1961 Thunderbird Convertible

Ford Thunderbird 1961 Description

1961 Thunderbird Convertible - This car has been owned by one family since new. I believe the uncle purchased the car new and then transferred it to the niece and her husband. The car has basically sat in their garage for 20+ years with only occasional driving before it became difficult just to get the car running after sitting for long periods. They donated to our church about 4 years ago. Originally white, he car was painted red probably 20-30 years ago. The original 390 and automatic transmission(as far as I can tell)are in the car. the car runs good and seems to shift fine. But I have only driven the car about 10 miles. Steering is good. I believe all the suspension isoriginal, nd the odometer shows about 90,000 miles.

The car has a black soft top that was replaced in the past 10 years. The canvas and plastic back “glass” on the top are in very good condition (fitment is okay on top, ut needs to be retacked on back below rear plastic window). The top mechanisms all seem to function, ut the wiring harness has been butchered (that's the best way I can describe it). Some "mechanic" butchered the wiring harness trying to figure out how the top worked.I purchased a replacement wiring harness, ut I am sure some of the solenoid valves and limiting switches are either missing or not working. I have used the pump to operate the top, nd the decklid, ut again with the alterations to the wiring and hydraulic hoses, t has best been operated manually.

Overall the body is in good shape and the paint is good, ut not show quality. The panels seem to be straight. There are small dings from the car sitting in their garage, ut no major damage. There is one dent in lower front fender where bumper was bumped when parking the car and the bottom of the bumper bumped the fender. Rust is minor, ut there is one area on the driver floorboard that is rusted through.

When the car was donated to the church, was the guy with a garageto store it. The engine compartment looked terrible, nd I decided to detail it as my contribution to the car. I tried sanding the engine compartment by hand. There were three layers of paint, he original white enamel (hard as a rock but with chips and scratches), ed paint over poorly prepared surfaces, nd on topsome black spray bomb type paint that was flaking everywhere. After a year of trying to get motivated and then walking away frustrated with the enamel and preparation I pulled the motor and stripped the engine compartment to bare metal. Epoxy primer was applied to the entire engine compartment followed by a single stage red paint matching the body color. I installed a new radiator as the engine went back in.

I have driven the car around the block in the car, ut no farther. It seems to run anddrive fine. I anticipatethe car will have some bugs to be resolvedas it is driven more and more.I think the car isgreat for someone who wants to go to local events and enjoy buying something they don't have to completely restore to get in and drive. Even though the engine is very nice and the exterior paint is good, here are those old dings and scratches that will need to be touched up on the body exterior. I thinkthe car a good driver toenjoy and slowly build toward the nextlevel. I think the car isa much better starting point forsomeone looking to tinker with an old car than a project car in pieces that needs everything just to be drivable.

All the money will go to our church, nd they plan on using the moneyfor water well projects through Living Water International, ministry that drills water wells in developing countries.

Please give me a call in the evenings to discuss.Arranging transportation is the responsibility of thebuyer, nd I will not ship the car out of the country. I will takepictures of any part of the car ifyou need to see more detail.Thanks in advance for taking a look at the information on this car.