1963 Ford Thunderbird: Our shed

By: Angelo Loupetis, Photography by: Angelo Loupetis

Date: 16.07.2014

1963 Ford Thunderbird

1963 Ford Thunderbird

1963 Ford Thunderbird

1963 Ford Thunderbird

1963 Ford Thunderbird

1963 Ford Thunderbird

1963 Ford Thunderbird

1963 Ford Thunderbird

1963 Ford Thunderbird

1963 Ford Thunderbird

1963 Ford Thunderbird

1963 Ford Thunderbird

Work continues on Angelo's classic 1963 T-Bird...

Angelo's 1963 Ford Thunderbird

1963 Ford Thunderbird

The year is quickly passing by and I wonder to myself, "Why did I ever pull that car apart?"

You see the old bird was a clean beast. No scratches or dents, just clean and elegant. On a daily basis I look at upcoming auctions, and am no doubt surrounded by old cars here at Unique Cars headquarters. Some are restored and some are survivors. My car stood somewhere in between, its engine bay was its crown jewel restored beautifully with every bolt attended to. But the body just was not up to my standards anymore and I wanted it laser straight! Chris and the team at Corporate Auto Body have stripped the car to its bare bones and the decision was made to repaint the entire car excluding the engine bay. Now I’m a bit of a purist and through research with fellow Thunderbird restorers both here and in the USA I discovered that my car has a truly unique paint combo.

You see my ’63 was originally painted Green Mist which was available only on pre-sold units, meaning a Ford dealer could not order such a car unless he had a firm order from a specific customer.

How many were built in Green Mist is unknown but the number is likely at the bottom of the ‘popularity’ list. A Green Mist car with a Corinthian White roof is extremely uncommon with my car being the only unit listed in the T-Bird registry.

But over the past nine years of ownership I have grown quite fond of the Raven black paint she wears now and the decision was made to keep her black but repaint the roof back to its correct, and orginal, tint of Corinthian white.

Since the car is out of sight at home, I set upon cleaning and polishing any remaining parts including lenses. After an hour of polishing my original reverse light lenses I was amazed at the clarity I achieved with a bit of toothpaste. Next on the list is to clean the front bumper brackets and to have them blasted and powdercoated in satin black along with all headlight buckets and rear bumper components.

The parts hunt is ongoing and I have purchased as many NOS parts as possible to replace anything that was showing wear. Persistence seems to pay off and after years of searching I have acquired nearly everything I need including a super rare factory Thunderbird Tri-Power setup with all the correct-numbered Holley carburettors. It will no doubt bring a bit of muscle into this luxury Ford.

The next stage for the body is to re-hang the doors after the door jams are refinished, then the exciting work begins! I’m looking forward to seeing some colour, but I guess it will always be black and white. I’ll keep you posted.

*****

More reviews:

> Buyer's guide: 1961-66 Thunderbird

> 1957 T-Bird restoration

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