1963 Ford Thunderbird

Coupe

8 - Cyl.

Automatic

3Y83Z103268

Gasoline

1963 Ford Thunderbird. 390 V8, 4 Barrel, Dual exhaust. If you would like to discuss anything about the car, please feel free to contact me. You can reach me any day 10am ~ 10pm (eastern) on my cell: 434-509- THREE-EIGHT-TWO-ONE Come for a test drive! There are 27 pictures below... If you need a photo of some other part of the car, let me know. Car is advertised locally, so I reserve the right to cancel the auction if the car is sold. Up for sale is my 1963 Thunderbird. The photos just begin to describe how great this car looks. The body, chrome, and paint are even better in person than they look in the photos. Every time I go for a drive, I get compliments and thumbs-up from others. Park somewhere or pull into a gas station, and somebody is going to come over and talk. It gets lots of attention everywhere, for its stunning looks. It starts, runs, stops, and drives great. It's lots of fun to drive, has plenty of power, and handles well so it feels nice and stable whether you're on the highway or on curvy winding roads too. The dual exhaust sounds great, a slightly aggressive sound but not what most would call 'loud'. I just put 4 brand new tires on it last fall. New starter, new solenoid, and new battery this spring. Fuel tank is just a few years old. Turn-key, ready to drive. I drive it regularly, once or twice a week, because a driven car is a well-running car. It is always garaged. Paint: The deep dark glossy black paint is smoother than you see on most new factory finishes. It's mirror-like. It was painted a few years ago, before I owned it, and you can see that someone spent a lot of money on the body and paint work. No covered-up rust bubbles or waves, no dents dings or scratches that I can see. We all know black can be a difficult color, and I am a fanatic about keeping cars clean and scratch-free. This raven-black bird is, in my opinion, a 99/100. The last 1 point would be for a minor imperfection on the 'scoop' on the hood, which you don't see unless someone tells you to look closely. Bottom line – nobody is going to be disappointed with the body and paint. It looks like it has never seen any raindrops, certainly not while I have owned it. Chrome: Outstanding. The bumpers appear to have been replaced when the rest of the exterior was done and are nearly flawless. Imagine the best chrome you've ever seen, and that's a good estimation of what's on this 63. Stainless steel, and window frames: The stainless body moldings are in excellent condition. They line up well going from front to back, and there are just a few very small dings in the moldings that you don't notice unless you really try to find them. The stainless around the windows is showing its age. It still looks great, but has some oxidation so it's not perfect. Again, you don't really notice any of this, but I want to be thorough. Interior: Beautiful. Re-done in 2009, almost everything you see and touch when you sit inside this car is new. All new seat upholstery with correct piping and 'vachette' texture, new seat foams, new seat skirts, all new carpet front and back. New dash. New door panels. All new aluminum dash and door trim panels. New A-pillar chrome. Lots of expensive pieces! Headliner is clean and tight. You get the idea, the interior is awesome, and you can see that from the photos. Under the hood: Ford 390 V8, new plugs, new wires, new distributor, new Edelbrock 4-barrel 600 carb (perfect for the 390) with automatic choke. New chrome air cleaner and valve covers. Starts and runs great, no smoke, no stumble, no hesitation, fluids are clean. Once to the floor to set the automatic choke, and turn the key. Under the hood is nicely detailed and clean, but not too crazy. Drive it and enjoy, without worrying about getting the engine dusty. Does not overheat, even idling for long periods. Cooling system was flushed last year just for good measure. So what about drips? Any 47 year old car will, and this will leave a few drips on the floor here and there. However, nothing drips enough to need checking more than once every 6 months or so, so I think that says something. Automatic Transmission: Shifts are very firm. Downshifts properly when you step on it. Fluid is red and clean and has no odors. The linkage and indicator is properly adjusted to display the correct gear you're in (the indicator is lighted too), and the unique swing-aside feature of the steering wheel works properly. As part of some general maintenance, last year the rear differential oil was drained and refilled and we also had all the wheel bearings greased and checked. Steering: The power steering is quite precise especially for a 47 year old vehicle. There is no slack or dead-zone in the steering. Power steering pump doesn't make any noise. As mentioned the car handles very nicely whether you're going straight or driving on winding country roads. We have a really nice Grant wheel on it now that complements the interior, and also will include the original wheel. Structural: Floors are solid, fenders, rockers, etc, are all solid. Doors fit great, close solidly and do not sag on their hinges. Nothing rotting of course, looked very good when we had it up on a lift last fall. Brakes: The power brakes stop smoothly, no pulsating. Serviced last year, completely flushed out, all new fluid. Glass: All good, no cracks anywhere. Windshield has a couple small nicks. It has a couple gaps in the rubber, but nothing that needs attention. The only time you become aware of the age of the windshield is if you drive directly into the sun, otherwise it is clear and just fine. Power accessories and gauges: Power windows work perfectly. They go down and up quite fast. All new chrome window switches and bezels. Heater/defrost/fan works well. All gauges and indicators work (MPH, temperature, fuel, etc). All exterior and interior lights work. Headlights have a separate fused circuit with relays to make them extra bright. Wipers work. All turn signals work and self-cancel properly. Theres a stealthy tachometer custom installed in place of the clock that looks just like it belongs there. The bezel and spindle from the clock were used, and the tach mounted behind a clear face. The untrained eye will think it's a stock item. The chrome bezels around the gauges have some oxidation, but have been polished up nicely. All the gauges light up properly, all indicator lights work, heater controls light up, dimmer control works. Looks really great at night too. Interior lights come on and off as they're supposed to with the switches and opening the doors. Radio is a new retro-looking digital am/fm cassette with mp3 player input. There's a pair of boston acoustics speakers under the rear deck. Everything looks stock (you can't see the speakers), and it sounds great. Included is an original reproduction 1963 Thunderbird owners manual, and original/reprint shop repair manual too. Clean Virginia title, currently registered and insured. (When you click a picture, it will open up large in a new window. Close that new window to get back to this page.)