1955 Ford Thunderbird - today's tempter

By: Unique Cars magazine

Date: 28.09.2023

1955 Ford Thunderbird - today's tempter

1955 Ford Thunderbird - today's tempter

1955 Ford Thunderbird - today's tempter

1955 Ford Thunderbird - today's tempter

First year of production

In an era when bigger was better for American cars, Ford’s first-generation Thunderbird was something of a curiosity, as a relatively compact (by USA standards) two-seater.

As we noted in a story on another ‘Babybird’: "This many decades later, it’s easy to forget just how significant the first Thunderbird series – aka the Babybird – was in Ford’s history. It did, after all, launch the company into the sports two-seater market. And it was to last just a few years."

In its first year, the Thunderbird sold some 16,155 units – well beyond Ford’s expectation of 10,000.

The car was updated yearly in its brief production life and several model variants were offered, including performance versions.

However the default spec for most first-year examples was a 292ci (4.8lt) V8 with automatic transmission.

This car is a little unusual in running a four-speed manual transmission, comes with a roadworthy certificate and claims to be in very good shape.

Located in Queensland’s south coast, it’s on the market at $69,500.

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