A recent eBay ad offered this exclusive 1996 Ford Thunderbird for sale, apparently built to “resemble the iconic Ford street machines of the 1950s”. Now, look at the photos. Do you have any idea what machines that could be referring to? Neither do we.
The retro coupe boasts a completely original front end, including the bumper, the grille and the headlights. There is also a glass-fiber hood cover and new chrome-coated mirrors mounted right next to the old ones. No explanation is being provided on behalf of the creator, so let’s assume they just found looking into the same mirror set again and again too boring.
The shapeless rear end and the smallish, lackluster wheels hardly warrant much of a comment. The cabin stays more or less stock, with the feature list mentioning power windows, a cassette audio player, and climate control. Lift the hood cover to reveal the standard six-cylinder engine with 147 hp (110 kW) and 292 Nm (215 lb-ft) at the outgoing end. A four-speed auto gearbox drives all four wheels.
Normally, we wouldn’t shun from bashing amateur projects like this one, but there’s something stopping us from it. Specifically, the Ford Thunderbird isn’t exactly a looker in its stock guise, either, and whoever built this custom clearly put e great deal of effort into it. A masterpiece it may not be, but a nice attempt, nonetheless!
And what do you think?