"Thefourth generation of theFord Thunderbirdis a largepersonal luxury carproduced byFordfor the 1964 to 1966 model years. This generation of the Thunderbird was restyled in favor of a more squared-off, "formal" look. The Thunderbird's sporty image had by that time become only that: the standard 390-cubic-inch 300bhp (224kW)V8 engineneeded nearly 11 seconds to push the heavy T-bird to 60mph (96km/h). The softly sprung suspension allowed considerable body lean, wallow, and float on curves and bumps. Contemporary testers felt that theBuick RivieraandPontiac Grand Prixwere substantially more roadworthy cars, but the Thunderbird retained its leading market share."
"For 1966, the 390-cubic-inch V8's power was increased to 315bhp (235kW). The larger 428-cubic-inch (7.0 L) V-8 became optional, rated at 345 gross horsepower (257.4kW) and providing a notable improvement in 0-60 acceleration to about 9 seconds. All models featured a new front clip. A flatter hood, re-shaped front fenders, new headlight buckets, new egg crate grille with large Thunderbird emblem, new bumper guards, a single bumper bar, and painted roll pan replaced the previous two model year's two-piece front bumper. The rear taillights were revised, now a 3 piece unit going the full width across the rear, the backup light now located in the center section replaced the formerly rear roll pan mounted lamps. A new Town Hardtop model was offered, featured a roof with blind quarter panels for a more 'formal' look (at the cost of rear visibility). The Landau was replaced by the blind quarter formal roofed Town Landau, which retained the previous model's padded roof and landau S-bars. It became by far the best-selling model, accounting for 35,105 of the 1966 model's 69,176 sales. The transmission used on early build 390 V8 equipped T-Birds was the Cruise-O-Matic MX, however late build 390 and all 428 V8 equipped T-Birds had the new C6 3 speed automatic installed."
References:^"History of Ford Swing-Away, Tilt-Away, and Tilt Steering Wheels".Automotive Mileposts. Retrieved13 March2017.^Tast, Alan H. and David Newhardt. THUNDERBIRD FIFTY YEARS. Motorbooks. October 15, 2004.
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