1958-1960 Tonneau Cover Revisited....

[YellowRose]

For those interested in buying a Tonneau Cover for your Tbird, you will find that they are very difficult to come by and when you do, they can be quite expensive. Also, you have to be concerned if it is the correct model that will fit properly on your Tbird. About the only way you will find that out is to actually see it installed on the Tbird that you are considering buying it off of. Or see detailed pix showing that it is a perfect fit. More than one company was making them back then, and not all of them fit properly on our Tbirds. The Squarebird is one example of that. Some have bought one only to find, to their chagrin, that it is not a good fit on their Tbird. In other words, Buyer Beware...

[Djraider32]

Yes I would like to buy 1960 tonneau cover for my 1960 Thunderbird convertible

[SquareBird60]

Yes!! I am very interested in purchasing a tonneau cover for my’60 square bird

[OUR5T8BIRD]

Great to finally see that advertisement in the J.C. Whitney catalogue Ray . Thanks for finding that as I have been looking for it for a few years . It pretty well confirms the production and sale of the '58 to '60 tonneau covers in the mid '60's by Tee-Boyd .

Thanks again Ray for all you do .MartinB.

[YellowRose]

Martin and I have been chasing down more information on the History of the Tonneau Covers for our old Tbirds and have come up with some additional information.. In speaking with a number of people, including the present owner of Tee-Bird Products, in PA, here is what was learned... In speaking with Pat Wilson he said he got his tonneau cover molds from Tbird Hqs! He does not know who was commissioned initially to make them for Ford. In speaking with Tbird Hqs, I was told that owner Don Johnson of Tbird Hqs either bought the tooling (or the molds) and had a fiberglass company make the tonneau covers for them or they did it in house. It was mentioned that perhaps he got his molds from Al Smith in California, which, he apparently knew about. It was said that Don was searching for Tbird stuff all over the place to add to Tbird Hqs inventory. Don has since passed away and that information went with him. No one at Tbirb Hqs knows who was making the 1962-1964 tonneau covers for Ford... We know from comments that I have received from someone who personally inspected the Al Smith tonneau covers at their shop in California, that those Squarebird tonneau covers of Al Smith were off centered and defective...

Pat Wilson told me that Bob Mench of Bob's Birdhouse was buying his tonneau covers from him. It is reported that 61-66 tonneau covers were being sold by JC WHITNEY in their later catalogs. Also, having been told that they were selling 1958-1962 Tbird Tonneau Covers, in their 1964 catalog, I found one on eBay and bought it! I got it yesterday, and on Page 91, there is the ad! 1958-1962 Tbird tonneau covers for sale, but no mention of who made them. It says they will be shipped from their Indiana warehouse.... See attachments...

Pat said that a number of companies, besides the ones we know of were also making tonneau covers. Florida, (who was only making Flairbird 2-piece tonneau covers, Martin said), Michigan, California, NY, have been mentioned.

[OUR5T8BIRD]

Well done Ray , and the saga continues . Perhaps we should forward this to Bill Stratton and see if he has anything to add .

[YellowRose]

Martin ~ OUR5T8BIRD and I have been digging into the foundation of Tee-Boyd Products, in Wildwood, NJ. According to what we have found out, in speaking with the present owner, Bill Stratton, it was founded sometime in 1962-1964.. Founder was thought to be Bill Booth - NY/NJ. Later in the mid-late 60's company changed hands several times. 1973-The company was bought by Dean Stanton, the Uncle of Bill Stratton. When the Tee-Boyd company was bought, they did not find any mold for the 1958-1960 Tbird, (or for the Bulletbird either, I gather), among the molds they received. No one knows for sure what happened to those Tonneau Cover molds. We know for certain now that Tee-Boyd was marketing (and we assume), manufacturing it in house as they were also making the fiberglass hardtops for the Babybirds. And the Tonneau cover is listed in their catalog they put out in the early to mid 60's. Martin has a copy of it and sent me the .pdf files for it and I converted it to .jpg files. You will see it below. Also, Martin's Tonneau Cover that he purchased back in the mid 80's was made by Tee-Boyd back then. He knows that, because the seller who owned that Tonneau Cover told him that when Martin bought it. And it fit exactly in place on his '58 when he installed it. Unlike other models who have had problems with ill fitting covers..

A number of companies were making them back then. I have a report that an Al Smith in California who had a fiberglass company, was making them. But the person who told me this visited them to check out the possibility of buying one for his Squarebirds. But he quickly saw that the cover was not centered properly on the car, and the workmanship was not the best. We know that Bob Mensch of Bob's Birdhouse was also marketing the Squarebird Tonnea Cover, but we do not know who was making them for him. Martin knows it had the same problem of the cover not being centered on the Squarebirds front seats because he saw one at Carlisle years ago. And saw right off the bat that it was off center, as I recall. Also that Pat Wilson made them for quite a few years, but has stopped doing so, but still offers the cover for the Bulletbirds and Flairbirds. From what Martin and I have been able to find out, the only company that did not have a problem with how it was made was Tee-Boyd Products back then. Then, sometime after the mid to late 60's, they (after being sold several times) no longer offered them. Tee-Bird has never offered them after acquiring the company in 1973. As we learn more we will let you know. You will see the pictures for the 1958-1963 Tbirds Tonneau Covers, which they also marketed.. Tee-Bird still sells used Babybird hardtops, but from what I understand, do not make them... But they have thousands of parts for Babybirds... Now for the pages of that 1960's Tee-Boyd Products catalog. You will drool over the prices back then and what all they were offering. I tried to get the pictures as best I could..

[YellowRose]

Martin re-sent me this pic of a '60 Convertible with the Tonneau Cover on it. Here is what he had to say...

"Ray : here is the picture of the 1960 convertible taken in the mid ’80’s down in New Port Beach at a VTCA convention . This tonneau looks just like mine except perhaps the shape of the head rest pads . Would be nice to find the owner of this one ."

I agree! Does anyone know who owns this Tbird?

[YellowRose]

lol.. The original owner of Tee-Boyd might have been, but Wildwood, the original location, is about as south in New Jersey as you can get without being in the water!

[jopizz]

I asked him about the history of which he knew a bit and why it was called TEE-BOYD? He said most likely because that is the way they pronounced TBird in New Jersey.

He must've been from North Jersey originally. Here in South Jersey we use the correct English.

John

[YellowRose]

Hi John, according to Martin Brugmans History of the Tonneau Cover, here is what he had to say about that....

"With more research recently I discovered that this company was purchased in the 70’s and the name was changed to “ Tee-Bird Products “. They are still in business today and I have since spoken with the present owner. Apparently it was his uncle who purchased it back then. I asked him about the history of which he knew a bit and why it was called TEE-BOYD? He said most likely because that is the way they pronounced T’Bird in New Jersey. (T’Boyd). O/K. They still sell Little Bird parts and also Big Fords of the same years. Unfortunately however, no SquareBird Tonneau."

[jopizz]

I've been to Tee-Bird products a couple of times. I don't think they are the same company that made the tonneau covers.

John

[YellowRose]

I need to check on this Tee-Bird Products. Looking at their website, I see that their catalog has not been updated since 2012. So they may no longer be in business... I will let you know... This morning, I called their phone number and got a recording regarding their operating hours. So that number still works. They are not open on weekends. I left them a message. Their price list is dated 07-04-2018, so that is fairly up to date. In checking their business location of Exton I found this. Their website location says West Chester, PA.

Tee-Boyd was founded in 1962-1963 and changed owners several time. In 1973, it was bought by Dean Stanton and re-named Tee-Bird Products. The company is located in Exton and incorporated in Pennsylvania. Tee-Bird Products Inc specializes in Retail - Automotive Parts.

[YellowRose]

In the discussion regarding Tonneau Covers, the name T-Boyd or Tee-Boyd came up. In researching I happened to find this information regarding Tee-Boyd Productions in Wildwood, NJ selling Tbird parts back in the mid 1960's, including the tonneau cover, but I am not sure about that back then... According to Martin Brugmans Tonneau Cover History (found in the Thunderbird Production History forum) Martin talks about Tee-Boyd, and said, at the time he wrote that, they were still in business.. However, a google does not show that anymore. But it does show this! Tee-Bird Products, Exton, PA 1955-1957 Tbird parts, 1955-1956 Ford car parts. This may be what is left of the company after it was taken over by a Nephew, I think... I also found an ad from Popular Science, Aug 1965 advertising Tee-Boyd Products, Wildwood, NJ back then. Back then, they were still selling Babybird parts, and still are. I do not know what year it was when they started making and selling Squarebird tonneau covers... Attached is a copy of it!

https://www.tee-bird.com

[YellowRose]

I had an interesting conversation again with Ken Banks in Ohio, regarding the tonneau covers he has been selling. Here is what he told me about them. About 25 years ago, he and a friend traveled to Tennessee looking for parts for Tbirds, following up on some leads they had regarding them. They met a guy who had a lot of parts, had a Squarebird and a Bulletbird also, and some other classic cars. He wanted a lot for the parts, but while looking through things they spotted a bunch of tonnea covers up against a wall stacked on each other. So they started talking with him about them. From what they understood, he had taken a tonneau cover off his Bulletbird, (I think), and asked someone who repairs boats close by and worked in epoxy, if he could make tonneau covers for him. Apparently, the guy knocked out 25 of them for him and he tried to sell them at S&S events, and did not move them because there was no hardware for them and not a lot of demand therefore. So he stopped trying to sell them and they sat there for quite some time, until Ken and his friend came along. After dickering with him for awhile, they settled on a price and they bought all 25 of them and hauled them back home. Then they went about obtaining the necessary hardware for them. Over the years his friend sold the 15 he had, and Ken sold all but the two he has left. I think that there was a combination of 1962-1964 tonneau covers they obtained, and I think some Squarebird covers also. Ken said that over the years he sold 1962 tonneau covers to Squarebird owners and they fit.... He knows this to be a fact, because he knows some of those people he sold them to, and if they had not fit, he would have been hearing about it. So, now Ken has one Bulletbird tonneau cover that was spoken for and one Bulletbird tonneau cover that is still available, for $350 including the hardware, plus shipping, is my understanding. The shipping may cost more than the cover... Anyone interested can get the details from him by calling him. Keep in mind, these are not Bob Mench, T-Boyd, or Pat Wilson tonneau covers. These are knockoffs made from one of those previous versions according to the story. His phone number is: 937-845-3450.

I am going to post pix that Ken sent me. One of a Squarebird with a 1962 Bulletbird installed on it. One of a Bulletbird with the Bulletbird Tonneau cover. Also some pix of width and length measurements that he made of his Bulletbird tonneau cover. Also a picture of it. So here are the measurements first, followed by the pix.

Tonneau Cover Measurements:

1. Width = 61 inches

2. Length = 43.5 inches

3. Heigth = 27 inches

Seat on center width = 31.25 inches

Regards, Ken Bender