Seeing Red: 1965 Ford Thunderbird Convertible – Sold!

Update: This one got away, but if you have your heart set on something similar, email us the details of what you’re looking for or call Rudy directly at (908)295-7330

It’s no secret we’re suckers for the personal luxury style of 1960’s vintage Ford Thunderbirds, especially the extremely clean top-down design of the convertible models such as this survivor Rangoon Red over red 1965 “Flair Bird” listed recently on Craigslist in East Aurora, New York (Buffalo) exemplifies.  The current caretaker has their  T-Bird listed for $22,500 which based on the current Hagerty Insurance Online Valuation Tool confirms they have it priced between the #3 “Good” appraisal of $24,800 and the #4 “Fair” (Daily Driver) estimate of $16,000.

Ford introduced the fourth generation of its Thunderbird personal luxury car for 1964 and produced it through 1966. While virtually identical to the prior year, 1965 saw the launch of the very cool sequential turn signals which flash the individual segments of the broad, horizontal tail lights in sequences from inside to outside to indicate a turn. Also new for 1965 were standard front disc brakes and doubled-sided keys. Under the hood, Ford upped the standard engine to a  390 cubic inch (6.4 Liter) V8 equipped with a single four-barrel carburetor producing 315 horsepower. While the unique Town Landau hardtop accounted for over half of all sales, the convertible continued to use the tuck-in-the-trunk design that made the top-down look of these cars so clean.

If you’ve ever wondered how these Thunderbirds have such a clean look with the convertible top folded, this video posted on the YouTube Channel This Week With Cars provides a nice overview:

The adage “They’re only original once” aptly applies to this survivor-quality Thunderbird and we would love to learn more about the story of how this example remained that way to date.  While air conditioning was a popular option on coupes and Town Landaus, we’re not surprised to see this convertible not equipped with it.  The best part about this T-Bird is that you can honestly drive it on nice days without the hesitation that comes with a fully restored example. In between car shows, you can work on detailing the interior and engine compartment to bring it up to the exterior’s level.  As long as the underside of this doesn’t show any signs of Western New York winter damage (i.e. rust) and the complicated top mechanism works as well as the one shown in the video, you’ll have a great driver-quality convertible to enjoy nice fall days with. Good luck with the purchase!

Here’s the seller’s description:

“1965 Ford Thunderbird convertible
390 cc engine
Red exterior, red interior, white top
Swing away steering wheel
Power windows
Roll down vent windows
Rubber floor mats
Four new tires, only 200 miles of wear
Original paint
Original top“

Do you have a Flair Bird story you’d like to share?  Comment below and let us know!