| . |
*stock
- as the car came equipped from the Fordd factory. Note - the Ford
dealer was there to please the customer so some items were put on the cars
when new, at the request of the new owner not at the request of
FoMoCo. |
. |
There
is no such thing as a 1954 Thunderbird - contrary to what you may have
been reading lately in some magazines. The Thunderbird
was introduced to the public at the Detroit Auto Show, February 20
of 1954 - Future Car. The 1955 Thunderbird was first
released for sale along with the fall line-up of 1955 Fords in October
of 1954. The first Thunderbirds through the assembly line were completed
in September of 1954. Magazines were publishing articles & pictures
on the Thunderbird in early 1954 - in anticipation of the Fall release
from Ford. The first production Thunderbirds had some minor differences
in them that FoMoCo changed very early in production. Those cars
are still 1955 Thunderbirds and are registered & titled as such. |
. |
Note
on Portholes - All hardtops on the 55 thru 57 models are removeable
hard tops. No 55 came stock with the portholes in the hardtops.
Portholes were not added to the hardtops until the mid-production 1956
models. Many hardtops for 55 were converted to porthole tops. The
stock 55 hardtop had a Ford Crest emblem on both sides. A non-porthole
56 top had no emblems placed on the top. The 1957 T-bird hardtop was also
available with or without portholes. The 57 non-porthole hardtop
had the new Thunderbird emblem in a small disk - the same emblem that is
on the steering wheel of the 57. |
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