1952-59 Ford Sorry I have to vent "55 T-Bird"

Local car show down town yesterday annual fund raiser type..
A nice 55 red and white T-bird with a dirty, salvage yard fresh Pinto 4 cylinder..Not sure what kind of statement the owner was trying to make, but can't imagine anything positive or constructive.

 

Maybe the statement is: " I'm a freakin' *****, and just to prove it, I ruined a cl***ic TBird by installing this POS you see under the hood ".

 

Was it a real T-bird or a fibergl*** kit car?

 

Real Bird,, Like I said the engine looked like it was straight from the s**** yard dirty, wires hanging all over etc..

Good thing is I don't think he did anything that can't be fixed..

 

Shay produced factory built replicas of 55 T-Birds in the late 70's or early 80's that did come with Pinto 4 bangers. It's possible it was one of those.

 

Now if it were a real T Bird with a Turbo Coupe engine and its five speed, - - - - - - -

 

The crazy thing is here... the guy had his hood up? lol
Don't know what's worse, the 4 banger in the Tbird or the fact that the owner would display it. Maybe he was looking for sympathy and for someone to give him a good deal on a V8

 

Too bad you didn't post a picture of that "gem" But here is a video of the real deal! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jL5lF6nvQE

 

Another one that seems to bug the purists is the 1949 Ford based on a 90's T-Bird since I once owned a 1991 T-Bird I actually thought it was a cool idea,the 3.8 V-6 had good acceleration cruised on the highway with 26-27 MPG had a great suspension and brakes combined with a very comfortable interior.Here are some more replicas:http://www.sub5zero.com/the-top-20-craziest-fancy-car-replicas/

 

which purist is it bugging .. the 49 guys or the tbird guys. 90 era tbirds are a dime a dozen. ive seen worse jobs done to old cars in the name of kustoms to make many people shake their heads in wonder. the 49 tbird conversion is an idea i liked as well.

pinto motor in an early tbird is just wrong i will admit. maybe he was daring to be different, or it was all he had lying around. but with the price even a shell brings, im sure he had the money to at least pop for a 289/302/351

 

It's funny that this subject came up. I happened across one of those re-popped '55 t-bird kit cars on craigslist a few days ago. I can't remember what city it was in but I'm sure it was in the mid-west somewhere. It was a 3/4 or 7/8 scale and had the pinto motor. It wasn't running and was setting in the guys barn partially dis***embled. He wanted $6K for it!

 

Jeff, I thought of a picture but the owner was there and I would not honor him by taking a picture.

 

I get snotty remarks from some of the "real" T-bird restoration fanatics - every once in a while - but mostly they just go their way and I go mine. If you want to a Ford roadster and would prefer something besides a Model A or a 30's outfit - the mid fifties 'bird is it. And sticking with the V8 power - old or new, either one - is a "no-brainer".

Has a shortened full size car frame, steel body, roof pops off, engine set back about 10 inches, and built for a 9" rear end. Don't need to convince you guys - its a good start for a toy.............

 

I guess the upside is at least it is Ford powered

 

My idea of a "re-power"........... there's a '59 Galaxie on Epay with a 460.

 

I remember when the ''birdboxes'' were common as heck, made sense for all the reasons JeffB2 mentioned. Lots of those type of things were being done one that really surprised me was a late 70s Camaro with a 55 Studebaker nose. In my neck of the woods there is a 56 bird with a 502 Chev in it when it comes down to it they're just cars and the owners had a different vision than ours. Am guessing if you get another look at that Bird it probably was an old shay kit. Without a real one parked next to it they can fool you.

Or maybe the pinto motor was there so he could drive the car while the y-block was/till being rebuilt.

 

Some guys just want to watch the world burn, too. The guy could've thought to himself... "Self, for my personal entertainment this week while the y-block is in the shop, I think I'll toss that old pinto mill in the 'bird and drive on down to the local cruise night and watch all the purists squirm and break out in a rash."

 

There is a land speed racer from the San Diego area I saw at Bonneville last year. Its a Mark VIII with a four banger 2.3 The engine is mounted at an angle, it has Webers, the engineering is neat. It went very fast, but I dont remember the numbers. I told the driver, never has a car looked so wrong and been so right.