Introduced in 1955, the Ford Thunderbird remained in production for a whopping 42 years until 1997. And then it made a comeback from 2002 to 2005. Come 2022, and the first-gen model is arguably the most desirable version of the nameplate.
Some examples are obviously rarer than others. Certain option combinations make some first-gen Thunderbirds more expensive than the rest on the classic car market. Of course, the supercharged models that Ford introduced in 1957 are preferred due to their higher performance. But did you know that some Thunderbirds received blowers as early as 1956?
The black T-bird you’re about to see below is one of those cars. Apparently, a California dealer offered an optional Paxton supercharger in 1956, a year before Ford started putting them in at the factory. And you can tell it’s a dealer-installed unit because it’s fitted on the opposite side. But this two-door also comes with an interesting and mysterious story.
According to the current owner, this car was discovered long ago in a salvage yard. It had been taken there following a crash, and nobody came to claim it back. The owner’s brother bought by only paying the storage bill, but the salvage yard didn’t have a title for the car.
Once he finished restoring the car, he got a new California title (which took more than a year) and began digging for information about the Thunderbird’s past. He managed to find out that it was sold in Hollywood, but he says that no records of it were processed in California. As if the car never existed.
He believes that the roadster might have been bought by someone rich and important enough to have all of the records destroyed. Most likely after he crashed it. Perhaps it was owned by a Hollywood celebrity?
That’s something we’ll never find out, but it’s so cool that this gorgeous Thunderbird was saved from the crusher, restored, and put back on the road. Especially since it’s a very rare example with a dealer-installed blower. Check it out in the video below.