1961 Ford Thunderbird: The Bullet Bird Paces Indy

This record's own overview states directly that Old Cars Weekly lists a 300-horsepower 390 V-8 with dual exhaust and the Cruise-O-Matic automatic as standard equipment for the new "Bullet Bird" generation in 1961, this record's own dek repeating the same 300-horsepower figure. The car could be ordered in 19 Diamond Lustre solid colors and 30 two-tones, with 16 upholstery combinations across six colors, this record's own key facts section repeating the same 19-and-30 color count.¹

This record's own overview also states that a 1961 Thunderbird convertible paced the Indianapolis 500, and that Ford supplied 34 convertibles for the event: the official pace car, an alternate, and 32 festival cars, a figure this record's own key facts section repeats in full, though neither source states how those 34 cars were equipped beyond their shared convertible body style.¹

This record's own production section leaves the total-production row disputed: Wikipedia's own third-generation article gives 62,535, citing the Standard Catalog of American Cars, while its own main Ford Thunderbird article instead gives 73,051 "sold," without a reference. This record's own production note observes that the Over-Drive Magazine table gives 62,535 hardtops plus 10,516 convertibles, summing to 73,051, which suggests the 62,535 figure cited from the Standard Catalog is actually the hardtop count rather than the year's total production.^2,3

This record's own conflicts section restates both figures formally and adds a third entry drawn from the same Over-Drive table, 73,051 as the sum of 62,535 hardtops and 10,516 convertibles against Wikipedia's 62,535 read as a total; its own treatment note says no primary copy of the Standard Catalog was read to settle the question, so both the 62,535 and 73,051 figures remain in this record's own text side by side. This record's own production section also flags that the Over-Drive table's own hardtop row is labeled "352 CID," even though the same source states the 390 replaced the 352 for 1961, and records it as a label slip rather than a second engine.^3,2

This record's own options section prices air conditioning at $463, the Equa-Lock differential at $39, the Swing-Away movable steering control at $25, and power windows at $106. This record's own paint table carries 18 colours, from Raven Black to Fieldstone Tan, each with its own single-letter code drawn from the Body Paint Color Mix Codes list, noticeably fewer colours than the 19 solid Diamond Lustre shades this record's own overview cites from Old Cars Weekly's separate account.³

This record's own specifications section gives a 113.0-inch wheelbase, a 205.0-inch overall length, a 75.9-inch width, 61.0-inch front and 60.0-inch rear track, and 8.00x14 four-ply tubeless tires; a separate row gives a single 3.0 rear axle ratio with no optional alternative. This record's own prices section carries $4,170 for the hardtop and $4,637 for the convertible, both factory prices from the Over-Drive compilation; its own unpublished-leads section separately flags a Wikipedia figure of $4,170 before options as a tertiary source without a specific reference, a figure that happens to match this record's own hardtop factory price exactly.³

This record's own interiors section carries 19 entries from the Automotive Mileposts interior trim page: six crinkle-grain all-vinyl combinations coded 52 through 57, five vinyl-and-Bedford-cord combinations coded 72, 73, 74, 76 and 77, five genuine-leather combinations coded 82 and 84 through 87, and three convertible-top codes numbered 1 through 3. The page prints the code 74 insert colour as "Meium Beige", and this record's own row quotes that misprint rather than correcting it. The gaps in the numbering, no 75 in the cloth run and no 83 in the leather run, are simply absent from the page and are not filled here by analogy with another year.⁴