Danbury Mint 1960 Ford

Being a sucker for a beautiful woman in a red dress the Danbury Mint 1960 Ford Thunderbird reminded me of that woman and absolutely stole my heart away; it's that beautiful.

Unlike the Corvette, the Thunderbird was never a full-blown sporting vehicle; Ford's description was personal luxury car, and the company essentially created this market segment and built on it throughout the years. Starting with its redesigned model, which made its debut in 1958, the evolution of what was to be the golden years of the automobile had begun, and Ford embraced it ushering it in with great fanfare with the Thunderbird.

The four-seat Thunderbird, like the new Lincolns, was designed with unibody construction, eschewing a separate chassis. The intent was to allow the maximum interior space in a relatively small exterior package. Both the new Thunderbird and the new Lincolns were produced at a new assembly plant at Wixom, Michigan, built as part of a corporate expansion plan to increase the sales of up-market cars (Mercurys, Lincolns, and Thunderbirds).

The redesigned Thunderbird had a distinct new styling theme, sharply angular and formal, but extremely low slung. The look, which was quickly propagated to the rest of Ford's car line, earned this generation the nickname "Square Bird." The design was driven entirely by the styling department and approved before the engineering was considered. The design was one of two proposed, styled primarily by Joe Oros, who later worked on the Ford Mustang; the losing proposal, by designer Elwood Engel, was reworked in size to become the 1961 Lincoln Continental.

The new 'Bird was nine inches (230 mm) lower than the standard American car of the time, at 52.5 in (1.33 m), with only 5.8 in (147 mm) of ground clearance. The significant transmission tunnel intrusion required to fit the powertrain into such a low car was turned into a styling feature by covering it with a large, full-length center console dividing the front and rear seats and containing ashtrays, switches, and minor controls.

Beneath the innovative monocoque construction, the remainder of the engineering was conventional. Ford's new FE-series engine was used, with 352 in" (5.8 L) displacement. Standard transmission remained a three-speed manual transmission, with optional overdrive or Cruise-O-Matic three-speed automatic transmission. Front suspension was independent, with coil springs and unequal-length A-arms. The rear was initially a live axle suspended by coil springs, which were intended to be interchangeable with optional air springs that were cancelled before production. Drum brakes were used at all four wheels.

The new Thunderbird captured Motor Trend's Car of the Year award in its debut season, the first of three it would eventually accumulate. While many fans of the earlier, two-seat Thunderbirds (myself included) were not happy with the new direction, Ford was vindicated with sales figures of 37,892, more than double the previous year despite losing three months of production and 1958 being a very poor year for car sales.

For the 1959 model year, Ford made changes to the front, rear, and side ornamentation, and made leather upholstery available for the first time. The rear suspension was revised, discarding coil springs for Hotchkiss drive, with parallel leaf springs. A new engine, the 430 in" (7.0 L) MEL-series, was available in small numbers. Sales almost doubled again, to 67,456 units, including 10,261 convertibles. Thunderbird advertising in 1959 targeted women in particular, showing glamorous models in country club and other exclusive settings, and the sales figures bore out Ford's marketing plans.

1960's sales figures hit another record: 92,843 units sold, including 11,860 convertibles. A rare option in this year was a sunroof; this "Golde Edition" (Golde was a German company whose sunroof patent Ford licensed) sold 2,530 examples.

Now that I laid a foundation on how the body style evolved let's kick the tires on Danbury Mints rendition of the classic 1960 Thunderbird coupe.

The "Lady in the Red Dress" is very eloquent from nose to tail; the most striking detail to me was the color, Monte Carlo Red. The finish is glass like, very smooth with no noticeable flaws. The fit of the body panels were very tight with smooth flowing lines making for a very attractive replica.

The "Square-bird" includes the chrome dress-up kit, which consisted of chrome taillight trim, hood scoop trim, chrome panels behind the headlights and small chrome "dishes" under the windshield wiper bases. (Yup, they are all there). This is a documented Thunderbird accessory, which adds "bling" to an already stunning model.

One word of caution, this replica utilizes photo-etched scripts on the doors and quarter-panels that can be easily damaged if you are not extremely careful. They are beautiful however, and a welcomed addition to what surely will be considered a classic replica for years to come.

The 1960 Thunderbird is the first model I received from the Danbury Mint that included a tool for opening the hood and trunk it looks like a toothpick. I discourage you from using this device; it will chip the paint if used improperly. I suggest purchasing the "hobby pal" or sliding a business card partially in the seam to coax the hood or trunk open but don't use that toothpick; you have been put on notice.

Note the hood of this automobile opens from the rear not the front. I know you snickered when I mentioned that but you wouldn't believe how many e-mails I receive asking how to fix a chipped hood on a Corvette because they attempted to open it from the wrong end.

While I have the hood open lets piddle around in there to see what kind of "bling" we can find to tickle our fancy. I once was asked to change the valve cover gaskets on an early sixties Thunderbird, I don't remember the year. I do remember thinking I was going to make a fast buck; how hard was it to change a few gaskets. After disassembling what seemed to be half the car I finally got those gasket replaced and swore I would never do anything that stupid again. Three years later I was tearing a Cadillac Deville apart to change its valve cover gaskets, you think I would have learned my lesson, I didn't.

The engine compartment of the '60 Thunderbird is very well done. However, it doesn't pop at you; it's just there. No reflection on the Danbury Mint but the subject itself. Overall the engine compartment is very well executed the real treat lies underneath; roll it over to admire the underside of the engine area; that is where they hid the "bling". I found transmission cooler lines, an oil filter, fuel filter, and stabilizer bar, brake lines so on and so on. Now that's what I am talking about, show me the "bling" and Danbury Mint did.

The Danbury Mint broke new ground with the addition of an operating sunroof.. The roof is fairly easy to operate and looks good in the open position but when closed it doesn't pull tightly up to the roof. However, that problem is easily remedied by rolling the model upside down, folding a few pieces of paper into small wedges and sliding them underneath the closed sunroof and the body, presto a tightly closed roof. Personally, I prefer to pose it with the roof open showing off the interior as well.

The interior is very well executed with its aristocratic look. The dash incorporates readable gauges an air conditioning switch with setting you can view. Take note of the high-beam floor switch, parking brake, dome light and even coat hooks over the rear windows. I became dizzyingly excited enjoying the many features I found while exploring this wonderful and exciting interior, as I am sure will you too.

Lifing the trunk reveals a well appointed truck, along with a removable spare tire, a jack stand and wrench. Take note of the trunk hinges; they are spring loaded. Is this another Danbury breakthrough or was it a feature of the 1:1? I will let you figure that out as you marvel at the "Lady in the Red Dress".

In conclusion this model will surely put a smile on your face; it did mind and everyone else who viewed it here.

The Danbury Mint 1960 Ford Thunderbird Coupe is a worthy addition to any collectors' shelf. My only issue with this replica was the fit of the sunroof. I just didn't care for its appearance; it didn't fit tightly when closed which in my opinion detracted from an otherwise perfect replica. That said it was a simple fix as mentioned above and only took a minute to address. In the end I had the appearance I desired with a model that now "popped my cork". Order this model today and enjoy the "Lady in the Red Dress " as much as I do.

References:
Wikipedia, The Thunderbird.