1959 Ford Thunderbird

THUNDERBIRD Coupe

8 - Cyl.

Automatic

J9YH148638

Gasoline

1959 FORD THUNDERBIRD COUPE White and Teal Interior Front Bucket Seats Thunderbird Floor Mats V-8 Engine 430 ci. motor Automatic Transmission Original Radio New Wide White Wall Tires Nice and Clean 32000 original miles,purchased from original owner. Nice white and Teal exterior and interior color. Floors, trunk and undercarriage are solid.All original body panels,no patches. Newly chromed front and rear bumpers. New trunk kit. Original jack.Freshly detailed engine compartment. New mufflers. Kelsey Hayes type wire wheels.WWW, PW,PS,PB,. Points recently replaced with a Mallory solid state ignition module. New fuel pump. Runs and drives smooth and strong. All work excellent. HISTORY Second Generation (1958-1960): Four-Seat "Square Birds" Though the two-seat T-Birds exceeded Ford's own sales projections, the market for two-seat cars was just too restricted for a manufacturer as wed to the mass market as Ford to bother with. So it was an easy business decision to move the T-Bird to a four-passenger configuration. And that business decision paid off in huge sales even though the cars themselves have never attained the classic status of the originals. In a fundamental way the first four-place T-Bird was a more radical machine than the smaller original. Because the new T-Bird was Ford's first car built around a unitary body and frame. While today virtually all new cars are based on unibody structures, back in the late '50s this was a big deal. Virtually nothing carried over from the '57 Thunderbird to the 1958 edition. Beside the new unibody construction, the new T-Bird used a longer 113-inch wheelbase (11 inches up from before) to accommodate the second row of seats and the new car was available both as a convertible and as a hardtop. While many styling cues carried forward, they were exaggerated in the new car with larger tailfins, a larger phony hood scoop and body sides that seemed to be sculpted by six drunk Las Vegas showgirls. The front grille was now contained within the massive chrome bumper and the then current mania for dual headlights was indulged. Was the new Thunderbird ugly? That's subjective of course, but, yeah, it was ugly. All the '58 Thunderbirds were powered by Ford's new 352-cubic-inch V8 that was rated at 300 hp with either three-speed manual or automatic transmissions. But with weight up about 1,000 pounds over the previous T-Bird, the '58 wasn't particularly quick. The suspension continued to use A-arms and coil springs up front, but the rear's solid axle now rode on coil springs as well. "'Widest doors in the industry,' says Ford, and I believe them," wrote Motor Trend. "Seem almost like pulling a side (48.8 inches of it) off the car. Duck a little to get in, or better yet use the sports car technique of backing into the front seats. This is where comfort begins. Each of the four seats (two separates in front and two-in-one for the rear) is an honest-to-goodness bucket job. Soft springs in the center and back allow your body to drop into (rather than sit on) the cushions. Then you become conscious of foam rubber cushion edges which ride up around your thighs and back to provide the most comforting support of all '58s. As one engineer said, 'It's almost like riding with someone's arms around you.' (How nice.)" Whatever the artistic merits or demerits of the '58 T-Bird, it sold spectacularly well. Ford built 37,892 of the '58s — that's 16,512 more than the previous year. A new grille with prominent horizontal bars announced the arrival of the 1959 Thunderbird, but little other change was evident. However a 430-cubic-inch V8 swiped from Lincoln was now offered as an option and was rated at 350 hp. Sales soared and Ford put a stunning 57,195 Thunderbird coupes and 10,261 convertibles on the road this model year. Yet another new grille came with the 1960 Thunderbird's appearance — this one an egg-crate style similar to the '58's, but with a larger egg crate imposed atop it. There were also trim changes along the car's flanks and a third taillight was added to each side. New to the car was a manually operated sunroof available as an option on hardtop versions. Sales took off again with Ford building an incredible 80,938 Thunderbird coupes and 11,860 convertibles during this model year. When your company sells 92,798 cars under a brand name that three years earlier had been proud to sell 21,380, Ford's executives could only feel one way about the move from two- to four-seat Thunderbirds: vindicated. Will assist in shipping anywhere at buyers expense Write me for pictures and the answers to all your questions....................VIN# J9YH148638