Words: Tommy Parry Photos: Brent
Brent always had a soft spot for vintage Thunderbirds. After standing over one in his adolescence and salivating over a Y-Block, he made the silent commitment to himself that one day, he would own one himself.
It took nearly thirty years and, since they’re not cheap cars, lots of forum perusing before he settled on one. Brent’s best friend, who had a T-Bird himself, found a classified and sent it to him as quickly as he could. The ‘59 Squarebird looked mechanically sound, and although the tan-on-tan color scheme made him retch, it was the right price.
He couldn’t argue with the steal it was offered for, so he picked it up and put it up on his lift. After peering underneath, Brent noticed it had new brakes, shocks, coils, leaf springs,and even a new exhaust! Not too shabby.
He then buffed the faded paint, removed the disgusting chrome hubcaps and snipped off the front bumper guards. He changed the oil, gave the motor a tune and - no surprise - it ran flawlessly. Even the exterior started to look decent, with the tan exterior appearing more bronze than burlap bag.
He then stripped it down the bare shell, noted a few bad filler jobs in the trunk and the passenger fender and sighed a sigh of relief when the only rust damage he could find was limited to two spots on the passenger fender and rocker. Nothing a quick patch and a bit of hammering couldn’t remedy.
Brent addressed the footwork next. Wide whites, 15” Ford wheels topped with Lincoln Premier hubcabs and a dash of gold paint set the car alight. Flipped shackles helped get the desired ride height, and a coat of primer on the body helped everything come together. At least he could say sayonara to that hideous tan.
Calling in the hired guns, Brent had the side trim, handles and locks shaved for a streamlined look. Make no mistake - this took ages, but the final form was worth the effort.
But Brent wanted to make his mark on this build. Being a designer, he couldn’t roll around in a custom car with a factory interior, and set to refurbishing everything in a color scheme that would complement the gold, white and would-be-bronze on the body. He pulled the seats and upholstery, stripped the paint underneath, seam-sealed the interior and doused everything in a coat of warm bronze.
Plenty of napkins covered in scribbles were thrown in the trash before he devised an interior layout which satisfied him. White synthetic leather, gold and pearl-white vinyl, bronze emblems and gold buttons were the ensemble of choice. It didn’t look gaudy, though: almost stately and very classy. He took inspiration from a ‘56 Lincoln Mark II, but with an extra helping of pizzazz.
Brent then pulled the motor and stripped the engine bay and the firewall. After sandblasting everything, he coated the 352 in a combination of gold and black, and refastened it with ARP stainless studs.
Back to the body. Brent coated the exterior in a coat of root beer paint, then added gold striping to accentuate the curves of the T-Bird. With no shortage of gold trim pieces, polished chrome and even a couple of bullet-shaped bumperettes, the package was complete. What a stunner.
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