Johnny Lightning 1968, Yatming 1972, and Motormax 1978 Ford Thunderbird’s

One of the most popular sporty models from Ford currently is the Mustang, and of course the GT sports car, but the Thunderbird also hits a soft spot with many Ford enthusiasts even though the car transformed itself into more of a grand tourer than the Corvette fighter it was originally once was.  These three showcase three generations of the Thunderbird in the 1970’s.

Johnny Lightning 1968 Ford Thunderbird

After the excitement of the 1955 Thunderbird Ford still found more potential for their new sports car to increase sales and by 1958 the squarebird with seating for four was introduced despite losing the swift sports car nature of the first-generation.  Still sales increased and brought a new era to the Ford line.  In 1967 another change was made to make the Thunderbird more of a grand tourer as the convertible model was axed and added was a new four-door sedan with Continental-style rear suicide door openings.  Despite the new model it proved less popular than just adding seats to a Thunderbird nearly 10 years prior, so the coupe soldered on for a few more years.  The front grille is now more pinched in with the first use of concealed headlights, while the rear has a taillight bar that spans the rear section.  The interior has more of a Lincoln look with a center console that flows up towards the dashboard to the left where four round gauges reside.  The engine is a 429 CID V8 that produces 360 horsepower through a 3-speed automatic transmission.

At this time a lot of diecast manufacturers, including Johnny Lightning, went for a custom T-bird look to this generation, so it was nice to see Johnny do a stock-looking 1967 T-bird for a change.  The front has the detailed egg-crate grille with bird badges where the hidden headlight covers reside, rounded lower bumper with signal lights, and central-mounted wiper blades.  The sides show a clean beltline with black vinyl roof that has side chrome trim ornament and 5-spoke wheels on rubber tires that fit this car perfectly well.  The rear has recessed panel with taillight bar that has the bird logo in the center and even the trunk matches the shape of the recess panel.  The metal base shows off the engine, transmission, and dual exhaust system than ends with dual tips and mufflers, while the hood opens to show the V8 motor in blue color.  The interior has seating for four with detailed door panels, dashboard, and deep-dish steering wheel.

Yatming 1972 Ford Thunderbird

The luxury coupe market proved popular and the Thunderbird has set the path for the 1970’s with the next generation.  Not only does it share a platform with the Lincoln Continental Mark series it also gains a new Mercury Cougar who moves from the Mustang platform to the T-bird platform.  The body shares much with the Continental Mark coupes with the front-end gaining exposed round headlights, side signal lights, and a large square grille, while the rear still continues the taillight bar of the previous-generation.  The interior also shares the Lincoln’s driver-oriented layout with the T-bird using round gauges over the Lincoln’s square units.  The engine is a 460 CID V8 to a three-speed automatic that moves around a lot of curb weight (the highest for a T-bird generation) even though power output would suffer thanks to emissions and unleaded fuel changes.

Yatming would make a nice, simple version of the T-bird just like the real car.  The front has round headlights exposed next to the grille and signal lights, all part of the front bumper trim and I added some detailing to make them more distinctive.  The side profile shows a taller beltline and ride height with C-shaped C-pillar and adding a black vinyl top to cover some large paint chips really adds some appealing to the plain-jane look of the casting.  The rear has the taillight bar and 6-spoke wheels with working suspension rounds out the T-birds details.  The base underneath is made of metal and is very simple on details, while the interior lacks any opening doors that would be typical of other Yatming 1:64 vehicles of the time, has four sets with the front ones too far forward, and a steering wheel that lacks a dashboard a’la Tomica.

Motormax 1978 Ford Thunderbird

If there’s one thing common in the late 1970’s it was Detroit’s Big 3 automakers downsizing larger cars, and the Thunderbird would be one of them.  The new T-bird was based on the LTD II platform that was now smaller and lighter than before to give the T-bird its sporty life back.  Still, it was a grand-touring luxury car and while this generation separated ties with the Continental Mark it still draws styling influences from the Lincoln.  The front now has hidden headlights, yet retains the side signal lights and grille from the Lincoln, while the rear still has the taillight bar now mated to a trunklid that follows a new roofline design for the roof and rear window over a Targa bar of sorts.  The interior still has a driver-oriented layout as before, but this time the curve of the dashboard is less extreme to allow front passenger access to the radio.  The engine is a 351 CID V8 and 3-speed automatic transmission.  This generation also saw the introduction of the T-tops even though this was only offered for this generation and the convertible would not reappear until the 2002 revival.

American Graffiti is the special American model series for Motormax and this where they have introduced some unique, if short-lived, models alongside the Fresh Cherries line in 1:64.  This Thunderbird is the only properly-done diecast model out there and it looks fantastic.  The front has a large chrome grille that attaches to the lower bumper with bumper pads, side signal lights in chrome, and headlight covers.  The sides show off the long hood of this car prominently with antenna mast mount on the right-front fender, split roof in dark green color, square opera windows, front fender vents, and American Graffiti logo on one side that everyone wants to remove from the vehicle.  The rear has the separate taillight bar with bird logo’s, Thunderbird on the trunklid, and a chrome lower bumper.  The 5-spoke wheels somehow give this T-bird a sporty look, while the base shows off excellent detailing of the engine, transmission, suspension, exhaust system, rear fuel tank, and frame supports.  Also note the phillips-head screws used to attach to the base for easy removal of the body.  The interior is another high point in these Motormax castings as they feature detailed front bucket seats, rear seats, door panels, and dashboard with two-spoke steering wheel.  It may not be a perfect casting, but it is one nicely-detailed Thunderbird and one that was produced for a limited time and currently in high-demand for collectors.  With Motormax still making vehicles this would be a good time for Motormax to return to 1:64 with vehicles like this.