Ford Thunderbird (fifth generation)

History

For 1967 the Thunderbird became a larger car, moving it closer to Lincoln as Ford emphasized the luxury aspect of the personal luxury car designation. The company abandoned the Thunderbird's typical unibody construction for body-on-frame construction with sophisticated rubber mountings to improve noise and vibration characteristics and reduce weight. An overhead console with illuminated indicators for emergency flasher use, low-fuel warning, door-ajar, and seat-belt reminder lights returned in a revised format.

The two-door Landau coupe had a listed retail price of US$4,704. The convertible was dropped in favor of a four-door model stretched by 2.5 inches, featuring suicide doors similar to Lincoln Continental sedans; it remained in the lineup through 1971 but never generated substantial sales. The sides had a barrel-like style, with a belt line that kicked up in a coke-bottle shape after the rear windows. Large C-pillars and a small formal rear window on the four-door meant poor rear visibility.

Taillights spanned the full width and featured sequential turn signals. The interior carried over themes from the previous generation, including a dash panel with separately housed instruments, a downward sweeping integrated center console, and a wraparound rear seat. The 1968 Thunderbird introduced the new 385 series big-block Thunder Jet 4V 429 cu in V8 engines, conservatively rated at 360 hp SAE gross, making the cars some of the quickest and fastest Thunderbirds ever produced despite their larger size and increased curb weight. The 1968 and 1969 model years saw minor trim changes.