• down on the street

    1966 Ford Thunderbird

    Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. One car that's been pretty scarce in this series (given the numbers that were manufactured) is the pre-Fox Body Ford Thunderbird. We've seen a seriously mean-looking '61 and a very nice daily-driver '65, but that's been it. I haven't been able to find a great big Malaise Era '75 T-Bird for us, but I have got another clean mid-60s example.
    More »

    9:00 AM on Tue Nov 25 2008
    By Murilee Martin
    1,671 views, 53 comments

    Most discussed Slantsick- on layaway at SPATULA CITY: Not a very good shot, but here's a Malaisebird for ya- more »

  • junkyard find

    Here In California, We're Crushin' Thunderbirds!

    You guys who tear your hair out when you see a nice, easily restorable old car heading to The Crusher in this series... think you can work up any tears for this beyond-basket-case '59 T-Bird? I spotted it at the same East Bay wrecking yard that gave us the '69 Renault 16, and it looks like you might be hard-pressed to find many usable parts on it. Still, the engine is still there, and the front bumper looks like it might be salvageable.


    3:00 PM on Tue Jul 22 2008
    By Murilee Martin
    1,457 views, 27 comments

    Latest by LostAmerica: I gotta believe that front bumper alone is worth more than the scrap value of this car. more »

  • down on the street

    1965 Ford Thunderbird

    Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Some are beaters, some are flawless, all are cool. Today, we're going to address the Thunderbird Deficit, with this '65 Thunderbird Landau I found parked just around the corner from the Corvair Van.
    More »

    9:00 AM on Tue Jul 22 2008
    By Murilee Martin
    2,509 views, 44 comments

    Latest by FuzzyPlushroom: Got one of these (well, a '66) as a "Down On The Highway" shot on the way home today. I'll more »

  • auction

    Forget Barrett-Jackson: Dozens of '70 and '71 Thunderbirds Going For Peanuts

    Since helping our Czech friend BobAsh get a Malaise Corvette from California to his homeland was so easy, I agreed to keep an eye open for a nice Crown Victoria Police Interceptor for him. After all, roaring through the streets of Prague in a genuine California cop car would be almost as much fun as roaring through the streets of San Francisco in a genuine Tatra 603. Last weekend I stopped by the auction yard at which I bought my Crown Vic a few years back, and found that the inventory included quite a few early 70s Ford Thunderbirds. In fact, the inventory was almost entirely 1970 and 1971 T-Birds. Make the jump for more photos and the rest of the story.

    More »

    11:00 AM on Wed Apr 30 2008
    By Murilee Martin
    2,618 views, 43 comments

    Latest by kfdave: MUST NOT LOOK....Employer/Landlord will kill me if I buy another car.....These actions are where? more »

  • down on the street bonus edition

    Cars From The House Of The Rising Sun

    We all loved the New Orleans Impala, so A Strolling Player took it upon himself to photograph six Down On The New Orleans Street cars for us (I couldn't help but use a HOTRS reference in the post title, having just read an interesting book about the history of the song; otherwise you'd probably be getting a bunch of Algrenesque Big Stingaree jokes). Make the jump to see the entire collection and read Strolling's descriptions.

    More »

    1:00 PM on Thu Feb 14 2008
    By Murilee Martin
    1,073 views, 29 comments

    Latest by cq: @A strolling player: That Mercedes, the gray/silver one with all the chrome in really good shape? It's there pretty more »

  • down on the street

    1961 Ford Thunderbird

    I've shot a few of Alameda's street-parked 60s Thunderbirds, but for some reason haven't yet posted any of them for this series. But today the Thunderbird drought ends, with this '61 that's a real survivor. Yes, that's the word for this beautifully wretched Ford, which is owned by the same guy who owns the equally wretched 1970 Chevy Impala we saw a while back. This Thunderbird has been a fixture on one of Alameda's main east-west thoroughfares for as long as I can remember; at its current rate of decay, it should be ready for The Crusher by about the year 2094.
    More »

    9:00 AM on Tue Dec 4 2007
    By Murilee Martin
    4,322 views, 38 comments

    Latest by Dasbirdenbomben: Poor thing. I have one just like it, except for the dents, bad paint, ripped up interior. In my humble more »

  • question of the day

    Which Car Has Been Most Diluted Over Time?

    A wonderful reader of ours (but aren't you all?) named James wrote in with today's query:
    "I was ready to answer [yesterday's] PCH question by stating how clearly the '77 Corolla obviates today's model and how much fun it would be to
    demonstrate that to an owner of the latter."
    More »

    12:00 PM on Tue Oct 16 2007
    By Jonny Lieberman
    3,887 views, 128 comments

    Latest by Q-ship: Helloooooo?.. Infiniti Q45!! more »

  • barrett-jackson

    2008 Scottsdale Barrett-Jackson To Feature Only 1963 Ford Thunderbird 'Italien'

    The big B-J auction just dropped a release to let us know the 2008 Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale will feature the 1963 Ford Thunderbird 'Italien' concept car. While very nice looking, if we're gonna spend money on a Ford-built concept car — heck, any concept car — we'd still rather have this 1993 Lincoln Mark VIII. What can we say — we totally digg the roll-up doors. Full release after the jump.
    Picture Credit: Jay Leno More »

    12:45 PM on Thu Oct 11 2007
    By Ray Wert
    6,597 views, 14 comments

    Latest by SexCpotatoes: well, y'know if they were selling that one at this auction, if it hasn't been bought already... more »

  • classic ad watch

    1977 Thunderbird Cleared For Takeoff!

    For only $5434, a new T-Bird could have been yours in 1977. That was the year the Thunderbird was switched to the midsize Torino chassis, so it was somewhat smaller than its behemoth predecessor (though still a cruel parody of the idea behind the original Thunderbird). We dig the extraordinary 70s-ness of the pilot/driver, with her coke-dealer aviator shades, feathered hair, and quarter-inch layer of lip gloss. And check out the speedometer creeping up to 50 MPH, no doubt because the car has the lo-po 302 under the hood.

    5:00 PM on Tue Aug 7 2007
    By Murilee Martin
    1,856 views, 20 comments

    Latest by adamrice: @AllenK -- I was going to ask the same thing. I think it is Cheryl Ladd. more »

  • take it easy there, turbo

    Turbo Equipped Toyota Merkurlet


    From the engine swap department comes the news that the 2.3L Ford turbo mill can make some juice. The 2.3L engine was originally dropped into the SVO Mustang, Thunderbird, and Merkur XR4ti as factory equipment. With some creative shoehorning the engine can also be swapped into Pintos, and evidently a Toyota Starlet. – Mike Bumbeck More »

    4:00 PM on Tue Jun 19 2007
    By Mike Bumbeck
    641 views, 4 comments

    Latest by Comrade Teargaskov: It may fit in there, but it belongs in a locost. more »