Ford Thunderbird the 5th Generation The history, models, and features

In today’s video we are going to take a look at what I call the forgotten Thunderbirds. The early Thunderbird had been a hip car in the late 50’s & early 60’s. Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe all owned early Thunderbirds. The introduction of and the success of the Mustang meant that it was time to change the Thunderbird. Today we take a look at the 5th generation of the Ford Thunderbird.

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[rickymack]

The 67 thru 69 is my favorite generation T-Bird

[dave]

I was just about to turn 10 when these were introduced and already a hopeless car nut. I can remember going to the local Ford/Mercury dealer and looking at the first 1967 Thunderbird on their showroom floor in October of 1966. I was in love and I still love the 67-69 Thunderbird.

[P.Galore]

I owned a 1969 Fordor in 1972 through 1976. LOVED this car! Comfortable, easy to drive, great looks, suicide doors!

[radioguy]

We had a 68 with the 429, what a power house, 10 .5 compression . probably one of fords best cars ever made quality wise.

[parkependleton]

I was ten years old when these were introduced. I vividly remember the evening in the Fall of 1966 when a friend of my parents came by with his brand new 1967 four door Thunderbird. He showed it to us, inside and out. I was very excited. There was a lot of buzz around the original introduction of the four door TBird!

[Warrior_Resisting_Colonialism]

I've got a '68. Been restoring it for about 9 years now. Finally about to put it on the road.

[bobuncle]

As a youth, I bought a pair. A 2 door and a 4 door. A 68, and a 69. I loved those cars. I was too young, and didn’t have enough money to get them officially on the road. One of my biggest regrets in life, was letting them go.
I did a burn out on the road beside my house once. Left an almost 1/2” grove in the asphalt a few hundred feet long. These cars had so much power.

[stratmanth]

My dad worked for Ford from 1960 to 1970. We had multiples of every car that came out during those periods. He ordered a 1967 2 door T-Bird for himself. It was very nice. I had a choice of our 65 Mustang convertible or the Bird. At 16 i picked the Mustang. I wish i had the T-bird now. Thanks for posting Tony.

[RonnN-gftm]

Mom had a 64' Thunderbird 390 V8 in the 70s..it had really cool interior. Right On Tony!!

[keithwiebe]

I built a dune buggy out of a 71 tbird chassis in around 1982 or so. Had the junkyard deliver the chassis to my place of work and I shortened the chassis, built a roll cage, etc. Still weighed 3000 lb. The 2 barrel (yes it was a 2 barrel) 429 got a 4 barrel intake off of a 460 and 600 holley. Very fun to drive. Had to get rid of it a few years later (no place to store it and was getting married). Still had the electric seat and tilt steering wheel.

[br.martindallyosb]

I have always loved this generation of Thunderbirds. To my eyes they are quite handsome, especially the Landau models and the 4-door models. And those interiors!

[johnrobinson]

I had a 68 T-Bird hot wheel that was a favorite

[GettinGreasyGarage]

My pops had a 68 T bird with a 429 for years.

[nolarobert]

My Uncle Bob had the 1968 Thunderbird with the 390 powerplant. It impressed me with its elegant looks and styling. I really disliked the 1970 redesign with the bird's beak front grill. Knudsen should have been charged with a crime for forcing that design on the T-Bird.

[DSP]

Another great video, Tony. I've always really liked these cars, so was glad to see you feature them. A few clarifications: the suspension was lowered/stiffened only on the '69 two-door models; the 4-doors remain unchanged. While the '70 2-door models did have a lot of new sheet metal and a lower roofline, the '70-'71 4-door models used the same basic body as the earlier models, but with new front sheet metal and rear tail panel. Fun fact: rear upper tail lamps were available as an option on these cars in '69 and '70, beating the Toronado to market for this feature. They were mounted inside the rear windows on the outer edges, vertically. But who has ever seen a car so equipped? I have seen a lens for one listed on eBay, so they must have made a least a few.

[SarahDeshay]

I had two 69 four doors in my 20’s in the 80’s. I have a few neat rollers now including a 65 t-bird. All were great riding cars.

[MostlyBuicks]

The 1958 Thunderbirds were built along with the 1957 Thunderbirds from September 1957 through December 1957. The 1958 Thunderbirds were built for a full 12 months.

[Lanaki]

Traded in my 66 Ford Galaxy 289 for a 67 2dr T-bird in 1974. Installed Crager Gt’s and Radial T/A’s. Had a factory AM/FM 8 track 6 way electric seat, tilt wheel (unhooked the vacuum actuator after the hot coffee incident). It was a great highway cruiser.

[Scott-NCC]

Thanks for another great Video. Special thanks for the Trek Trivia. I didn’t know Dr Leonard Mc Coy was a long time T-Bird owner, in addition to being Chief Medical officer on the Enterprise.

[thavenue]

Had a 1969 4 door which I bought in 1997 . It had 38, 000 miles on it and had almost all options including A/C . All functioned as it should . Kept it for 4 years then sold it back to the person I bought it from . Wish I would have kept it .