FORD THUNDERBIRD 1957

STATUS: Original.

YEARS: 1957.

COMPLETED TASKS:

➢  Step (1) Correction Paint.
➢  Step (2) Polished Fine.
➢  Step (3) Pre-Coating GYEON PRIMER.
➢  GYEON Flash Q2 Ceramic Coating Protection.

REVIEW:

We had to rejuvenate this Ford Thunderbird Convertible (1957); We focus on correcting the paint of this classic, without harming the original state of the paint, and thus sealing to prepare the body for its ceramic protection with GYEON FlashQ2. The end result is the mirror-like shine that is reflected on this beautiful 57 Ford Thunderbird.

Work time: 2.5 days.

FORD THUNDERBIRD (1957) OVERVIEW:

Given the Corvette’s miserable sales in its first few years, it was a very good move on Ford’s part to reposition their sports car project Thunderbird as a “personal car”. Although one could argue that’s really what the early Corvette was too, with its six cylinder engine and Powerglide; the two were a lot more similar than not: both sat on a shortened sedan chassis, although the Thunderbird’s was more modern. They both had a 102″ wheelbase and a sporty, low slung two-seater body. The Corvette’s fiberglass body gave it a bit of a weight advantage, although the T-Bird’s heavier Y Block V8 was at least responsible for some of the disadvantage. Both had a good ride and neither of them had particularly great handling, although the Corvette’s was somewhat better.

But Ford’s positioning and its standard V8 and presumably its styling made the Thunderbird a minor hit, at least compared to the Corvette. But that’s not to say Ford was resting on its laurels; they could see that the ‘Vette was gaining, at least in terms of image thanks to its hot new V8 engine and success on the tracks. The ’57 redesign of the T-Bird improved its handling by ditching the continental spare and it also sported some new significantly hotter engine options, all the way to a 300 hp supercharged version of its 312 cubic inch V8. And Ford even went racing with it, having some specially built to go up against the Corvette and other sports-racing cars. Ford didn’t want to totally forgo the sports car image either, hedging their bets.