Looking for a 60

[villain]

ideally in pretty good, restored shape. wanting it w/ 430ci, hardtop and sunroof (y'all call them golde tops?), black with either the black and white or red interior...but honestly open to options depending on what I can find.

new member btw - had my fun with new sports cars and exotics...now want something older and more 'special'. Have an 85 Audi ur-Quattro as my other ride and a Ducati 1198s to get out any need to go insanely fast :-)

any help, advice or pointers are welcome and appreciated.

[dgs]

The 430 S/R is, I believe, the rarest 'Bird ever made. It's at least up there. Good luck with your search.

Oh, and their called Golde tops because Golde is the company that made the sunroof components.

[villain]

The 430 S/R is, I believe, the rarest 'Bird ever made. It's at least up there.

ha..figures :-) I seem to have that kinda taste I guess...
I know it's all subjective, but what kinda $ range you figure that puts me in for a nice example? also - (also probably an unknown exactly) but how rare does that make it? aka is it outlandish to think I can get one?
I mean, there were only around 74 of those Quattros I have brought into the country and I have an outstanding example of one. but this is a completely unknown territory for me.

Thanks for the help!!!

[YellowRose]

Looking for a 60

Hi David! First of all, let me say that parts for the 430CI engine are much harder to find and when you do find them, generally more expensive. On the other hand, parts for the 352CI engine are very common and a lot less expensive. The reason being that the 430CI engine was not produced in the great numbers that the 352CI engine was.

Having said that, you might want to consider a 352CI Golde Top Squarebird instead. The 430 J Code will cost you a lot more money, more than likely, then the 352 version. You asked about pricing. It depends on the quality of the car. You could buy a clunker for much less money, several thousands of dollars to $10K. Then, to bring it up to a daily driver or show quality, you would have to put $20-$30K in additional funds in it to bring it up to par. Unless you can do all your own work... A first class J Code can go for $20K-$35K, depending on the quality of the restoration of the vehicle. A 352CI Golde Top for less, usually. These are just ball park figures that I am giving you, as I have seen these cars being sold for recently.

I did a search for you using Jaxed and searched nationwide for a J Code Squarebird. The only one on the list had already been sold. I have also searched eBay and did not find anything in the way of a J Code Squarebird. Here is the link to Jaxed. You might have to check every day or so to find something, but they are out there, if you are willing to pay the price. I look at it this way, if you are a great mechanic, you might be able to find one that you can restore yourself. Or you can spend the money up front, and buy one that is fully restored and that you can enjoy driving right now. Good luck in your hunt.

http://www.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/mash.cgi?cat=cp&itm=thunderbird&loc=&fil=&ys=1960&ye=1960&ps=&pe=&pgs=100&submit=++++go++++

[YellowRose]

Here are some possible leads...l

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=1960+Ford+Thunderbird+for+sale&cp=22&pf=p&sclient=psy&aq=0&aqi=&aql=&oq=1960+Ford+Thunderbird+&pbx=1&fp=2d73bcec2e6e3c54

http://americandreamcars.com/1960tbirdcp080710.htm

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/p****_search_form?mode=p****_search_form&q=Ford+Thunderbird

http://www.lemonfree.com/47c7a8bb2fe842a16dd927e828da645c.html

http://www.cars-on-line.com/41364.html

[villain]

AWESOME!!! Thank you very very much.
I guess my affection for the bigger engine comes from the fact that my last several cars have been good for 500+...so I have an historical desire to go pretty fast...but then again, that's not really what I am buying this car for.
Again, thank you for the advice...honestly the price or maintenance doesn't frighten me much. I can't really wrench on it much myself, but have some good friends that do most of my auto work for me and after being jaded with 5-10k for an exhaust system for several years, I am thinking even the pricier side of this car may still be relatively inexpensive by comparison. If I am in the 18-30k range for a nicely restored car, that should work I think...and honestly it doesn't 'have' to be a j-code. so while I continue my search for a while (the links are much appreciated), if y'all see or hear of one around, please feel free to hit me up and point me at it :-)

BTW - YellowRose - looks like your the admin? under the 'movies' section, you may want to put in "It Might Get Loud" - it was a documentary with 3 guitar players in it (Jimmy Page, Jack White and 'The Edge'), Jack White is driving a 60 squarebird in Tennessee when they are playing a raunchy version of the delta blues 'sitting on top of the world'...being that car was a bit before my time, that was the first time I had actually seen one :-)

[Guest]

Hey David,
I found a white Golde Top Edition with red interior in Oregon $15,000 firm! She looks to be in very good condition. If you are interested http://cars.yakaz.com/1960-thunderbird-for-sale I contacted the seller and she's still for sale!!! Keep us posted!
Richard D. Hord

[villain]

Hey David,
I found a white Golde Top Edition with red in Oregon $15,000 firm! She looks to be in very good condition. If you are interested I will see if I can get more information from the owner!
Richard D. Hord

The one that was on eBay recently? cause it didnt sell and the owner just pinged me back and said it was going back up for auction. - i think i want it :-) I am trying to find the dead ebay ad right now.
so basically YES - hook a brotha up :-)

[villain]

Found the ad.
What's y'alls opinion on buying one sight unseen? aka - should i get my butt out to Oregon to check it out before plopping down 15k?

[Guest]

Hey David,
Well I bought on off Ebay, sight unseen! She had some issues but I went and picked her up and drove her 400 miles The only problem I had was a power steering hose came loose! The seller did inform me everything she had wrong with her before I went and picked her up. And he was very straight forward with me!
Richard D. Hord

[villain]

Hey David,
Well I bought on off Ebay, sight unseen! She had some issues but I went and picked her up and drove her 400 miles The only problem I had was a power steering hose came loose! The seller did inform me everything she had wrong with her before I went and picked her up. And he was very straight forward with me!
Richard D. Hord

Cool. at least it's 'been done' :-)
I bought my last ride from a dealer in a hotel in Vegas and drove it back to CO...so I kinda like that style of roadtrip to get to know a new car. I am hoping I can find a driver like that and be able to put a thousand miles or so on her as my inaugural drive :-)

[Guest]

Hey David,
We had a ball bring Christine home! My wife and daughter-in-law rode in our Nissan and my son and I rode in the Thunderbird! We would be cruising down Interstate 75 and people would blow the horn, give thumbs up and had two passengers in other vehicles hanging out the window taking pictures. At one point my son asked can you drive backwards for a while my right arm is cooked (by the sun)! He also hit his thigh on the thigh buster twice (getting in the car) He asked what did Ford do make a windshield and build a car around it? We laughed till we cried!!!
Richard D. Hord

P.S. My daughter-in-law is from Portland. I may be able to contact her mom or step dad to see if they know someone that knows old cars and can see about taking a look at her!

[villain]

P.S. My daughter-in-law is from Portland. I may be able to contact her mom or step dad to see if they know someone that knows old cars and can see about taking a look at her!

is he actually in Portland? I have a friend out there too, but doubt they have any insight into old cars like that. But yeah, if you know of anyone that would take a look, that would be awesome.
i can get out to portland pretty easily too I think, but honestly don't know much about what to look for

[YellowRose]

Looking for a 60

Hi David, If you can, I would make a trip to look over any car that you are considering buying off the internet. Like Richard, I bought sight unseen, but I had a lot of pictures to look at and talked with the owner several times before I bought my Tbird off of eBay. I also had a good mechanic friend of mine that I have known for decades make the trip with me. We drove my van there, loaded with his tools and a floor jack. He checked out the car and thought it was a good buy. So I paid the owner and my buddy drove it back. On the west side of Houston, the battery went out on us. I went to an Autozone store, got a loaner battery, and plunked it in the car and he drove the car back to Autozone. He worked on the generator set up, got it adjusted properly and drove the car back to San Antonio from Northern Mississippi without further problems. Later, we found the generator mounting bracket broken and being held on with a large nut and washer, along with some other things that the owner forgot to tell us about. If you have a good mechanic, take him with you if possible, to check out any car. That might save you from making a mistake on buying a particular car. Also, there are companies you can hire in various cities across the country to check out a car for you. You would have to google to find them, unless one of the guys know who they might be. The other alternative would be to find a member of this Forum who is willing to go check out a car for you. Good luck!

[Guest]

Hi David
I've bought a few cars sight unseen as long as you can get a "feel" for the seller when talking to them and more detailed pics it does go well, but do expect that there are going to be things that need to be done.
Due to my location having a look at a car is sort of out of the question. Maybe a forum member may be close to have a look but then that's still not the same as seeing it yourself.
In regards to the white one in Oregon does appear pretty clean and with red leather interior in good condition. It's a non A/C car but then only a small percentage of J code SR's had A/C.
With only 377 J code SR's being built they are becoming harder to find in good condition so it's a pretty tall order to find one wit A/C if you do snap it quick, they are out there just have to be patient
This is one I bought recently to give you and idea of what is out there.
I do have a J code here for sale but then you'd have to ship back to the US from Australia

Richard