Kir Review: 1963 Ford Thunderbird anual

[RDean58]

Pictures of box, box contents, and instructions here

 

Thank you and enjoy!

[unclescott58]

I love these reviews. Keep them coming. 

I don't why, but what stood out for me in looking at the instructions, was parking meter. Cool. I want one.

I love Tbirds. Of the this generation, '63 is my favorite. Would love to find the convertible with the Sports Roadster tonneau cover. I do have a '63 promo hardtop. It's odd in that has no fender skirts (or fender shields as Ford called them), and the Sports Roadster emblem on the front fender. Like I say. A little odd. 

Edited April 7, 2020 by unclescott58

[Exotics_Builder]

Have a couple in the unbuilt stack.  Looking at the newer 62 chassis under them

 

[unclescott58]

4 hours ago, Exotics_Builder said:

Have a couple in the unbuilt stack.  Looking at the newer 62 chassis under them

 

Show us the contents. Let us see what's in the box! 

[Carmak]

These 60's T-birds and the bargain of the vintage car hobby (1:1, kits and promos). 

My first car was a 62 and I still have the 63 I drove in college when I dated my wife (30 years ago). At one point I had 7 of them (61-63). Cool cars but fairly hard to work on. The wipers were hydraulic (in 63) and there was a special high pressure line to allow the power steering pump to power both the sector and the wipers. I bought a complete (rusty) car just to get the hydraulic line back in the late 80's (before repos became available).

[Erik Smith]

On 4/5/2020 at 7:26 PM, Carmak said:

These 60's T-birds and the bargain of the vintage car hobby (1:1, kits and promos). 

Yeah, that’s true. It’s weird how cheap you can get some of the old T-bird annuals. 

I love seeing great examples of these old kits. I can’t imagine how some of them have made it 50-60 years unbuilt, complete, and in good condition.

Edited April 7, 2020 by Erik Smith

[Mike999]

8 hours ago, Erik Smith said:

Yeah, that’s true. It’s weird how cheap you can get some of the old T-bird annuals. 

I love seeing great examples of these old kits. I can’t imagine how some of them have made it 50-60 years unbuilt, complete, and in good condition.

I've bought a couple of '62 T-Bird promos for $10-15 on eBay, which is amazing.  Not long ago I parted out one of those, and sent some of the parts to another board member for his restoration.  I want to do a stock '62 hardtop, so (along with a resin body), I only needed the hubcaps and interior.  Including that spiffy, working "swing-away" steering wheel in the promo.

['70 Grande]

I can't explain why, but to my eye it has always appeared that these early-1960's AMT Thunderbird kits were produced in something more like 1/22nd scale... every built-up that I've seen just appears to be "too big" overall to be a standard 1/25th scale kit. When I see them on show tables, they look longer than a same-era Ford Galaxie to me... am I crazy?

[Oldcarfan27]

On 4/7/2020 at 5:56 AM, '70 Grande said:

I can't explain why, but to my eye it has always appeared that these early-1960's AMT Thunderbird kits were produced in something more like 1/22nd scale... every built-up that I've seen just appears to be "too big" overall to be a standard 1/25th scale kit. When I see them on show tables, they look longer than a same-era Ford Galaxie to me... am I crazy?

Not sure if you are crazy, but the Tbirds were built right along with the Lincolns of that era. Sharing some major components, so it stands to reason that it's probably a bigger car than it seems.

[Carmak]

On 12/20/2020 at 11:43 PM, Oldcarfan27 said:

Not sure if you are crazy, but the Tbirds were built right along with the Lincolns of that era. Sharing some major components, so it stands to reason that it's probably a bigger car than it seems.

I have owned many 61-63 T-birds (I still have the 63 I drove when I dated my wife of 30 years) and they are not a big car. I am 6' tall and they are very difficult to get in and out of if you don't swing the steering column off to the side. My brother has a 62 Lincoln convertible and at 213" it is really not that big (by 60's car standards), it is a lot shorter than my 57 Coupe DeVille. What they lack in size they make up for in mass, they are really heavy. The 63 Thunderbird is a 4,200lb car. The is 600lbs more than a 63 Galaxie. The Lincoln convertible is 5,500lbs (by comparison my 57 Coupe Deville 4,600lbs).

[stavanzer]

Thanks for those Weights and Dims, Craig. I never knew that a 6 footer could be cramped in a Post 57 T-bird.

[Carmak]

1 hour ago, alexis said:

Thanks for those Weights and Dims, Craig. I never knew that a 6 footer could be cramped in a Post 57 T-bird.

Once you are in it is fine. The back seat is really tight.