Original paint, 32,600 orig. miles, $21,000 put into car, runs and drives great!

1963 Ford Thunderbird Description

1963 Ford Thunderbird

Up for auction is a beautiful 1963 Ford Thunderbird! The previous owner personally put over $21,000 into the car, and saved all of the receipts to reflect this. The car is clean, runs great, and is fun to drive! There's no shortage of power with the 390 cubic inch (6.4L) engine, and brand new Edlebrock 600 CFM carburetor! Below is a list of all the upgrades, modifications, and other details of what was done to the car. Please contact me with any questions, and I will respond ASAP. Good luck, and happy bidding!

Engine, transmission and other

+ Steamed cleaned engine and transmission

+ New cylinder head gasket

+ New pushrods and an Edelbrock 600 CFM carburetor (original Autolite carburetor included as well)

+ Removed heads, checked for cracks and warpage. Valve job including hardened seats, so it can run on unleaded gas

+ New Petronix ignition

+ New fuel tank

+ New fuel cap

+ New fuel pump

+ New temperature and fuel sending units

+ New master cylinder

+ New transmission cooling hose and transmission fluid

+ Drum brake overhaul

+ New dual exhaust with Magnaflow mufflers

+ New idler arm

Body and other cosmetic

+ New Kelsey-Hayes balanced wire wheels (stock rims also included)

+ New T-bird style radio (original working radio also included)

+ New headlamp switch

+ Fender skirts

+ Original paint

+ Bypassed heater core

Payment information

A deposit of $1,000.00 is due via PayPal within 48 hours after the auction ends. It is non-refundable. Remaining payment is due in 7 days viacashier's check. Please email me with any questions, and I will get back to you in a timely manner. Thank you!

Additional Info (The Back Story)

The T-Bird has been driven less that 500 miles in the last 18-19 years! The previous owner lived just 150 miles west of the Mojave Desert in California. The day I bought the car it was 90 degrees with the humidity sitting at just 12 percent! That's 12 %!!! What a great, DRY place to store a car! He had it for 3-4 years, and did all the work on it that is mentioned above. He bought it from an estate sale in Los Angeles in 2015, and found out when he registered the car that he was "on-the-hook" fora $1,000 fine from the DMV because no one had registered the car sincearound 2000! Apparently,the car was in storage for approximately 15 years. The registration wasn't kept up-to-date, and apparently it wasn't used for the entire duration. The elderly gentleman who owned it before must've stop driving it around the time he turned 70, kept it in storage all that time, and then passed away in 2015 at the age of 85. The owner I bought it from replaced the gas tank, the fuel pump, the carburetor, as well as gave it an entire brake overhaul. Cosmetically the car looked great, and the mileage is believed to be correct. As is the claim that the paint is original. I found a little bit of over-spray on the inside driver's door that is on the weather-stripping there, so apparently there must've been some touch-up, but looking at the finish overall, and at the way it shines, it might very well be original. And, taking the condition of the paint into consideration, as well as the fact that the glass looks nearly new everywhere, it may very well be that the 32,600 original mile claim is true. Just for the record, I don't have documentation to back up those claims, just my common sense and good judgment that tells me it's very likely. If you need documentation, I would suggest waiting for another low mileage Sahara Rose '63 T-bird to come along, and also suggest that you don't hold your breath while you wait,...you'll only turn blue. :-) According to the Vintage Thunderbird Club International color surveys, Sahara Rose is very rare,even on a '63. Approximately only 3% of Thunderbirdsmade that year were painted that color. And, while in some lighting conditions it almost shows up as cream, or white, in bright sunlightthis pastel shade really sets off the T-bird'selegant lines. Add the Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels, and you've got yourself a period-correct classic!

I had a question from a potential bidder from AZ on 10-30-18, and I wanted my reply to show up on my auction to better explain some things to anyone else who might be interested, but even though I thought I clicked on the right buttons to display the question and answer, apparently it didn't take, so I'm including it here. He asked if I was a dealer, and asked (price-wise) what it was going to take to buy the car. My answer was the following:

Thanks for the question. No, I'm not a dealer. The car was bought from the previous owner who lived near Barstow, CA. It's presently in Wisconsin. Hagerty Insurance, (who I highly recommend, and have four cars insured with), appraises a '63 in excellent condition at $20,400. In good condition at $11,300. I'm expecting something somewhere between those two numbers, as this T-bird is certainly better than Good, but not up to Excellent. The previous owner had it insured through Hagerty for $30,000, but I believe he was giving the claims of original paint and low mileage a little more credence than he should have. The paint, while nice and glossy, has about a dozen chips/flaws in it, so I'd say it's an 8, not a 10. The interior needs some work,...the drivers seat upholstery should be replaced, the arm rests should be repaired or replaced, and the dash has three cracks in it, all near the radio speaker, while the rest of the dash looks just fine. Bottom line,...if I don't get a reasonable price for it, I'll just keep it. I already have a "nice" Rose Beige '63, and only thought of selling this one because it's too nice to use as a daily driver. I honestly think that the car is worth it because of the rarity of the color, the original condition of it, the low mileage, and as the last owner was fond of saying, "They are only original once!" He used the "survivor" idea as a good excuse to NOT replace the driver's seat upholstery, but I would have to disagree with him there. It should be freshened-up a bit, and given a good home,...and like I mentioned in the description, if the statistics are right, and only 3% of '63's were made in this color, it is a bit more valuable than most of them out here. Condition, originality, and rarity, (and don't forget those sexy-looking wire wheels!), all good reasons to wait for a good price. Damn,...I think I just talked myself out of selling it! Just kidding! Thanks for the question! Steve S.

I just had someone send me a question about the color: What color is the car,...it looks pink on my screen. Is it white or pink?

Yup! It's pink. The '61-'63 "bullet-birds" had the option of being painted a lot of gorgeous colors, and Sahara Rose was one of the most rare. In bright sunlight it's a nice pastel pink, in lower light, say around dusk, it looks almost white. About 3% of the '63's where painted this color,...very few of them are left,...very few. Original paint, and low miles, and real wire wheels. A good-looking classic! Thanks for the question. Steve

On Nov-04-18 at 11:43:39 PST, seller added the following information:

Sunday morning I had a question that came in, which I answered, and I clicked on the proper boxes so that it would be sent to the person who sent it, as well as appear here. But, it didn't appear,...so I'm putting it in manually. The question was about the reserve,...could I give an approximation of it so they would know if they were in the ballpark. My answer was as follows.

If you read the description, go down to the large paragraph where I'm answering a previous question, and you'll see a "more-than-obvious" clue. Read sentences 5, 6, and 7. Add those two numbers together, divide by two,...and you have your answer. In fact it's just a little less than that number you come up with after doing the math! I'm also going to revise the description later today to offer the winner of the auction an option of selling the wire wheels back to me for a net gain to he/she of $1,500 to $1,600. So, if you do win the auction you can count on having the choice of using the original steel wheels, that come with the T-bird, and mounting your new tires on them, and shipping the wire wheels/original tires back to me. Deduct the $1,500 to $1,600 you saved by NOT keeping the wire wheels from the final auction price of the car, and you'll have your actual/final price of what the T-bird cost you. It's kind of like getting a rebate for winning the auction with your bid, if you are in fact the highest bidder! Thanks for the question. Steve S. On Nov-04-18 at 12:43:09 PST, seller added the following information:Something To Consider:

Like I stated above, I would like to offer the winning bidder the option of using the original steel wheels, (which come safely tucked away in the trunk), mounting new tires of their choice on them, and replacing the wire wheels that are currently on the T-bird, with those original rims/new tires. I am willing to "buy back" the wire wheels, with the current tires still mounted on them, from the new owner of the T-bird for $2,000. After you deduct the price that you would pay for the new tires, ($400-500), from the $2,000 that I'll pay you for the old rims and tires, you'll actually be getting the T-bird for about $1,500-$1,600 less than the price you paid at the end of the auction. Think of it as a rebate! I will wind up paying $2,000, plus about $400 in shipping costs, (FedEx, UPS), to buy back the wire wheels that you may not want, and in the process you save a substantial amount on your final price! There isn't an expiration date on this offer,...I'd be interested in doing this a week after delivery of the car, a month after, or two months after,...it doesn't matter to me. Take your time in deciding if the wire wheels are what you want, or if you want to go the more traditional route. Why am I making this offer? It occurred to me that some of the bidders may not realize just how costly these wheels are, and that if you were to damage one by taking on a rather large pothole, or by hitting a curb at a pretty good speed, you would "be out" about $550-$650 to replace one damaged rim. Ouch! So, there is the cost. There is also the practical aspect of wire wheels,...or, I guess I should say the "impractical" aspect of them. They are prone to develop slow leaks, due to their construction, unless you fit them with tubes. These have tubes in them, so that shouldn't be a problem, but remember that if you need a puncture repaired, it won't be as easy as fixing a regular tubeless tire. And, when it comes to simple things like tire rotation and balancing, be sure you have a tire shop that is experienced in working with wire wheels. There are very few out there who are! For all these reasons, you may want to consider the offer. The previous owner gave me the choice by including the original (practical) rims, and I am extending the same courtesy to you. Consider it,...and again, you'll saving about $1,500 to $1,600 by doing so. It's up to you. Steve S.

This vehicle is sold "As Is" and no warranty isimplied.