![1961 thunderbird 1961 thunderbird](https://cdn1.mecum.com/auctions/ca0816/ca0816-244446/images/ca0816-244446_3@2x.jpg)
A Concours quality T-Bird from 1961-63 could fetch close to $30,000, with a fixer-upper like this one being closer to $5,000. MSRP, dealer invoice price and cost-to-own data for new Ford Thunderbird Convertible.
![1961 thunderbird 1961 thunderbird](http://www.southerncrossusimporters.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1961-Ford-Thunderbird-26.jpg)
Get instant price details on the market value of the 1965 Ford Thunderbird Convertible.Free black book market values for buying, selling, or trade-ins. It’s hard to make a call about the interior because the car was photographed inside the barn and there isn’t much light there. 1965 Ford Thunderbird Convertible Prices and Car Value. But we don’t have much in the way of photos to tell us just how much of it may be involved. The body might clean up nicely as it looks pretty straight, to begin with and the only rust the seller mentions is in the floor pans. There is no mention of air conditioning being there. It’s a well-equipped Bird, with automatic transmission, cruise control, power steering, and probably not the snappy tilt steering wheel. The car is said to have 137,000 miles on it, so a rebuild is probably in the cards anyway. We don’t know if it’s the 2-barrel carb version at 265 hp or the 4-barrel at 320. We’re told the 390 cubic inch engine is stuck, which was the only engine choice for the Thunderbird in ’61. This 1961 T-Bird looks to have been dormant for quite some time if the amount of dust, dirt, and grime on it are any indication. The source for background info was Automotive Mile Posts. While sales were surprisingly off slightly from the prior year, Ford sold 73,000 Thunderbirds for 1961, with 85% of them being coupes like the seller’s car. The ’61 T-Bird quickly gained celebrity status by serving in the inauguration parade for President Kennedy (Ford executive Robert McNamara was Kennedy’s new Secretary of State) and appearing as the pace car for the 1961 Indianapolis 500 (both used T-Bird convertibles). Another goodie was its “floating” rearview mirror which was mounted to the windshield glass instead of at the top of the windshield. With the transmission in Park, the steering wheel would slide some 18 inches to the right. One of the most creative options on these cars was the highly touted ‘Swing Away’ steering wheel which provided easier access to the driver’s seat. One of the advertising slogans for the third generation T-Birds was “Unmistakably New, Unmistakably Thunderbird” and that’s not likely an overstatement. The car is in Morristown, Minnesota and available here on Facebook Marketplace for $2,700. This 1961 coupe looks to have been inhabiting a barn for quite some time, but there are some rusty floors and a stuck motor to be dealt with. It featured sleeker, less boxy styling than its 1958-60 predecessors and could arguably be considered the best-looking of the T-Birds, except for maybe the original 2-seaters. She stopped driving years ago.After a successful three-year run as a personal luxury car with a back seat, the Ford Thunderbird was redesigned again for 1961. Mom sold the Electra to pay for funeral expenses and got herself a brand new 86 Regal, which was the last car she ever owned.
![1961 thunderbird 1961 thunderbird](https://dealeraccelerate-all.s3.amazonaws.com/cmc/images/3/5/5/355/23391_899c1f2bimg_1444.jpg)
He wanted a Fleetwood Brougham like his buddy across the street. He was strictly a yahoo when it came to cars, "Buy American" till he dropped. He kept that car (and Mom got herself a 71 Caprice) until he died in 1985. I picked it out - I liked the color and the fact that it had dual 6-way power seats. He got a nice tax check back and then - drunk as a skunk, bless him, he took yours truly to a cockfight, a speakeasy and then to a Buick dealer where he got the last car he'd ever own, a burnt yellow 1975 Buick Electra Limited Coupe, loaded. Dad got a 66 Chevy Impala coupe just to get him back and forth to work until he decided what else to buy. Some neighborhood boys found her wrapped around a pole during a rainstorm about five blocks from our house, bruised up but okay. My mom wrecked that one - she knew squat about engines and thought she could handle this one like she could the first Charger. He replaced that with a 70 Charger R/T Magnum that he kept for a couple of years. He had the charred hulk towed home with hopes of repairing it, but like the salvage of the Normandie turned turtle at her pier, the money and effort would not have been worth it. He got out about a minute or so before the car became engulfed in flames. Several cars honked at him as he pulled over, "Hey, dude, your trunk is on fire. Dad's Charger was a nice one (383 4bbl), but rather short-lived in 1974, he dropped a cigarette into the trunk while on a fishing trip, and he forgot about it until he was on I-95 when he smelled smoke.