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Forum 24
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Topic starter
10/02/2023 9:57 am
In 1961, the 3rd generation Thunderbird was introduced and I wasn't a fan. Looking at it, I couldn'r get the word "banana" out of my head. I was 16 in '62 watching the detective series "77 Sunset Strip" if only to see the coolest guy on TV, Edd "Kookie" Byrnes comb his fabulous Brylcreem'd hair. His was their man Friday and valet parking attendant. One episode, he crought their car around and I was blown away. It was a '62 Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster. It seemed just turning this 4 seater luxury sports car into a faux 2 seater was all it took to capture my heart. Produced between '62 and '63, it offered a different interior color scheme, badging and Kelsey-Hayes chrome wire wheels with knock off style hubcaps. But the star of the show was a rigid tonneau cover that sealed off the back seats. It was a rather ingenious design that allowed it to stay in place when raising the convertible top. 1427 Sports Roadsters were produced in '62, but for the real rarity, only 120 M-code Sport Roadsters were made. For that code, the standard 390 V8 got a special intake feeding heads from the 406 with 3-2bbl carbs producing some 340 hp. The M-code variant became the rarest of all Thunderbirds.
This venerable Danbury Mint model with working rear deck mechanism is still a real looker.
10/02/2023 10:03 am
Rich what great shots. I agreed with you on the 61, The 62-63 finally gave the 4 seater T-Bird some style.
10/02/2023 10:08 am
A favorite in my collection especially the repaint by Pete Rovero to match the Champaign color of my 1/1 63 Sports Roadster. My biggest disappointment was that DM shut down production of their diecast program before the 63 was released.
10/02/2023 11:17 am
Rich,
Truly a spectacular piece of Danbury Diecast artwork. Mind-blowing interior and top complexity exceeded only by Danbury's '57 Ford "Skyliner"
Rich Sufficool and Tony Perrone reacted
10/02/2023 11:45 am
Impressive model despite its age. I agree that it is a really attractive car in this configuration. Thanks Rich for a great story and images.
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10/02/2023 12:00 pm
Beautiful model and nice background info on the car. I also remember the TV show.
Ed Davis
Inverness, Illinois, USA
Rich Sufficool and Tony Perrone reacted
10/02/2023 1:37 pm
I never missed an episode of that show! It ran from 1958 to 1964. The detectives (played by Roger Smith and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr) drove T-Birds. First came the '58 - '60 model:
and then later the car Rich chronicles here.
But I had to be glued to the TV set to catch that awesome '22 T-Bucket that Kookie drove, beautifully put together by Norm Grabowski and faithfully modeled by the DM:
10/02/2023 3:59 pm
Tony TV series was hugely popular here in Australia also. And I was glued to the T'Birds too. Great post as always Rich. Thanks.
Bob, I can only imagine the swiveled necks when you are out driving yours!
Rich Sufficool and Tony Perrone reacted
10/02/2023 5:04 pm
Thanks Geoff. Yes it does get attention and the ever present question...is it for sale?
10/02/2023 11:00 pm
Great pics and write up on the SR, Rich. I love all of the working features, including the swing-a-way steering wheel. This was the first DM model I purchased and will forever be one of my favorites.
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