Baby

$26,500

1963 Ford Thunderbird Convertible

88,000 miles

Diamond Blue Exterior Paint

Power Hydraulic Retractable White Vinyl Top

Two Tone Blue Vinyl Upholstery

390 Z Code V8

3 Speed Automatic

3.00:1 Rear

Air Conditioning

Swing-a-Way Steering Column

Power Windows

Power Drum Brakes

Power Steering

06/15/2022

His name is Baby. He was born in June of 1963 and destined from the beginning for the Twin Cities DSO in Minnesota. He wears his original Diamond Blue color with white top and complete original drivetrain, right up to his carburetor with only 87,377 pampered miles on it. How he ended up in my life is a short story of it's own. One I will endeavor to tell you now, after a little background.

George Walker and Louis D. Crusoe came up with the idea of the Thunderbird (the car, not the name) after Ford decided it needed a sportier vehicle in their lineup of offerings. So for 1955 the "true Ford sports car" was born. By the time 1963 rolled around, the Thunderbird had undergone a transformation from sports car to luxury cruiser, growing 32 inches longer while gaining a portly 1,340 lbs. The jet age was in full swing by then, continuing to influence the styling of the Thunderbird with it's dual jet exhaust taillights beneath upright fins. The interior of the car followed the theme with twin cockpits up front, the dashboard wrapping seamlessly into the doors and minimalist center console.

1961-1963 encompassed the 3rd generation of the T-bird. Of the 63,313 cars produced in 1963, only 5,913 of them were convertibles. Features available in 1963 included a Swing Away steering column, air conditioning, power seats, and power windows. The party piece for the convertible was the soft top which folded into a hydraulically operated reverse opening deck lid, completely hiding the folded top from view and creating an unbroken sweeping profile from nose to tail.

The Z code, which this car has, gave you a 390 cubic inch Special V8 which produced 300hp and 427 ft.lbs. of torque. In this case, mated to Ford's CruiseOMatic 3-speed automatic transmission which routes power through 3.00:1 rear end gearing. This combination made for plenty of smooth power off the line and comfortable cruising at highway speeds.

My part of the story began with an ad on Facebook Marketplace for a 1986 Ford Mustang GT convertible. I had been shopping for a fun summer project that I could work on and enjoy using at the same time. I've owned several Fox body cars, and had a recent hankering to get behind the wheel of another. Values have been on the rise over the past few years, so now is the time - or, more accurately, a couple years ago was the time to buy one. Whatever. I've never been known for my good timing.

I clicked on the ad for the Mustang and it informed me that if I was interested in the car, it would be available at a classic car auction that weekend a couple hours away from where I live. Now, I have watched plenty of classic car auctions on TV (Barret Jackson and Mecum come to mind) and I am familiar with the pace and routine of these events, but never have I actually attended one - much less registered as a bidder. Since attending one of these auctions as a bidder was on my Want-To-Do list anyway, I decided to hook up Big Red to Black Betty, and head down the road with my 14 year old son to see what we could see about this so-called auction.

I got everything ready for the trip the night before and left out at 6:00am for the auction. It was a beautiful scenic drive as my son slept in the passenger seat beside me. We arrived shortly before the auction was to begin while a light rain began to fall. There was a commercial building surrounded by a large fenced-in parking lot filled with a variety of classic cars. There were a couple outdoor tents as well, which housed some of the more expensive vehicles.

I walked into the building, registered, and received a bidding number on a lanyard. Afterwards we found an empty table and chairs indoors in front of the auction block to drop my backpack and coffee. I then wandered outside with a list of cars in the order they were to be auctioned, looking for the '86 Mustang and also a '72 Monte Carlo that had caught my eye.

I walked around the fenced-in lot as light rain fell intermittently. I examined closely the vehicles in question and marked down a few other cars on the list as possibilities if the Mustang sold for more than I was willing to pay. Then I went back inside to sit down and do a little more market research while I waited for the fun to begin.

It turned out to be a energy-charged atmosphere, loud and fast-paced, as the auctioneer started his staccato rhythm of selling cars as they rolled across the block. There were bid assistants roaming the front of the room looking for a sign from bidders, alternately cajoling and facilitating to move the bid forward. It's good to have your final bid amount firmly in mind or you could find yourself in danger of being swept away in the excitement of the moment, buying a car for way too much money.

As the auction continued, I was tempted to bid on a couple minty vehicles before the Mustang came across. They ended up selling for much less than market value, and I spent the rest of the morning second-guessing my decision to hold tight, thinking I might have missed an opportunity for a good deal. Finally, the Mustang and then the Monte came across and I engaged in the bidding process until the bids exceeded the cap I had set for myself. Now I was really feeling bad about not bidding on those early cars. I had not gotten the Mustang, and the Monte Carlo turned out to be a pig with lipstick on it, so I was left holding an empty bag. I shuffled through the listing of cars coming up, but the list was shrinking fast as auctioneers tag-teamed to keep the show going without interruption. It looked like I might be driving home in the rain with an empty trailer.

As I flipped through the final few pages, my eye fell on a car which had until now escaped my notice. It was a 1963 Ford Thunderbird Convertible with 87,000 original miles. I thought back to a couple years previously when I had been shopping for this exact car, except at the time I was looking at hard-top coupes, not convertibles. The wrap-around interior and bullet styling has always captured my imagination, but at that time had given up on my search, not finding a suitable candidate. I had also explored the possibility of buying a convertible, but at the time the cost for one was past my budget.

Intrigued, I noticed that this T-bird was only four cars from coming across the block, so I had better get in gear if I was going to bid. Leaving my son at our table, I walked past the gesticulating and raucous auction assistants, out to the tent housing the queued up cars. There was a driver sitting in it with the motor running, scooting the Thunderbird forward as each car ahead of it passed through the auction block.

I didn't even open the hood, instead trusting my ears to tell the story of the engine's condition. I quickly examined the interior, assessing my initial impressions of its overall condition, then got on my hands and knees to check the lower rockers, inner rear fenders, and floor. Everything looked clean and dry, covered with what appeared to be factory undercoating. No rust bubbles were in evidence on the doors or rear fenders and the paint looked good, in spite of it's apparent age.

I double-checked the valuations and historical sales, set a high bid in my mind, and walked back inside to my table to wait.

The bidding started as the Diamond Blue Thunderbird rolled onto the block. As far as I could tell, there was only one other bidder in the room. There was some online bidding, but as the number crept closer to my limit, it was just between me and one other person. Suddenly, the auctioneer announced that the reserve had been lifted! I was surprised because it was early and the price was still very reasonable, but lifting the reserve meant that the car would sell for the high bid no matter what. Just then, the driver hit the switch for the power convertible top, which dramatically rose into the air before folding itself gracefully back into the maw of the open decklid. Bidding started anew, and I threw out my high bid a fraction after another bidder had been recognized for the same amount. Dang it! Now the bid assistant was in my ear, asking if I wanted to go up another $500. The bidding had stalled and it looked like the auctioneer was about to throw the gavel. I decided $500 wasn't going to make much of a difference, so I gave the nod, and he immediately yelled up to the auctioneer with a whoop and a raised arm.

A few seconds later, the gavel fell and I was being congratulated for my purchase by an energetic assistant. I casually gave him my number like I did this sort of thing every day and started packing up to go to the office to settle up. I was pretty happy with my first auction experience, considering I hadn't even opened the hood!

06/27/2022

We are getting a lot of enjoyment out of Baby in the first month of ownership. He only left us stranded once, and that was when the old fuel pump gave out. I sourced a new one with its attached filter element, and then added a clear inline pre filter to give a little more protection and let me monitor what's going on more closely.

We even went to a drive-in movie because when you've got a '63 T-bird convertible for the summer, that's what you and your main squeeze do. It's a highly recommended way to use your back seat. Watching a movie, I mean.

So it's been 200 miles so far and loving every mile of it. Even the breakdown turned out to be fine, since we were only a few miles from home and barely had time to worry about what to do before a stranger stopped and offered us a ride home in his topless 1987 Jeep Wrangler. Rural life is cool.

07/25/2022

We have now enjoyed the car for over 500 miles in the last month or two with no other mechanical problems. He pulls a bit to the left sometimes under braking, but the brakes are quiet and stop the car smoothly. He leaves a little oil on the floor, but hasn't burned any at all. And he requires 5 or more pumps on the pedal when he's cold before starting. I think these are all minor and acceptable quirks that make him what he is. A well looked after, useable, every day survivor. There is nothing like floating down a two lane blacktop with the warm sun on your head receiving friendly waves from other motorists. This car has gotten a lot of admiration this summer, as he deserves. I hope the next owner drives him often.

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