All Ford Day highlight – 1965 Thunderbird convertible

The 2024 edition of All Ford Day saw in excess of 1,500 vehicles on display, covering more than a century of Ford production and including Blue Oval vehicles from Australia, the UK and the USA. In terms of American Fords, you’re always guaranteed of seeing a few Thunderbirds at such a massive show. This year was no exception, with the 1965 Thunderbird pictured one of many that made the journey to Geelong.

By 1965, the Thunderbird was in its fourth generation and what started as a sporty two-seat roadster had morphed into a four-seat ‘personal luxury car’. In 1962, the existing Thunderbird hardtop and convertible body styles were joined by ‘Sports Roadster’ convertible and ‘Landau’ (a fancier version of hardtop) variants.

Key to the Sports Roadster was its fibreglass tonneau cover, which visually transformed the four-seat Thunderbird convertible into the two-seater of old. Colour-matched to the body and including padded extensions of the front-seat headrests, this tonneau did not impede operation of the convertible top when in place and could be removed if all four seats were needed. Other features that defined the Sports Roadster against the regular Thunderbird convertible included Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels, a passenger grab bar and special badging on the front guards.

While the Landau was a successful addition to the Thunderbird range, continuing into the 1980s, response to the Sports Roadster was lukewarm at best. Less than 2,000 were built over two years, while convertible production reached almost 13,000 over the same period. As such, the Sports Roadster was dropped after 1963, but the tonneau and wheels could still be ordered as dealer-fitted options.

The 1965 Thunderbird convertible pictured wears the redesigned tonneau from 1964 that extended the padded vinyl sections to the rear of the ‘humps’ behind the front seats and trimmed them in bright metal. Wire spoke wheels on this car must be later reproductions, as the original Kelsey-Hayes type projected out so far that they couldn’t be used with the Thunderbird’s rear-wheel spats and didn’t provide enough clearance for the new-for-1965 front disc brakes, either.

These elements aside, this Thunderbird appears stock, and being a 1965 model, it would have features that were new that year, like front disc brakes and sequential rear indicators. Powertrain is unknown, but most likely the factory 300hp 390 V8 and three-speed automatic.

Inside, this car appears to have the ‘swing away’ steering wheel, power windows and air conditioning that were all factory options, with the only obvious modern addition being a retro-look radio.

For JUST CARS’ report from the 2024 All Ford Day, click HERE.