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Well, I sold the 67 Beetle last month, and had been on the lookout for something else 60s era. Had looked at a few other VDubs, and also a 61 T-Bird. Thought that I had a deal on the Bullet Bird, but the owner didn't have the proper paperwork after bringing the car in to Canada from South Carolina a few years ago to register the car here. He is still working on that, could be a while, so I'm getting my small deposit back and moving on.
About 3 weeks ago I found an ad on kijiji for a 66 T-Bird hardtop, no photos, and a somewhat vague description. I emailed the seller, got a bit more, "was appraised at 10000 8 yrs ago front seats needs re covering paint is faded interior is sage green power windows seat". Fair enough, the ad had stated the car was gold, and looking at colour listings online, I guessed that the car was probably sage gold, with a similar colour interior. He seemed to be a man of few words, so I didn't press him for a VIN or any of the door tag info, I just let him know that I would give him a call if I wanted to see the car.
So the following weekend I was visiting a friend who lives about 45 minutes NW of me, and that put me within half an hour of the 66 for sale. So I called the guy up, yes, he was going to be around if I wanted to come for a look. When I got there, he had it running in the driveway, and it definitely had faded paint! But looking underneath, and at the door seams and bottoms of the quarter panels, etc., the car looked very solid, which I commented on. His response was that it was from California, had come up to Canada about 10 years ago. I thought to myself, you twit, if you had put that in the ad, along with some good photos, you probably would have sold the car already.
In any case, the asking price was $4000, he was negotiable for a few hundred bucks. I asked him to give me a few days to think about it, with the caveat of course that if someone else came along first with cash in hand, the car would be theirs to take. I also looked at a 61 Meteor the same day, a specific Canadian model car that was low mileage and unique, but also very plain-Jane with a 223 6-cyl and 2-speed auto trans. Made the decision a few days later to go with the T-Bird over the Meteor, as it would be more enjoyable to drive, and if I changed my mind in a few years and wanted something else, I'm quite sure the Bird would be an easier sale than the Meteor.
So the car is a 66 Town Hardtop, Sage Gold that looks like it has had a respray at some point, from a bit of overspray evidence on the trunk weatherstrip and the rubber door bumpers. Interior is Ivy Gold with the passenger recliner / headrest (needs new front seat covers to start), and the car also has power locks (not functioning), power seat, power windows, including the mini-vents (left side OK, right side not so much), the cool slideaway steering column, and A/C, which isn't working, but at least the compressor isn't seized. Hopefully that is just an easy leak repair ... we still have some R12 dye at the dealership where I work, so I can pop in a bit of that for helping to spot the leak. Other door tag info tells me it is a C6, 3.00 axle, Houston DSO code, and May 13 production. Good running 390 that doesn't smoke, made the hour drive home OK yesterday, but I did notice a few oil drips under the car today.
Notice the windshield sticker? 1980 Winternationals service vehicle. Unfortunately the glass has a few chips right there, for now I will get the guy up the road to put some of that chip filler stuff in, and one of the guys at work will sign the safety certificate OK, as long as it's for me to drive and not for resale.
Wheels are chrome smoothies with very tarnished caps, for now I may just get some new caps, but I am probably going to swap them out for a set of Cragar 500 Eliminator wheels. Tires on the car are way too small anyway, someone decided that 195/65R15 would be a good size for it. LOL
So what do you think? Did I do OK for $3800 for a decent driver 66 Town Hardtop? I'll probably drive it as is other than the wheels and tires for this summer, clean up what I can, do a little maintenance as far as fluids and filters go, maybe drop in a Pertronix ignition, and enjoy.
cheers
Ed N.
About 3 weeks ago I found an ad on kijiji for a 66 T-Bird hardtop, no photos, and a somewhat vague description. I emailed the seller, got a bit more, "was appraised at 10000 8 yrs ago front seats needs re covering paint is faded interior is sage green power windows seat". Fair enough, the ad had stated the car was gold, and looking at colour listings online, I guessed that the car was probably sage gold, with a similar colour interior. He seemed to be a man of few words, so I didn't press him for a VIN or any of the door tag info, I just let him know that I would give him a call if I wanted to see the car.
So the following weekend I was visiting a friend who lives about 45 minutes NW of me, and that put me within half an hour of the 66 for sale. So I called the guy up, yes, he was going to be around if I wanted to come for a look. When I got there, he had it running in the driveway, and it definitely had faded paint! But looking underneath, and at the door seams and bottoms of the quarter panels, etc., the car looked very solid, which I commented on. His response was that it was from California, had come up to Canada about 10 years ago. I thought to myself, you twit, if you had put that in the ad, along with some good photos, you probably would have sold the car already.
In any case, the asking price was $4000, he was negotiable for a few hundred bucks. I asked him to give me a few days to think about it, with the caveat of course that if someone else came along first with cash in hand, the car would be theirs to take. I also looked at a 61 Meteor the same day, a specific Canadian model car that was low mileage and unique, but also very plain-Jane with a 223 6-cyl and 2-speed auto trans. Made the decision a few days later to go with the T-Bird over the Meteor, as it would be more enjoyable to drive, and if I changed my mind in a few years and wanted something else, I'm quite sure the Bird would be an easier sale than the Meteor.
So the car is a 66 Town Hardtop, Sage Gold that looks like it has had a respray at some point, from a bit of overspray evidence on the trunk weatherstrip and the rubber door bumpers. Interior is Ivy Gold with the passenger recliner / headrest (needs new front seat covers to start), and the car also has power locks (not functioning), power seat, power windows, including the mini-vents (left side OK, right side not so much), the cool slideaway steering column, and A/C, which isn't working, but at least the compressor isn't seized. Hopefully that is just an easy leak repair ... we still have some R12 dye at the dealership where I work, so I can pop in a bit of that for helping to spot the leak. Other door tag info tells me it is a C6, 3.00 axle, Houston DSO code, and May 13 production. Good running 390 that doesn't smoke, made the hour drive home OK yesterday, but I did notice a few oil drips under the car today.
Notice the windshield sticker? 1980 Winternationals service vehicle. Unfortunately the glass has a few chips right there, for now I will get the guy up the road to put some of that chip filler stuff in, and one of the guys at work will sign the safety certificate OK, as long as it's for me to drive and not for resale.
Wheels are chrome smoothies with very tarnished caps, for now I may just get some new caps, but I am probably going to swap them out for a set of Cragar 500 Eliminator wheels. Tires on the car are way too small anyway, someone decided that 195/65R15 would be a good size for it. LOL
So what do you think? Did I do OK for $3800 for a decent driver 66 Town Hardtop? I'll probably drive it as is other than the wheels and tires for this summer, clean up what I can, do a little maintenance as far as fluids and filters go, maybe drop in a Pertronix ignition, and enjoy.
cheers
Ed N.
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