Lay away everything you ’ve heard in disapprobation of the four - seat 1960 Ford Thunderbird – all that stuff about forsaking the sports car , stand in gaudiness for function , adding the hated back rear end .
It is all immaterial because it misses the point : Despite its deviation from the original concept , the first four - fundament Thunderbird was merely a chef-d’oeuvre of design .
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In fact , it may well be one of the outstanding American automotive achievements of the decade . moreover , it earned this honor without trust upon the technological deadened - ends of the era : air reprieve , fuel injection , supercharging , and retractable hardtop . Though all of these were take , all were rejected .
Chief Thunderbird body engine driver Bob Hennessy take the " Squarebird " was rotatory . " Take that car and adhere it in front of your house today . It does n’t look at all out of date . When we were working on it , the received machine sit down maybe 61 inches off the soil – shoulder summit .
The Squarebird sat 52.5 inches off the footing . To get a blue sports - car look , we took 10 inches out of the then - standard auto height . " The four - seat ' Bird was a immense commercial hit , too , far more successful than the two - seater ever was .
For model year 1960 , Ford Styling had proposed a number of revisions to the now - two - year - honest-to-goodness Squarebird intent . The Thunderbird roofline had been apply to bombastic Fords in 1959 , and stylists were interest that it was losing its originality .
But sheet metal change were not workable from either a cost or merchandising standpoint , fit in to Ford Division commission second , " likewise , fond revision to existing airfoil , i.e. , roof , front remainder , bumper , etc . , did not put up enough visual remainder to warrant the required using up of pecuniary resource . " The Bird was in its last class of a styling cycle per second , and it was felt heady to withhold serious changes until 1961 .
The 1960 Thunderbirds were down very slightly in weight but up in damage . The base figures were $ 3,755 for the hardtop and $ 4,222 for theconvertible . No mechanical changes happen , and there were only a few styling dispute – erect hasheesh - marks added to rearward wing , " Thunderbird " playscript on the door projectile , a square - mesh grille with full - width horizontal bar and six rear lamp instead of four .
There were also small-scale change to emblem and ornaments , and a standard rectangular extraneous mirror . Door grip were blended more closely with the upper knock modeling and the door trimming was alter to comprise a build up - in armrest .
On former models , work up through the end of December 1959 , there was a fluid belt molding ; this was corrugated on cars built in 1960 . The ' 60 model also used a number of stainless - blade components , and two were in reality built entirely of stainless brand by one of Ford ’s supplier , Allegheny - Ludlum Steel Corporation .
Find out more about the 1960 Ford Thunderbird ’s sliding alloy sunroof on the next Thomas Nelson Page .
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Continued
For 1960 , Ford introduce the first sliding metal sunshine-roof on the 1960 Ford Thunderbird . It look good , and it worked well .
However , the sunshine-roof was not by any substance the first choice of merchandise planner , many of whom wanted a retractable hardtop , like the heavy Ford Skyliner .
But the engineering science would have been enormously complicated owing to the Squarebird ’s short deck , and even the formal soft top try out a complicated affair , charter up most of the room under the decklid when frown .
planner also considered a " cap incorporating flippers , " probably indent sections that telescoped back or lifted when the room access was opened . This estimate was also decline for grounds of toll and complexity .
Ford ’s attention to detail was evident in the bearing of a roof - mounted chrome railing , which point hint and noise out from the passenger compartment when the hatching was open . sunshine-roof were fitted to 2159 standard hardtops plus 377 with the optional 430 - cidengine– fewer than three percent of production .
What were the faults of the Squarebird ? Roadability , certainly . It was far from " the form of handling motorcar it should be , " Motor Trend write in 1960 . " Steeringis slow and not exact … it has no reputation for … the dimensional dimension of a compact and yet miss some of those same characteristics of maneuverability . " A curious assessment from the cartridge holder which two years earlier called it the " Car of the Year . "
But the Squarebird was notable for several things , and Motor Trend knew it : " What it does have is originality , glow , and newness of concept … It has , more than any current domestic car , the intent and quality that made the classic roadster and tourers of the thirties such memorable favorites . "
Continue reading to find out about the 1960 Ford Thunderbird specification .
1960 Ford Thunderbird Specifications
The 1960 Ford Thunderbird represented a leap forwards in automotive design and as a result will long forever rest the in the warmness of American motorcar devotee .
Specifications
Engines : all ohv V-8 ; 352 Criminal Investigation Command ( 4.00 × 3.50 ) , 300 bhp ; 430 Criminal Investigation Command ( 4.30 × 3.70 ) , 350 bhp
Transmissions:3 - speed manual ; overdrive , 3 - speed reflex optional
Suspension front : upper and downhearted A - arms , roll spring
Suspension nates : live axle , foliage springs
Brakes : front /rear drums
Wheelbase ( in.):113.0
Weight ( lbs):3799 - 3897
Top fastness ( mph):NA
0 - 60 mph ( sec):NA
