1966 Ford Thunderbird Landau Town Sedan Rare Options Great Driving Example

The Ford Thunderbird is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company for model years 1955 to 2005, with a hiatus from 1998–2001.

Ultimately gaining a broadly used colloquial nickname, the T-Bird, Ford Introduced the model as a two-seat convertible, subsequently offering it variously in a host of body styles including as a four-seat hardtop coupe, four-seat convertible, five-seat convertible and hardtop, four-door pillared hardtop sedan, six-passenger hardtop coupe, and five-passenger pillared coupe — before returning in its final generation, again as a two-seat convertible.

At its inception, Ford targeted the two-seat Thunderbird as an upscale model. The 1958 model year design introduced a rear seat and arguably marked the expansion of a market segment that came to be known as personal luxury cars, positioned to emphasize comfort and convenience over handling and high-speed performance.

For the 4th Generation in 1964, the Thunderbird was restyled in favor of a more squared-off appearance, which was mostly evident when viewing the car from the side or rear. Hinting at its roots in the previous generation of Thunderbird, the new model retained a similar grille design with quad headlights and a 113.2 in wheelbase. As before, the new Thunderbird continued to be offered in hardtop, convertible, and landau versions. The 300 hp 390 cu in FE V8 continued as the standard engine. It was paired with a three-speed automatic transmission. For 1965, sequential turn signals were added, flashing the individual segments of the broad, horizontal tail lights from inside to outside. Also new for 1965 were standard front disc brakes.

The 1966 model received a new egg crate-style grille and a single-blade front bumper. Its restyled rear bumper included new full-width taillamps. The standard 390 cu in V8 equipped with a single four-barrel carburetor was rated at 315 hp, and a 345 hp 428 cu in (7.0 L) FE V8 became the top power option. This was the last year for the convertible until the "retro" models of 2002–05.

Many collectors consider the '66 T Bird to be the most desirable of the various generations of T Birds due primarily to it being the last convertible offered until the retro car came out in the new millenium. Additionally the high performance attitude of the large V8's peaked with the 428, and the 5th generation was more of a luxury car.

With stylish body work and one of the most beautiful space age interiors ever included in a production car, the 4th Generation T Bird is just a special car that rewards the owner/driver in so many ways. These cars have been picked by Hagerty as one of the cars to watch for increased value-they are without a doubt way underpriced when compared to other cars from the 60's. they handle and drive exceptionally well, and with 300+ HP are very good performers.

This lovely example was held in a medium sized collection of Fords and Chryslers here in the area, but unfortunately it was some time before the heirs decided to part with some of the cars, so it sat for a bit before we got it. We recently completed recommissioning the car including new Radial Whitewall Tires and wheel restoration; Rebuilt Brake Booster, New Master Cylinder, new soft Brake lines, New Calipers, and pads, Rebuilt Carburator, New Battery, New Starter, and other minor tinkering and paint touch up. The car runs and drives very well and is ready for the road. Importantly, the Interesting Red Line Speedometer, and sequential rear turn signals work perfectly.

The car is an Actual Mile car but was repainted at some point in the past. There are still some minor things to be addressed here and there but we are most likely going to leave that to the next owner. as these are very minor and pretty easily addressed. Our mission was to make it a good reliable driver, and it certainly is now.

This is a great affordable Flairbird you can drive and enjoy and tinker with and improve over time.