1957 Ford Thunderbird Model F

Thanks to Franklin Q. Hershey & William P. Boyer, Ford had a car that combined the flair of a sports car with the comfort of a boulevard cruiser, the Thunderbird. However, a slight sales decline in 1956 sent Ford Designers back to their drawing boards where they penned a consummate two-seat Thunderbird.

Buyers noticed the restyled grille, stretched rear sheet metal, fresh bumper designs, and improved seating the 1957 version offered. Other less visible improvements included larger openings for improved cooling, revised spring rates, larger brakes, stiffer chassis cross-members, a 12-volt electrical system, and new 14-inch wheels. These evolutionary steps enabled a more stable and capable handling Thunderbird, with its spare tire back in the trunk.

1957 also offered three engine selections, all V8s: the standard 312 cubic inch unit with 225 horsepower; an 'E' model with dual four-barrel carburetors boasting 270 horsepower; and the rare 'F' supercharged model pumping out 300 horsepower. Ford produced just 208 examples of the Ford Thunderbird outfitted with an F-Code supercharged engine. The 312 cubic-inch overhead valve eight-cylinder engine with Holley four-barrel carburetor and McCulloch Paxton VR57 supercharger was capable of producing 300 horsepower. The four-wheel drum brakes and three-speed manual gearbox seemed inadequate for the powerful and advanced engine.

The Thunderbird was to Ford what the Corvette was to Chevrolet. Ford had introduced the Thunderbird as an alternative to the Corvette, but it differed from the Corvette in many ways. The Corvette was a sports car, while the Thunderbird was a refined automobile that favored personal luxury over power and performance. This is not to say that the Thunderbird did not possess sporty characteristics with the supercharged F-code version proving Ford's intentions to be viewed as a sports car. In comparison, the Corvette has remained a sports car while the Thunderbird evolved into a large and heavy luxury vehicle.

The 1957 F-Bird is the rarest of the 21,380 Thunderbirds produced in 1957. The F-code engine increased the cost of the vehicle by an additional $340 and was available with an automatic or manual gearbox. This was also the final year for the Thunderbird before it was redesigned and moved into the four-passenger luxury convertible market.

Most of the F-Bird F-code vehicles were finished in white paint. Black was a close second among the most popular. There were a mere sixteen that were given the Starmist blue, and the example shown is one of the sixteen. It is equipped with a manual gearbox with a factory-installed two-speed overdrive, another rarity.

by Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2006