1960 Ford Thunderbird Convertible

"Longer! Lower! Wider!" were the hype words in Detroit in the late Fifties and the all-new second generation of Ford Thunderbird that debuted for 1958 lived up to the hype. The new four-seater T-bird stretched a full two feet longer nose-to-tail than the outgoing '57 two-seater.

It was also four inches wider than the previous car, and only an inch taller, despite having a much roomier interior. This was made possible by being the first Thunderbird to utilize unibody construction, with the driveline tucked up into the chassis by means of a large tunnel running between the seats.

The wheelbase grew commensurately, by almost a foot. Where the two-seater 'Birds had a 102" wheelbase (identical to the Corvette's), the new one measured 113" between the axles. Suspension was coil springs and unequal length A-arms up front and a live axle mounted to coil-sprung trailing arms in the rear.

Also keeping pace with the current trends in Detroit, the new Thunderbird sported a snout with quad headlamps.

The car could be had as a hardtop coupe or a convertible, like the Raven Black 1960 example in the photo. The base engine was the 352 cubic inch Thunderbird Special FE big block V-8. With a four-barrel carburetor, dual exhausts, and a 10.2:1 compression ratio, this motor was rated at 300 SAE gross horsepower, and could be backed with a column-shifted three-speed manual (with an optional automatic overdrive 4th gear) or a three-speed Cruise-O-Matic.

Optionally for 1960 was Ford's 430 cubic inch MEL (Mercury Edsel Lincoln) big block, making 350 horsepower. It was only offered with the Cruise-O-Matic.

The rear suspension was simplified to a conventional leaf spring setup for the '60 model year as well.

Motor Life's test 1960 Thunderbird convertible, with the 352 and slushbox, ran to sixty in 9.1 seconds and returned between 10 and 14 miles per gallon.

This one was photographed using a Sony a700 and 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 zoom lens in May of 2025.