1967-1971 Ford Thunderbird: Opening New Doors
The Ford Thunderbird was positioned as Ford’s top car in America since its inception in 1955. As Ford’s flagship product, it was a sports car geared more towards luxury, as opposed to Chevrolet’s Corvette which aspired to be an all-out sports car with a few luxuries. Although they were often compared, the Thunderbird and Corvette could not have been more different, especially as time went on. The Corvette remained a two door, two seat sports car while the Thunderbird would experiment with different configurations on its way to defining the personal luxury coupe category it created.
That period of experimentation started in earnest with the fifth generation in 1967. Ford had already cultivated an image of luxury for the Thunderbird, but added practicality. I’d never given the 5th gen much thought until I saw one in a Prince video (of all places). Before that I only admired more recent Thunderbirds from my teen years. Designed around space age aspirations of modernism, the Thunderbird was one of Ford’s most recognizable designs until the Mustang came along in 1964. The Mustang’s impact was considerable on the industry with Ford’s Mercury division getting in on the action with it’s own tarted up version of the Mustang it called Cougar.
Although it was smaller than the Thunderbird, Ford execs still felt the need to further distinguish the two cars’ missions by emphasizing luxury and the size of the Thunderbird vs the smaller sportier nature of the Cougar. In fact, there was a sudden wave of new coupes, some nearly as old and big as the Thunderbird like the Eldorado, Toronado, Grand Prix, Riveria and Charger. The crowded (and similarly sized) domestic competition reinforced the decision to upsize. Built (mostly) at Ford’s Wixom, Michigan factory, Ford ‘s product planners had higher aspirations as it set its eyes on competitors like Jaguar’s beautiful 340/Mark II and Maserati’s expensive Quatrroporte. While those names sound exotic, mechanically they were similar to the Thunderbird in some respects. Their V8 engines tended to be smaller, but used advanced technologies like aluminum blocks and quad cams for similar power outputs. More importantly, they were less reliable day to day cars – a factor in rich vs. wealthy people buying decisions.
The positioning of the Thunderbird as a proper gentleman’s car got a big bump in an interesting marketing ploy. Abercrombie & Fitch ordered 5 two-door ’67 hardtops to display at its top stores. They were converted into Landau models with sliding sunroofs by a metal fabrication company in Detroit. This was in a time when AF sold hunting gear to wealthy older gentlemen. These special cars were all painted blue cost $15,000 to convert. The sliding sunroof would appear as an option in 1969.
Ford’s “personal luxury car” dispensed with the convertible by offering a fixed roof coupe and four door sedan. 1967-1971 would be the first and only time Ford offered a four-door version of the Thunderbird. To make it quieter, engineers moved to a perimeter frame and an all coil-spring suspension for a smoother ride. It also helped that the wheelbase had grown an inch over the ’66 model on the coupe (114.7 inches) and 4 inches on the new sedan. 1967 was also the point where the Thunderbird shed the silhouette it had evolved since its creation. Now with more room and luxury it had everything you could want from a personal luxury car, except high performance. Performance was on par with most of its contemporaries, and even improved in time. The engine options were carried over from the 1966 model with the 390 Base V8 (315hp) and the step up 428-cid V8 (345-hp). For import markets only one engine was available, a 265-hp. version of the 428.
The fifth generation also marked the beginning of the more modern Thunderbird with styling not inspired by ‘60s rocket lore. With ‘S” shaped irons and a gold medallion, the Thunderbird was an odd blend of Baroque and Mid-Century modern. Like many cars of the era, the T-bird now sported Coke bottle styling – however subtle, angularity was the primary styling motif. The most striking of T-bird features were the hideaway headlights and grille housing that did not span the entire width of the front. It’s the kind of egg crate/pet cage design that Ford would later use for the Torino and Cyclone. In the Thunderbird, it exuded elegance, especially when combined with the popular Landau top option.
The 2-door with the Landau top option was consistently the best seller during this generation, but the clean lines of the 2-door hardtop that was most modern looking. 15′ styled steel wheels or optional full wheel covers capped 4-ply tires (some with multiple whitewall/ring options). The rear, no longer looking like the back of rocket exhausts, now sported a low wide light bar that span the width of the rear. Also new for ’67 was a feature that lives on in today’s Mustang: sequential turn signals. Unfortunately, by 1969 the T-Bird would lose its elegant taillight design as they were split up in a more conventional arrangement.
The big news of course was the sedan with its ‘suicide’ doors. Only the contemporary Lincoln Continental 4-door of the era shared this feature. Unlike the Continental, the rear doors were notorious for having a limited range of movement for ingress/egress. Also interesting was how the ‘C’ pillar on Landau models appeared to intrude onto the doors creating a limousine like exclusivity for back seat passengers. For coupes with the standard hardtop, the rear quarter window could slide into the roof pillar.
In this era of American automotive design, the future was still a big source of inspiration. Nowhere was that more apparent than in the interiors of cars. The Thunderbird was no different with a blend of old (’50s style steering wheel) and new with its modern console dashboard. Neatly arranged controls for HVAC and the available AM/FM 8-Track tape system with four speakers added to the modern atheistic. There were even steering wheel controls for cruise control on some models (Highway Pilot). Lots of other features we take for granted today were offered like sliding moonroofs, tilt-away steering wheels and reclining front bucket seats with headrests. And of course, you had your pick of multiple color combinations and seating surfaces including cloth and vinyl or lush leather options. The options list grew with each model year, making the Thunderbird a true personal luxury car.
A typical 428 V8 paired to the three-speed ‘Selectoshift Cruisomatic’ transmission could do a 0 to 60 time of 9.8 seconds, putting the Thunderbird on par with similar cars. That figure improved to 9.5 with the introduction of the optional Thunder Jet 429-cid engine in 1967. Even its 360 hp worked hard to move weight that was steadily creeping up (4,630 lbs. by 1970). The Thunderbird was not slow, but not fast by super car standards of the time. It was heavy and the opposite of fuel efficient, but buyers did not care about just yet. Even so adjustments to the 429 V8 lowered its RPM at cruising speeds to increase highway fuel efficiency (if ever so slightly).
The Thunderbird got an unfortunate restyle in 1970 with the most prominent feature being a new front end grill protrusion that resembled a bird’s beak. It was an unfortunate execution of a style that looked better on other Fords like the LTD. Ford had also streamlined the engine to a single choice, the 429-cid Thunder Jet. As for performance, the ’70 model Landau coupe had the best 0 to 60 times with a top speed of 128 mph. It should be noted that these cars although luxurious, arrived standard with power front disc brakes and rear drums. Disc brakes all around would not be a Thunderbird feature until the 1975 model year. However, the brakes did come with a backup safety system, one of many new safety measures. Aside from the optional engine from ’67 to ’69, performance-oriented buyers could check the options box for a limited-slip differential and a heavy-duty suspension package. It would all go downhill from that point on.
When the completely restyled Thunderbird arrived for 1972, it had ballooned in size while power had been reduced significantly in both of its engine U.S. and export versions. Surprisingly, gas milage was also at an all-time low with average of 9 to 11 mpg. This despite the steady improvement that the 429 V8 represented over the old 428. Of course, this was the beginning of the malaise era when Ford like the rest of the American auto industry would be caught with its carburetors down with the oil crisis of 1973.
Autopolis 
I have never heard of this car before, buti love the late 1960’s to early 1970’s era of design.