The drivers, engineers and mechanics of the day were impressive nonetheless.The Second Generation Ford Thunderbird marked a radical departure from the styling and engineering of its predecessor. Having had access to a number of Nascar shops in the late fifties, early sixties they were not populated by engineers working in spotless speed labs as today. They were a Holman and Moody development of what could be. The Holman and Moody cars built in 1959 were not Ford factory supplied special vehicles. The 352 Special V8 could be ordered with three speed and overdrive. BTW the 430 was a heavy lump that could not be tuned for Nascar performance (power and reliability) based on its stock configuration nor was a manual transmission available. Other photos taken at the finish had proven inconclusive.įor model year 1960 Ford manufactured 1,949 T-Birds with manual transmissions and one could order a T-Bird with manual steering, without power brakes, etc. Hearst Metrotone News Service of the Week sent the film footage that confirmed Lee Petty’s win. The trophy and winner’s ceremony went to Beauchamp on the day, but the win was provisional. Lee Petty in #42 Oldsmobile and Johnny Beauchamp in #73 T-Bird crossed the line in a photo finish that took 61 hours to resolve – in Petty’s favor with a lead of about 2 feet over Beauchamp’s T-Bird. Amazingly there was not a single caution flag and the 1st and 2nd place cars were both clocked at exactly 131.521 mph for the 200 laps. In 1959 there were six 350 hp (on the hood) Holman and Moody built T-Birds in the lineup for the inaugural Daytona 500 mile race. If you’re in the market for one of these ”Square-Birds”, this looks to be a sweet example with a rare engine/transmission combination. We’re told that delivery is available, but we assume that must be within a reasonable distance. We assume it runs as good as it looks and the seller says everything is in working order, including the AM radio. It has the optional Continental spare package in the back, which had started to generate less interest from buyers.Īt 82,500 miles, this Ford sports the smaller 352 cubic inch V8 engine rather than the 430 that was available to buyers in 1960. This machine has been in the same family for the last 30 years and has been shown often and taken home the occasional trophy. We’re told this Ford is an original, unmolested car, which would imply that the paint, interior, and powertrain are as they were when the car left the assembly line. The appearance of the 1960 model was little changed except an additional taillight was added on both sides. Most T-Birds were equipped with an automatic transmission which was in line with the car’s image as a personal luxury cruiser, but Ford did manage to build about 2,000 of them with a column-shifted 3-speed (according to the seller). Of those, more than 78,400 would be the 63A 2-door hardtop like the seller’s car, with the rest being convertibles and hardtops with sunroofs. for another cool tip!Īt more than 92,800 copies, 1960 was the best sales year to date for the Ford Thunderbird and wouldn’t be bested until 1977. It’s available here on craigslist for $25,000. From Grain Valley, Missouri comes this ’60 Thunderbird which has found some success on the show circuit. That includes this rare 1960 edition that has a “3-on-the-tree” manual transmission which may have only gone into 2% of production that year. But the proof was in the pudding as Ford sold a bunch more T-Birds which could seat four people. Gone until 2002 was the 2-seat T-Bird that has become iconic today (who can forget Suzanne Somers in American Graffiti?). Purists were appalled when the second generation of the Ford Thunderbird (1958-60) gained a back seat.
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