I put down a small deposit on the car and had to wait all weekend until Tuesday to go to the bank for financing. I probably could have made a little better deal, but they weren’t dealing on Thunderbirds too much because they were such a hot seller. It listed for $8,222, and I quickly made a deal at $7,500 out the door. I test drove it and decided to purchase it. It was a well-optioned base model, even though it still lacked a few options I wanted like cornering lights and velour interior. I had planned to order brown, but the black and grey car was so striking I decided it was for me. That Saturday morning, December 31, I walked into the showroom of Lee Motor Company in Wilson, NC, and there it was, a black Thunderbird with a dove grey top and dove grey vinyl interior. After 24 hours of trying to get it fixed from a slow-moving mechanic, I drove home Friday and made it my mission to get that car ordered on Saturday morning. That first day, a Thursday, the truck let me down by the headlights not working when I left work that December evening to go home. Meanwhile, I would drive my now deceased father’s 1972 Chevrolet C10 to work. I had decided to order me a new 1978 Thunderbird just like I wanted. After much persistence from my sister’s mother-in-law to buy my LTD, I sold it to her a few days after Christmas 1977. But my mission was to save a little money for a nice down payment along with the money from my LTD. One salesman tried to talk me into an LTD II, saying they were basically the same car, but I liked the styling of the Thunderbird so much better. I started looking for a Thunderbird but they were hard to find since they were selling so well. I graduated college in May 1977 and went to work immediately. When the new, smaller Thunderbirds came out for 1977, I had my sights on one. Although I was driving a pretty decent 1971 Ford LTD my father had bought new when I was in high school, I couldn’t wait to get my own car. It’s a fun read and a great success story, so you can find it below in Bill’s own words.īillO – Even during my last couple of years of college, I was dreaming of what new car I would buy when I graduated in 1977. To my surprise, he sent over an email right away with not just the story of his T-Bird, but the story of how he became a fan of the late 70’s Thunderbird. He’s now the proud owner of said T-Bird, so I asked him if he would send us more photos and information on his find. Reminding us that back in the golden days of Whittier Boulevard their stories often began in someone's garage, no real build budget to speak of, but always plenty of heart to live this lowrider lifestyle.Shortly after featuring a low mileage 1979 Ford Thunderbird, you can see Scotty’s post here, reader BillO posted a photo in the comments section of a 1978 Thunderbird that he just so happened to find here on Barn Finds. "We installed it right in front of my house in the driveway," Gabriel says. One weekend he and fellow Heatwave Car Club members installed a pair of original Fennerstone pumps, with 8-inch strokes and Delta dumps, and of course the mandatory 3/16 scrape plate. The project came to an end much as it did back in the day. In true '70s fashion the inside of the car was upgraded to a full biscuit button tucked interior wrapped in light beige materials. of Kandy Konnection casting a coat of clear throughout the car. Pinstriping was added to the original factory paint with Bobby J. He extended the factory grille and fabricated a custom split front bumper. Gabriel took it upon himself to complete many of the items on the car. From the working original 8-track player to the OG 8-inch chain steering wheel, all the way to the original 14x7 True Classic wire wheels, which would of course be mounted onto 5.20 whitewall Premium Sportways, like any '70s lowrider, a list of custom modifications would surely accompany it. Only period-correct upgrades would do for his 1978 Ford Thunderbird, which he found and saved from a local junkyard.
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