THE "SCULPTURE BIRDS" 1964-1966
1964 saw a dramatic change in the Thunderbird's styling. The sides were deeply sculptured and the rear had two large rectangular pods that held the tail lights. The bumper-grill arrangement remained but appeared quite different from anything before it. The interior was one of the nicest offered in the 60's with a flashy instrument cluster, new options and contoured rear seats. The 390 was the only engine available and the Sports Roadster was dropped (although 45 or 50 customers ordered wire wheels and tonneau).
Following Ford's tradition, the 1965 models were essentially unchanged except for some details, but sequential turn signals at the rear were the newest innovation. Disc brakes replaced the front drums making the braking ability of the heavy car substantially improved. A mid year Special Landau was offered with 4,500 examples being built.
1966 saw the same body but with reworked front and rear styling. The rear featured wall to wall tail lights with a neat center mounted backup light. The 390 was joined with the optional 428 which pumped out 345 HP! Total production reached 69,176 with convertibles only having 5,049 units made.
These Fourth Generation Thunderbirds are really quite collectable and a joy to drive on long trips. By this time GM got on the bandwagon of making "personal luxury" cars to compete such as the Buick Riviera, Pontiac Grand Prix, Oldsmobile Toronado and, later, the Cadillac Eldorado. The Thunderbird outsold them all!
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1970 Thunderbird 2-Door Landau
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THE "BIG BIRDS" 1967-1971
1967 saw the most radical change in Thunderbird since 1958. Gone was the unit-body construction in favor of the tradtional body on frame. Gone was the convertible due to sluggish sales and safety concerns. Added to the lineup was a 4-door version. The Thunderbird had become something quite different than previous years and significantly different than it's beginnings. Stylng was radical out front and featured hide-away headlights for the first time, but the overall package looked quite attractive in that 77,956 examples that found their way into buyer's driveways.
1968 saw very little styling changes but offered the all new 429, 360 HP engine optionally until December when it became standard. Both bench and bucket seat interiors were offered on all models for the first time ever.
1969 also had very few styling changes although the rear surrendered the wall to wall tail lights in favor of 2 rectangular pods similar to the 1964-1965 models. The optional sunroof also reappeared as an option.
1970 used the same basic body but the styists did quite a job of making it look fresh. The design was heavily influenced by "Bunkie" Knudsen who had recently come over to Ford from GM. A very controversial protruding center grill with a very thin bumper looked unusual (although quite a few other cars from GM, especially Pontiacs, had variations on this theme) and was so prone to damage that insurance rates were high for this model. The hide-away headlights were eliminated on these models. Still it was an excellent road car and quite comfortable on long trips.
1971 was essentially a carryover featuring only a slightly redesigned grlll. Total production for 1971 had fallen off to only 36,055 examples built.
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THE "LUXO-BIRDS" 1972-1976
The best adjective to use when describing this generation of Thunderbird is "huge". The cars were longer, wider and heavier than anything before them. 1972 saw the introduction of this model with the 429 as standard and the massive 460 as optional. These cars were big and very comfortable road cars although their fuel mileage left a lot to be desired. They did, however carry on the Thunderbird styling with long hood and short rear deck. The 4-door was no longer offered and the sequential turn signals were sadly deleted.
1973 through 1976 were essentially the same with only a different grill and tail light treatment.
An interesting historical note needs to be mentioned here. The Thunderbird from it's conception in 1955 shared it's body with no other Ford product making it "Unique in all the World" as the advertisers liked to say. However, this generation clearly shared it's body with the Lincoln Mark IV, V and VI (to be truthful the Mark III was also based on the Thunderbird platform but didn't look it). This phenomenon would continue right up until 1997 when the Thunderbird was discontinued.
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THE "TORINO BIRD" 1977-1979
In 1974 Ford offered a special edition of the Torino called the Elite and marketed it as being "Thunderbird Inspired". It actually was a test to see if the public would accept a downsized Thunderbird. The reaction was positive and in 1977 an all new Thunderbird was introduced that was based on the Torino (as was the Mercury Cougar of the same year). For the first time in it's history the Thunderbird actually got smaller than the model it replaced! It also got less expensive.
The 1977 was really a handsome car that retained the Thunderbird styling cues from the past. Hide-away headlights returned and the full width tail light treatment remained. The standard engine was the 302 except in California where it was the 351. Optional was the 400.
Styling was essentially unchanged for both the 1978 and 1979 models. Sales, however, were dramatic with 318,140 built in 1977, 333,757 in 1978 and 284,141 in 1979. These were the most popular Thunderbirds ever in terms of sales, but they are not widely collected as yet.
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THE "FAIRMONT BIRD" 1980-1982
In 1980 yet another downsizing occured with the Thunderbird and it's now sister ship Mercury Cougar. The body on frame construction was again replaced with unit-body as it was in 1958. Based on the"Fox Platform" used by the Fairmont it appeared to some as nothing more than a fancy Fairmont with Thunderbird stying. Also, for the first time in it's history a V-6 was the standard engine with the 302 as optional.
1981 and 1982 were essentially carryovers with minimal styling changes.
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