If that weren’t enough, the brake pedal is simply cool. If nothing else, it’s more readily available than the troublesome (in my experience) box used only in 1961-1964 Thunderbirds and Continentals. Second, the 1965 model received a steering gear revision to more closely resemble the box used in full-sized Fords (according to my research). Lest anyone thinks this is operator error, please remember that I have six other four-wheel-drum-braked old cars with which to compare. I have no problem with drum brakes, and seven of my eight cars use four-wheel drums nevertheless, the T-Bird’s are touchy and prone to front lockup in hard-stopping situations, especially at low speeds. The 1965 model has, after all, some empirical improvements over my ’63, not the least of which is the upgrade to front disc brakes, a couple years before they became common on General Motors products. This Greenlight ’65 Special Landau, however, is a symbol of my long-simmering reappraisal of this bodystyle. For years, I was lukewarm on the 1963 version’s follow up, the Flair Birds of 1964-1966. The ’63 Thunderbird (and all “Bullet Birds”) has been my favorite T-Bird for decades, so I can’t regret my eventual purchase of that car (maybe the certain car I bought, but that’s often the case). What if?Īs usual, a recent toy purchase has had the mature effect of putting me in a certain frame of mind, one of reflecting on cars bought and missed. But what if I never bought that ’63 Thunderbird? Or that ’63 Riviera? A very decent Emberglo-colored ’65 T-Bird Special Landau recently popped up on one of those auction sites, sold for an entirely reasonable amount, and might have made me as happy as anything. My car mistakes aren’t really mistakes anymore because any accrued wisdom I possess is enough to understand the potential for shadows lurking in corners of the garage. Anyone else in the room question your decisions after the fact? Wish you could go back and tell yourself, “Told you so!”? Eh, that sounds good rhetorically, but realistically any vacillating I do in retrospect is all for show.
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