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    The Book of the Ford Thunderbird from 1954

    The Book of the Ford Thunderbird from 1954

    by Brian Long

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      ISBN-13: 9781845847005
    • Publisher: Veloce Publishing
    • Publication date: 01/27/2016
    • Sold by: Barnes & Noble
    • Format: eBook
    • Sales rank: 355,855
    • File size: 30 MB
    • Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

    Brian Long now has almost 40 books to his credit. Coming from an engineering background, he has been an enthusiast for as long as anyone can remember. His passion for sports cars and vintage machinery remains as strong as ever._x000B_ Born in Coventry, England, he now lives in Chiba City with his wife, Miho, and their two children, Louis and Sophie-Mercedes. As well as a committee member for JAHFA, he is a member of the RJC in Japan, the Guild of Motoring Writers, and the Society of Automotive Historians.

    Table of Contents


    Introduction and Acknowledgements     6
    A Brief History of Ford     8
    The dawn of motoring     8
    The Ford Motor Company     9
    The legendary Model T     9
    The vintage years     10
    WWII and the immediate postwar years     12
    The First Generation     17
    Origin of the Thunderbird name     21
    Birth of the Thunderbird     17
    T-Bird engineering     23
    A new era begins     24
    Birth of the Thunderbird     29
    The 1955 model year     29
    Flight of the Thunderbird     34
    The 1956 model year     35
    The 1957 model year     42
    Chassis & body codes     51
    The Second Generation     52
    "Family car with sports psychology"     53
    The 1958 model year     55
    The 1959 model year     62
    The 1960 model year     68
    Chassis & body codes     75
    The Third Generation     76
    "A real change...for the better"     77
    The 1961 model year     78
    The 1962 model year     84
    The 1963 model year     88
    Chassis & body codes     93
    The Fourth Generation     94
    The T-Bird matures     94
    The 1964 model year     98
    The 1965 model year     102
    The 1966 model year     107
    Chassis & body codes     112
    The Fifth Generation     113
    Finding a clear concept     113
    "A flight of fantasy"     114
    The 1967 model year     116
    The 1968 model year     120
    The 1969 model year     125
    Chassis & body codes     129
    The Sixth Generation     130
    Another new concept     130
    The 1970 model year     132
    The 1971 model year     136
    Chassis & body codes     138
    The Seventh Generation     140
    More of the same     140
    The 1972 model year     143
    The 1973 model year     149
    The 1974 model year     152
    The 1975 model year     158
    The 1976 model year     160
    Chassis & body codes     161
    The Eighth Generation     163
    T-Bird goes on a crash diet     163
    The 1977 model year     165
    The 1978 model year      169
    The 1979 model year     172
    Chassis & body codes     178
    The Ninth Generation     179
    "The Thunder's still there"     179
    The 1980 model year     181
    "Happy silver anniversary, 'Bird"     182
    The 1981 model year     184
    The 1982 model year     188
    Chassis & body codes     190
    The Tenth Generation     192
    Reinventing the T-Bird     192
    The 1983 model year     194
    The 1984 model year     202
    The 1985 model year     206
    The 1986 model year     208
    Chassis & body codes     209
    The Eleventh Generation     211
    Evolution of the species     211
    The 1987 model year     212
    A year full of awards     214
    The 1988 model year     216
    Chassis & body codes     217
    The Twelfth Generation     318
    Project MN12     218
    The 1989 model year     220
    The 1990 model year     223
    The 1991 model year     225
    The 1992 model year     230
    The 1993 model year     237
    The 1994 model year      239
    The 1995 model year     245
    The 1996 model year     246
    The 1997 model year     249
    Chassis & body codes     252
    The Thirteenth Generation     254
    Back to the future     254
    A new age mechanism     258
    "Thunderbirds are go!"     259
    The 2002 model year     262
    The 2003 model year     267
    The 2004 model year     273
    The 2005 model year     275
    Chassis & body codes     280
    Appendix     281
    Index     285

    What People are Saying About This

    From the Publisher

    American Car World, October 2007, UK magazine

    If you’ve ever wanted to read a definitive guide to Ford’s sportscar of over 50 years, this is it. At first the price might be off-putting, but when you start to flick through the pages you can appreciate why it is set so high, and how much of a bargain that really is when you consider the material within the 256 pages.

    Author Brian Long is a motoring historian and has written nearly 40 books, and his authority shows throughout the book. Brian was given full co-operation from the Ford Motor Company and his T-bird book could be considered a bible, being the only book you’d probably need on the subject.

    The book has year-by-year coverage of production models, with special variants also covered, some 500 pictures, most of which are color and include some fascinating rare prototype shots. In addition to the photographs, advertising and brochures have been used throughout, to further enhance the nostalgic appeal of the book. There’s even a full listing of production figures.

    This really is everything an enthusiast would want to know in one book.

    American Car World rating: 5 stars

    The Automobile, September 2007

    The Thunderbird was Ford’s personal two-seater answer to the more overtly sporting Corvette launched a year earlier in January, 1953. While the GM product had started life with a straight-six, the T-bird came in with a V-8, to which Chevrolet responded the following model year with the small-block V-8. Both set out to knock the British sporting imports.

    Despite the fact that this has been written in Japan, where Brian Long has lived for many years, such are the wonders of modern communication that it could well have been compiled in Detroit, so complete is the information. It is fully illustrated with drawings, photographs and brochures model year by year from conception in October 1952, to the 12th generation at the end of 1997. Retro appeal brought the name back for the short-lived 13th generation from 2002-05, bringing the combined total to just over 4.4 million units in 47 production years. Its most popular model, averaging 319,000 a year, was the 8th generation of MY1977-79, when the car lost weight and departed from the short-wheelbase Lincoln appearance it had gradually acquired. Prior to that, production had averaged 60,000 or so, small beer in Detroit terms but relatively exclusive. Perhaps surprisingly, the annual numbers weren't affected by the arrival of the Mustang, which, to European eyes, was a fairly similar car, but in America it was half the T-bird's price, and not exclusive.

    The author manages to present year-on-year changes without reading like a series of brochure updates by justifying the improvements with engineering reasons and enough comparisons with market rivals to keep it interesting to more than just T-bird lovers. You get to know what Ford was doing with its other models, too.

    New Zealand Classic Car, September 2007 - New Zealand magazine

    Surely one of the most attractive US cars since WWII is the original 2-seater Ford Thunderbird, produced from 1954 to ’57. The car immortalized in 'American Graffiti'.

    Over four million Thunderbirds were sold in total and reading about the various versions in this excellent book is almost like a tour through US car styling of the past 40 years. Thunderbirds won Car of the Year awards a few times, many of the models were well written-up by US magazines, and the racing versions did well in NASCAR for a good few seasons.

    This is the most comprehensive book, with hundreds of photos and lots of reprinted brochures (including some fascinating ones from Japan where the author now lives). Long also fits each year’s Thunderbird into US auto market developments at the time.

    If you have or want to own or restore a ‘Bird, there’s every detail change for each year – including paint and upholstery colors. Well written and well illustrated, this is how a model ‘autobiography’ should be presented.

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    The definitive history of Ford _x0019_s iconic Thunderbird sports car from 1950s dream, through to a year-by-year analysis of the production models. The American automotive scene was changed forever when Ford launched its legendary 1955 Thunderbird. Half a century and innumerable facelifts later, the Thunderbird still manages to capture the heart of American car enthusiasts with its sporting character and bold styling. This book covers the full story of the Thunderbird, from concept, the various yearly changes, through to its demise in the 1990s and rebirth in the new millennium (and its subsequent exit from the Ford line-up), looking at the model _x0019_s numerous competition exploits along the way. Written by an acclaimed motoring historian with full co-operation form the factory this is an extremely comprehensive reference. In addition, it is illustrated throughout with over 400 contemporary photographs, brochures and advertising and has a range of useful appendices meaning this is the only book on this subject you will ever need.

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