Here’s a nice-looking ’57 Thunderbird that has had one owner for over 51 years and is reported to have only 30,000 original miles (29,599.9 is showing on the odometer photo). Production for the ’57 Thunderbird began on October 3, 1956, but delays with the new four-seater ’58 Squarebirds extended Thunderbird production to December 13, 1957. Reading the data plate photo shows that this car was built on October 30, 1957, but it didn’t leave the factory in its current color combination outside or inside (but more about that below). This desirable last-year-of-the-two-seater- Thunderbird is located in the township of Tabernacle, New Jersey, and is for sale here on craigslist for an asking price of $29,500.

It’s unclear if the seller is the person who has owned this ‘Bird for 51 years, but he/she claims the 29,599 miles are original, it’s a numbers matching car, and that it has been garaged all of its life. The exterior paint, chrome, glass, and trim are very presentable and I’m not spotting any rust, scratches, dents, or scrapes. The seller shares that it was repainted a “beautiful light green” in 1969 and based on the photos, that paint job has held up well to be 54 years old. The data plate indicates “AA” as the color, though. “A” was the paint code for Raven Black, so it originally left the factory with a black body and black fiberglass hardtop. It appears to have a white convertible top folded up behind the front bench seat and the seller says “both the soft top and porthole hardtop were redone in 2022″ but doesn’t give any details. It’s wearing thinner whitewall tires and “Tri-Bar Spinner Style” full wheel covers, and nothing is mentioned if the fender skirts are included in the sale or not.

“To each their own” says the old Latin phrase. The current interior looks much different than the letters “XH” on the data plate, which is the code for a red interior. Thunderbirds offered six interior color options in ’57 (and solid colors were available for the first time), but brown wasn’t one of them. Perhaps this custom interior was added in 1969 along with the paint job. It does have sort of a late ’60’s look to it with the wood and chrome “sporty” steering wheel, matching window cranks and door handles, and the customized rather groovy door panels. The seller describes the interior as being made of brown ostrich leather which is showing some wear on the bench seat, but the instrument panel, dash, and carpet look very good. The one photo of the hardtop headliner shows some stretch marks, but overall, it’s a clean looking interior.

There’s just one photo of the tidy engine bay and it’s housing the optional Code D 312 cubic inch Thunderbird Special V8. When it left the factory it was rated at 245 horsepower @4500 rpm. It’s mated to a Ford-O-Matic automatic transmission with a floor shifter. Other than the mileage being listed as 29,599, nothing else is mentioned about the engine other than that the original carburetor is included in the sale. I’ll admit that I’m more of a purist, and since the ’55-’57 Thunderbirds are my all-time favorite automobile, I’m envisioning this Baby Bird in glossy Raven Black with a bright red interior, fender skirts, and the original factory wheel covers. But, like I said, to each their own, and no matter the color outside and inside, it’s still a well-preserved, low-mileage classic ’57 Thunderbird. Long may you run!