I was going through my photo stream and found pictures I took of this Ford Thunderbird four-door early last spring. I completely forgot I took these, but remember the car vividly. In fact, I’ve seen this exact car several times in my neck of the woods, most recently last August at a nearby mechanic’s garage. From the grille, I instantly recognized this formal-looking T-Bird as a 1967, the first year of both the model’s fifth generation and the sedan body style.
Ford had been gradually moving the Thunderbird upmarket since its 1955 introduction, and the 1967 continued the trend. Restyled with even more formal looks, the ’67 T-Bird could have easily been sold as a Lincoln. Switching to body-on-frame construction, it was larger, more comfortable, and more luxurious than prior versions.
From a styling standpoint, these ’67s introduced many features that would become increasingly popular during both the “Great Brougham Epoch” and the late ’60s/early ’70s in general. These included hidden headlights, curved lines, convex body sides, a “formal” roof line with landau roof, tufted seats, and vast amounts of interior wood grain trim.
The most radical change for 1967 however, was that for the first time, the Thunderbird was available as a four-door sedan. In a further nod to Ford’s upmarket ambitions, rear hinged “suicide doors,” similar to those on the Lincoln Continental, prominently featured. All sedans came standard with the vinyl roof and landau bars, resulting in the model’s official name of “Landau Sedan”. The Thunderbird’s traditional convertible model was concurrently dropped with the introduction of the sedan.
(1968 model)
With numerous standard features and luxury options, the 1967 Thunderbird was the most expensive vehicle in Ford’s lineup. In fact, its prices were higher than that of any Ford or Mercury vehicle, and the Landau Sedan was priced within $730 (about $5,000 adjusted for inflation) of the least expensive Lincoln Continental.
1967s were powered by a standard 390 cubic inch (6.4L) V8, or an available 428 cu in (7.0L) V8, making 315 and 345 horsepower, respectively. The car I found was equipped with bucket seats, covered in genuine leather hide – a T-Bird exclusive in the Ford lineup (’68 interior pictured directly above). Among the more interesting features was the “Convenience Control Panel”. Located between the two front visors, the CCP comprised of four circular warning lights for seat belt reminder, door-ajar, low-fuel, and emergency blinker light use. Speed-activated power door looks, a safety feature common on many of today’s vehicles, were also new for 1967.
On a personal note, I happen to really appreciate this feature on my current car. When I was about 5, my cousin accidentally opened the rear door as we were going around a highway off ramp at significant speed. It was on the outboard side of the vehicle going around the turn, causing it to swing open fully. I was rather traumatized by the experience, and needless to say, I like all doors locked when I drive.
While it was certainly a departure from the model’s initial concept, and condemned by many loyalists, I happen to really like these four-door T-Birds. The two-door ’67s didn’t wear the styling as well, with the formal roof line appearing too tall, and the sedan did a better job accentuating the car’s seductive curves. The four-door also did a better job of hiding the landau roof’s choppiness.
The four-door T-bird was dropped after a few years after slow sales, but was, in reality, ahead of its time. While two-door coupes would remain popular, the early ’80s would see four-door sedans increasingly accounting for the bulk of luxury car sales. This trend would continue, eventually leading to the extinction of the “personal luxury car” segment which the Thunderbird largely created.
Text and photos originally published in 1/8/2014. To access the original post and its commentary, the link is HERE.
I like this car a lot in black. I don’t recall this generation at all though from my youth and beyond, at least not in person. Did they rust out fast?
What was the big appeal of the whole “landau” concept? I do remember some 70s Ford advertising in National Geographic still having that in their adjective collection of brougham. It died a quick and likely permanent death soon thereafter. It would be hard to imagine a Ford Bronco Landau Package today.
I was never a fan of this era, in the Thunderbird’s legacy.
Design was simply too busy, to find it attractive. I would describe it as overstyled, and near pretentious. Too much overhang, too much body sculpting. The landau bar looks silly. Suicide doors, seemed a gimmick. As it didn’t age well.
One of my least favourite Birds, unfortunately.
One area that aged well is the taillights, Dodge certainly has been running with the “racetrack” for some time now
(though the irony is not lost on me that not only is the latest Charger to be available in both two and 4 door, but also, as it exists now, controversial and seen by many as a step in the wrong direction)
It looks like the car has Massachusetts plates.
By any chance were these pictures taken in the vicinity of Newburyport, MA?
I ask because my Dad had a ’67 that looked a lot like the picture and sold it to my Uncle who lived in Newburyport in the mid 1980s until he passed away about 20 years ago.
I don’t remember if Dad’s had bucket seats, though.
Most likely Hingham, Massachusetts
Thanks. I think it might be the same car, but I never really saw it when Dad had it and I was stationed in Tennessee.
“Handsome carriage”, indeed. I did like the “tudor”, version. ((non landau))
Sad the “convert”, model was a goner with the intro. of the “67’s”.
I wonder what Ford was trying to do with these cars. GM had its Corvette, a sports car that remained one, right up to today. Ford kept changing the mission of the Thunderbird. It started as two door personal luxury coupe but morphed into the abomination featured here today. Ford pulled out all the schlock they could with this iteration of the T Bird, right down to the hidden headlights and suicide rear doors. The landau bars were awful looking and how Ford really didn’t know what to do with the Thunderbird.
Always thought these “snout” Thunderbirds were ugly, both 2 door and 4 door. As Ive gotten older I still think they are ugly but I really do appreciate that they are cool now. Not my thing, but it took a lot of guts from Ford to approve such a polarizing design and the sheer silly novelty of the suicide door version.
If I were shopping for a big 2 door in 1967 you were damn spoiled for choice over at General Motors. New Riveria, new Eldorado, beautiful Toronado. Heck Id say even the standard big 2 doors like the Impala and Buick wildcat were drop dead gorgeous
I always liked these Birds. I did own a 65 that was a nice car, and very dependable. Then, after selling it, I told the wife that if we wanted another T-bird someday, I’d like one of these.
Well, she fell in love with a 1978 Diamond Jubilee edition 1978 model that we owned. We sold it and were both sorry. So in 2020 we bought another which we are slowly bringing back to life.
Maybe I’ll own a 67-68 someday…nope probably not! I’m old.
I loved the look of these cars when they were brand new, and still do! I owned one 45 years ago, Ivy Green metallic with the black cloth & vinyl interior. I still miss that car, despite a few issues with the vacuum lines that actuated the door locks and headlight doors.
The contemporary car market believes four doors are better because even coupes have four doors these days Being ahead of their time doesn’t make this generation Thunderbird any more attractive,
Was this Ford’s first long front-overhang car? It’s a cheap way to get a longer hood, just avoid steep driveways like mine.
I own a 1968 Thunderbird.
There isn’t much excess front overhang. Things are pretty tight under the hood, with the big V8, especially if there’s air conditioning equipment.
The long hood is an illusion prompted by shoving the windshield rearwards.
The windshield feels close to the driver. And the drivers legs extend far forward under the dashboard and cowl.
If this car had a more modern layout, that windshield would be at least a foot further forward, making the hood look smaller, but with no actual mechanical changes.
Those landau bars look like they were added to extend the rain channel past the rear door aperture in a stylish way.
The top of the landau bars did function to channel rainwater away. The Thunderbird emblem on each bar was designed with a “tunnel” (for lack of a better term) to let the rainwater flow through. Keeping that “tunnel” free of dirt, etc. was often overlooked.
I miss my ’68 four door.
Given the unobtainable values of pretty much even the most mundane of 60s intermediates these days these Tbirds are an absolute bargain in the classic car market, but for me I have visions of a 1:1 scale version of the hot wheels 2 door, with purple paint, fat mag wheels, redlines, air shocks, a power bulge and zoomies out the bottoms of the front fenders. It souns childish but that’s exactly what the 67 Thunderbird should have been if it wanted to stay relevant.
…As for the 4 door…. First off, I defend the modern era Chargers being 4 doors, and looking back I prefer 60s Lincoln Continentals in suicide door form vastly over their late 60s 2-door hardtop addition to the line, so what I’m about to say isn’t coupe bias … These simply don’t look anything like Thunderbirds. The 58-67 may have grown but they still have an air of youthfulness that suits them, but the 67s just steered straight into staid conservativism that was sweeping through the once expressive full size cars in general in the late 60s through the 70s, with the two saving graces being a fairly unique (but not necessarily good looking) jet inspired front end(ruined by the bunkie beak in 70-71) and a fairly nice looking rear end that people didn’t necessarily appreciate as much back then. losing the convertible alone to me killed the soul of the Thunderbird, full stop. If the vert sold so poorly so as to be completely unviable for production Ford should have just dropped the Thunderbird name altogether and called this the “Ford Landau” in the usual name succession form of the times…. And if you’re thinking “but Matt that doesn’t have the cache of the name Thunderbird!!!”, yep. If the Thunderbird name is the cornerstone that supports this design it is a mere playing card in a house of cards.
After this generation it became a value Lincoln Mark IV. Where Tbirds prior including these may have cost within a few hundred bucks of a Continental, I doubt there was ever much cross shopping, so what was the point of these landau 4-doors exactly? Lincoln buyers wanted Lincolns, stylish youthful coupe/convertable buyers probably moved onto Mustangs or if well off other pricier ponycars or muscle cars. Tbirds of this period until the 77(with a severe enticing price drop) seemed to be completely rudderless.
I can see the charms in these 67-69s, I really do, but I just cannot figure out who they appealed to or why. Buyers can have their quirks and there’s the “you had to be there” thing I’m probably overlooking too but also why Ford in 1967 thought the 4 suicide door was more appealing than the convertible is the biggest mystery. I could totally understand dropping the convertible if the sales sucked, but a 4 door? did that move the needle at all in sales? Would the buyers of them NOT have bought the 2-door if that was the only bodystyle available
Forgot to attach the awesome Hot Wheels version
I had one too. It was my first Hot Wheels car, mine was turquoise/aqua, and really turned me on to the real car.
I’d never noticed before how much these inspired the Mk1 Granada GXL/Ghia in Yerp.
I can be slow-witted at times!
I was behind an Audi in traffic yesterday. When he changed lanes, the tail lights flashed in sequence and I was reminded of the Thunderbirds of the mid 60’s.
Yes, Ford had a better idea!!
In 1967, the year I started to drive, we had 1963 and 1966 Thunderbirds in the driveway. My cousin, in his mid 20s, showed up one day in his new 1967 four door T-Bird. Red with black top & leather interior with a bench seat. My 16-year old self thought it was interesting but could not understand it being called a T-Bird. My parents gave me the 1963 which I loved and at my rich kids high school many muscle cars of which I had little interest. One blond sweet thing, her dad gave her a 1967 four door Landau in blue for her 16th but at least it had bucket seats. I do prefer the two door models without vinyl tops and never could figure out who Ford was marketing these four door models to. A four door T-Bird is as odd to me as a SUV Mustang or a four Door Charger. Yes, I am an old fart and currently drive a late model Camaro and a 1966 T-Bird convertible. Either drop the name or keep the name true it heritage.
This is one of few cars I think look better as 4-doors than 2-doors; ironically I think the new Charger is another. I really do think taking about six inches off the front overhang would do this wonders. I don’t mind the short looking rear doors as for most of the cars I own never see passengers in the back. It reminds me a bit of my Mazda RX-8 in that regard.
Love the interior, that “flower pot” steering wheel hub, the detail touches. The only thing that bugs me is: having that beautiful console and…a column shifter. It really does bug me.
I’ve owned a 1968 Thunderbird for 36 years. These are great driving cars for the era, with significant handling and acceleration improvements over earlier Thunderbirds (especially with the 429 V8, made standard in 1968)
The 67-69’s were the last Thunderbirds (until the Turbo Coupe) made with a nod towards road and driving performance, like a luxury muscle car in the spirit of the mid 60’s Buick Riviera (especially the 2 door Thunderbird, which was shorter and lighter than the 4 door. )
Imho that classic 60s Riviera was the primary influence for these cars, more so than earlier Thunderbirds…… less retro-spacecraft looks and more performance.
Funny thing about driving my 68 Thunderbird…… nobody knows what it is. Even the car enthusiasts struggle to identify it. Usually they guess is some kind of weird Dodge Charger.
1968 Thunderbird Limo