1960 Thunderbird Golde Top This car is my next restoration project. It has a factory sunroof - a rare option. Only 2,500 were made.
The Trip Home -The 1960 Thunderbird with the Sunroof was picked up by my friend George with his truck and trailer from Bob's Bird House in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania on October 12, 2001. It made a overnight in Chesterfield, New Jersey before making it's long journey back to Queens, New York. The tolls for the trip were expensive, the Outerbridge Crossing alone cost $24 ($6 per axle). I thank George for volunteering his time and his truck to bring the Sunroof to its new home. My friends Keith and Mike at K&R got the car running and restored the brakes. I gave it it's first wash in years and cleaned out the mouse dirt infested interior the following week. I also fixed all the lights on the car. The major work the car now needs is replacing the control arm bushings the rest of the work is cosmetic - repaint, rechrome and replacing the interior. I plan to start restoration in Spring 2002..
1960 Thunderbird Artifacts - Interesting articles found in the interior of the car which gives insight into the life of the former owner.
1960 Thunderbird Build Sheet - Fragments of the build sheet were found under the driver's seat. The search for an intact build sheet goes on!
Movie of 1960 Thunderbird running - The first day the car ran in nearly 25 years is October 23, 2001! It runs exceptionally smooth. The engine was able to crank, but it was not running when I got the car, so it was a unknown quantity. I lucked out - I don't need an engine rebuild. From all indications this car has only 76,893.3 original miles.
Restoration as of October 2002 - A lot of work has been done to the car. Most of it involved a clean up. The car no longer looks ragged.