Welcome, flyinthermals !!

[YellowRose]

Welcome to Squarebirds, flyinthermals! Rob hales from Canada and does not own a Tbird. If you are looking for one let us know what year, model, color, etc., you might be looking for and we can help you find one. If you do find one, look at the Technical Resource Library (TRL) on this Forum. Down at the bottom of it next to last, you will find the Vehicle Check List that members created to help someone who is looking to buy a Tbird. The link to it is always part of my signature element. Print it out and go over it. Take it with you, if you wish, or at least learn what to look for when inspecting one of these old Birds as a prospective buyer. The check list can help you select or reject the car you are looking at. It might save you a lot of money and headaches down the road or confirm that you think the car is worth buying. I would recommend that you save my phone number should you ever need to contact me. Should you have any problems navigating our Forum, please contact me, or Dave Dare. His phone number is 248-544-8834. Enjoy The Journey!

[flyinthermals]

Looking for my first Bird

Hi Ray,
Thank you for the invitation. This looks like a great site. I am looking for my first bird and have narrowed it down to a 1958, 1959 or 1960 coupe. I have been told that we are in a depressed market for certain classic cars right now and that I should not overpay. That said I also want to pay a fair price to the seller so we both drive away happy and satisfied with the deal. Other than minor repairs, I am not interested in a fixer upper. I plan to drive the bird only in the summer and avoid the rain as much as I can. I am not looking for show quality but good to very good condition. I have been looking at Hagerty and other evaluation tools to give me an idea of the value of these cars but every one is different. It’s a hard process. I don’t want to overpay if a bird needs lots of work and my mechanical skills are limited. I live in Toronto, Canada and there are many cars for sale here. I have seen great prices there in the USA and am wondering if it’s worth the effort to purchase one from my neighbors to the south and ship or drive it up. As of today I continue to look and see if I can find a my perfect bird. Any insight or tips from the members here would be appreciated. Thank you to all those who reply.

Cheers

[flyinthermals]

Market

Would anyone know what the market is like these days. I'm looking for a 1959 to 1962 bird. What condition would I get a bird in spending around $15,000?

[YellowRose]

Welcome, flyinthermals !!

Hi Rob,

It is difficult for me to say what the market is like these days. Perhaps you can get a better idea of what the various years are selling for by these links. At least what they are asking for them. If you are considering a Squarebird, I think I would shoot for the 1960 because of some improvements on it that the '58 and '59 did not have. Same with the Bulletbirds. A '63, perhaps because of any improvements it has over the '61 and '62. You can go to Automotive Mile Posts and to the Thunderbird link and click on it. Then you can bring up the year you want to check out, look at the Standard Equipment, and Optional equipment for each year you are interested in. You can look at the engines and trannys available for each year also.

http://automotivemileposts.com/

You certainly want to go to our Technical Resource Library and print out the Vehicle Check List our members put together to help prospective Tbird buyers better evaluate the car they are looking at. That list could save you a lot of trouble, headaches and money in the future. That link to the TRL is at the bottom of every post I make.

Here are some links that you might want to check into to get an idea of what is out there, how much they are asking for them, what they look like. It sounds like you are looking for a Tbird that is not a project, has already been restored, or fairly well so. You might also want to buy in Canada if possible, so you don't have to go through any hassle there might be of importing a car from the US.

http://www.americandreamcars.com/tbirdpick.htm

http://cars.oodle.com/1958_1963-ford...r-sale/?inbs=1

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/Cars-Tru...odel%2520Year=

Pick the year you want to look at and it should list the cars in that year that are available for sale on eBay. That will give you an idea of what they are asking for them. Not necessarily what they are selling for though.

http://www.cars-on-line.com/t-bird.html

A quick way to search Craigslist, either regionally or nationally and in Canada or other sites.

http://www.adhuntr.com/

Search for year specific Tbirds for sale. for example: 1959 Thunderbirds for sale or whatever year you are interested in.

Good luck in your search and I hope you find what you are looking for.

[Dan Leavens]

Rob glad to hear that you are interested in a squarebird 58-60 Being in Toronto there is a vast amount of squarebirds and first I would see if they have a Toronto TBird Club as we do here in Calgary. I know there is a Southern Ontario Club on the web sotbirdclub.org These days $15,000 would get you a # 3 squarebird ( by that I mean willing to put another $5-10K into it ) to bring it up to a # 2 squarebird. Mostly body / paint / mechanical that the previous owner did NOT want to complete. That being said there are some exceptions when someone is looking to unload one or an estate sale. Let me know if I can provide anything else to assist you in your quest.

[del]

Would anyone know what the market is like these days. I'm looking for a 1959 to 1962 bird. What condition would I get a bird in spending around $15,000?

Hi flyinthermals and welcome. IMHO you should be able to find a very nice TBird for $15K. I agree with whomever told you that the vintage / collector car market is depressed somewhat. I have being watching the Completed auctions for 58-60's via ebay fairly steadily for about 5 years, and it seems to me that prices there are a little softer now than 4 years ago when I bought mine. But, as you said, every car and situation is different and there are lots of factors to consider. When I was looking I limited my search to cars I could drive to in a about 6 hours, because I didn't want to get into a situation where I was flying all over the place to check out potential candidates.

I don't know anything about the importation fees and taxation you may have to consider if you buy something in the US. Transportation can be expensive, too. I paid about $1 / mile to ship from NJ to Buffalo.

There is a white 59 on ebay right now for $10,500 item#370781552812 It's been for sale for a while and he's already dropped the price so he's probably taking offers.

Good Luck with your search!

[flyinthermals]

Still Looking

Hi All,

Thank you for the information.

[Ickaber]

1960 Thunderbird

Here's an example of a '60 that is for sale near me.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/cto/3713045776.html

[flyinthermals]

10 digit Vin# Check

Hi All,
Does any one know a site to look into 10 digit Vin# checks? I can only seem to find sites that require 17 digits. Thanks.

[tbird430]

Here's an example of a '60 that is for sale near me.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/cto/3713045776.html

That's a very nice, fresh looking '60 Hardtop!!
Great colors....

-Jon in TX.