In 1956 the spare wheel was mounted to the outside of the car, giving the car much need trunk space. While it was not designed to be a sports car, it could it 110-120mph with its V8 engine. It had a manual overdrive transmission or a Fordomatic automatic, 4-way powered seats, pushbutton interior door handles, telescoping steering wheel and a tachometer. Between 10 a total of 53,116 cars were made for the three model years. The 102-inch wheelbase was the same as the Corvette. The entire frame was a version of the standard Ford body-on-frame design. It had fender skirts and the exhaust pipes exited through twin bumper guards bolted to the rear bumper.

There was an optional fabric convertible top. WThe top of the 1955 Ford Thunderbird was fiberglass and removable. Even the speedometer said it could go up to 150mph. Still, it was sleeker and had a stylish hood scoop. Physically the Thunderbird it looked like a lot of other Fords, with circular headlamps and tail lamps and a modest tailfin. Within days 3,500 were sold and, by the end of 1955 16,155 were sold, outselling the Corvette more than 23-to-1, as the Corvette only sold 700 units that year. They rolled off the production line in September of that year and went on sale in October as the ’55 model.

The 1955 Ford Thunderbird made its debut at the Detroit Auto Show in February, 1954. At the time Chevrolet introduced the Chevrolet Corvette at the New York Auto Show, and Ford simply had to compete with its own great car or, as they called this new market, the personal car. This was the time when the 2-seat convertible was introduced, which was actually the first 2-seat Ford vehicle since 1938. 1955 -1957 is known as the first generation of Ford Thunderbird. There is no denying the awesome design and style of the Ford Thunderbird.

79 ford thunderbird