![]() ![]() Thus the 1960 Thunderbird Hardtop with Sun Roof became on official model. Of warm air inside the car, even on such a bitterly cold day in Michigan. ![]() The panel about 3/4ths of the way actually seemed to improve the circulation Stayed warm with the heater on, even with the sun roof panel open. It was also noted during this test that the car interior This was found to be acceptable, and the sun roof was approvedįor production. Petersen sat in the front passenger seat. In the back seat with Milton Katz, Bill Boyer drove the car, and Donald Speed of 60 mph with the sun roof panel wide open. On the day of the test, temperatures were just above 0° F, the kind The Thunderbird was Ford's flagship automobile, so such things The biggest concern was wind noise and turbulence inside Katz came along for the ride to answer any technical questions Sun roof, as he had been offered a job on Ford's engineering team for this Milton Katz, an Engineer for the BuddĬompany, who built T-bird bodies for Ford, was familiar with the Golde William Clay Ford, Product Planner Donald Petersen, and Thunderbird Stylistīill Boyer met at the Dearborn Test Track on a frigid January day for a Sun roof prototype unit had been fitted to a 1959 Thunderbird Hardtop. Mockups were made and by January 1959 a working Ford was interested, and during the Fall of 1957 and Winter of 1958,įord engineers adapted hardware for the sun roof that would work with the ![]() Intention of having the American automobile manufacturers offer their sun Golde had opened a new office in Detroit with the The story goes that Ford was approached by Golde and Company in 1957 regarding Unique for the car, and after executives had the opportunity to ride inĪ 1959 Thunderbird prototype with the sun roof feature, it was approved Planning progressed on the 1960 Thunderbird, Ford was looking for something Their car and have a fresh air feature without buying a convertible. These were offered through variousĬar dealers around the world, giving new car owners a way to customize Severalĭifferent styles were available, including a power-operated one that openedĪnd closed at the touch of a button. Germany, held a patent on a sliding roof system for automobiles. Well, for one, they DON'T EXIST! That makes them extremely rare! It seems that Golde and Company, of West None, however, are as special or rare as the "Gold These include the 1963 Limited Edition Landau and the 1965 Special Landau, in particular. Over the years, Ford has come out with a few exceptional limited or specialĮdition Thunderbirds. Normally weren't produced for minor changes. Theĭata plates on cars built the last day would still show a date code ofġ3W due to the fact these plates are made ahead of time, and new plates Thunderbirds actually came off the line on Friday, September 9, 1960. **Thunderbirds were scheduled to be built through Tuesday, September 13th,ġ960, but the assembly line was running ahead of schedule, and the last Year, including two stainless steel cars built for Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corporation. The record, a total of 80,983 Thunderbird Hardtops were made during the We have provided separate productionįigures here to clear up a myth that has circulated for years about theĮxistence of a Special Edition Gold Roof Hardtop. Roof is to locate the original ROT or build sheet, which would indicateĪ code of "5" in the TOP section. The only way to verify a car left the factory with the Sun *Production figures for 1960 do not break out production of the Hardtop ![]()
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