1957 FORD THUNDERBIRD "A VERY SPECIAL ORIGINAL CAR"

1957 FORD THUNDERBIRD
In 1957this car was sold new at Francis Ford in downtown Portland, Oregon.The 2nd ownerpurchased this used when it was less than two years old from Bylands Used Cars onApril 25, 1959,locatedin Portland. Dwight D. Eisenhower was President then. The owner kept it during the next 10 President's terms. "57 years". The last 35 years it mostly stayed garaged. Late in life and moving, with no where to put it, he parted with it. What makes this car very special is how he took care of it. He was certainly obsessive compulsive (OCD). This car init's original condition, has survivedin a manner thatfew earlyThunderbirds ever have.
What we tried to accomplish was a preservation restoration. This is a hardtop only car from new. Less than 4 percent of the 1955 to 1957 TBirds had manual transmissions. Even less with overdrive,when you look at the extra cost on the window sticker.
This car has now been repainted in the correct Torch Red and done to a high standard. It was garaged the last 35 years,but after 59 years, the paint was scratched and chipped to the point that it needed painting.(We tried to save it).It has NEVER been damaged and the hood, doors, trunk and panels fit like when it was built. The chrome is the best I've ever seen from this era car. Most of it looks like its been replaced recently and it hasn't. The bumpers are still bright and no fading. A good portion of the rubbermoldings also look like they have been replaced and they haven't. The stainless is in nice condition. It still retains the original Lifeguard sticker in the driver's door jam. The glass is in wonderful condition. The interior is original and it is hard to imagine it held up this well. The driver's seat, kick panels and door panels are as they came from the factory. The carpet has been replaced from red to black. Early in its life he changed the dash top also to black because it was originally white. The dash is in lovely condition and the chrome pieces are excellent. The factory heater, wipers, horn, tachometerandgauges all work well. The town and country radio does not work. The original cigarette lighter and ashtray have never been used. The turn signals, brake lights and high and low beam head lights work properly. The plastic lenses front and rear are still in good condition. The underside of the car was blasted and painted satin black. Because the Thunderbird was always kept so well, like the chrome, the whole undercarriage is in amazing condition. The mechanical condition is original and in good condition. The 312 V8 motor starts and runs well with plenty of power. The manual transmission shifts smooth and the overdrive is nice on the freeway. Because the car had not been used much for 35 years we replaced the usual things. It has a new clutch and pressure plate. Refurbished the brakes. The carburetor needed rebuilding and was done properly. (Not everyone understands these, there specific to the car). The power steering ram leaked and a new rebuilt was installed. Sadly, when the undercarriage was being soda blasted, the shop doing the work damaged the original radiator beyond repair. (It was in Excellent condition). We replaced it with an aluminum radiator that looks identical to the originaland painted it black. The suspension we didn't touchandit is tight and drives smooth. We put new bias-ply Firestone tires on it and amazingly it doesn't wander at 60 mph. All part of a testament to how well he took care of the car. All the fluids in the motor, transmission and rear end are new.
We spend over 400 hours on the car, not including the paint, keeping it as original as we couldtrying topreserve it. When we removed the seat, we found a Chuck Berry 45 RPM record and old aviator sunglasses. The jacking instructions,complete jack, trunk mat andspare are in nice original condition. It has the original 1960 registration card in his name. It has original keys, owners manual, Motorola Town & Country radio manuals, a dated 1957 factory Ford service manual that probably came with the car new and the original window sticker. This is a rare example in which it actually looks better in real life than it does in the pictures.
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