Why do 66 down birds hate 67 birds

[67jetbird]

I own a suicide bird, A nice 67 thunderbird with a nice maroon finish. i bought in november as a good restoration project. And i search for parts. and it takes months to find parts. But every place i go, every place i turn, its 66 down. only a small few parts are available, and half of which i dont need. Why has these years of birds been accursed to such a hate.

These are not glamorbirds, these were the musclebirds, the years which Detroit muscle met the flying bird bringing style and strength together creating an ultimate machine which still mocks cars built today.
But a revolution is coming, the day which my bird is considered the classic, looked above than the old birds seen more today.

The last question i have for you, why is my bird treated with so much more respect being driven around than an older bird, there is no other bird that gets more looks and more nods and remarks. I drive every day, and speak to people who remember my bird being made, how much everyone loves it. The honks of approvement in front of me, never behind because it is never being left behind.

For those to who were born before my bird, i got a great "Booya" to you, because my bird gets its respect, while your bird sits and bites the bullet.


My bird. The bird.

[nomadbird]

Jetbird,

Sounds like you have encountered some pretty mean people in your travels. I would guess you're feeling the effects of Ford's inconsistent marketing strategy for the brand name. They changed their target market numerous times within the last 47 years without ever changing the name.

To illustrate my point:
I buy a new Thunderbrd every 20 years whether I need one or not. Currenty have '57s, a '77, and a '97. The only similarity among those cars is the spelling and sound of the name Thunderbird. Each of them have their good points and their drawbacks. Compare that to the Mustang over the last 38 years. Mustangs have always been small, fun cars that appeal to a broad group. Thunderbird started as "personal luxury" then "sporty luxury" then "luxury" then "who knows what" and finally a low buck V8 with rear wheel drive.

The '67 thru '76 models were the product of one of those image changes that Ford engineered. That doesn't make them any better or worse products than the other Thunderbirds; simply a change in market focus. The Thunderbird had grown into another "luxury" car through the '76 model year. After that point is where I feel the name should have been changed for sure. It was no longer "personal", "sporty", or "luxury".

You don't have to feel a responsibility to defend your '67. It is a fine car that was the first year for a shift in market focus. You can do a heck of a lot worse! Ford proved that during the Thunderbird's last 20 model years.

Enjoy the Ride, Tom

[66bird]

I own a 66. No offense to your car but I belive the 67's went downhill. The look of the front end turns me off very much. Also many think because they did not offer the convertible in 67 that it ruined it. But good luck with yours.

[J.G. Houston]

I believe Tom hit the nail right on the head - marketing. And speaking of marketing, the 1967 model run was the 4th most successful in Thunderbird history (pre 1977) selling 77,956 units (1960 - 92,843; 1964 - 92,465; 1962 - 78,011) so it WAS very popular at the time. And also a product OF its time. Remember? This was 1967. It was the Jet-Age, so of course the grille looked like an enormous jet intake. To me, that's what's so great about the Thunderbird nameplate - it always reflected the times. Most good, some.... well, I'll leave my opinion to myself. Personally, however (to answer your question about why people dislike the 1967 (and on) model years) I believe was the advent of the Fordor model (which, by the way, sold more units than the convertible in 1964, '65, and '66 combined). I don't know when the "purists" decided this was a bad thing and the 1967 model wasn't worthy of the name Thunderbird, but, come on! If this is true then the 1958 model isn't worthy of the name Thunderbird either! Surely adding a back seat was a far more radical design change than adding two more doors! But I think my favorite explaination for the "dividing line" (so far) has been a guy insisting a 1967 wasn't a Thunderbird because it didn't have a hood scoop. People are so funny...

[swi66]

I currently own a 64, 66, and 73.................
Many years ago I was told the Buffalo Thunderbird Club did not allow owners of cars "newer" than 66...........that has since changed as a good portion of the club now owns the newer models.

My family at one time had a 68 with beleive it or not a 460 from the factory. That car was suicide fast!
Loved it, loved everything about it..........it was a 2-door model in turquoise.

Unfortunately it met an early demise at the hands of my brother......

Very few and far between, but eventually it will come into its own popularity.

swi66

[Harley Eaton]

Jetbird: you say you can't find parts? You may not be looking in the right places. Try Lincoln Parts International in Pwrris, CA. They have stuff for 1967/71 Thunderbirds. 909-657-5588

[phjohnso]

I believe that there is a certain beauty in all years of these cars, the 67 - 69 models refered to as the glamour birds in my opinion have some very unique and beautiful stylings which should make this more collectible as time goes by.

[VictourBII]

I loved the 67 , the 68 was the one ruined by ford

[classicfan1]

IT'S A CLASSIC! It MUST be respected. They look great.

[aint_no_chicken]

I personally own a 66 and a 68, but over the years, me and the family have had a 71, 79, 86, and an 88, and have loved them all. Maybe I'm just a whore like that,lol. But personally I dig birds of all ages, at least till 89, when they started looking like jelly beans, like the rest of the ford line up. I have found also, that the parts for the 67-71 and later cars arent the easiest to find, but its also what make them a little more interesting, you know the ole saying, its not the destanation, but the jounery.

[my66cruiser]

If you are passionate about something, it does not matter what others think. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The '67 birds were nice and unique with the suicide doors. But I do feel that in '67 Ford lost the styling that made Thunderbirds different than other comparable cars on the market at the time. The '66 and earlier birds just ooze style - the lines, the curves, I mean look at the dash and controls of a '66 my god. Everything about them makes them stand out. But who cares what we think - enjoy your classic. There may be some earlier bird owners out there that don't care for my '66 Town Landau's styling - come on guys and girls - speak up. And that is fine and I can understand why since the designs are different. But what we all have in common here is that Ford build cars that appeal to us - even though the cars are different but have the same name. Would I like to own a '68, absolutely as it is a great classic, and unique in some ways, car, but it was the '66 that I fell in love with at a car show that I was showing my true love at - '69 Mustang Mach 1 - Giddy up!!!!

[64yellowbird]

I like the 67-69. In fact, I almost bought a 69 once (twice) but it seems (in my experience) that every time I would look at one of this generation Tbirds, there were always so many things wrong with it that didn't seem to be a problem with other year birds..like the windows coming loose or not working at all for an example. That turned me off a bit even though I love the styling.
I have owned a 66, 64 and 79 and other family members had some other years.

I think my least favorite Tbirds are the early to mid 70's monsters. I even like the 80-82 Fox birds better.

[Firstperson]

Marketing was the killer, you can't be your own best competitor and have both models survive. The suiside door tech was walked across the parking lot at Ford from the Lincoln continental, now what was unique is a standard in the same family. Ceeding the convertable market was a big mistake. I have seen some that turned their 2 door into a convertable and it works really well( I have seen some that shouldn't have done it...ooo, bad memories.). A four door t-bird is the real legacy, a horse can't plow a field and race on Sunday as well. It's either a t-bird or its something else. I love my 67 2 door hard top(not a peeled top, a hard top.) for the styling, the girl just looks so mean.