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By The Master Cylinder - 13 Years Ago
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 Check out the Rare, Rare Mexican T-Bird of E-bay. It has the rare Mexican Engine Option too.
http://bit.ly/rsvlKL
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By JPotter57 - 13 Years Ago
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What an abomination..poor bird, that "mexican engine" seems more like a hillbilly engine to me. That is the only engine simple enough for hillbillies so they out it in everything, cars, tractors, lawnmowers. What a disaster.....
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By kevink1955 - 13 Years Ago
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I just spit out my coffee, they forgot to mention the rare compact spare tire option
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By junkyardjeff - 13 Years Ago
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You can find a correct bird cheaper and I thought about sending in a best offer at scrap price unless they have the original drivetrain that goes with it.
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By JPotter57 - 13 Years Ago
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Look at this little exchange, lol...
From: speedmaven
To: srnyn924r
Subject: Other: speedmaven sent a message about Ford : Thunderbird #160691883810
Sent Date: Dec-04-11 06:24:37 PST
Dear srnyn924r,
With that bowtie anchor engine, your beautiful Thunderbird is seriously worth about half whst you are asking for it. A Tbird with an incorrect engine, especially a hacked in offbrand. Engine, is considered by serious Ford Thunderbird enthusiasts as an automotive abortion, one better left to the people who cut them up for race cars etc. It simply costs too much to correct the damage done in swapping in an incorrect engine and trans. However, good luck with your sale, but I would consider lowering the price a great deal if you are serious about selling it.
Dear speedmaven,
For your info this is a correct engine give me your email address and I will send you paperwork these cars were built in Mexico with those drive trains so I woildsuggest before you start throwing off on smeone car youshould know what the he'll you are talking about
- srnyn924r
I replied to him and told him unless it was a kit car assembled in mexico, it was not correct, as Ford never installed small block chevrolets in anything, anywhere. What a goon, typical scrub freak, lol...
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By mctim64 - 13 Years Ago
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Even GM didn't have that set up in '55. 
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By charliemccraney - 13 Years Ago
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JPotter57 (12/4/2011)
For your info this is a correct engine give me your email address and I will send you paperwork these cars were built in Mexico with those drive trains so I woildsuggest before you start throwing off on smeone car youshould know what the he'll you are talking about..
Did you get the paperwork? It'd be interesting to know if there is some rare Mexican Bird.
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By junkyardjeff - 13 Years Ago
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I cant believe that moron thinks its a original motor
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By JPotter57 - 13 Years Ago
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I got the documentation today. After carefully scanning it for viruses, I opened the multiple .pdf files, which were scans of a newspaper from 1997. There was also another article that came with it, that stated to use common sense with these Mexican birds, ie. if it had a Pontiac motor or something like that, dont automatically assume it came with it. Anyway, the newspaper, being written by non-automotive people anyway, stated that the tbird in question, not this particular one, was one of 6 automatic equipped birds built in Mexico, this one with a 350 ci engine. So there, according to this paper, Ford actually came out with the 350 SBC in 1955, 14 years before you could get one in a Vette...awesome.  
If there is any interest, I may work on the .pdf files and repost them here. Some of them were scanned upside down and were hard to read. For the most part, I think this dude bought this car, sank a ton of money into it, and is trying to retire off it. I really think he probably doesnt know any better, he was pretty angry in his last email, lol....
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By charliemccraney - 13 Years Ago
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That settles it. GM stole the 350ci small block Chevy from Ford. They paid the magazines to keep it under wraps but the Mexicans know better. So all of those fast 350 Chevies actually have a Ford engine.
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By junkyardjeff - 13 Years Ago
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I sent a question about the motor and curious what the response will be.
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By The Master Cylinder - 13 Years Ago
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I also wrote him asking if he could post some pictures of the frame and suspension. Just curious what is actually under it. Wonder if it is a Kit car or what?
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By JPotter57 - 13 Years Ago
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In one of the engine pics, you can see the upper A-arms, and they are real 55 Bird parts, so it has a stock frame anyway. I believe like he said, it was built there, but it was also butchered sometime in its life. Here is one of the articles he sent me, it is a little hard to read as it was a poor scan, but you can read it. Note where it says when it comes to these cars to use some common sense, ie. if you have one with a Pontiac engine in it, don't assume it came in it...
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By ecode ragtop - 13 Years Ago
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As you all know the 55-57 Thunderbirds were only built in the Dearborn assy. plant. Yes T-Birds were exported to mexico and other counties, but none were built at any plant except Dearborn. 40% of all T-birds were shipped to Calif. Maybe they should have used a western plant!
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By Doug T - 13 Years Ago
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The article posted is from the Early Bird in 1993. This is the Classic Thunderbird Club International's bi-monthly publication and that kind of information is/was very interesting to members of CTCI. It is usually accurate. The article says clearly that a small number of Classic Birds were sent to Mexico in pieces and assembled there, indicating that they may have "MEX" as their assembly code instead of Dearborn. So the car might indeed have been assembled in Mexico but it would have had a Y block Thunderbird motor.You will note that the inside door panels are missing some pieces and this kind of problem was mentioned in the CTCI article.
So if the seller acknowledges that the car has been debased with a scrub engine and is not trying to pass it off as factory, then at least he is rationally part of this world although he has no class. But he is seriously deranged if he thinks FoMoCo ever did anything like that for sale.
P.S. I see my avatar shows the interior of my '55 Bird pretty well. So for the sake of accuracy, the color/material is '56 T Bird Buckskin stitched up in the proper pattern for a '55 by one of the T bird vendors on special order.
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By Frankenstein57 - 13 Years Ago
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James, don't you think you were a little hard on the beaver? Seriously, I'd be interested in that info.
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By JPotter57 - 13 Years Ago
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I'll forward his email to you. I scanned it for viruses and its safe, but you should probably do the same before opening, there are 5 .pdf files in a zip. They are scanned and like I said the quality is poor but readable. I wll send them when I get home.
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By junkyardjeff - 13 Years Ago
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I got a reply saying its the original motor,I am tempted in responding telling him he is very nieve or smoking crack.
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By JPotter57 - 13 Years Ago
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Just sent him his VIN decoded as per the early TBird book, his P code says 292 to me.....No doubt, he will report me to ebay for harassing him, though I am not going through ebay's messaging system.
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By MoonShadow - 13 Years Ago
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It seems this poor guy is convinced that this is the real deal. Only thing would be if he found a buyer that thought the same. Anyone spending that much money for any car should know what they are buying. Chuck
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By speedpro56 - 13 Years Ago
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I sent him an email a few days ago about the vin numbers and which engines went with them ( P = 292 ford yblock etc. for 1955 ) and to get in touch with Ford to make sure they didn't put a competitures ( chevy's ) engine in it. Haven't heard back yet. Don't think he would say anything to ebay about this because it could amount to fraud since he's been informed.
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By charliemccraney - 13 Years Ago
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I bet he bought it thinking it's the real deal. Now he needs to get rid of it and wants to at least break even. That sort of thing happens quite often, particularly with "rare" stuff. It would explain his unwillingness to accept the truth. Never underestimate the power of denial.
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By Y block Billy - 13 Years Ago
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beleive it or not, I worked in Mexico in the early 90's for over 6 months, I saw a piuckup coming down the road with a scrub chevy front nose, Ford cab and Dodge bed and tail lights. I thought wow, what a different custom. Then I saw more and more and asked what the story was and they informed me they were built that way. Mexico would buy the old molds from the states and make their own brands from different companies peices. I then used to see zillions of 69 VW bugs (small tail lights, 70 came out with the large ones) which looked like they just come from the factory, when I questioned this i was informed that they bought the molds for the 60's bugs from Germany, so in the early 90's you could get a new 69 bug down there. As for the bird it is possible that they aquired some molds or old bodies/frames and assembled them down there with a scrub motor. However it would not be a correct 55, it would have been a much later model after they came out with the 350 puke motor, sort of like a 59 Aussie looks like a 55 from here or Canada.
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By Y block Billy - 13 Years Ago
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Few, i tried for 3 days to get that post in and would get kicked off each time. wrote it in word and tried to copy and paste it but it would say there was no content in the message, I would type a few words above that but to no avail it would not recognize there was content there. In any case, I have seen it with my own eyes, they do mix match brands down there to make something for themselves. Again it would have had to happen much later than 55.
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By Y block Billy - 13 Years Ago
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Just finally looked at the pictures and as you will note the shifter is mid 60's mustang, Falcon/ fairlane/cougar etc. In any case, they did it in the 60's and it is possible its an original Mexican built rig.
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By JPotter57 - 13 Years Ago
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It still has a 1955 vin, as well as a P engine code. In 1955, Ford would not have allowed its flagship model to be produced anywhere in the world, with the competition's engine. They would have refused to send the bodies down there first versus allowing that. Cool observation though.
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By yalincoln - 13 Years Ago
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it also has a late GM steering colume, and they didn't pad the dash untill 56. one last thing, i wouldn't put a junk quadrajet on anything!!!
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By mr.uglyduckling - 13 Years Ago
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Hey now guys give him credit for his super super painted finned valve covers that's cool just ask him......... But seriously Pedro needs to learn about cars but then again its got a vomit cockroach Chebie engines so he can work on it with a tap tap hammer and visegrips right hahahahahahahahahaha I didn't realise how stupid people were until now lol
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By Y block Billy - 13 Years Ago
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Again, Dont worry about the P in the vin, how did they get the MEX in the vin? and No, Ford would have never done this, But they did! They bought (or stole) parts/molds from several different companies and mixmatched parts to make their own brand. I don't think this is the first one I have seen like this. And again they would have assembled it much later than 55, more like in the 60's but it is possible they did it from what I have seen being down there.
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By speedpro56 - 13 Years Ago
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For me to be an original car it would have to be assembled at the factory with the right parts. Any car shipped anywhere in the world and put together with a bunch of mismatched parts from different other makes is simply not original, including the one built for Johnny Cash. These may be considered personal unoriginal cars .
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By mctim64 - 13 Years Ago
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yalincoln (12/9/2011)
one last thing, i wouldn't put a junk quadrajet on anything!!!Q-jets are a good carb, they get a bad rap 'cause people have trouble tuning them. Just like the Y-Block! LOL Some came stock on Fords too!
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