Since we’ve been talking a lot about oddball Cougars and T-Birds lately—Fairmont Birds, Cougar station wagons, and all sorts of other automotive marketing craziness—I just have to share this four-door ’71 T-Bird Landau sedan. It was posted to the Cohort by whitewall buick, who’s known around these here parts as GG. So here it is: The Fabulous Bunkie Brougham ‘Bird.
The four-door ‘Bird was designed to fill the gap left by the departure of the last Flair Bird convertible, in 1966. Convertible sales for that year had dwindled to a mere 5,049 units, and Ford hoped that a new sedan model would prove to be a satisfactory replacement for the drop top. Its success in that role would be debatable, but for now a very Continental-like T-Bird sedan was available to buyers so inclined.
By 1970, T-Birds wore Bunkie-mandated rhinoplasty that left them looking rather Pontiac-like up front. The Pontiac-esque look was most certainly intentional, considering that Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen, the soon-to-be-departed FoMoCo president and son of former GM President William “Big Bill” Knudsen, had come to Ford from Pontiac Motor Division. In combination, the absence of hidden headlights and the pronounced beak made for a virtually all-new appearance, at least on the coupes. All in all, it was a rather sleek affair.
While the coupes sported new rear quarters and a revised roof line (CC here), the sedans were far more similar to the 1967-69 models. Do those wheel covers look familiar? If so, it’s because their run lasted all the way to the 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis, although they weren’t seen as frequently as the de riguer wire wheel covers optional on ’80s GMs.
As you’d expect, there were lots and lots of options available, including a power sunroof, which was then an unusual option for an American car. Another, even more unusual option was the high-mounted rear lights (shown bottom-row center on the left page). I’d never even heard of that one. Perhaps it’s where Oldsmobile got the idea for the auxiliary brake lights on the 1971-78 Toronado?
image: artandcolour.blogspot.com
Nineteen seventy-one was largely a carryover year, and only a new grille and changes to some minor fillips differentiated the ’71s from the previous year’s models. The four-door Landau had never been a huge seller; its best year had been inaugural-year 1967, with 24,967 sales. Sales dwindled further in subsequent years, totaling 8,401 in 1970; and a mere 6,553 in 1971, the final year for the four-door Landau.
As you might expect, the 1971 T-Birds included lots of standard features, among them a 429 cu in, 360-hp V8 that breathed through a Motorcraft four-barrel carb. Other standard equipment included power front disc/rear drum brakes, SelectShift Cruise-O-Matic transmission, AM radio, electric clock and teak wood grain interior accents.
While regular Thunderbird coupes wore a steel top, Landau coupes and sedans (all sedans were Landaus) came with a Cayman-grain vinyl roof. The vinyl top and landau irons played an especially important role on the sedan, on which they partially concealed the cut lines of its reverse-opening doors.
Part of the Landau’s door, complete with vinyl covering and chrome trim, blended into the roof (as would Chrysler’s M-body Fifth Avenue a decade later). Frankly, a steel-topped T-Bird sedan would have looked pretty strange.
In the end, a four-door T-Bird just didn’t (pardon the pun) fly. Although Ford may not have built as many of them as they’d hoped, it was nevertheless an interesting idea–and love them or hate them, these certainly are interesting Thunderbirds.
Despite the Broughamtastic interior trim and simulated wood everywhere, Thunderbirds still had full instrumentation, including ammeter, oil pressure and temperature gauges.
If that instrument panel looks somewhat similar to the Mark III’s, it’s because the Bunkie Birds shared the same chassis. Actually, the T-Bird came first, and later was adapted to become the personal-luxury Connie. The lower instrument panel with the A/C vents looks almost identical; so does the steering wheel, with a Thunderbird applique in place of the Continental star.
According to GG, he came upon this pastel green ‘Bird at an estate auction in Hill City, Kansas. It appears to be well-loved and cared-for, as it should be considering its rarity. I may be in the minority, but I’ve always liked the four-door T-Birds. This one was awfully nice, as indicated by its $5,350 selling price–which actually isn’t all that far from the original MSRP of $5,516. Here’s hoping it went to a good home!
Related reading: CC 1970 Thunderbird Sportsback: What Bunkie Took With Him On His Way Out The Door (Laurence Jones)
I never saw the high mounted stop lights.
The driveshaft fits a Mark III so this is the same formula GM used on the GP.
Take a four door and make it a coupe with a long nose.
Some of us were driving sensible cars at that time.
I don’t mean to politicize yet another thing, but I’d wager the original owner was all for the illegal tragedy in Vietnam.
The ’69-72 GP had a 118″ wheelbase, 2 inches longer the A body four door. The original and second generation Monte Carlo and ’73 GP used the 116″ wheelbase.
You didn’t mean to, but you did. Idiot.
+1
No mention of the mileage or current mechanical condition but seems like a very fair price if the underside is free of major rust and it runs well. I do like them, the 4 door styling has been very well adapted to the body configuration imo.
I recall my dad bringing one home as a loaner car (while, maybe our 69 country squire was at Ford while they tried to diagnose its powertrain issues).
I recall being fascinated by the rear doors, the luxurious seating surfaces, the power window control panel, and the rectangular a/c vents which were cast metal, not plastic.
I also recall the car felt a bit dark and claustrophobia inducing in the rear seat (if I had been older I might have thought “secluded and good for making out”.
Kind of unusual to see a split bench seat in a T Bird, one of the first American cars to pioneer front bucket seats starting in `58.
A four-door T-Bird may have sold better starting in the ’90s when the notion of sedans=dowdy finally withered away.
What are all the vents/louvres below the rear window for? It looks almost big enough to feed air to a rear engine.
I agree that the 4 door Tbird was a bit ahead of its time. The Seville showed there was a market for a smaller luxury sedan and Ford pulled the plug on these too soon, especially as four doors started growing in popularity.
Those vents were part of the Tbird power flow thru ventilation system. They actually worked and were controlled by a dash switch.
These were fairly common when new, more popular than the suicide-door Lincolns.
The ultimate expression of the “Bunkie Beak” was definitely found on the ’70 and ’71 T-Bird, but was also noticeable on the ’69 and ’70 LTD and XL. Most of the time when you see an old one of these still on the road the beak has been flattened, at least somewhat, by a low-speed collision.
The idea for a 4-door personal luxury car was not a bad idea, but it was difficult to define, articulate, execute and market. The concept was continued with the advent of the “4-door coupe” (cars like the Mercedes-Benz CLS and the BMW 6-series Gran Coupe).
I’m of the opinion that the 4 door T-Bird preceded the Cadillac Seville in demonstrating that some domestic luxury car buyers preferred a more svelte size 4 door sedan than the large cars offered. In comparing the dimensions of the two, they are very close.
I remember seeing quite a few at the time. My best friend’s father traded in his ’64 Bonneville for a ’68 4 door T-Bird and a neighbor down the street traded in his ’65
Riviera for a ’67 4 door.
I think the beak looks good on the 70-71 two door models after all doesn’t a bird have a beak. But to me it doesn’t look right on the 4 door for those model years nor the ’71 Landau.
The original ’76 Seville with its big 5-mph bumpers was 204.9 inches long. The ’68 T-Bird 4-door was 209.4 inches long and by ’72 (with the addition of the beak) it grown to 215.0 inches long, which is still a bit smaller than many of the other full-sized luxury sedans of the time which had all grown to around 230 inches or so long.
In addition to the Seville, some other examples of an almost 4-door personal luxury car might be the downsized ’61 Lincoln Continental and the first generation Oldsmobile Aurora.
The styling of the 4-door T-bird always kind of bugged me. Specifically, the way the rear door has the rear part of the window area blocked out to make it appear that is is part of the rear C-pillar. Then the way it is styled to fit under the fake landau iron. It is kind of fussy and complicated. IMHO, it’s not an example of a “good” design.
Honestly the sedan doesn’t look like a T-bird
I like this! One of my mom’s “cousin’s”(third or so cuz) had a “69”, dark green(paint/top/interior), one of these.
Was, apparently, hard to get it into their garage.
No “folding mirrors” in those days.
A ’71 Bird with a For Sale sign sat in a driveway near the road I would use on my way to and from work. It sat there for a month and a half. I’m a big fan of the 4 door Birds, and was tempted. However, I passed!!
If it had been a ’67 thru ’69, I might have driven it home!!
Our neighbors had one of these, one of the coolest cars on the street! I love the suicide doors! Another curbside classic I would love to see profiled is the four door Mercury convertible ( Monterey). , produced in the late sixties! Ford made cool cars in the sixties, more than just the mustang!
My mom loved Thunderbirds, she had a 1962, 1967 beautiful car black top white body and the last one 1974 was the car of the year. She really loved those cars.
When she traded the 1967 in for 1974 the mechanic bought it it had over 200 thousand miles.
C.O.M.L (Cars of My Life)
1: Austin Mini 800cc, 1959, Light Green, 2-door
Mini was made of two brands then: Austin and Morris. It was a great little car. It went like stink, had great road holding, and was fun to drive, but it had no synchromesh at first. It needed better brakes. A friend fitted a twin-choke Weber, and then it really needed discs. It was in this car that I taught my wife to drive. I swapped for item 2 for work reasons.
2: VW Double Cab 1200cc, 1958 Light Blue, 4 Door
It’s a gutless but practical workhorse. Imagine a six-seater pickup with a 1200cc engine. What was VW thinking?
3: Goggomobile T250 250cc, 1956 Red, 2 Door
A tiny glass fibre, 250cc twin air-cooled, height 48” (Mini 53”), The gear change was horizontal. My wife passed her driver’s test in this thing. I drove her to the municipal testing ground. There were various tests to do on the ground, and once complete, a tester would get in the car and they would do the street driving part. The tester assigned to her was a big, stout fellow of about 6 ft 3, he tried but could not fit in this tiny car, so he just signed her licence and away we went.
4: Austin Farina 1200cc 1959, Two Tone Blue, 2 Door
My first hatchback had no synchromesh. Few cars had that luxury in those days. The engine seized, and my brother helped me fix it.
4: VW Beetle 1300cc 1963, Cream, 2-door
I hated this car. My two small children were both in the hospital, different hospitals, when this awful car seized its engine. It was fixed and promptly sold.
5: Rover 2000, 2000cc 1967, Light Grey, 4 Door
An upper-crust British saloon. In South Africa, these were not available with twin SU carbs as was the case in the UK. The car needed that extra SU. It was fitted with a De Dion Tube rear axle with inboard discs and Hardy Spicer universals, in the front a double wishbone system was used. Brilliant handling. Oh, it was an all-synchromesh gearbox, at last. The British police drove them. The Hardy Spicer universals packed up and were replaced at a huge cost.
This car was unnecessary overengineered
6: Peugeot 404, 1600cc 1974, Light Blue. Automatic, 4 Door
One of the best cars I have ever owned. My wife’s choice, she insisted on an auto. Her daily commute was through the city. She loved it. Well built, well finished and very frugal.
7: Rover 3500, 3500cc 1980, Turquoise. Automatic, 4 Door
Driving past a used car dealer in my work truck, I spotted the above car, and I was besotted. I did a direct swap, Peugeot 404 for Rover 3500, and my wife loved it. It was smooth and powerful with its 3500cc ex-Buick engine.
# The South African Air Force had placed an order for some Blackburn Buccaneer strike bombers in the UK, and when the crews were sent over for training, the Rover 3500S (manual) was launched. A number of the pilots bought them and brought them back to S.A. These cars were much sought after.
8: Passat L, 1300cc, 1978, Red. 4 Door
I did a complete left turn after the heavy petrol price increases and bought a car as good as the Peugeot 404. My wife loved it, although it was a manual, with tan vinyl upholstery, she said the gearbox was like silk. The company my wife worked for had a transport manager who also drove a red Passat L with the same upholstery. He asked one of the company drivers to take his Passat home and bring his pickup back.
At 5 pm my wife went out to her car and started it and experienced the clatter only a diesel engine can make. Her car’s key and his car’s keys were the same.
He said to take it home and swap it out the next day. When I got home, she said the car was making a funny noise, I said “Oh No” I got in and started it and immediately cut the engine, and great howls of laughter from her and the kids.
9: Ford Cortina, 2000cc 1975, Blue, Automatic + A/C 4 Door
Stepping up in life. Our first car with A/C. Badly finished. This car was pretty mediocre. Wives Co. moved from Pretoria to Johannesburg and they leased a new Nissan Sentra for her with A/C. A great little car.
10: DKW 900cc, 3 cyl 2 Stroke. 1959, Black, 4 Door
With the spare cash from the Ford Cortina, I went classic. I bought the DKW as a joke, it was an amazing car, a genuine 6-seater. I once went to a rugby match in Johannesburg with five of my friends. A brilliant car except for the exhaust smoke. I did have the roof sprayed white and that helped in the heat of Pretoria. Ten years after selling it, I saw it parked in Pretoria looking as good as ever.
11: Diahatsu Charade 900cc, 3 cyl. 1983, Cream, 4 Door
Another great little car. Great for the city and the highway. I loved riding past the filling stations. An old man T-boned me and that was that.
13: Honda Ballade, 1500cc, 4cyl, 1982, Blue
Honda was first distributed in South Africa by Mercedes Benz. The little Honda was fitted with a Becker radio, which was great as South Africa had just started transmitting Stereo FM. This was a brilliant car. These cars were referred to as Baby Mercs.
12: Rover SDI, 2600cc, 6 cyl. 1986, White, 4 Door
A big hatchback, comfortable but badly finished by Leyland South Africa and underpowered.
14: Honda Ballade, 1600i, 1600cc, 4cyl, 1982, Red, 4 Door, Automatic.
This one came standard with Becker radio and A/C and a good dollop of added H.P. Another great car and fun to drive.
15: City Golf, 1200cc, 4 cyl, 1986, Red, 4 Door
Another fine little hatchback, light on fuel and bulletproof.
16: 1996 Opel Astra 1800GLi, 1800cc, 4 cyl, White, 4 Door
Built by GM in Port Elizabeth. A great car, it felt like it was built for the European Rally Circuit.
17: Toyota Corolla, 1600cc, 4 cyl, 1990, Silver, 4 Door.
A great car from day one. This was my last car in South Africa.
18: Suzuki Vitara, 2000cc, 4cyl, Year 2000, White, 4 Door. Automatic.
Suzuki was not sold in South Africa, but we knew them well. During the Rhodesia bush war, the Rhodesia government bought Samarai knock-down kits from Japan for use in the war. These were the little Samurai jeep-type things and they were bulletproof, literally. When the war ended, many white Rhodesians fled in their Samurai jeeps to South Africa and would not part with them.
Arriving in Vancouver I was excited to see Suzuki for sale. I bought a Vitara and worked as a rep in B.C. covered 187,000 km and then swapped it for an SX4.
20: Suzuki SX4, 2000cc, 4 cyl, 2007, White, Automatic
Like the Peugeot 404, a brilliant car. One year we had heavy snow but the little SX4 got me to all my customers. I was sad to part with my little Suzuki
21: Dodge Nitro, 3600cc, V6, 2008, Red, Automatic
This is the car I hate even more than #4. I retired and my wife suggested we buy a trailer. The SX4 was too small for the job. My son bought the SX4 for our granddaughter and all I could find to suit my pocket was this ghastly thing. I have never driven a big rig but I think it must be close. It battled to pull a small trailer and sucked gas, noisy and uncomfortable.
22: Honda HRV, 1800cc, 4cyl, 2017, White, CVT.
Honda nailed it with this one. It has only covered 40k and is without a doubt the best car we have ever owned. The last time it went to the dealer, the salesman asked “Is it still, OK?” I said “No! it’s boring, it just starts, goes and stops, no hassles, ever”
I hope they sell Honda in heaven. I know they won’t in hell.
One may ask why I changed cars so often; I can’t answer that.
In Afrikaans, there is a saying” Sy gat jik” (His arse itches). That might explain it.
The Austin 1800
The elusive one
We married on Leap Year Day 1964. I had just turned 20 and J was 19. We were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and out to conquer the world. I was employed as an apprentice electrician and J worked as a clerk at the CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research), a government hush-hush facility in Pretoria. The CSIR facility was way out of town, so it provided free buses from Pretoria to the CSIR site, which was a good thing as money was in short supply. My place of employment was a good 25 km away and we needed a car.
We didn’t have a brass farthing to scratch our bums with. We lived in the Saleen Hotel in Upper Prinsloo Street, Pretoria. The Saleen Hotel was not a hotel that sold liquor, it was an up-market boarding house.
We placed a very small deposit on a 1959 Austin Mini. The previous owner had removed the anaemic SU carburettor and replaced it with a two-choke Weber unit. This modification put some lead in the pants of the little mini. I loved driving this little car.
I have always loved cars, trucks, tractors, planes, trains, and ships. I subscribed to the South African Car Magazine and received my copy every month. The one section of the magazine I went to first was “New Cars”. In there I saw that a larger version of the mini was to be launched in the UK. It was the Austin 1800. It would be a year or two before it would be available in South Africa. I wanted one, I didn’t know how I would afford it, but I would make a plan. In South Africa, we have an Afrikaans saying “A boer maak a plan” (A farmer makes a plan) That consoled me. I hoped it would work for me. I would have to bring my inner Boer out.
Finally! 1966 arrived but no Austin 1800. There were all kinds of problems setting up the production lines for the car in the Cape Town factory.
Eventually, it was ready for delivery to all the Austin dealers. I called in at the main Austin dealer in Pretoria, Kingsley and Marais were their name. The salesman tried his best to get me to sign an order, but I couldn’t, I had no money.
There was a full-page advert in the Pretoria News indicating the launch date. The showroom windows were covered with brown paper as they do when work was done in new shops.
The day arrived. The brown paper was stripped off the windows in a symbolic reveal, there were so many people that they were asked to spend just a few minutes in the showroom and then to leave and make room for the many people waiting outside.
I was there Oh Yes! I was there. I fell in love and now I wanted one. I didn’t even get a brochure to add to my already huge collection. I told J how I felt about the car and that I wanted one. J said “Don’t be silly, you know we can’t afford to buy a new car”
J has always been the voice of reason in our marriage. Eventually, our son would arrive followed by our daughter and we all know what costs that entails.
Motoring journalists worldwide voted the Mini as the car of the century, surpassing the Ford Model T as well as the Volkswagen Beetle. The Austin 1800 didn’t earn such honours but due to its outstanding suspension and roadholding, it was one of the most successful European Rally cars ever. It was nicknamed the Landcrab due to its great road holding. It won numerous rallies around the world.
I always wanted an Austin 1800, but something always got in the way. It was later replaced by other models and the Austin car company was merged with British Leyland and any car buff knows how that turned out.
In 1995, I stopped at a supermarket and pulled into the parking lot, and there was the most beautiful and immaculate Austin 1800 I had ever seen and in the colour I liked. It was in British Racing Green with cream upholstery. I waited in my car for the owner to arrive, but he or she didn’t show, so I left my card under the wiper. I indicated that I would like to buy this car should they wish to sell it and I also left my home number.
Time went by, as it does. The situation in South Africa deteriorated to the point that J and I decided to emigrate. We were accepted in Canada, and all the hundreds of things one has to do that took up so many hours and gave us sleepless nights.
Eventually, our things were in the container and ready to go. We will be arriving in Vancouver for Christmas 2000.
About a month before our departure, I received a call from someone asking if I was the person who left a card under the wiper and wanted to buy an Austin 1800 in 1995, I said yes, and I was told that the car belonged to his father who had passed away a while ago and he had sort of bequeathed the car to me to buy and that the car was ready and waiting. I was touched that the old man remembered me and saddened at his passing and that I would never be the owner of an Austin 1800 as they were never sold in North America, maybe a few in Canada.
I promised myself if I won the lottery, the Austin 1800 would be my first big purchase. It would have to be from the UK or Australia or maybe even New Zealand and unfortunately, it would not be a left-hand drive, oh well, one has to make certain sacrifices in life. I have not won the lottery yet.
The high-mounted stop lamps were a rare option, as was the sunroof. The “Fordor” sedans had a conventional back seat, but the “Tudor” coupes had a wrap-around back seat that was very comfortable, but wouldn’t fit in the sedans. The “Tudor” coupes were available without a vinyl roof in the base “Tudor” coupe, but the vinyl roof was standard in the “Tudor Landau” model. Sedans couldn’t be had without the vinyl roof, as the article mentioned, as the vinyl roof was used to hide the cut line for the rear doors, with the faux “Landau Bars” providing additional camouflage, as the Landau Bars were mounted along the cut line for the doors. Base “Tudor” coupes used a Thunderbird badge on the “B” pillar in place of the Landau Bars with an insert painted the same color as the body.