Ford Thunderbird (fourth Generation)
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The fourth generation
Ford Thunderbird The Ford Thunderbird is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company for model years 1955 to 2005, with a hiatus from 1998 to 2001. Ultimately gaining a broadly used colloquial nickname, the ''T-Bird'', Ford Introduce ...
is a large
personal luxury car Personal luxury car is a North American car classification describing somewhat sporty, sophisticated mass-market coupés that emphasized comfort over performance. The North American manufacturers most often combined engineering, design, and ma ...
produced by Ford for the 1964 to 1966 model years. Ford restyled this generation of the Thunderbird in favor of a more squared-off, "formal" look. The only remnant of the Thunderbird's former sporty image was that the standard 390-cubic-inch
V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight- cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. Origins The first known V8 was the Antoinette, designed by Léon Levavasseur, a ...
needed nearly 11 seconds to push the heavy T-bird to 60 mph (97 km/h). The softly sprung suspension allowed considerable body lean, wallow, and float on curves and bumps. Contemporary testers felt that the
Buick Riviera The Buick Riviera is a personal luxury car that was marketed by Buick from 1963 to 1999, with the exception of the 1994 model year. As General Motors' first entry into the personal luxury car market segment, the Riviera was highly praised by au ...
,
Pontiac Grand Prix The Grand Prix is a line of automobiles produced by the Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac Division of General Motors from 1962 until 2002 as coupes and from 1989 through 2008 model years as four-door sedans. First introduced as a full-size car, full ...
, and Chrysler 300K were substantially more roadworthy cars, but the Thunderbird retained its leading market share.


Models

The revised model was initially offered as a hardtop, convertible, and Landau, with vinyl roof, simulated landau irons, and wood grain interior appointments. The Sports Roadster was discontinued for this generation, however, a dealer offered convertible tonneau cover and wire wheels option was still available. Total 1964 sales were excellent at 92,465 units, up nearly fifty percent from the previous year. Still, the popularity of the tonneau cover and wire wheel options continued to decline, with very few being sold. The 1964 Thunderbird was the only model of this generation to have the word 'Thunderbird' spelled out on the front hood instead of a chrome Thunderbird emblem. The only transmission available was the Cruise-O-Matic MX 3 speed automatic. The listed retail price for the 1964 two-door hardtop coupe was US$4,486 ($ in dollars ), Several features intended for the new generation were delayed until 1965, when front
disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the #Calipers, calipers to squeeze pairs of #Brake pads, pads against a disc (sometimes called a
rake Rake may refer to: Common meanings * Rake (tool), a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (poker), the commission taken by the house when hosting a poker game ...
rotor) to create friction. There are two basic types of brake pad friction mechanisms: abrasive f ...
s became standard equipment and sequential turn signals which flashed three bulbs in the broad, horizontal tail lights from inside to outside were added; the latter had been delayed by vehicle lighting regulations in the United States. Exterior trim was revised, including a new grille, Thunderbird emblem replacing the block letters on the front edge of the hood, simulated front fender vent trim, revised Thunderbird scripts now located on the rear edge of the quarter panels, and revised taillight lens trim and a single center emblem replacing the dual lens birds and block letters respectively. The popular "Tilt-Away" steering column continued, and was a Thunderbird recognized feature that was later shared on other upper-level Ford Products. Sales, impacted by increasing competition, including cannibalism by Ford's own newly introduced, and more affordable
Mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish conquistadors. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticate ...
, dipped to 74,972. Again, the Cruise-O-Matic MX automatic was the only transmission available. Convertibles borrowed the opening mechanism from the all-new
Lincoln Continental The Lincoln Continental is a series of mid-sized and full-sized luxury cars produced between 1939 and 2020 by Lincoln, a division of the American automaker Ford Motor Company. The model line was introduced following the construction of a per ...
where the trunklid would open electrically in a single piece, hinged at the back of the vehicle, then the fabric top would fold down and disappear beneath the trunklid. The mechanism was originally used on the Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner hardtop convertible of the late 1950s. Opening the trunk on convertibles for storage required that the lid be opened electrically, without deploying or retracting the folding convertible top. For 1966, the 390-cubic-inch V8's power was increased to . The larger 428-cubic-inch (7.0 L) V-8 became optional, rated at and providing a notable improvement in 0-60 mph acceleration to about 9 seconds. All models featured a new front clip. A flatter hood, re-shaped front fenders, new headlight buckets, new egg crate grille with large Thunderbird emblem, new bumper guards, a single bumper bar, and painted roll pan replaced the previous two model year's two-piece front bumper. The rear taillights were revised, now a 3 piece unit going the full width across the rear, the backup light now located in the center section replaced the formerly rear roll pan mounted lamps. A new Town Sedan model was offered, which featured a roof with blind quarter panels for a more 'formal' look, at the cost of rear visibility, and removed the retractable side window for rear passengers which were offered only on the Hardtop Coupe and Convertible. The Landau trim package added to the Town Sedan a padded roof and landau S-bars. It became by far the best-selling model, accounting for 35,105 units of the 1966 model year's 69,176 units sold. The transmission used on early build 390 V8 equipped T-Birds was the Cruise-O-Matic MX, however late build 390 and all 428 V8 equipped T-Birds had the new C6 3 speed automatic installed.


Films and Popular Culture

A black 1964 Thunderbird convertible had a notable role in the TV series Highlander: The Series as protagonist Duncan Macleod’s main mode of transportation. A white 1964 Thunderbird convertible was used by
Felix Leiter Felix Leiter is a fictional character created by Ian Fleming in the ''James Bond'' books, films, and other media. The character is an operative for the CIA and James Bond's friend. After losing a leg and a hand to a shark attack, Leiter joined ...
in a chase scene in the 1964 James Bond film '' Goldfinger'', starring
Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...
. Another appears briefly in the 1965
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
film '' Thunderball''. A Convertible 1964 Thunderbird appears in the Twilight Zone episode, "Come Wander With Me", starring Gary Crosby. In 1965, an Episode of the TV Show "Hazel" (S4, E16) had 2 similar-looking Thunderbirds, a 1964 and a 1965, which caused some confusion during the show. In reality, the 1964 and 1965 Thunderbirds were distinctive enough to not allow confusion, but the 1965 was the first Year of the 2-sided Key, which was completely different from the 1964. A gold 1966 Town Landau was driven by
Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...
as
Matt Helm Matt Helm is a fictional character created by American author Donald Hamilton (1916–2006). Helm is a U.S. government counter-agent, a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of ...
in the 1966 film ''
Murderers' Row Murderers' Row were the baseball teams of the New York Yankees in the late 1920s, widely considered some of the best teams in history. The nickname is particularly used for the first six hitters in the 1927 team lineup: Earle Combs, Mark Koen ...
''. It featured several gadgets including the ability to display a scrolling message which ran across the tail-lights. The driver could dictate what they wanted to appear there into a microphone. A green 1966 Thunderbird convertible was prominently featured in the 1991 road film Thelma and Louise, starring
Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actor. With a career spanning over five decades, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...
and
Geena Davis Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis (born January 21, 1956) is an American actor. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Davis made her acting debut in the satirical romantic comedy ''Toots ...
, a red 1966 Thunderbird convertible was featured in the 1983 film '' The Outsiders'' which was directed by
Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...
, and a black 1965 Thunderbird Convertible was featured in the
David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...
film '' Wild at Heart'', starring
Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various accolades, including an Academy A ...
and
Laura Dern Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Born ...
. A black 1965 Thunderbird Landau was featured at the start of the
Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninte ...
video ''N64: Change the System''. It was shown transporting the three gamers to
Nintendo of America is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi founded the company to p ...
headquarters for a first-hand sneak preview of
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...
.


Production totals


References


External links


1965 427 Thunderbird
{{Ford vehicles
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Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Coupés Convertibles Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States Cars introduced in 1964 Cars discontinued in 1966 Personal luxury cars