58L-Y8 Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 For Sale: 1963 Ford Thunderbird Hardtop - $8,000 - Wixom, MI 1963 Ford Thunderbird for sale by owner - Wixom, MI - craigslist Seller's Description: 1963 Ford Thunderbird V8 390 engine. Car body in great shape. $8000 or best offer. Please call with questions no text messages. Contact: Call (248) 7-seventy-6-6-fourteen Copy and paste in your email: 974e6559d6613ecb829b07fb018a03b3@sale.craigslist.org I have no personal interest or stake in the eventual sale of this 1963 Ford Thunderbird Hardtop. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhend50 Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Not much of an add, comments on the body, but, does not mention if it runs and drives. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gearheadengineer Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Weren’t these made right there in Wixom? Interesting air cleaner, and what is likely underneath it. I see a lot of these for sale but that engine might separate this one from the crowd. Might. Apparently you’ll have to call to find out. I don’t like those front seat covers. Give me the original style, sticky vinyl! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1957Birdman Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 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 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 21 minutes ago, Gearheadengineer said: Weren’t these made right there in Wixom? I don’t like those front seat covers. Give me the original style, sticky vinyl! Yes, Wixom was the new-for-1958 unibody factory built for production of the four-seat Thunderbirds and 'misunderstood giant' 1958 Lincolns and Continental Mark III. Later it was converted to body-on-frame construction assembly for Thunderbird and Lincolns. Iirc, it closed after the last of the Panther platform Lincoln town cars were built. I suspect those are cloth covers on the bucket seats, some folks just can't stand the sticky vinyl in the hot, humid weather. It's a very good likelihood the vinyl upholstery is still perfectly good. One thing I've noticed about these 'bullet birds and flare birds': the durability of the vinyl used must have been unusually robust because although it does frequently appear stretched, separated seems or tears are rare even on driver's seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Did they make a factory dual four barrel 390? Can’t remember ever coming across one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-mman Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 (edited) 1 hour ago, Fossil said: Did they make a factory dual four barrel 390? Can’t remember ever coming across one. For 1962-63 Thunderbird offered an optional 390 with three 2 barrel carburetors. Aluminum manifold. When equipped this engine the code in the serial number changed from the standard Z to an M. The engine was available in all body styles. Factory roadsters with the M engine get the most attention (and money). The rarest are the vinyl top Landau with the M engine. More than just a manifold swap factory M engines have different lifters and transmissions. The valve body shifts slightly differently from the 4 barrel engine. I knew a guy who was an expert on these cars. He said you could recognize a M car across the parking lot because it sat slightly higher in the front due to the weight differences between the iron and aluminum manifolds. Ford put 2 four barrels on the 427 engines but never on the 390 size. The original aluminum air cleaner is quite valuable and I think that they have made modern versions for a 4 barrel car. If this car had tri- power I’m sure the seller would have mentioned it. Edited March 28 by m-mman (see edit history) 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deac Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 (edited) Gee, that air cleaner sure looks like it's covering 3 2 barrel carburetors. If it's an "M" code engine that's correct. This info is from the Thunderbird owners club. I called the seller and he said he added the carburetor setup and he has the original 3 barrel carb. The seats are showing wear, he said the upholstery is not split/torn. The car has not been on the road for a few years and it has been in his garage all the time. He says he does start it from time to time. Edited March 29 by deac (see edit history) 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 If that is a real M-code and it runs and drives that is a smoking deal - jump on it! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 14 hours ago, Gearheadengineer said: Weren’t these made right there in Wixom? My '65 was made in Wixom, so I think you're right about the '63's, but not certain. Car does look to be a very good deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron65 Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 (edited) They were; they started building T-Birds in Wixom in '58. Edited March 29 by Aaron65 (see edit history) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketraider Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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