Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

1958 Thunderbird Convertible

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • 1958Bird
    Newbie
    • Jul 14 2013
    • 14

    1958 Thunderbird Convertible

    Hi All, I am new to the forum.
    I am new to the TBirds scene and I was wondering how rare a 1958 Thunderbird Convertible is? I have the chance to purchase one that has been hidden away for a very long time and has not been registered since 1964. This is a complete car with NO rust at all. It is body number 0929.

    Thanks in advance
  • Guest

    #2
    Without checking exact production numbers, a few thousand of the convertibles were made in 58. Might have been something like 2900 of them. According to John Rotellla's http://www.tbirdregistry.com, there's 112 of these cars known to exist today.

    So probably don't ask any more questions, just buy the darn bird and feel very good about yourself. Oh yes maybe one more question, How many 58 converts are in Australia?

    Comment

    • 1958Bird
      Newbie
      • Jul 14 2013
      • 14

      #3
      Thanks mate. I will let you know tomorrow how I went.

      Comment

      • YellowRose
        Super-Experienced


        • Jan 21 2008
        • 17191

        #4
        1958 Thunderbird Convertible

        '58 Convertible s are fairly rare with only 2,134 made. As Jed said, not that many are known to be left. When you open the drivers door, on the post that the door closes on, you should find the Data Plate there. On that plate, it gives you the VIN #, the information on the car model, which should be a convertible, color of the car, the interior color, the date it was scheduled to be built, the tranny and axle in it all when it went down the line. Here is a link that will give you more information about the '58 Squarebird. As Jed said, grab it if it is really good condition. We have a Vehicle Check List you can use to check out the car with. You will find it at the bottom of the Technical Resource Library, the link to which is always below my signature element. Print it out and run the check list against the car.

        http://automotivemileposts.com/tbird...lections.shtml

        Ray Clark - Squarebirds Administrator
        The Terminator..... VTCI #11178 ITC #6000 Yellow Mustang Registry (YMR) #12188
        Contact me via Private Message for my email address, or Call (Cell) 210-875-1411

        https://www.squarebirds.org/picture_gallery/TechnicalResourceLibrary/trl.htm
        Faye's Ovarian Cancer Memorial Website.
        https://faye.rayclark.info/index.html

        Comment

        • 1958Bird
          Newbie
          • Jul 14 2013
          • 14

          #5
          Body is 76A, Color is M, Trim is XM, Date is 09F Trans 4, axle 1

          Comment

          • YellowRose
            Super-Experienced


            • Jan 21 2008
            • 17191

            #6
            1958 Thunderbird Convertible

            Hi Darren, I see you know the Data Plate information. The 76A tells you it is a Convertible. The M tells you it had a Gulfstream Blue paint job on it when it left the factory. The XM tells you it had a vinyl Turquoise and White interior. The 09F tells you it was scheduled for production on the 9th of June. That does not mean that it was actually built on that day because the line could have been ahead or behind schedule on that day. So it could have been actually built before or after that date. The Tranny Code 4 says it had a Cruise-O-Matic. The Axle Code 1 says it had a 3.10 axle in it. So that is what she left the factory as.

            If the car has been registered in the Thunderbird Registry, you can enter the VIN # off the Data Plate and it will tell you if a previous owner has registered it on the Registry. If not, you can register it yourself. The idea behind the registry is to make a record of every known Tbird made, whether it has been crushed, a parts car, or still in use. The link to it is:

            http://www.tbirdregistry.com/

            Hope the information I have provided to you helps.
            Last edited by YellowRose; July 15, 2013, 01:28 AM.

            Ray Clark - Squarebirds Administrator
            The Terminator..... VTCI #11178 ITC #6000 Yellow Mustang Registry (YMR) #12188
            Contact me via Private Message for my email address, or Call (Cell) 210-875-1411

            https://www.squarebirds.org/picture_gallery/TechnicalResourceLibrary/trl.htm
            Faye's Ovarian Cancer Memorial Website.
            https://faye.rayclark.info/index.html

            Comment

            • Guest

              #7
              Darren, the tbird registry has one Aussie 58 convert registered as #25166 with a vin# of H8YJ131158.

              Comments: Mario who lives in Melbourne, Australia says that he now owns this 1958 Thuderbird. It will be restored soon. Carl Tomasello of New Jersey registered this car on April 4, 2005 and he says: This is a four owner car--originally from California. It was restored about seven years ago from a truly rust free car. It was originally blue and is now red.

              Comment

              • 1958Bird
                Newbie
                • Jul 14 2013
                • 14

                #8
                Well, I now own a 1958 Thunderbird Convertible .
                The car has NO rust, the original 352 motor, auto gearbox and all of the parts are there. It even has the original 1965 California number plates with the 1965 registration sticker on the top right hand side.
                Apparently the car was with a collector in the US who had the car since 1965. The car sat in his collection for the next 41 years. It was then sold to the person I bought the car off and he had it from 2006 up until last week (7 years). So from what I can work out this car has been MIA for 49 years.

                I am extremely happy with the car, as I said it has no rust anywhere and hopefully it will only take me about 6 to 12 months long to get it back on the road (well that’s the plan). It will be restored to original condition. From what iI can work out it was the 8th Convertible produced according to the body number.
                Does anyone know how many were produced in this colour and trim? I will up load some photos when I work out how.
                Cheers

                Comment

                • jopizz
                  Super-Experienced


                  • Nov 23 2009
                  • 8316

                  #9
                  Unfortunately there are no records existing that show how many of a certain color and trim were built. The best you can do is go to the Thunderbird Registry and look up the data on cars that have been registered. I know that Bill Van Ess used to keep records on '58 convertibles. He may have more information. Congrats on your new acquisition. Glad to hear that it's in such good condition.

                  John
                  John Pizzi - Squarebirds Administrator

                  Thunderbird Registry #36223
                  jopizz@squarebirds.org 856-779-9695

                  https://www.squarebirds.org/picture_gallery/TechnicalResourceLibrary/trl.htm

                  Comment

                  • YellowRose
                    Super-Experienced


                    • Jan 21 2008
                    • 17191

                    #10
                    1958 Thunderbird Convertible

                    Hi Darren, as John said, there were no records like that kept back then. Color Code M = Blue/Green or Sales Name Gulfstream Blue. In a exterior color usage survey conducted 12/2009 by Alan Tast, Past VTCI President, and present VTCI Technical Director, that color show up only 1.35% in the survey, making it one of the more rare colors. Bill Van Ess is a member of this Forum, so if he sees this, he might be able to tell you more. As for posting pix of your Tbird, the Welcome I posted for you when you joined tells you the ways you can do that. Here is the link to it.

                    http://squarebirds.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=15419

                    Ray Clark - Squarebirds Administrator
                    The Terminator..... VTCI #11178 ITC #6000 Yellow Mustang Registry (YMR) #12188
                    Contact me via Private Message for my email address, or Call (Cell) 210-875-1411

                    https://www.squarebirds.org/picture_gallery/TechnicalResourceLibrary/trl.htm
                    Faye's Ovarian Cancer Memorial Website.
                    https://faye.rayclark.info/index.html

                    Comment

                    • Guest

                      #11
                      Darren, wow, what a treat for you. Glad to learn you went thru with the purchace and that you now have your new bird. Betcha she's a beauty. Can't wait to see a few pictures of her.

                      Comment

                      • Dan Leavens
                        Moderator / Administrator


                        • Oct 4 2006
                        • 6369

                        #12
                        Darren also congrats on your recent purchase of the 58 convert and yes we are waiting for some pictures. As the boys have said the production numbers in 58 on converts were less than 2200 so they are very rare in good condition.

                        I suspect being in a collection it was well looked after but you still need to give her a complete check up to ensure safe cruisin. One of the first things I would get done is a complete fluid check and oil change to keep motor purring.
                        Look forward to you posting some pixs in the near future.
                        Dano Calgary,Alberta Canada
                        Thunderbird Registry
                        58HT #33317
                        60 HT (Sold )

                        Comment

                        • stu454bb
                          Apprentice
                          • Jan 27 2011
                          • 50

                          #13
                          Good stuff mate. There's not to many down here. You'll probably be the only one at your local rod show. My father and I are getting real close to finishing his 59. I hope you enjoy restoring your ragtop as much as we have his hardtop. Try to do a build thread on her as you go. Stu

                          Comment

                          • 1958Bird
                            Newbie
                            • Jul 14 2013
                            • 14

                            #14
                            Hi all

                            Just letting you know that the restoration of my 58 convertible has started. I will forward some pictures to yellow rose to up load.

                            Comment

                            • YellowRose
                              Super-Experienced


                              • Jan 21 2008
                              • 17191

                              #15
                              1958 Thunderbird Convertible

                              Hi Darren, I just received your Paid Membership payment and added you to the Paid Member rolls. You should now be seeing the Member icon by your user id indicating that you are a Paid Member of the Forum. As such, you can now post your own pictures on our server. When you are typing a message like I am now, if you scroll down under the Submit Reply Preview Post buttons, you will see Additional Options. Below that is Manage Attachments. Clicking on it will allow you upload 10 pictures at a time to the server. Please keep your pix to 800x600 or less.

                              You now have access to 20mb of webspace so if you want to put up your own webpage showing the work being done on her, you can do that. If you want to take advantage of that, contact Dave Dare ~ simplyconnected, our Webmaster. He can set you up. You also have access to your own personal avatar instead of one of our canned ones. Also, as a Paid Member, you now have access to the Members Conference Forum, right below the Advertisements Forum. Only Paid Members have access to it.

                              If you are going to give us a running picture display of the work being done on her, post the pix in the Squarebirds Forum. If they are just beauty shots, post them in the Our Rides Forum. I am about to post a Thank You in the Anything Goes, Paid Members Thread.

                              Good luck with the restore and post some pix for us! We are dying to see what she looks like!

                              Ray Clark - Squarebirds Administrator
                              The Terminator..... VTCI #11178 ITC #6000 Yellow Mustang Registry (YMR) #12188
                              Contact me via Private Message for my email address, or Call (Cell) 210-875-1411

                              https://www.squarebirds.org/picture_gallery/TechnicalResourceLibrary/trl.htm
                              Faye's Ovarian Cancer Memorial Website.
                              https://faye.rayclark.info/index.html

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              😀
                              🥰
                              🤢
                              😎
                              😡
                              👍
                              👎