Now in its second year as a four-seater the beautiful Ford Thunderbird, having received this major change and the Car of the Year award by Motor Trend Magazine for 1958, saw very few changes for 1959.
It was a wise move as the new four-seater T-Birds were selling better than ever. Already up significantly since the two-seater days (1955-57), sales for ’59 grew by 78 percent.
Thunderbird was really gaining momentum as this sales increase was was achieved with minimal changes to the ’58 design. The front fenders no longer sported a “Thunderbird” script and the rear pillar now had a T-Bird emblem that formed a V-shape.
The honeycomb grille had been replaced with horizontal bars. A theme that was duplicated behind the taillights. On the side of the car was a new chrome arrow, replacing the four side stripes.
Inside, the 1959 instrument panel had now been updated to white dial faces rather than black.
At the top of the center console sits the MagicAire heater and defroster controls – an $83 option.
Under the hood sits the original 352 cubic inch V8 (H code) that outputs 300 horsepower , is paired with a Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission and would have cost the original owner a further $242 on the purchase price.
Ford managed to sell 10,261 Thunderbird convertibles during the 1959 model year at a base price of $3,979. They also sold 57,195 Thunderbird hardtops which started at $3,696
This 1959 Thunderbird Convertible is currently for sale on eBay. (follow the link for more photos)
Very nice, and would love to have one.
Beutiful car