1960 Ford Thunderbird Hardtop 430 MEL Engine Option J Code T-Bird

1960 Thunderbird For Sale

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For sale is a beautiful unrestored 1960 Ford Thunderbird with the optional and original Lincoln 430 MEL engine. This car runs and drives great, and has working power steering, power brakes, power windows, power seat, and a working optional original Ford spotlight. It also features a mostly original optional two tone tan leather interior (Trim code 84). According to the VIN, this is the 42nd 1960 Thunderbird built.
I am the third owner of this car, with the two previous owners being from the same family. This car was bought new from a Ford dealership in Montana in 1961. The car had been used as a factory demo in 1960 for people to test drive. This goes along with the ROT assembly sheet from this car that was found behind the rear seat. The ROT says at the bottom "Show Car Conditioning - Red Ball." This told the assembly line workers to make this car especially nice because it was a featured car (maybe created to show at "Red Ball"?) and then used as a demo. This car is loaded with original working options.
This car does have some of the typical rust in the rockers and lower quarters, and has had some dent repair to it's drivers quarter panel where some of the old filler is cracking. The original, rust free hood was recently painted and looks beautiful, but the rest of the car has older single stage paint that is faded, dull, and thinning. The engine does not use or leak oil, but the power steering system does leak power steering fluid. The floor pans and trunk floor are rock solid with the original paint still shining. As can be seen on the picture of the data plate, this car is still sporting it's original paint and interior colors. What I love about this car is it is an original, unmolested example of a rare car (around 5000 made with the 430 engine).
This Thunderbird runs and drives very well, and I have taken it to many local cruise-ins and shows. I installed a new fuel tank, fuel sending unit, fuel lines, headlight switch, heater core, heater valve, fuel pump pushrod and cam eccentric, and I had the factory fuel pump professionaly rebuilt. The car also has new brake hoses, wheel cylinders and shoes, and the brakes work evenly and with little effort thanks to the working factory booster. I also cleaned, greased, and adjusted the power window mechanisms, and 3 out of four of them work flawlessly. One of the rear quarter windows is missing the motor. The original window weatherstripping is still present, but does allow a good amount of wind noise due to age and deterioration.
The 430 engines from 1960 are known to have issues with the original brass tipped fuel pump pushrod wearing out quickly. What happens is they wear out once, and then the shortened pushrod damages the cam eccentric. The damaged eccentric then very quickly wears out the new brass tipped pushrod, starting the failure process all over again. I have fixed this by installing a later style lincoln cam eccentric with a bearing surface and a hardened steel pushrod. Ford realized this was a problem and installed this style in later 430's, and it works perfectly on this Thunderbird.
This car is an absolute blast to drive. The factory 2.91 rear end (only available on 430 cars) keeps engine RPM's at bay on the interstate, but the huge amount of torque the 430 engine produces still gives you a surprisingly quick takeoff. It drives with authority but is very smooth and quiet in the process. I've never driven another classic car that communicates both luxury and performance as well as this one.
Shipping or pickup is the responsibility of the buyer, and I will ship to U.S. addresses only. Thanks for looking, and please feel free to e-mail with any questions!