ChiliPepperGarage

I just picked up this '67 Thunderbird. Has a 428 and has 10,525 miles on it. Seller had it listed as 110,525 but after talking to her about the history of the car, looking at the documentation, the brake pedal and interior, we are quite certain it is 10,525 despite the faded paint. The car belonged to her uncle and he kept it in an airplane hanger (he was a pilot) for most if its life. The paperwork I have goes back to 1971 which I think is when he bought it.

The seller got it from her uncle in 2012 and it has been sitting outside the last few years so paint faded and vinyl top peeled off. Surface rust on roof and some on trunk lid. I think the rest of the paint will come back. They had towels covering dash and interior so it has been preserved pretty well. No wear on seats or pedals. Engine runs smooth. Is an a/c car.

Hagerty shows values by condition, not mileage. Concours at $30,900, excellent at $24,200, good at $17,900 and fair at $10,800. I paid $8K for it. Obviously, I got a good deal on it.

https://www.hagertyagent.com/apps/va...bird?id=110590

I think if I can buff out the paint and put a new vinyl top on it and fix any little items that it needs, it would be good to excellent condition. A repaint to factory color and it would be excellent, even close to concours.

I did not buy it for the value though. I've been looking for a '60s or early '70s "personal luxury" car for a while now. Cars like these were relatively cheap when I started driving in 1972 and I always liked them having owned a few over the years. I have hot rods and Corvettes but want a cool old cruiser just to do longer comfortable drives. I was thinking Riviera, Grand Prix, Eldo, etc and hadn't really considered a T-Bird until I saw this one.

Back in the '70s I would have put on some nice wheels (Cragar SS, Torque Thrust, Keystones or US Mag slots) and fatter tires, maybe jack up the back end slightly, a nice three spoke steering wheel, a bit louder exhaust, and then a repaint to a more desirable color.

I plan on keeping this car for a while so my dilemma is, should I keep it as original as possible and do the paint buff out (or repaint factory color), new vinyl roof and new tires or do it up in the style I'd really like? Right now, I'm thinking I'll try to bring the paint back and see how it turns out. The trunk lid has some surface rust now so I know that will have to be painted. If the rest of the paint doesn't shine up and it needs to be painted then I have to decide whether to go with the original color (which I'm not real crazy about) or do a color change. If I do a color change I'll go with a dark green metalic or maybe metalic root beer which was kind of popular in the '70s. I'd paint the top the same color as the rest of the car instead of new vinyl.

If the car were higher miles, like 70K or more then I'd probably just do with the '70s style mods but with only 10K on it I kind of think I should leave it as stock as possible. Then again, I want to drive this car and possibly take it on a cross country trip (staying on two lanes and hitting small towns) so I'll probably put another 10K miles on it relatively quickly. Of course, 20K miles is still pretty darn low for a '67.

Anyway, what are your thoughts?

sublime1996525

Mod!

71 Vert LS1

Got to love those seats!
Since I love to spend other peoples money here's my .02.
Don't worry about the top until you figure out the body paint.
Get the 428 checked out. If it's good I'd add an OD trans. Then a bit more rear gear like 3.73's.
Then upgrade the brakes as needed. Updated discs front and rear. New shocks and springs all around.
I would be so tempted to put on at least 18" wheels of some sort.
Front hood trim missing?
Pics of the engine bay? I assume AC?
Very cool project.

Patsgarage

I would address the mechanicals first, as stated above disc brakes and an AOD if you plan on driving it. Other than that, just have fun.

ChiliPepperGarage

AOD would be a good mod and 3.73 will give it good pull but the 428 is a torque monster anyway. It has a 3.00 gear now.
It has factory front disks so not sure if they need upgrading. Like I said, I have other go fast cars and this will be more of a cruiser so doesn't really need lots of brake.
The seller is looking for the front hood trim piece. I hope they find it because it may be hard to run down a replacement and doesn't look good without it,
Under hood is a little dirty but will clean up nice and 100% stock. It is an a/c car and all components are there but is not currently working. Most likely all refrigerant has leaked out. I'll see about converting it from R12 to R134.
I'm not a fan of clown shoe hooptie wheels and rubberband tires so will stay with 15" x 8" wheels. Probably Torque Thrusts.
The engine runs super smooth so doesn't need anything but fluid changes although I was told it has nylon timing chain gears that get brittle over time. I may have to pull the water pump and chain cover to check it out.

Lord Gray Hair

Not a popular car
Factory parts will probably be spendy
Get a price on that windshield first before you move forward
Either way I like it almost as is
Good luck

The_Dude

I'd fix it while putting as little money in it as possible. You might be able to get some good money for it on bringatrailer as a barn find.

Winchester67

I had a '68 Suicide Door 429 Thunder Jet T-Bird. It was a fairly daily driver for me since I had a suit and tie job and it had ice cold A/C...a better choice than one of the convertibles I also ran. Not much off the line due to weight, but roll ons were decent since it would kick down into passing gear up to about 70 if you put your foot into it. It is a fun daily driver...you have chosen wisely.

1999corvettels1

I would leave it alone and just do the maintenance like fluid changes and possibly timing set if it’s nylon gears.

Drive it and enjoy it.

ChiliPepperGarage

I didn't buy it to flip it. I bought it because I wanted a cruiser and it fit the bill. I'll be keeping it for a long time. I don't think I'll need to put much money into it unless I decide to paint it.

ChiliPepperGarage

That's a nice one!

71 Vert LS1

Engine compartment looks good. Nothing a good power wash won't clean up.
New hoses all around?
Have the radiator pressure checked? New heater core?
Just trying to think of things that could put you on the side of the road in the middle of July and no one has any repair parts within a 1000 miles.
Again very cool hot rod.

z06inVB

I would mod it. All the day two stuff we used to do. Nothing that couldn’t be reversed if you wanted to go back to stock.

ChiliPepperGarage

I'll do belts, hoses and fluids before a road trip. Will check cooling system as I don't want any overheating issues. Will check all mechanicals but with such low mileage, things like brakes and suspension should be okay.

ChiliPepperGarage

I was thinking just some slight modifications along the lines of this.



Actually, just wheels and tires can make a big difference. Maybe some Magnum 500 style likes these.



Can't go wrong with Torque Thrusts although I prefer older D's, painted and not polished.


Or could go the Huggie Bear pimp-mobile route.

71 Vert LS1

Brakes could be good but I would check the brake flex rubber lines. Inspect and grease wheel bearings? Also inspect/replace flex rubber lines in the fuel lines. Any vacuum lines like for the heater controls and the brake booster need inspecting and or replacing. Does the AC work?
Time to pull the gas tank and have it cleaned?

ChiliPepperGarage

I'll check all lines. A/C is not working but is complete. I'm sure all refrigerant has leaked out. I have an a/c guy so will bring it to him to see what it needs.

Gas in tank is okay. The PO had been starting and running it on a regular basis and did put stabilizer in the tank. It will start right up and runs super smooth.

deltadude

Looks like you already have a hot rod. Why not have a comfortable ride to along with it?

Never--Enough

Resto mod that bad boy

CB1953

Nice! Clean up that paint, new rims and tires, and that's it!