As you read this, I’m rolling north and will soon set eyes on the Detroit Metro area for the first time. Like most places I’ve traveled, it’s hard to go in without a preconceived notion of what to expect, and with Detroit, there’s a lot of them: a gritty city, one that by day is still automotive mecca in the United States, a mixture of urban renaissance and urban decay. But at night…ooh, at night, things can take a turn for the interesting and you had better know what you are doing, lest you be caught unaware. The stories that come out of Detroit’s night life are legendary: street racing until dawn, factory testing with or without factory approval, the kind of nostalgia that we often look to when viewing the past, even though it’s no longer politically correct, safe enough, completely legal or otherwise.

But that’s not why this 1972 Ford Thunderbird caught my eye. No…anybody who has read my writings might remember that one of my favorite movie cars is the 1973 Ford Thunderbird from the 1994 film, “The Crow”. In a perpetually dark and stormy night, the blood-red ‘Bird went far and above it’s normal appearance as a bloated tip to the Brougham-tastic 1970s, and instead looked like rolling violence, from it’s supercharged V8 to it’s single bar taillight cutting a visual that even the likes of the movie “Sin City” would struggle to meet. Taking a land yacht meant to appeal to the rich, childless, cigar-smoking uncle and turning it into a desirable muscle car takes work, but to this day I still love the visual that car added to the film, the only vehicle that really shined in the movie.

This ‘Bird ain’t pretty, but she’s complete and daily driven. The 429 isn’t a powerhouse…in fact, stock it made 212 horsepower and torque in the mid-300 ft/lbs range, and it’s 4,400+ pound curb weight isn’t helping any of those horses move any quicker. It’s the twin to the Lincoln Mark IV, what did you expect? Those of you that speak Ford 385-series engines can comment on how well these engines can be built up…since I know precious little about them, I’m going to sit in the corner over here and remind you that a Roots supercharger fixes a lot of ailments. A couple of bottles of nitrous and a considerable amount of fluff removal couldn’t hurt, either.

Sand it down, shoot it one color…preferably a dark and menacing one…keep the chrome, and either fix or delete the vinyl top, and make this big bird something to be feared.

Craigslist Link: 1972 Ford Thunderbird