1971 Ford Thunderbird

The Ford Thunderbird was introduced for the 1955 model year and by 1971 was on the tail-end of its fifth generation. The Thunderbird evolved over the years as it blazed new trails down the upscale, personal luxury car segment it created. The second generation, produced from 1958 through 1960, introduced the Thunderbird to four seats, offered in both hardtop and convertible body styles. It was considerably larger than the previous generation, with a longer wheelbase to accommodate the new back seat. A redesign for 1961 brought about a unique bullet-like body side appearance and a vinyl-roofed Landau option was added for 1962. A more square-off appearance appeared for 1964, sequential turn signals, and standard front disc brakes were added a year later.

The fifth generation was introduced in 1967 and continued through 1971. It would continue to be built as a sporty two-door coupe/convertible with two rows of seating, however, it would undergo its second major change in its design direction. The automotive landscape had changed, and many of those changes were brought about by the Mustang Pony Car that was intruding on the Thunderbird's territory. To prevent overlap between the two cars, Ford moved the Thunderbird upmarket.

The 1967 Ford Thunderbird replaced its unibody construction in favor of body-on-frame construction with rubber mountings between the body and frame to eliminate noise and vibration. The convertible model was discontinued and a four-door body was added, using unique suicide doors for rear access.

The styling now featured a full-width grille with hidden headlights and a Thunderbird emblem in the center of the grille. In the back were single taillight lenses with a horizontal trim strip in the center. Power was from an overhead-valve, 390 cubic-inch eight-cylinder engine offering 275 horsepower. A four-barrel version brought horsepower to 315 hp. A 427 CID V8, a high-performance engine was rated at 410 horsepower. The Super High-Performance 427 CID V8 had 425 horsepower, and the Thunderbird Special 428 CID V8 had 345 hp.

The 1971 Thunderbird was essentially a carry-over from the previous year. Body styles included a hardtop coupe, 2-door Landau, and 4-door Landau. Prices began at $5,300 for the hardtop coupe and rose to $5,520 for the 4-door Landau. The 2-door Landau was the most popular with 20,356 sales. Just 6,553 of the 4-door Landau were sold along with 9,146 of the hardtop coupe. Ford V8 engines for 1971 included a 302 CID, 351 CID Cleveland, 390 CID, 400 CID, and 429 CID. Horsepower ranged from 210 to 375 hp.

Optional equipment included cruise control, six-way power seats, power windows, climate control, air conditioning, electric rear window defogger, AM/M stereo radio, and AM/8-track stereo.

The 1970 Neiman Marcus catalog offered 'his and hers' Thunderbirds for the 1971 model year, only as pair with a price of $25,000. The package included telephones, tape recorders, and other amenities.

1971 was the last year before the larger Thunderbird for 1972, and the last year of the four-door body style. The sixth generation made its debut in the fall of 1971 and came with a 120.4-inch wheelbase platform that measured 214 inches in length. By 1974, it had grown to 225 inches. The seventh generation of 1977 revered back to the smaller 114-inch wheelbase chassis that was more suitable to the increasing fuel prices and more stringent federal emissions standards.

by Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2020