One Family Owned 1979 Ford Thunderbird
This 1979 Ford Thunderbird appears to be in beautiful condition inside and out and according to the seller, it has been a one-family-owned car since new. They’re selling it to help the family settle the estate and it can be found listed here on eBay in The Queen City: Cincinnati, Ohio. There is no reserve and the current bid price is $4,650.
The headlights work! Those of us who have owned cars with hidden headlights know that sometimes they don’t open, stay open all the time, or they’re winking at you – as in only one side opens or closes. It’s not surprising that the headlight doors work given the incredible condition of this car. I’m trying to decide on these wheels with whitewall tires: yea or nay? As long as the tires are fairly new I’d keep them. The “polycast” wheels sure look great and they’re original to the car.
One thing that’s a big nay for me is the exhaust poking out of the back like that. Hopefully that’s easy to change as those are most likely $10 exhaust tips from the neighborhood auto parts store and they would come off in the first 0.01 seconds if I owned this otherwise elegant, beautiful, understated luxury car. The seventh-generation Thunderbird was made for three years, 1977, 1978, and 1979.
Surprisingly, but not really, there are no power windows on this Thunderbird and it’s a rare T-Bird of this generation that shows up here on Barn Finds with leather seats. This one has perfect ribbed velour both front and back and the seller says that everything works right down to having ice-cold air-conditioning. The underside is reportedly as nice as everything else is. 1979 would be the last year of the midsized LTD II-based Thunderbird before they were resized again.
The engine is Ford’s 351 cubic-inch V8 which would have had around 150 horsepower. As expected, it runs perfectly and this car is a fly-in-and-drive-home deal. My brother had a T-Bird of this era and it was a great car, have any of you owned one?
Auctions Ending Soon
1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1Bid Now12 hours$7,100
2003 Porsche Boxster SBid Now13 hours$6,250
1966 Lincoln ContinentalBid Now15 hours$500
2000 Jaguar XJ8LBid Now4 days$1,250
1977 Datsun 280ZBid Now5 days$275
Comments
Well. A baby blue basket bird that isn’t a basket case.
Now this is a nice ride .Great price ,looks good . I would drive this !!
About 2000 miles away would need a oil change and new tires before leaving but it would make for a fun cross country trip to fly back and drive it home
I had the sister car, a cougar. Same color in and out, same engine. Purchased from original owner for $1500.00. Had 80k miles on the clock. I kept it maybe a year and gave to my brother and his wife because they just had a child and their car engine blew.
I had a 78 Cougar XR7 with the 351 clevlend modified basically the same cars although no hidden headlights. The thunderbird was luxurious so surprised at no power windows. The Windsor motors didn’t hold up as well. Mine had 280K before a head on collision totalled it. Nice looking car and a great cruiser. I think it’s a great deal at 5K but wouldn’t go much higher.
Imagine if the seller put on a pair of Cherry Bomb glass packs to go with those exhaust tips!
Yes, imagine.
I bought a brand new 79 Heritage Edition ,Triple Black ,Burgundy Leather Interior and power everything in 1980. It was left over and they were down sizing the new T-Birds. I paid about the same price for it, as what they are asking for this car. It was a beautiful BIG car. We lived in Colo. and that was the summer that Mount Helen Erupted in Washington State. The next couple of days the air in Colo. was extremely polluted, even worse than usual. There was an ugly black dust all over the car. I wasn’t sure why and what caused it. I decided to rinse it off with clear cold water. It appeared to be OK until you looked close, it had what appeared to be water spots all over it. You couldn’t see them from a distance, but they definitely showed. I tried everything, I could do or find to remove them. I was tempted to color sand it and rub, but if that failed ,it would be a whole new paint job. I can’t remember, but I don’t think I contacted insurance or if they refused the claim. It was a beautiful car but paint drove me crazy. I had to sell it.
How is it “tripple black” with burgundy interior???
I’d leave the whitewalls on it. It’s how God created it.
You know, you’re 100% right, Joe. I agree.
Magna flow chamberd mufflers would sound good
My Dad had a blue ’79 with blue interior,the 302 engine and t-tops!!I was 7 when he got it in ’78 and it went to various trips including Florida and Washington/ Baltimore from Canada.It was what I took my road test in for my drivers license at 17 and was a nice car to drive,the hood went on forever!I ended up getting my own years later to remember my dad’s that was a Town Landau with t-tops and dark blue.Nice cars that never got the respect they deserved.
Nobody did a Robin Egg Blue 🐦 ..
better than the Ford Motor co.
I owned a 1977 Thunderbird, white with dark blue vinyl roof inserts, dark blue interior and factory wire wheel covers. It was a beautiful car!
I saw these(& ’77 cutlasses) all OVER the place back in the day – where are all of them today? i guess they rusted out bad – bodies? frames?
Not many electronic parts needed to keep these running today!
Would be lot better if the the locations of the HVAC controls & the clock were switched.
You can thank the Cash for Clunkers incentive of 2010 or so the disappearance of all this 80s iron. Back then these had almost zero value but were being nursed along as 2nd or 3rd cars that with modest care would run forever. Uncle Sam slapped a $4500 bounty on each of them, about 4x their value. They were traded in new Taurus, Malibus ow whatever and their reward was a dose of sodium silicate in the crankcase until the engine gave up and they were then scrapped and turned into a washing machine or similar. My neighbor boasted how he got $4500 for his immaculate old Buick Regal, and drive home a new front drive Impala that his wife hated and he ultimately dumped less than 2 years later and took a beating on. Bad things happen when the Government intervenes in the free market.
Yes but it saved General Motors to turn out lots more junk since then.
She was born with whitewalls and she should stay with whitewalls, never understood how we wound up with blackwalls being the look, they were for econobox cars like the Nova and Dodge Dart back in the day, My 73 Grand Prix has Vogues and Spokes, I think blackwalls are ugly, this is a nice car, my buddy had a 79 in burgundy and white, loaded w options, I don’t like the no power windows so I’d pass on this one, but great price
I believe it’s because of the common very low profile tires TODAY > 16 inches that IMO would look terrible with whitewalls & RWL or worse, OWL tires. Also, it’s mind boggling how many different size tires there are today that they have to create/test/stock(none og which that this car came with tho), compared to back in the day, insuring you will probably get new higher profile tires that have been laying around for 3 or more years in a warehouse! – for older model cars, since the size is no longer popular – even sizes 225-55r-16, let alone what was once THE most common size tire 195-75r-14 or equivalent.
Most vehicles even today could all get away with 15″ tires & wheels, which would mean a lot cheaper prices, a LOT less sizes, & much better,common, & quicker availability, & whitewalls & RWL styles galore too. Too small a size you say? – consider that 440 chargers came with 14″ tires & wheels!
& early mustangs – even v8’s came with 13″ tires & wheels!!
Today, due to VERY limited demand, proper whitewalls for this car are insanely expensive over the price of blackwalls. The same with RWL/OWL tires vs blackwalls.
I’ve seen your GP love it. My neighbor brought his brand new 73’ black/white guts home in 73 and I thought it was the most beautiful car ever seen. Then my dad bought a used 73’ the year I start driving it had 23k on it and he gave me the keys any time I asked
I read that the front-end clips on this T-Bird will direct bolt onto the 77-79 Ranchero. I would not do that myself, but there are those who would.
I’ve always felt Ford lost it’s way with these Thunderbirds.
It may be a nice car, but a Thunderbird ?
They got back on track with the 2002 -2005 generation . I don’t know why they stopped production on those.
College roommate had one in 1980. Fun to drive. Can only guess at the gas mileage, though.
I bought a new “77” in 1977. On a trip to Mississippi in 1980, I averaged 25 miles to the gallon. In below zero temperatures, the milage was terrible, though. Also, my car had a 400 cubic inch engine.
I have a Burnt orange one right now. Straps on the trunk bucket seats and I love it. 47000 original second owner car. The best
Had a 78, Dark Jade Metallic. I loved it! Sold it in 1992 with 120,000 miles. Still running great!
I bought a 78 from the original owner in 1994. Beautifully kept with spotless white interior for $1,200. Great car but 12 MPG got old pretty fast. I sold it a year later for the same price.
I see a lot to like about this T-Bird. The car is in my favorite light blue color. It was not build to the stylish but unwieldy length of the 1972-1976 Big Birds. The 351 is not a powerhouse but was still an upgrade from the base 302 V8. It is a personal luxury car which is impossible to get in a modern domestic car. The Ford flagship looks to be nice cosmetically and the listing assures that the air conditioning is working well. Definitely worth a look and a mechanical inspection. Only wish that Ford would bring back the Thunderbird in its intermediate incarnation as the retro 2 seater was not a big seller.
Had a 1979 T-Bird like this only beige in color
with leather seats and a 351 engine. Nice car, decent gas mileage as long as you “didn’t get on it!” Kept 4 years, little or no problems except for usual oil/filter change, 4 tires, battery….
I owned a 78 302 and with sears white wall winter tires I could drive under most all snow conditions in Michigan with no problems. Just a great car with minimal issues ever. 351 engines would be perfect! Priced right so far. Sweet!
I owned a 77. These are really nice riding and driving cars.
I use to own one of these when I was stationed at Ft. Rucker. One of the best cars I ever owned. Traded it in on a Pontiac GP. Hated I ever got rid of it.
I owned a 77 T-Bird Town Landau. One of the best cars I have ever known. 400 V8 and loaded. Everything but a sun roof (didn’t want one). Regretted selling it ever since 79,
Had a ’79 with the 351 as one of my first cars. The car traded hands plenty of times (mostly by teens) and was absolutely BEAT. Not just heavily abused, but numerous fender benders. It still handled fine and buried the speedometer (downhill) while feeling like floating down the road on a sofa. I wouldn’t try that again these days.
Very comfortable interior. Seated about 20 of us teenies. Someone in the town over had a mint version (this was 20 years ago). Theirs: beautiful car. Mine cost fifty bucks and was loads of fun. :)
Auction update: this Thunderbird sold for $7,400!