1Y73Z157146 - Thunderbird Registry Number 26212
|
26212
1Y73Z157146
1961
76A - W - 87 - 31E - 4 - F
Gary Walker says:My 1961 Thunderbird Convertible is all original. Is Garden Turquoise metallic with a turquoise leather interior, and was produced on May 31, 1961. It has Cruise-O-Matic, 3.10 Equa-Lock type rear axle, power steering, Swing-Away Steering Wheel, power windows, power driver seat, Magic-Aire heater, push button radio, front seat belts, tinted windows, dealer applied undercoat, electric windshield washer, custom floor mats. It has FoMoCo three-two barrel setup (with stock air cleaner); is stamped FoMoCo on the right hand side at the center of the manifold; has a Stewart Warner 6,000 rpm tach where the clock normally is. I researched and found that Ford first showed the three two setup on the new 390 at the Jan/Feb 1961 Winternational speedway at Pomona California. I believe it was in a Galaxie. The article mentioned that the three-two became available by Ford in mid year production (the article did not clarify whether it was offered only in the Galaxie, or if it was also offered in the T-Bird). It stated that it came in the trunk and the dealer installed it. Since the Ford T-Bird first hit the showroom floor on Nov. 12, 1960, then my May 31 production date would make this possible as a real tri-power? If so, then I may have one of the first tri-power convertibles that Ford made. <p>I realize that the M code was not used until 1962 and 1963 (and that they had a level intake, due to the engine being mounted level in the car in 1962 and 1963). The 390 engine in a 1961 T-bird sits lower in the back than the front (like a galaxie); my intake is raised in the back (like in a Galaxie). <p> My car has a white convertible top. It runs and drives like a dream; is just as clean underneath and in the engine compartment as it is internally and externally. I recently saw a one-hour show on the Travel Channel that was on the history of the T-Bird (from the original origin time, and it covered every year). When they got to 1961, they did a slow pan shot of the interior of a white 1961 convertible with a red interior (with the top down). It had a Stewart Warner 6,000 rpm tachometer where the clock normally is! <p> My car has never had fender skirts; the pins in the rear wheel well still have the original paint on them and the pins have never been scratched. The 1962 edition of Motor's Auto Repair Manual states that the 1961 390 (with 3 carburetors)was rated at 401 h.p. and had a 11.1 compression ratio. It states that the 1962 390 engine (with 3 carbs) also had 401 h.p., but the compression ratio that year was 10.6. I will send you a photo later. Any feedback you can give me concerning my above information would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. I also own Registry Number 11554. I have owned it since August 1964. + + + + + + + + + + UPDATE October 2012, Arthur Ash III reports it is now for sale on ebay and located in Dickson, Tennessee. (picture added 10/12) As of July 2014 it is for sale at Ted Vernon Auto Sales, Miami, Florida.
Gary Walker
5/23/2005
7/17/2014
390 V-8
Intact
|
