Flair Birds have been spotted and written up here at the Autobon Society several times; I’ll give you the links at the end. But when you run into two 1964 variations within a day or two of each other, it does merit another look at these proud and finely feathered birds.
Let’s start with the red one. Its prominent beak is a bit unusual, but then that is a key characteristic of Thunderbirds ever since they molted out of their juvenile feathers in 1958 and became mature. I rather prefer the 1961-1963 Bullet Bird in that regard, as its bladed cheeks worked better with that distinctive beak and eyes. This variation is a bit of a throwback to the 1958 – 1960 Square Bird’s scowl.
It certainly makes the Flair Bird easy to spot; of course nowadays, these stick out like a cardinal in a flock of starlings.
But just in case, its name is conveniently and proudly displayed on its forebody.
This whole family of Thunderbirds were blessed with splendid interiors, so that even if one wasn’t an absolute fan of certain exterior details, all was forgotten upon entering. As a child, I spent way too much time staring into these on the way to school, absorbing every sublime detail and leaving obvious drool marks on the side windows. Look at that giant console and arm rest. Oh my…
So many gauges, knobs, levers and other protuberances emanating from that grand sweep of chrome and satin-polished aluminum.
And the steering wheel that was always cocked so politely to the passenger side, to make entry and exit just a wee bit more…elegant. What a luxury that must be, as thoughts of our stark, stripper, black Fairlane came to mind. It was otherworldly; a Learjet for the road.
What a curious affectation: ribbon-style gauges set into their own round nacelles. Simple round gauges would have been too ordinary for this Flair Bird.
But it was the rear seat that slayed me the most. No other conveyance had anything like this; so unlike the crude and simple benches in mere automobiles. This was other-worldly. There was no “parcel shelf” and nobody’s little brother was going to be shoved up there and told to take a nap, while the sun broiled him. Thunderbird people were smart enough not to have kids, or at least not five, in any case.
The Flair Bird’s tail is as boxy as the rest of, excepting its beak. The wraparound bumper was pretty novel for 1964; did anyone do that sooner? It does remind me more than a bit of the 1957-1958 Mercury rear bumper, in a more refined state; it’s easier to recycle styling elements rather than think up new ones from scratch. The human brain likes to work as efficiently as possible.
No sequential tail lights yet in 1964; that utterly amazing new evolution would have to wait a year. I suspect they did that on purpose, to give the ’65 a bit of extra flair.
This was the era of Ford’s “two box” design language: one shorter and narrower box set upon a longer and wider one.
And here’s the other ’64 Flair Bird, a Landau no less. This extra plumage made this the rarest of the family, although I rather preferred the regular version. This is a bit too showy for my taste; the peacock of the family.
At least it still has its rear side windows; those went away on the Landau in 1966, like this one I found cooped up in a cage. This was a rather unfortunate evolution. Was it the DDT that was still so widely used in 1964? They used to drive trucks through our neighborhood spewing it out of huge cannon-like sprayers into the elm trees in the losing battle against Dutch Elm disease. And we’d ride right behind it on our bicycles, laughing about the dousing we got.
The key identifier of the Landau variation is of course its soft and textured skin on its upper body and the eponymous curved bars on its side. The Great Brougham Epoch had begun, and Thunderbirds quickly evolved to adapt to its environmental demands. Adapt or…go extinct!
This poor bird is showing signs of its rather exceptional long life. Skin cancer is of course one of the higher mortality risks, along with the difficulty of administering medical services to its extremely tightly packed primary organs. This makes keeping and tending to these a bit of a challenge.
The care and feeding of these is obviously not an obstacle to the owners of these two, although this one does look a bit like it use some more attention. Its skin color is a bit mottled.
No matter what shape it’s in, a Flair Bird will always garner the attention of birdwatchers, and a ’64 Landau in a natural setting is worthy of respect and admiration, despite it not being quite as elegant as its Bullet Bird ancestors.
More:
CC 1964 Thunderbird Landau – Jazz Riffing J. Dennis
CC 1965 Thunderbird Landau L. Jones
CC 1965 Thunderbird – Unique In All The World Aaron65
Brilliant! 🙂
I just got one of these for cheap. The head gasket is blown. The brakes are in dire need of adjustment and the suspension is shot. After I get those sorted I will address the rust issues. I doubt I will ever get it back to show room condition but it will make for a fun classic beater
Tried to attach a pic maybe it will come through this time
“There was no “parcel shelf” and nobody’s little brother was going to be shoved up there and told to take a nap, while the sun broiled him. Thunderbird people were smart enough not to have kids, or at least not five, in any case.” This makes up for our cancelled trip to New England in October. After all, I’ve just revisited my childhood.
The way they put the front bumper on the 1966, in front of the grille, gave it a much better look. It looked more complete to me than the unfinished, exposed look of the ’64. The sequential turn signals on the ’66 had me smitten too. And the tonneau cover on the convertible to conceal the retracted canvas. A very nice package.
Dodge tried doing the bumper in front of the drooping grille on the 73 Challenger, but was widely panned for that look.
Box Birds are the 1980-82 Fox bodies. 1958-60s are universally known as Square birds.
In the 1960s, Chevrolet seemed obsessed with copying Ford’s every move. The Chevy II/Nova was a reaction to the Falcon’s success. Likewise the Chevelle was a response to the Fairlane, the ChevyVan/Sportvan to the Econoline/Club Wagon, the Caprice to the LTD, and the Camaro to the Mustang. But Chevy never saw a need to compete with the 1958-76 Thunderbird; wonder why that was. Such a car would have infringed upon other GM marques, but so to did the T-Bird.
You don’t consider the Monte Carlo to be a response to the Thunderbird? Admittedly, it was a bit late, and appeared to be aimed at a younger demographic, but both were personal luxury coupes.
I had a brief infatuation with the original TBird as a six year old (only the ‘57; the first two years without the flared fins looked dumpy to me), but the Bullets and then this generation seemed amazingly futuristic. The swing-away wheel, the center console, and yes those rear seats. I remember building AMT model kits of both a Bullet convertible, and a ‘66. Question: was this one of the first cars with a center console which flowed all the way into the dash?
Is that the world’s largest speedometer?
Sequential taillights were planned for 64. but they did not get full approval from a number of states until too late, so they were held until 65. the trick in the 66 fullwidth taillights was the reverse light. hidden in the middle behind a Thunderbird symbol in a corral, glowing red as other taillights until reverse gear was engaged, then turning white to light the way. the blade bumper in front did give a nice refresh to the 66. The convertibles used the same mechanism for fully hiding the roof when stowed, just like the concurrent Lincoln convertibles. an easy installation as they were built on the same line in Wixom and shared cowl structures. The tonneau was a feature of the 62 Sport Roadster, which was an answer to bringing back a 2 seater T-Bird. by 64, the Sport Roadster was no longer a factory offering. but new tonneaus to fit the new Flairbird styling were tooled up and offered through dealer installation.
To me, the biggest news for the 1966 Thunderbird was the addition of the 428 engine to the option list. It was only a paltry additional $86, too. While I prefer the look of the ’65 grille, bumper, and scooped hood, the other changes make the ’66 a better choice.
And I have to give credit to anyone who tries to keep one of these going today. There are so many interconnected relays and subsystems (I once read that the power seats were connected to the sequential tailights), it is truly one of the more extreme labors of love for an old classic.
I think there is a “trickle down” system with automobiles as with a lot of other items that start out as luxuries e.g. power windows in the 1950s were a luxury, now on a Toyota Corrolla. I may be wrong, but: 1955-56 Lincoln Continental Mark II, luxury four seater. 1958 on Thunderbird, near luxury four seater. 1964 1/2 on Mustang, Populuxe four seater.
I imagine in 1964 this car appealed to many junior executives or recent divorcees….
I’da prolly gone for a Buick Riviera had I bought an American car new but this thing is elegant to me .
-Nate
Oh did I love these cars! Built models of them too. The 66 was always my favoured choice. The front end and tail lights just put it over the top for me. As for the interior, there simply was nothing else like it or even close. True love indeed.
Later in my 20’s I built a complete dual exhaust system for a 66. There is literally not more than an inch extra anywhere under these low slung beasts. There were 12 manoeuvres on the left pipe and I believe 9 on the right pipe plus weld in the H pipe. It turned out perfect and I was so proud!
In the early 70’s, we used to carpool in a late 60’s Tbird that also had the wraparound seatback. Did any other coupe have that? Did the 4 door bird?
The wrap around coved seat was only used on the coupes maybe up to the ’67’s or so. For me, this was one of the strongest attractions to these Birds. It gave such a private, clubby atmosphere to the back seat. It made me think of those button tufted booths in those nice steak houses and dinner clubs. Of course the owner was never going to sit back there unless he parked somewhere with his date to enjoy a moonlit night. These really give off a Rat Pack vibe. T Birds may have been somewhat silly and over the top, but didn’t they really project a very distinct image?
No I don’t think that other PLCs had similar back seats, I know that my 60’s Rivieras didn’t.
These have really grown on me over the years. While I’m still happy that I bought a ’63 (which is my favorite model year, although I should have, as always, $$$ up for a better one), a good ’65 with those sequential taillights and disc brakes would be tempting.