FORD THUNDERTURD DELUXE

"Deltyn drives a meh car" (retro-mod) 03/16/2019 at 09:00 • Filed to: ford, thunderbird, ford coupe, mainline, deluxe, crestline, hotrod, roadkill

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i suspect this guy has more skill and time than money, and there’s nothing wrong with that. but taste is good too. check out this 90s thunderbird I spotted at lunch today.

The rear quarter windows give it away as a tenth generation ford thunderbird, but someone clearly wanted a 1950 Ford coupe. the iconic 50s Ford grille and headlights have been grafted onto this oddity in such a way that’s its hard to tell where the 50s stop and the 90s start. also, I’m pretty sure that there’s some early 2000s Pontiac grand am thrown in just for good measure.

The rear has been given the same inexplicable treatment with 1950 Ford coupe tail fins, and the whole shebang has been given a paint job as faux as the rest of the car.

I guess if you want a 70 year old car with all the reliability of a 30 year old car, and you don’t mind spending likely hundreds of man hours, this is the Ford for you.

David Baker > Deltyn drives a meh car 03/16/2019 at 10:45

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The front and rear were sold  as a kit for 89-97 Thunderbird

fintail > Deltyn drives a meh car 03/16/2019 at 12:43

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Yep this was another “boomer with too much extra money and free time” thing awhile back:

Also exists as a 55 conversion:

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Deltyn drives a meh car 03/16/2019 at 13:48

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I remember the kits being sold in the back of 90's motor trend,  I’ve never seen one in the wild though.   Dig the rats.

ranwhenparked > Deltyn drives a meh car 03/16/2019 at 14:33

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These were clearly intended to appeal to the white Velcro New Balance/high compression socks and novelty print  Hawaiian  shirt crowd in Florida. Their natural habitat is the parking lot of a moderately priced buffet in a suburban strip mall at around 4:30pm. 

Tristan > Deltyn drives a meh car 03/16/2019 at 15:07

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Thee were all kinds of weird kit cars based off of MN-12 Thunderbirds. All of them look awkward as hell. But, on the bright side one of the biggest problems when modding these cars is the lack of hood clearance, and it looks like this bulbous nose solves that issue!  

Deltyn drives a meh car > fintail 03/16/2019 at 17:11

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WOW! Im learning stuff here already. I thought for sure it was the frantic work of a mad man

Deltyn drives a meh car > Tristan 03/16/2019 at 17:15

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those poor thunderbird afficianatos and their lust for modified V8s

Deltyn drives a meh car > ranwhenparked 03/16/2019 at 17:15

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Im still in shock that there are several of these things out there.

Tristan > Deltyn drives a meh car 03/16/2019 at 17:24

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I’ve owned a couple. I still want to snag a cheap Thunderbird and toss in a 32v B-head Mark VIII engine with a Cobra intake, J-mod the trans, stick some 4.56 gears in it, toss a big bottle of nitrous in the trunk and go racing for like $1,200.

ranwhenparked > Deltyn drives a meh car 03/16/2019 at 17:31

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Nobody ever went broke underestimating the tastes of the American public. How many of those commemorative World Trade Center stand-up coins do you think they sold? 

Deltyn drives a meh car > ranwhenparked 03/16/2019 at 17:37

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good point

fintail > Deltyn drives a meh car 03/16/2019 at 19:06

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In a way you are still right.  No sane person would think of this (or buy it).