Ford’s Thunderbird has a bit of a reputation as a sports car pretender, but this rare M-Code Thunderbird Roadster proves that some T-birds were good for more than just wafting around town.
It might not handle like a sports car but it certainly has the muscle to leave a few contemporary enthusiasts’ machines questioning their performance credentials.
The T-bird switched from a two-seat to a four-seat layout after 1958, and was restyled again in 1961 with a streamlined fuselage design. But for buyers who still had fond memories of the 1955-56 two-seat originals Ford came up with the Sports Roadster, whose defining feature was a cool fibreglass tonneau that fitted over the rear seat area and swept up behind the front seats, mimicking the look of contemporary racing cars like the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa.
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Almost 1,430 Bird buyers ticked the Sports Roadster option box in 1962, but only 120 decided to back up that sports car image with the M-Code V8, a special Tri-Power version of Ford’s 390 cu-in (6.5-liter) V8 that breathed through three Holley carbs and made a stout 340 hp (345 PS). Of those 120 documented M-Code cars built in ’62, only 40 are thought to survive.
Fresh from a ground-up restoration and a 2021 Best of Show award from the Vintage Thunderbird Club, this car is getting ready to cross the block at Mecum’s March sale. Painted in Raven Black and featuring a Pearl Beige interior, it rides on a handsome set of Kelsey Hayes chrome wires and comes loaded with luxury kit. The list of standard equipment includes power assisted seats, power windows, air conditioning and a tilt-away steering column.
Mecum doesn’t provide an auction estimate but Hagerty’s valuation guide suggests a concours condition Sports Roadster with the standard 300 hp (303 PS) is worth $94,500, versus $65,000 for a regular 1962 T-bird convertible. But with the M-Code option this one is guaranteed to go for a heap more.
