1957 Thunderbird cowl tag exterior color

[hipogt]

On a very late 1957 Thunderbird (November 23 =, 1957 build) there is a strange exterior color code of XE6. Didn't think there was ever two exterior color codes much less three. The "X" is Dusk Rose and the "E" would be Colonial White. Padded dash is black and would go with either color. Anyone ever see this in a T-Bird? See attached cowl tag (don't know why it is upside down).

 

Thanks, 

 

Bill Krieger 

AACA #489880 

[Larry Schramm]

[m-mman]

From a very good friend who is a FoMoCo data plate expert:

 

Regarding the mystery "6" in the 1957 Ford Thunderbird data plate, the mystery "6" started to appear on late production T-bird data plates and appear only on units that were ordered with the optional hardtop. I consulted many years ago with T-bird data plate historian John Shields. He told me that no data or any factory information had been found to indicate what the "6" represented, but felt it had to do with the materials used in the preparation of the optional fiberglass hardtop, possibly the materials used in the headliner material.

At the end of September 1957, the Dearborn assembly plant did its model year build-out of the full-size 1957 Ford line and then re-tooled for 1958 Ford production. When production resumed in mid-October, 1957 Thunderbird production resumed at Dearborn due to developmental issues with the all-new 1958 Thunderbirds. That is when the mystery "6" started to appear on the data plates.

The earliest example where I have recorded the mystery "6" was on F7FH393822, a Super-charged T-bird that shows a scheduled production date of 22W, or September 22, 1957. It is unknown if this car was produced before the September 29th shut down and used as a pilot for later production 1957 T-birds, or if its assembly was held over until after the October 16th start-up date for 1958 regular Ford passenger cars.  Nearly all of the 1957 Ford T-birds I have on file produced after October 16, date code 16X on the T-bird data plates, show the "6" on the data plate up until almost the very end of production, the last one I have is D7FH395624, with a scheduled date of December 10, 1957, or date "10Z" on the data plate. 1957 Ford T-bird production build-out took place on December 13, 1957, date code 13Z. Cars ordered from the factory without the hardtop, soft top only, do not have the mystery "6"

The car in question shows the following starting with the serial number C7FH395494: C=292 cid/198 HP 2-barrel intake V8 engine; 7=1957 model year; F=Dearborn (The Rouge) assembly; H=2-passenger Thunderbird; 395494=295,494th 1957 Ford passenger car scheduled for production at the Dearborn assembly plant. The second line tells us: Body 40=Thunderbird 2-dr/2-pass. convertible; Color XE=(X) Dusk Rose body (E) Colonial White removable hardtop; 6=Mystery!; XA=White vinyl bolsters with pleated Black vinyl bolster; Date 23Y=23 November 1957 as the day this car was scheduled for assembly; Trans 1=3-speed manual transmission, Axle 2=3.56:1 rear axle ratio.

By serial number the first T-bird I have on file before this one is D7FH395492, also showing date code 23Y, it was black with a white top and also has the mystery "6", and was seen at the Sept. 2008 Kruse Int'l Auction in Auburn, IN, while the first T-bird I have on file after this one is D7FH395501, also black with a white top, also with the mystery "6" and was seen at the Barrett-Jackson sale in West Palm Beach, FL in March 2008.  I hope this helps a bit.

Phil Skinner

[8E45E]

On 10/17/2022 at 12:27 PM, m-mman said:

From a very good friend who is a FoMoCo data plate expert:

 

The car in question shows the following starting with the serial number C7FH395494: C=292 cid/198 HP 2-barrel intake V8 engine; 7=1957 model year; F=Dearborn (The Rouge) assembly; H=2-passenger Thunderbird; 395494=295,494th 1957 Ford passenger car scheduled for production at the Dearborn assembly plant. The second line tells us: Body 40=Thunderbird 2-dr/2-pass. convertible; Color XE=(X) Dusk Rose body (E) Colonial White removable hardtop; 6=Mystery!; XA=White vinyl bolsters with pleated Black vinyl bolster; Date 23Y=23 November 1957 as the day this car was scheduled for assembly; Trans 1=3-speed manual transmission, Axle 2=3.56:1 rear axle ratio.

Since the '6' perhaps denotes 'removable hardtop', does the '6' indicate it was to be color-keyed with the color of the car, vs. standard black?   

 

Craig

Edited October 31, 2022 by 8E45E (see edit history)