Ford Thunderbird, 1956
Ford Thunderbird I
Ford Thunderbird I•
•30 views
Chassis No.: P6FH336737
Auction: Monterey 2022
Auction date: August 20, 2022
Lot No.: S101
$84,700 | Sold
- Exterior: Buckskin Tan
- Interior: White
- Professional ground-up restoration
- Thunderbird special high option 312 CI V-8 engine
- Ford-O-Matic 3-speed automatic transmission
- Buckskin Tan exterior
- White interior
- White porthole hardtop
- Vintage Air
- Continental kit and fender skirts
- Kelsey Hayes chrome spoked wire wheels
- Whitewall tires
When it was introduced for the 1955 model year, the Thunderbird proved a spectacular sales success with just over 16,000 sold. Immediately seen as competition for Chevrolet’s Corvette, the two had a lot in common, but were also considerably different. Ford marketed the Thunderbird as a “personal car of distinction,” leaning on the romance and exclusivity of the hand-built roadsters of the 1930s, fitting as the Thunderbird was the first two-seater Ford since 1938. Often credited with pioneering the mass market personal luxury car segment, the Thunderbird was unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show on February 20, 1954 with a base price of around $2,900, or about $31,000 in 2022.
Fitted with fender skirts and a removable fiberglass hardtop with a cloth top always stowed under a flush-fitting boot cover, the car was highly stylized with dual exhausts exiting the rear bumper, a hood scoop, a Frenched grille and headlights, small but noticeable tailfins and a large, wraparound front windshield. The 1956 Thunderbird ushered in various subtle but important changes and advancements, as well as a lengthier list of options. One was the availability of the 312 CI V-8 engine, lending the Thunderbird considerably better performance, while new wind wings provided deflection from the wind.
A Continental kit gave the trunk more space by moving the spare tire to the exterior, and portholes in the removable hardtop allowed for better visibility. This 1956 Ford Thunderbird is powered by the optional 312 CI V-8 engine, paired with the Ford-O-Matic 3-speed automatic transmission. Finished in Buckskin Tan, the Thunderbird features a porthole hardtop in white, balancing nicely with the wide whitewall tires surrounding the chrome Kelsey-Hayes chrome-spoked wire wheels and the white interior. Following a professional, ground-up restoration, this car emerged with only a couple of liberties enhancing the drivability such as a Vintage Air conditioning system and an AM/FM stereo system.
