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Rarely do we see such cars driving out there in the street. And even rarer do they come up for auction. Those who have them are not willing to part with them because they are rare collectibles, but with the generation gap, young ones might not appreciate cars like they were once made.
What we have here is a 1957 Ford Thunderbird F-Code Convertible, one of only 196 that saw the light of day that year. The two-seat grand tourer has recently undergone an extensive nut-and-bolt restoration.
Over $200,000 and 2,600 hours of hard work later, it came out of the experts' shop looking better than the day it rolled off the production line.
All the work and money paid off. The 1957 convertible is a multiple-time Classic Thunderbird Club International (CTCI) Gold Medallion Winner. It finished first at the 2019 Flagstaff regional show.
It also won the VTCI First Place award at the Spokane regional show. A first place and Best of Show at the 2021 VTCI International Convention in Portland, Oregon, with a score of 298/300 points.
The car also went home with the CTC Gold Medallion from the 2022 San Antonio and the 2024 Des Moines shows, scoring 298 points out of 300 each time and filling up shelf after shelf with trophies.
The 1957 Ford Thunderbird F-Code hides its uniqueness in the VIN and under the hood. It is powered by a supercharged 312-cubic-inch V8 engine, which generates 300 horsepower.
A three-speed manual transmission puts the power down through the rear wheels.
The Paxton/McCulloch supercharger was inherited from the race cars prepared for the 1956 NASCAR and USAC seasons.
However, Ford's glory in the competitions was short-lived at the time, but the supercharger lived on, as an option for the road-going 1957 Thunderbirds, working alongside a special Holley four-barrel carburetor and a higher-lift camshaft.
The presence of the Paxton/McCulloch was indicated by the VIN with the letter "F" at the start of the number sequence, which led to the "F-Code" designation for the 196 units that got it.
A heater and defroster and a Town and Country radio are on board. The Thunderbird rides on wheels with Turbine covers and wide whitewall tires.
While its siblings rot in backyards or barns, the Ford is painted in a striking Flame Red, sporting fender skirts and a white porthole fiberglass hardtop over a red leather interior.
The model will be auctioned off on January 17 at the Kissimmee event in Florida and is being offered with no reserve, which means that, at the end of the day, someone will go home with it.
