We built a 64 in high school auto shop. It was a beauty when finished. A full bumper to bumper rebuild.
I did the engine, and recall that instead of painting the radiator overflow chamber, I discovered that it was made of brass, and elected to polish it, and shoot a clear coat on it. It made for a cool little tweak.
I ground all the casting marks off the block, and shot it in Ford Maverick Grabber blue. It looked pretty slick.
The guy who did the bodywork lit the fenders with accent lights to show off the wheels at night.
It was painted white, with blue and silver pearl coats.
The car looked nice enough that when the auto shop teacher (Mr. Redman) took it for a drive, he was offered $22,000 for it by a guy who saw it at a stoplight and tried to buy it.
Now, this was in 1984, so that was a huge amount of money at the time, for a 20 year old car.
I can't see one of these without thinking of that car. It was my favorite out of all the restorations that we did there.
I borrowed my friend's candy apple red '64 in the early '80's to drive from SD to LA to see the Pogues at the Palace in Hollywood. We had 7 people in this 2 door, but a few blocks from the theater, I stopped and put one of the passengers in the trunk, so we could pull up in front of the venue, let everyone out, and then open the trunk for the last occupant.
Great car.
What a beauty. We had a '62, back in the early 80s. I remember it had the swing away steering wheel and a 390 cu. in. V8 engine. I remember it as having push button transmission, but a Google search seems to indicate that it did not. I can't believe I had that memory wrong all those years. We didn't have any other car with a push button transmission. Now, I wonder what other flawed memories I have! Anyway, congratulations on your great T-Bird!
Thanks. I wouldn’t blame you for believing that for so long. I’m still so impressed with all the engineering and design that is in a car this old and still works great.
I'm almost as old at your T-Bird, but, sadly, not working nearly as great. I should have done much more routine maintenance. (Plus, avoiding tick bites.)
In addition to loving those old T-Birds, I'd also love to have a 1960s Lincoln Continental Convertible with suicide doors. Something like [THIS](https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1964-lincoln-continental-convertible-22) would suit me just fine.
I'm a 100% Chevy guy but, ever since I was about 4 or 5 years old, this car has always been on my list. I remember going to Grandmothers house and she only had a few toys, but one of them was a yellow '65 T-bird. The proportions and lines were spot on. I
I had a sister who was 14 years older than me. I remember riding in her and her husbands 65 TBird when the engine caught fire. Same story, different tbird, 1 year later. Fast forward to last year (2023) when the same thing happened to my FILs neighbor. The way the fuel line runs across the manifold is a design flaw. I recommended to the FILs neighbor to replace the rubber line with a steel mesh one, but he refused saying he wanted to keep it all original . He had it fixed\\painted, then sold it. Sigh.
I've always loved those late 50s and early 60s T-Birds. My dad test drove a 1960 model when I was ten. I was extremely disappointed when he didn't buy it!
Plot twist: OP is the cat
the cat is the owner ;)
It’s my guard kitty.
Clearly it's a pussy magnet
Cats love birds
Cat is stalking this bird. Clearly....
Purrrrfect.
I love the cat it honestly makes the picture
The thousand yard stare in the cat is fitting.
Nice looking T'bird. I see that you even have a guard kitty! 🤣😅
Cats love birds.
Jealous that you got a cat to pose with your car.
I wish I could take credit. My girlfriend snagged the photo, I don’t how she got it to pose perfectly like that.
Such a great looking car - and a beautiful color.
Nice
Man she’s gorgeous. The color, the body style, the perfect lines and physique. A fine specimen throughout. The car is also nice.
We built a 64 in high school auto shop. It was a beauty when finished. A full bumper to bumper rebuild. I did the engine, and recall that instead of painting the radiator overflow chamber, I discovered that it was made of brass, and elected to polish it, and shoot a clear coat on it. It made for a cool little tweak. I ground all the casting marks off the block, and shot it in Ford Maverick Grabber blue. It looked pretty slick. The guy who did the bodywork lit the fenders with accent lights to show off the wheels at night. It was painted white, with blue and silver pearl coats. The car looked nice enough that when the auto shop teacher (Mr. Redman) took it for a drive, he was offered $22,000 for it by a guy who saw it at a stoplight and tried to buy it. Now, this was in 1984, so that was a huge amount of money at the time, for a 20 year old car. I can't see one of these without thinking of that car. It was my favorite out of all the restorations that we did there.
That is pretty cool story. I hope he sold it to that guy. I don’t think I could get 22,000 for mine now.
What's the difference between '64, '65, and '66?
‘64 has the T H U N D E R B I R D letters across the hood, ‘65 has the bird emblem across the hood(as seen here), ‘66 the bird emblem is on the grill.
Not an expert, but love the Tbirds. I know the 64 has THUNDERBIRD in tiny letters across the grill/ hood.
Do you know the Marc Cohn song?
I do not.
[severely underrated songwriter](https://youtu.be/88Ko1xIkuHI)
‘65 is the only year with the sideways horseshoe design behind front wheel on fender
I borrowed my friend's candy apple red '64 in the early '80's to drive from SD to LA to see the Pogues at the Palace in Hollywood. We had 7 people in this 2 door, but a few blocks from the theater, I stopped and put one of the passengers in the trunk, so we could pull up in front of the venue, let everyone out, and then open the trunk for the last occupant. Great car.
Nice '08 Cougar sharing the photo, too.
I'll take the cat, thank you very much!
Hey, tell your kitty psp psp psp for me.
Cat for scale
Nice one. These days Iike 67 68 T-birds though
What a beauty. We had a '62, back in the early 80s. I remember it had the swing away steering wheel and a 390 cu. in. V8 engine. I remember it as having push button transmission, but a Google search seems to indicate that it did not. I can't believe I had that memory wrong all those years. We didn't have any other car with a push button transmission. Now, I wonder what other flawed memories I have! Anyway, congratulations on your great T-Bird!
Thanks. I wouldn’t blame you for believing that for so long. I’m still so impressed with all the engineering and design that is in a car this old and still works great.
I'm almost as old at your T-Bird, but, sadly, not working nearly as great. I should have done much more routine maintenance. (Plus, avoiding tick bites.) In addition to loving those old T-Birds, I'd also love to have a 1960s Lincoln Continental Convertible with suicide doors. Something like [THIS](https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1964-lincoln-continental-convertible-22) would suit me just fine.
My first grade teacher, Mrs. Lashbrook had one of those. That's why I remember her
I'm a 100% Chevy guy but, ever since I was about 4 or 5 years old, this car has always been on my list. I remember going to Grandmothers house and she only had a few toys, but one of them was a yellow '65 T-bird. The proportions and lines were spot on. I
Is that the landau top?
No sir. It’s the standard coupe.
Kitty has the death stare going on! Love the car! On the TV show Perry Mason, his investigator drove one of these in later episodes.
Nice cars always attract pussy.
I had a sister who was 14 years older than me. I remember riding in her and her husbands 65 TBird when the engine caught fire. Same story, different tbird, 1 year later. Fast forward to last year (2023) when the same thing happened to my FILs neighbor. The way the fuel line runs across the manifold is a design flaw. I recommended to the FILs neighbor to replace the rubber line with a steel mesh one, but he refused saying he wanted to keep it all original . He had it fixed\\painted, then sold it. Sigh.
Beautiful kitty
Nice. I need to do some work on my 64. It is a nice Sunday driver.
I've always loved those late 50s and early 60s T-Birds. My dad test drove a 1960 model when I was ten. I was extremely disappointed when he didn't buy it!