One of my FAVORITE cars of all. Even though I think the 4-door was a break from the original essence of the Thunderbird as a Corvette competitor, I absolutely LOVE the suicide doors and landau roof.
At the same time, look where the roots of the vette came from. The 53 was special. It wasn't meant to be a tire burning machine. It screamed pure luxury. Still a play toy and not a daily driver; just to woo the ladies on the weekend.
A friend returning from the Vietnam war bought a 4-door T-Bird. It was luxurious, quiet, had a sumptuous ride, an air of elegance, a "special" car where the quality was unquestioned. I enjoyed driving it, and the long trips. His other car was a '63 bullet T-Bird, another winner that was "special".
I think we should call these the Bordello Birds. I absolutely love them! So over the top, the entire 67-71 thunderbird run are extremely under appreciated cars. The fastback roofline is gorgeous, but the four door landaus take it all to an entirely crazier level.
I loved my '71 4 door T-Bird! The vacuum operated accessories was odd but never had any issues. And yes Edelbrock carb and low-rise manifold was a perfect match for the 429 Thunderjet
I had a 70 Bird from 77-82. Mine had regular 2-3 speed wipers. They were not variable. Were yours? I recently bought an owners manual for the 70 & yep it says varible speed wipers. I think that is so strange. I would have loved that.
Ford hit a home run with it's everlasting vinyl seats as far as durability goes. A neighbor had a 1970ish Ford wagon with well over 100k, yet not a rip or tear in the front bench seat. Though they may get hot in summer and cold in winter. And you may find yourself sliding around in it on tight turns.
As a teen, my best friend in high school's mom had one of these. A _beautiful_ blue color. From the back seat (hey, we were kids), I remember the dash lighting being nice, and I really liked the "all the way across" tail lights. I've always had a soft spot for "suicide doors," too. Thank you for your reviews :-)
Yo! You stole one of my bucklist cars...I love the 70-71 beak bird brougham 4 door! Just fabulous. The 2 door with its curved rear seat is just as awesome. I was a lot boy back when these were 2nd owner used cars, got to drive both a 2 door and a 4 door and they surprised this 17 year old kid with their quality, style, and performance
Remember when I was growing up a neighbor bought a brand new 74 thunderbird and they lived on a dirt road, that car had a great ride but definitely had a hard time not bottoming out
Thank you so much for focusing on these wonderful Thunderbirds. I have always loved these. I mainly love the 67-69 models, but 70 and 71 are pretty great as well. My aunt bought a new 69 four-door in Indian Fire Metallic with black top and black Brougham cloth and vinyl interior. Power everything. It is the car that turned me into the car nut I am today. For a 7 year old, that Thunderbird was just mind-blowing! The steering wheel swinging up and over when the door was opened, the lights in the roof, the stereo that, to my young ears, sounded like a concert hall. I would beg my aunt to come over so I could wash it, and on more than one occasion, I would need to put the battery charger on it, because I would have the doors open on it and the many interior lights would run the battery down. I bought that car from her in the 80s and drove it until the late 90s. Such a high quality, wonderful car, and the vacuum and hydraulic powered accessories were never problematic. The power window motors, on the other hand, were not very good.
I dont know if it's the most over the top ford interior, but it is absolutely a beautiful interior. I had a 64 t-bird and loved that interior also, along with a 65 Riviera. Gotta love chrome airplane styled pull switches!
My vote for most over the top Ford interior is the 1975-76 Mark IV Cartier Edition in velour. Insane over the top and obnoxious. The 71 Thunderbird brougham interior in leather is stunning to me eye. IMO 😊
Back in 1972, I had a girlfriend whose parents owned one of these, triple black with the Brougham interior option. I actually taught her to drive in that car, and once she got her license it became her car. I remember that it had vacuum power door locks that would actuate once the car reached 5-10 mph. I guess that they felt you wouldn’t be hurt that bad if you fell out the door going under that speed. What a fabulous car! Adam is too classy to say this, but in high school we said that luxury cars with that smooth-faced nylon upholstery were wearing panty cloth. What great memories!
As the owner of a 70 thunderbird two door landau brougham I can confirm everything related to ride handling and power . Just a wonderful car to drive 😀 It was my first car when I turned 15
One of my All time Favorite T-Birds. I seen this model for the first time in 1988 Atlantic City Auction in February at the convention center. Immaculate condition ‘71 Light Green Fast Back with a White perfect interior and Exterior drove up quiet as can be driven by a much older woman with 20K original miles. Sold for $3100. I never thought it would go so cheap. I fell in love with that car style and ever since. Love your Channel.
I have watched many of your vids and this is my favorite. I have had a 67 Thunderbird 4 door Landau for over 30 years with the SL interior in dark blue and think this series Thunderbird is the pinnacle of the line. Thanks and great job!
I agree with you. The 1971 upholstery would have been complemented by a 1967 dash and driver cockpit style driver's seat. Nothing beats the 1967 dash. I can't understand why they subdued it for the remaining years of production.
All of us that remember these cars are like myself, between estrogen and death ! We are all with one foot in the grave. I am still a Citroen driver and originally from Europe but live in YVR for the last almost 50 years. I met so many "snotty" Europeans, like Jeremy Clarkson that never had anything good to say about American cars. The big T Birds, LTD Crown Vics and large Chryslers were the utmost comfortable cars for driving in Canada and the US. Nothing from Europe came close. They were quiet, easy, floaty and roomy, lots of room. Plus Boys and Girls, up to this day, Euro Air conditioners in cars suck. 5 Adults in a Lincoln Town Car, from Vancouver through Dead Valley in the summer, with luggage, no problem. They deserve way more credit. Thanks fir this article, I wish there was a modern car with the room like these. Greetings to all.
I feel like these videos about car interiors were made just for me. All my life I was the only one I ever knew that was way more interested in the interiors and dashes than the exterior styling. And I love every time you use that photo of the Blue Park Avenue With Velour seats. Its exactly like the one my Father had and I put that car as one of my favorite cars ever and I have had many high end cars. It was so comfortable and felt safe and quiet and it was also remarkably reliable.
I"ve always loved these "Bunkie Birds" and thought they were cool. The satiny button tufting really makes a statement. The light effect with that material is amazing. I'd love to drive one someday.
Good pick, Adam! Those 1971's also had the distinctive, "Bunkie Beak" on the front end - named for Bunkie Knudson, whom Ford stole from the executive ranks at GM in late 1968. Bunkie, son of legendary "Big Bill" Knudson was GM royalty and the man who revived Pontiac as General Manager in the 1950's and early 1960's with wide track, the Grand Prix, GTO and - wait for it - the Pontiac "beak" on the front end. Reportedly, Mr. Knudson came into the Thunderbird design studio and insisted that the beak be incorporated into the 1971 design at the 11th hour and at great tooling expense. It was one of the things that made Henry Ford II fire him after only a year or so at FOMOCO, telling him, "It's just one of those things," as reason for his dismissal. No wonder these great old cars have so much personality - just look at the men who were behind them.
Hi Rick, from Sydney, Australia, when Knudsen arrived at Ford some cars were "sticky" at the dealerships sales were not a happening thing at the expected levels. So, Sermon E. (bunkie) Knudsen had brought a few designers with him from Pontiac & 2 from other GM divisions. The 1969 & '70 Galaxie LTD's, the 1971 & '72 model Galaxie LTD's as well had "bunkie beaks" as Ford Hack's called them, the base level Galaxies of both '69 & '70 had the original Ford Team designed boring "flat" a-typical Ford front plus the pointy nose '69's & '70's also received hidden headlights that had been on a few GM cars but not so many Fords. To extend Thunderbird design life the pointy nose was even more exaggerated when applied to the T'birds for '70 & '71, additionally they placed almost identical rear end lights on the '70 & '71's that were more like the original rear lights of the '67 & '68 T'birds, whereas the 1969 T'birds had small rectangular ones. As they needed to stretch out the development time on the new T'bird/Mk4 Lincoln, as the as intended Lee Iacocca, Ford design was going to use once more the 117" 1965 Galaxie Convertible & Coupe chassis it had been using since 1967again. However, Knudsen saw the Des Wahlberg design for a potential new luxury coupe, Knudsen after seeing it stated to build it as it was designed and change zero. The new body on frame ranchero ute chassis was Wahlberg's chassis choice as it was 4 inches longer in the passenger section, as a MK3 Lincoln owner complaint was not enough rear seat leg & headroom. This gave him 4 inches extra, 2 inches more than the 4 door T'bird , as it used the 119" 1965 Galaxie 4 door chassis plus it was a new heavy-duty chassis to support the needs of a utility. However, this new Lincoln mk4/T'bird "combo" is what got Knudsen sacked, as evidently Iacocca was livid that all the new '69 Forward Galaxies & T'birds looked like re-done Pontiac's, Iacocca was also evidently really "cheesed" off that it would apply to the new 1972 T;bird & that the design approved jointly for this & new MK4 was not the Iacocca team's design but the random Des Wahlberg one Knudsen saw & liked. Having seen some black & white photos of the Iacocca team's designs & clay models, I reckon the Iacocca team's designs were near warmed over "turds" and would never have achieved the mega success of the early '72 Thunderbirds & Lincoln Mk4's, their update with the rear crash bumpers & the eventual exterior skin panel makeover that became the mk5 Lincoln.
@@gregharvie3896 Wow Greg, interesting stuff! One of the designers who jumped ship with Bunkie was Larry Shinoda, chief designer on the production 1963 Corvette Stingray. Mr. Shinoda was responsible for the 1969 Mustang "Boss 302". In fact, he also coined the name, "Boss" for the high output 302 cubic inch-engined Mustang that was designed for homologation in the Trans Am racing series at the time. The "Boss" he was referring to in the name was in fact, Bunkie Knudsen. Yes, Wes Dahlberg was a talented designer as well. Those designers must have been very good at "Duck and cover" with all of the turf battles raging between Knudsen and Iacocca! Thanks for your insight. Adam sure attracts great people.
I guess I'm missing the OTT part. To me, this looks like a great alternative to the bench seat malaise of the era, and it definitely would have sold me. The brothel red velour interiors of later Continentals and such were much more OTT and truly gaudy.
I'm glad to see a tribute to the beautiful and rare (6,554 built) 1971 Thunderbird 4-door! I completely agree that its high-back, button and biscuit, seats are the main attraction of its opulent interior design! I have owned one since 1980 and still think it is one of Ford's masterpiece designs. My car is black with the Brougham interior in black leather with dual 6-way power seats and reclining passenger seatback. It was ordered with every possible option except sunroof, automatic temperature control and Sure-Track braking. It's most unusual option is the High-Level brake light system with auxiliary brake lights mounted in vertical enclosures fitted on each inside edge of the rear window. When the brake pedal is applied, four additional bulbs are illuminated bringing the total number up to ten! It is also equipped with speed-control, power antenna, door locks, trunk release and rare heated-rear-window defrost. Yes, it ride-quality is impressive as well as its high-compression, 429 C.I.D. ThunderJet engine which produces 360 horsepower! For the cost of a full-equipped 1971 Thunderbird, a buyer could have purchased a 1971 Sedan de Ville which no longer had a high-compression engine! Few American luxury cars in 1971 could rival the distinctive and exclusive Thunderbird 4-door! Interestingly, the 1967 to 1971 Thunderbird 4-doors shared the same frame, windshield and many components and design aspects of the Mark III. At the time, the Thunderbird was the only personal-luxury 4-door in America. Ford designers chose to provide cornering lamps as standard equipment on the Thunderbird yet they were not available on the Mark III. Thunderbird's Finger-Tip, speed-control system was conveniently placed on the steering wheel while the Mark III had a less-sophisticated system with a turn-signal switch. The Thunderbird 4-door and the Mark III were both built only at Ford's Wixom Plant which indeed makes them sister cars. As much as I appreciate the 1971 Mark III (which also has the high-back seat design of the Thunderbird), I think the rare and unique 4-door Thunderbird is the more eye-arresting design! In 1980, a woman who owned a 1979 Mark V Givenchy saw my Thunderbird and commented, "That is the most beautiful car I have ever seen!" I am glad to read that there are many who agree!
👏 Congrats!!🥳 on the fan base you have developed and deeply deserve! 2.6k views, by just an hour after posting, show how eagerly we await your successive programs.
In high school the parents of a friend of mine had one of these, but they had the standard interior in vinyl and while the interior was tight in the back we all loved riding in it.
I owned a 1969 suicide door T-Bird in 1973. It was my second car ever - and I used it for four years at college. Wonderful highway cruiser and never an issue.
The interior highlighted in this video is certainly unusual and over-the-top, but in a very high quality way. The intricate upholstery is of such beautiful quality, and the fabrics used were lovely and very durable. It wasn't just a bunch of velour thrown at the car. I think the interior truly comparable to the garish velour interiors of the Cadillac Talisman and the Buick Park Avenue Limited is the Versailles Option interior for the 1976 Mark IV and 77 Mark V. But even that interior is masterfully upholstered, as opposed to the sloppy loose velour of the GM makes.
Even as a preteen when the first 4 door Thunderbird came out I thought it was just wrong. Years later, I worked for a guy who had a 70 2 door, that was a very impressive car!
I guess the term, "over the top" is very subjective. I think the 1970 & 71 Thunderbird Brougham interiors are very nice, i wouldn't say they were the most over the top interiors that Ford produced. Just as with the GM cars, the era from 1975-1978 offered some of the most beautiful and elegant interiors in my opinion. Sticking to only Fords, i would say the Diamond Jubilee edition Thunderbirds or the Ford LTD Landaus with the optional Luxury interior package(basically the Mercury Grand Marquis interiors) were the most over the top. Having been in a family that owned one of those cars, i find those interiors to be much more eye popping.
Adam, I think you made a good choice. I agree with you -- Ford kept their interiors relatively tasteful compared to the competition. It's a shame you could not find photos of this interior in the Tobacco, Light Grey Gold or Red colors -- they are quite something to behold!
I totally agree about the Quality and fit and finish of this Last of the 4-Door Suicide Thunderbirds I came close to purchasing one in the 70'S but the seller was holding out for $4,500 and going over a set of 6-Railroad Tracks was Quite Impressive how it soaked them up with Stability!
When I was a kid, my uncle had a 1977 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham with tan buttoned leather seats, and Dad used to say that the seats looked like rows of bare bums. I thought that was hilarious... Fun Fact: the last production American sedan with reverse-hinged doors was the '71 Thunderbird. Many people think it was the '69 Lincoln. I always enjoy your vids and share your taste in cars; my hat's off to you for preserving some of them!
My father had a 1976 “crème and gold” T/bird. It had a yellow and gold leather interior, a glass “moon roof” and a “quadrasonic” 8 track. I’ll never forget that beast!
I was 10 in 1966 when my dad bought a 4-door landau Thunderbird. It was exactly like the car shown at the 2:00 minute mark, except it had the wheel covers of the silver 2-door shown at 2:10. A couple years later, when I was 13, my mom had an accident in the car. My first question wasn’t “Is Mom ok?” It was “Is the T-bird ok?” Typical teenager! By the way, Adam, I must respectfully disagree: I actually like the ‘71 Brougham interior and don’t consider it over-the-top at all. If it had appeared on an Asian product, people would probably be lauding its charms. I’ll take this interior over any Asian vehicle on the market today-and it was a better car by far, too. We never had any trouble with that car in the 13 years my folks owned it, not even the summer we drove it all over Europe on vacation.
Loved those year Thunderbirds. My aunt had one and I loved climbing into the backseat and “riding” the rear armrest. It was the only way I could see out of the windows.
We had a neighbor with a blue '76 lincoln continental coupe that had a wild velour interior. Maybe not as tufted as the GM Talisman, but I remember it was pretty glam.
I learned something new today. I did not know there was a Ford Thunderbird "Brougham". This Ford is highly luxurious and over the top. I see how and why Lincoln Mark and Ford Thunderbird ran in step with each other over the years. Mercury Cougar joined the mix. That created low, medium, and high. I am still on how luxurious the interior is on this car. I see the Lincoln exterior mirrors too. Thank you Adam.
I owned a 71 2 door back in the early eighties. Loved the wrap around Vegas strip club back seat... the seven speed windshield wipers not so much. Either the hydraulic motor or the power steering pump was not working 100% when someone rear ended me and totaled it. That 429, however, was outstanding! If I floored it, it would hold first to about 70 mph and second to between 110-120. I had it over 130 once and that was kinda scary. It would ping on regular gas so I kept the distributor loose enough so I could back off the timing when I could only get regular gas. That series of T-Birds from 67-71 also had a weird quirk that the dash lights and sometimes the headlights would start flashing about 65 mph. My friend and his dad had examples, 68 & 69, iirc, that all did this. Couldn't afford the gas to drive one today unfortunately.
Not a '71 but ... Adam, you seem to be taking me down memory lane this week. I guess that's not really a new thing ... This segment brought me back to Dick Herriman Ford in Tyson's Corner, Virginia where I was turning wrenches in 1973. It was one of those wickedly hot summer days - like 98 degrees with a humidity number to match. This customer rolled into the Service Lane in ... I think it was a 1968 or 69 T-Bird. It was equipped with Automatic Temperature Control and the unit had malfunctioned in some way. ATC had a default mode that went to full heat, full fan and full defrost. When the guy got out of the car, he looked like he'd just walked through a soaking rainstorm. Standing there, dripping, he looked at the Service Advisory and pleaded, "Just make it stop!!!"
Your post took me back !! I remember those hot “95-squared” days in Virginia, and also those dreadful automatic temp control systems. It’s amazing that manufacturers chose to utilize such a complex system to simply eliminate the need to have the operator adjust a blend door - so much complexity for so little return. I actually laughed out loud at the image of that poor customer standing in the service bay dripping wet and wondering why his car was trying to roast him … 😂
Adam, you are spot on with the 71 Thunderbird Brougham interior!!! I liked the 71 Thunderbird 2 door without windows for the back seat except for the rear window!!?
I grew up with a ‘68 or ‘69 4-door Landau. It had the wrap around back seat. The interior was very similar to what you show. Another over the top feature? Alligator skin pattern vinyl top!!
The 1972 T-Bird interior and the smooth ride was really over the top when Ford used the Lincoln Mark body. Always liked the suicide doors, the side tilt steering wheel and the look of the instruments on the dash in the 1971 Thunderbird.
My 1st car was a 1972 Thunderbird that was a hand me down from my Dad, he kept cars 2 yrs and it made sense to him to give me a car that he knew the history of. Looking back it was probably not a good idea for me to have a better car than most of my teachers. Mine had a 429, but I learned from the internet that 460's were in some. It was not a great car on corners. I had it for 2 trouble free yrs and would love to have one today.
While I can understand why many fans of the original T-birds absolutely hate the 4-door models, these are still my favorite Thunderbirds. Admittedly I am easily seduced by "suicide doors", but even so I think the way they were designed into the Thunderbird was simply clever and wonderful. As to the Brougham's interior, compared to today's cars it is over-the-top, but back then this was what was expected in luxury cars, starting in the 60s and throughout the 70s. And to be honest, I miss this opulence in cars. Compare the choice of fabrics, the colors, and so on with today's cars (even family sedans back then could be ordered into lavish luxury cars!). While today's cars are in many important ways much better than they were back then, I do miss the distinctive styling of each car. It seems to me that most current cars (along with their interiors) generally look the same. Oh well. Perhaps I've become an old fuddy-duddy🙂. Thanks for your interior videos. Car interiors are so often ignored.
Oh how I always liked the style of a Thunderbird. I couldn’t pick a favorite year or color for that matter. But I know that I wanted a four door. What a great time to be growing up in.
Adam, I remember looking at and considered buying a ‘71 T Bird back in 1980 when I was 18. It was a white 2 door landau brougham with a dark red interior. The landau coupe didn’t have rear side windows and the top wrapped all the way around to the front doors. Now that interior was over the top because if I recall, the rear seat was curved and kind of wrapped around to the front since there was no side windows. It wasn’t a flat rear seat like the sedan. At least that’s what I recall. I didn’t buy it due to budget constraints as a 18 year old but I did love it. Great choice and video!
As a kid back in the 70s, I just loved the T-bird Landau models that had those missing side windows. They reminded me of the classic cars of the 30s, and were therefore elegant. As an 18 or 19 year old around '79 0r '80, I tried to buy a '67 4-door model that was in really good condition, but the banks and loan companies would not finance it due to its age. I have been disappointed by that. It was probably for the best, and besides, one can't have everything. But gosh, it sure was lovely. 🙂
Ahh, classic Thunderbirds. I'm intimately familiar with 1964, 1967, and 1976. My favorite interior is the 1964-1966. Highlights I remember from my family's 1964 are: real bucket seats, the swing-away steering wheel, a functional console, the comfy curved back seat, excellent rear vent, a/c so powerful that would cause the outside of the windows to steam up in humid weather, the C4 transmission that could be set to start in 2nd gear to minimize wheel slippage in ice and snow, great acceleration (390cid/300hp), top speed higher than the speedometer would indicate, and relatively capacious trunk. The 1964's downsides were many, some I remember are: a lot of stuff crammed into the low-profile engine compartment, it took two universal joints to remove the left rear spark plug (with the low-energy ignition, changing the spark plugs actually seemed to make a difference in the way the engine sounded), every system was over-stressed, the excitement of a high pressure hose on the linkage power steering starting to leak (strawberry sodapop everywhere), window motor reliability (the rear window motor required a cutting torch to replace). The fatal design flaw with the 1967 was the lack of holes in the bumper (compare the 1967 front to the 1968). The wonderful tilt-away steering wheel fatigued the steering column wiring harness with every car exit, requiring its untimely replacement. Then there was the loaded 1976. The mini vent windows were flawless and essential since the rear vent had been discontinued. The auto climate control worked with amazing precision and aplomb. It controlled the compressor, fan speed, and both the air distribution and air intake dampers with pneumatics to provide the right air velocity, direction, and temperature in nearly every situation (still had to manually select defog/defrost). The "autolamp" system that controlled headlight on/off and dimming was great until it failed and drained my battery. The choked-back 460cid engine produced something like 205hp; at the time, Autoweek rated that engine a 3 out of 10. After 3 years, the carburetor failed. No, rebuilding it (twice) didn't help. The EGR valve got so hot due to the limited height inside the engine compartment that the carburetor body warped and the gaskets would no longer seal. By then, the Autolite/Motorcraft carb had been discontinued and the carburetor shop imperfectly adapted a Holley (forced downshift didn't work the same). Those marvelous wide bodyside moldings are held on with low carbon steel clips. They start to rust through in about two years and the moldings start to loosen. Finally, the suspension had so little travel that on any but the smoothest roads, I could sense the suspension contacting the enormous rubber end-of-travel bumpers (obviously, the engineers knew there would be problems). Replaced the 1976 with a Porsche 944.
In the early 80’s, a friend of mine had a 69 T-Bird. We would cruise the endless rural dirt roads of shiawassee county with a 12 pack and bag of weed… I’ll never forget the over-the-top character of that work derail ride !
My parents bought a 1970 new when I was a toddler. It's a 2-door landau, red with a white top and the standard ivory interior. I love the car. They gave it to me 20 years ago and my son will inherit it next. The build quality is outstanding and that 429 is a beast--it turns almost as many heads as my red 64 convertible. Thanks for doing a video on this generation of bird. I'm going to go take mine for a spin.
Dearly interesting , nicely laid out with good information. Hope to see more of your productions Thank you kindly for sharing your findings and thoughts.
I bought a '71 4 door Thunderbird Brougham for my girl friend back in high school (1982; paid $400 for it). I wish I had hung onto it. It rode and drove really nice, for the era.
Speaking of nice plush interiors, the brochure for the 1974 LTD shows something called a "Brougham Luxury Group" that's available for the '74 LTD Brougham. Really nice, thick looking velour upholstery with thick carpeting. I've never been able to find any pictures or videos of an LTD with this particular option. Would be a nice find, but may be a unicorn at this point.
I am familiar with that Luxury Group. Cars so equipped were perhaps the plushest LTDs ever made. Most Broughams have the standard interior. I wonder how many they sold. The Brougham all vinyl station wagon interior had a similar sew pattern on its seats.
@@michaelwitas9482 I thought I'd seen that seat pattern somewhere before. Indeed the '74 Country Squire did have its own Luxury Group option with the seats in "super-soft vinyl". Would love to know how that compares to the rather stiff leather seats of today. There is a video in Portuguese featuring this upholstery: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eoj06Lmeb9I.html Not good video quality, but the wagon's in great condition.
1970 and 1971 Thunderbirds are my favorite Thunderbirds. I owned a 1971 Landau in bittersweet with white top and white interior. This is your best episode yet, in my opinion. Thank you,
When I was 14 in 1986 I saw a "Van" (very exotic back then over here in Germany) and it was even more over the top. I especially remember iluminated captioning buttons in the padded ceiling. It might be that New Orleans Bordello's interior designers drew inspiration of that partucular van. ;)
I'm proud to say I must be a "bordello fellow," because I do not find these interiors "over the top." They look good to me. Although, I do prefer the headrests to the high back seats; other than that, I like the interiors you've shown. But then, I've always liked the baroque... God is in the details. 👍
I loved my 1967 2-door Thunderbird with a 390ci engine. It was sea foam green with a green interior both very pleasing to the eye. The sea green exterior was so muted it looked white from 10 feet away. The wrap around rear seat was very unique and the foldaway steering wheel was a trip. The hideaway headlights never gave me any trouble and the C-6 transmission was smooth and reliable. The car drank gas like there was no tomorrow but that was part of the price for such luxury.
Wow, this was a very well thought-out theme, Adam. I wondered if your, "over-the-top" could also cover the prominent '70 to '71 beak, and also the bizarre confluence of lines when trying to combine a basically elegant Coke-bottle shape with four doors.... Your review and excellent documentation photos make me want to ride in one! Keep up the excellent research & historical interest clips coming! Your work helps make the beautiful Autumn even nicer, Jr Massachusetts
@@UberLummox Thanks UL, but I originally chose my name for a special year, 1967, and my prior affinity for Major League Baseball's Miami/Florida Marlins.... But since Derek Jeter purchased a controlling interest in that team, and then fired one of their senior scouts whilst that poor man was in hospital being treated for cancer..... I've gone back to cheering-on my beloved San Francisco Giants! Thanks for the clever observation though, hopefully one day you can write me about the '67 AMC Marlin you just bought, while I respond after buying my first 1966 Olds Toronado!
The green 4-door @2:00 is exactly like the one my friend’s dad bought for him when he turned 16. This was in 1978 and the T-Bird was immaculate. What a ride for a teenager to have.
My Uncle had one of these 4 door in Blue with a black top. The back seat was like a couch. I always thought the steering wheel moving to the left and up when you got out of it was so cool. The sequential rear turning lights were neat as well. I tell my kids Ford had them before Audi did.
One of the most overlooked T-Bird's. I had a 70 two door with the "Hopsack" bucket's in black. Had the alligator grain vinyl top. Loved the car. Very reliable and easy to get mechanical parts. Body parts were next to impossible. Great video and you are right on mark with the facts about these forgotten Ford's
Neighbors of ours in the early seventies had a 1970 Thunderbird coupe in a dark pine green, a very nice car. Unfortunately, I don't remember what the interior was like on it, but these interiors strike me different than they do you. Maybe because there was a lot of office furniture with that kind of flat tufting and stitching to the upholstery at the time, these interiors strike me as almost bland, like sitting in an early seventies corporate boardroom. If we're talking about just Ford Division when we say Ford, I might have chosen the next generation Thunderbird's 1974-76 special edition interiors like "White and Gold Edition, Burgundy Edition, Bordeaux Edition, Lipstick Edition," etc, as the most potentially excessive-looking because of all the mid-seventies velour and two-tone leather on slightly overstuffed-looking upholstery, which I suspect also doesn't appeal to you. it does appeal to me and I don't find it over the top, but compared to these early seventies Birds, the mid-seventies editions mentioned stand out more in my mind. (And if we're talking about all of Ford Motor Company when we say Ford, I pick the Lincoln Mark IV and Mark V designer editions of '76-'79 as the most potentially excessive-looking, especially the Bill Blass ones.)
I agree! The T Birds and Lincoln Continental Marks IV and V of the mid seventies definitely had much nicer over the top interiors, even though they were a bit hard on gas because of their size! (those were BIG CARS but they were beautiful!)👍❤
I loved these 4 door models as a kid growing up in the 60s even more so than the coupe. Just something about them. Neighbors down the street had a 67 silver with black top/black interior and I always admired it and bugging my dad that we should get one to no avail. Dad wasn't a car guy in any way shape or form.
