Time for another chapter in my series of American cars lost in the tropics, with this 1975 Ford Thunderbird that showed up recently in my FB Marketplace feed. It’s a copper-toned wonder that I wish I had come across on the roads, but from what I can see in the photos, little chance of that since it’s in a gated community in San Salvador. In any case, if for some reason, you woke up in need of a serious Brougham fix, these photos from the Marketplace ad should suffice.
If you’re a long time CC reader, you must be thinking of Jason Shafer by now. After all, he’s our ’75 Thunderbird man, and he’s talked quite a few times about their virtues and pleasures (links below).
This one in particular is a mix of refurbished and preserved. Oddly, exterior and cosmetics seem to have been very well preserved, with the paint and interior looking immaculate. Meanwhile, the V8 and transmission have been rebuilt, although the car supposedly only has about 29K miles on it.
My theory? A few American cars were still being sold in Central America in the mid-’70s, but were failing quickly out of favor to Japanese and European makes. Gas consumption was becoming a big issue with the locals by then, and the size of these PLCs didn’t do wonders in our narrow roads either. I would think that this car’s background isn’t too different from a ’67 Olds Delta 88 I came across a while back. Bought, rarely used for years, and then indefinitely stored. Local weather would preserve paint and interior fairly well, with hardware pieces facing the risk of seizing due to moisture.
The car has the Copper Luxury Group interior, a 20th Anniversary Special trim for ’75. It could be available in leather or “Media Velour”, like today’s.
The exterior, however, looks more bronze or cinnamon than the reddish Copper Starfire hue of the Copper Luxury Group. But it’s hard to tell with the varying light conditions of the cars I have checked online attempting to figure it out. Whatever the case, it’s a well optioned Thunderbird, and its exterior blemishes are minor. Thinking more about it, I feel that this must have been a special order by a government official back when they could import one car a year, duty-free, during the Salvadorian military rule of the ’70s.
Ready to step inside? Yes, it’s “time-capsule” moment. I look at this and feel like I’m ready to drive and be part of a Hawaii 5-0 episode (the original one, not the annoying hip version of the 2010s).
Typical of the era, the back seat is just as lavish.
Plastics don’t look too warped or cracked, considering our hot weather. All seems more or less in order.
That carpet… talk about 1970s memories!
The car is owned by an expat (makes sense, doesn’t it?), and has been for sale for a while now. Not many fans of these cars down here, so it may take a while to find a buyer. But I hope it does and is preserved as is; few things look like it in this region, and I would love to come across this one by the curbside someday.
(If you’re in the US and wonder about the car, the ad is HERE. However, I sense it costs about the same as similar ones being sold in the US mainland.)
Related Reading
COAL: 1975 Ford Thunderbird – Preparing For Flight (by Jason Shafer)
Curbside Classic: 1975 Ford Thunderbird – Cherries Are Available For A Nominal Cost (by Jason Shafer)
Curbside Classic: 1976 Ford Thunderbird – Experiences Count (by Jason Shafer)
75 and 76 ! The LAST of the IMO real Thunderbirds. OTT luxury and CLASS. 77 though 79 were OK, but from then, the descent into oblivion was inevitable.
The ’83 and again ’89 were revelations, but by then the Thunderbird purpose/image had changed. I thought the ’77-’79 were perfect for their tumultuous times. ’80-’82 were an embarrassment to the name…
That car is in nice condition like nobody liked driving it and parked it hoping values would go up and they did but have now slid back again, but if youre looking for a one of those that could be the car for you, Google offers me nice cars to import every day but buying one is the easy first step, no tariffs to pay but you get mired in red tape getting cars complied for road use.
That dark brown-over-copper look Ford had in the mid-1970s was such a classic. I’d love to see copper come back as a paint choice. I’d also like coffee and doughnuts to fall from the sky at 10 every morning.
These were so over-the-top back in the day. And so it was in an era with excess in many aspects of society.
But by the late Seventies a number of things led to a re-sizing of automobiles and change was coming. Looking at you full-size Chevrolet. These big boats should be preserved and displayed at car shows. The Seventies was a fascinating era of big bumper cars and choked up engines.
My dad drove a ’74 for a while. Burgundy metallic exterior, burgundy leather interior. It was a theft recovery at the insurance firm where he worked where they would allow employees first pick, with a prerequisite test drive before sending them to auction. Well his ‘test drive’ lasted nearly a year until they started needling him to give it back. I loved that car and even when being relegated to the back seat felt coddled, my only reservation being that the quarter windows didn’t open. I could never choose my favorite between that and the ’72 Pontiac Grand Ville we had for a while which was a wreck rebuild.
I love that color. It really pops and reminds me of Mopars Turbine Bronze in many ways.
In some light this looks like Medium Gold Poly which seems to be a tad lighter than the Medium Cooper Poly.
What a delightful find. This is so refreshing after all the features with woefully undersized cars we’ve seen lately. 🙂
Apart from the seat upholstery and wheels, this is identical to the ’75 I had. The vinyl on the roof is a wee bit too dark, but after 50 years that is small potatoes. Seeing this Bird really makes me regret selling my ’75 way back when. The buyer was from Orange City, Iowa, and I hope somebody in that part of the world knows something about it. Then again, part of me is uncertain in case there was a bad outcome. But that Thunderbird was an awesome machine. One of the options it had, which I’ve never seen elsewhere, was a lock on the interior hood release. The trunk key was needed to turn the lock so the handle could be pulled to open the hood.
One I will offer as there will no doubt be a gig about fuel mileage (or perceived lack thereof) with a 5000 lb car powered by a delightful 460….mine generally got 12 to 13 mpg in mixed driving. Never did I get below 11 mpg despite my affinity for the throttle. The last trip I made it in netted 17 mpg. No, it wasn’t great, but neither was it as horrible as some might think. Besides, with a car like this, if you are worried about fuel economy you bought the wrong car.
That option was the “Security Lock Group”. It was usually paired with the Anti-Theft-Alarm and a lock on the spare tire instead of a wingnut, also used with trunk key. Speaking of options, whoever ordered this one forgot a few. No tilt wheel, and a plain dome light instead of the dual spotlight type, which means no Light Group. The latter also included some nice touches such as Auto Headlamp Dimmer, Autolamp Delay System with lights-on-warning buzzer, lighted vanity Mirror, underhood lamp, and warning lights for Low Fuel and Door Ajar. Also no power antenna or power passenger seat. What a stripper!
Also, there’s something hinky going on with with the switch bank on the driver armrest. It has 4 window switches, there should be only 2. The panel has been replaced with one from a 1973 model, which was the final year for opening quarter windows and the first for a power lock switch. 1972 locks were actuated by pushing down on the plunger, ala MB. Customers complained loudly, hence the switch for 1973.
As per Jason Shafer ‘75 was the last year for openable rear quarter windows. Note the two switches in the rear seat view – one for the quarter window and the other for the map light.
With this lush upholstery (which I really like in its own way), one question inevitably arises:
How many farts might have been left in there – and how many of them are still there…
Awesome, just awesome….where do sign?
Beautiful shots, great looking car, excellent condition. The styling was a bit garish with the intense grille ready to pounce, and with the back higher than the front, looking like a humpback. No matter, this beauty of a survivor deserves to be continued to be well kept.
My ’75 had four window switches like the featured car. Makes one wonder what was happening at Ford.
My mentor back in the mid 80’s owned two. One a tatty mustard yellow with a cloth interior and a white top and an a spotless triple black example that his wife drove. Both had the 460 and were tuned to be whisper silent at idle. Bill Baronowski was a master mechanic who had the patience to teach me how to tackle anything automobile related. Didn’t show me only how to turn a wrench, but how to approach repairs in an orderly fashion and when to take a break if the going got rough.
This is a car I have really warmed to over the last decade or two. After the initial 1972 versions, I would easily choose one of these over the other twin, the Continental Mark IV. This copper version is simply delightful!
The only flaw I see is that front bumper needs to be pulled down and out, away from the grille…otherwise a gem!