1957Birdman

It is quite a nice car for the money. For me personally, the front end styling is an acquired taste. I much prefer the looks of the 1940-41 Continental. It looks like the chrome on in this one is in excellent condition. In the end you buy it, service it, put the key in the ignition and drive a away with a smile on your face. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

The spare tire bulge is a definite minus for this car. The other thing for me is that being a late 1970's car it probably does not run too well. The advent of fuel injection solved that problem, but that didn't come until later. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

The color does look good. In my opinion, the styling does not compare well with either the 1964 or 1966 Fairlanes. At least it has the 289. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

The Mazda Miata’s ugly stepsister. Most likely a good car based on the Mazda underpinnings. I would rather have the Miata. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

It is a pretty rare car with original factory stereo, considering Ford didn’t offer stereo in their cars for a least another 10 years. It is a hardtop with factory leather seats, but price is a bit too high. The seller says he is firm with the price and not in a hurry to sell it. At that price I doubt he will have many people pounding on his door to buy it. I don’t get putting Cragars on a car like this, but to each his own. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

Being a unibody car, I would definitely want to check out the underside of the car. Interesting color combination, black with a tan interior. Haven't seen many ordered that way. Price is negotiable, so there is some room to deal. Another good "starter" type car. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

This car brings back memories of one that was in my neighborhood growing up. The car had been won by a lady who didn’t drive. It sat in her driveway for several years until one Halloween, when some guys picked up the car and deposited it in the drainage ditch in front of her house. She got someone to get the car out of the ditch and then must have sold it, because it never came back to her driveway. This car probably made some sense in old-world cities where the streets are narrow and parking is at a premium. Here in the USA it is a different matter. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

It wouldn't be hard to make this a presentable car by restoring the seats. No information on how well the engine runs and may still be a 6 volt electrical system. Still, it looks like a good entry level car for the first timer. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

This is the year car to have, IMO, before they went wild with the front chrome and bumper. Not being a drop-top hurts the value a lot. I guess the thought is you can always come down in price. Anyway, I think Sonny Corleone really liked his, before it became air conditioned. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

I guess you are paying extra for the “patina”. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

What year Thunderbird? Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

I'm not buying the 56K miles claim. It looks like a typical no rust California car that has plenty of miles on it. It does say in the Craigslist ad that the odometer is broken. Still, it would be a much better car to start with than a rusty east coast car. Of course, the price pretty darn high for a project. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

If any car I've seen screams 1970s, this is it. With the interior it has it probably should have been called the Bordello II. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

Kind of expensive for a parts car, even if it has AC. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

If it is a California car that is a definite plus. It is also lightly optioned with the 292 and automatic. Other than that, it looks like it has radio and heater. It is kind of a "tweener" between the Custom 300 and the Fairlane 500. For a change, this owner took some really good pictures which should help sell it. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

Good luck gettin $10K for this car. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

Florida cars can be rust buckets depending on where they “lived” in the Sunshine State. A thorough look underneath is warranted. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

This looks like a really nice car at a premium price. I guess the Cougar version of the 428 cj didn’t offer the “shaker” hood scoop as did the Mustang. If you like Ivy Green here is your car! Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

Phantom Works lost me when they decided that the best way to restore a perfectly good 56 T-Bird was to take the body off and put it on the chassis and drive train of one of the Holden Pontiac GTOs. I’m surprised Dan didn’t figure out a way to strap a jet pack on the back to really give it some more juice. I have liked Wheeler Dealers because they do get into some of the intricacies of what they are doing and there is usually something there to learn. The Guild is also worth watching, along with Chasing Classic Cars. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

It is a good looking car. It would be nice to know if the engine is the 221 or the 260. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

I am assuming that it runs, but may be a bad assumption. The air cleaner makes me think this car has either 3 deuces or dual 4 barrel carbs on it. You don’t normally see that air cleaner on a single 4 barrel carb engine. I am sure someone will correct me if that isn’t true. Will need to have the upholstery redone on the bucket seats, at least. Still, it seems to be a lot of car for the money, especially if it is not rusty underneath. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

Why even bother trying to sell a car if you can't take decent pictures of it? It might be a nice car, but who can tell from those pictures? Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

I always though the styling of this year Imperial was more distinctive than the same year Cadillac and Lincoln. In this case being more distinctive is not a good thing, IMO. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

Looks like a pretty nice car at a good price, especially if it is running. The wheel covers aren't correct for the car but otherwise looks stock in all respects. Just need to check underneath for rust. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird

Good luck with what hopefully will be a fine collector car. As for the door, I think what you will probably have to do is take out the front seat and then remove the door card (hopefully you can do that without messing it up). From there spray the lock parts that may be rusted to get them unstuck. Does the lock button go up and down and sound like it is moving? I guess you could try spraying WD40 down the door lock hole after you unscrew the button and see if that loosens things. Hopefully someone else with direct experience handling this sort of situation will give you an opinion based on what they encountered. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird