![]() (Coincidentally, Vince Gardner was also from Duluth and graduated from the same high school as Maruska.) It was a solid, complete car, but was partially disassembled and covered in dust. When photographed in 2007, the Italien had just undergone a complete restoration by Thomas Maruska of Duluth, Minnesota. Eventually, Robertson traded the Italien for a new Lincoln. After minor damage to the left-front corner, Robertson had the car painted silver, perhaps because the original Candyapple Red was hard to match. Robertson, star of Tales of Wells Fargo, Iron Horse, and other TV shows, drove the Italien for many years. Review Flashback! 1984 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe 1963 Ford Thunderbird ItalienĪfter show duties, the Italien was scheduled to be crushed-a common fate for out-of-date concept cars-when actor Dale Robertson offered to buy the car. However, production Thunderbird coupes would stick with their squared-off rooflines during this period. The Italien was a foretaste of the Sixties fastback craze that would include the Rambler Marlin, 1966-67 Dodge Charger, and late-Sixties Ford Torino/Mercury Cyclone fastbacks. As the company had hoped, the Italien appeared in at least 14 magazines, generating plenty of publicity for Thunderbird. It also appeared at the 1964 New York World’s Fair in Ford’s Cavalcade of Custom Cars. The completed Thunderbird fastback was dubbed “Italien” and toured the country as part of Ford’s Custom Car Caravan. Review Flashback! 2002 Ford Thunderbird 1963 Ford Thunderbird Italien Ford later sent ’63 Thunderbird front fenders and doors so the car wouldn’t be out of date when it was first shown. Among the modifications to the interior were special leather seats and a fairing behind the back seat. He was also a skilled fabricator and crafted a fiberglass roof and trunklid, and made other modifications specified by the Ford designers. His Studebaker-Champion-based Gardner Special and Ford-Anglia-based Vega custom cars were highly regarded. Gardner had worked in the styling departments for Auburn-Cord, Budd, and Studebaker. In 1962, the talented Vince Gardner was employed by DST. DST sectioned a 2015 Mustang and reassembled it atop the Empire State Building to celebrate Mustang’s 50th anniversary.) 1963 Ford Thunderbird Italien It built several show cars in Sixties, along with 100 1964 Ford Thunderbolt drag racers. With the design approved, fabrication of the car was entrusted to Dearborn Steel Tubing. Check out the sales pitch below.A ’62 Thunderbird convertible with a 340-horsepower triple-carburetor 390-cubic-inch V8 was taken from the assembly line and designers created a clay fastback roof for it. Prices ranged from $4500 to $5500, right in Buick Riviera territory and edging into the Cadillac realm. Now the Thunderbird was a full-blown luxury car in every sense, but for buyers who had no need or want for a traditional large sedan.īack to 1963: This was the final year of the 1961-63 Bullet Bird series, distinguished by its hockey-stick character line shooting through the front fender and door, accented with three hashtag chrome gadgets. In just a few more years the four-door 1967 T-Bird would be introduced, the convertible would be dropped, and the transformation was complete. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Landau Coupe that debuted in 1962, with its optional padded vinyl roof and faux top irons. First up on the screen is the original two-seat roadster of 1955-57, then the four-place 1958 T-Bird that launched the personal luxury car category, then the dramatically styled 1961 Bullet Bird, and finally the 1963 Landau Coupe.Īnd all the while, we can see the Thunderbird steadily marching toward the luxury side of the sport-luxury junction. This Ford television spot from 1963 (below) takes the retrospective approach to telling the Thunderbird story. Check out the ultra-luxurious 1963 Ford Thunderbird Landau in this original Ford Motor Company promo.
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