1962 Ford Thunderbird: The Sports Roadster and the 120 True M-Codes

This record's own overview states directly that Ford added the Sports Roadster convertible package for 1962, and that RM Sotheby's own auction catalogue gives 1,427 built for the year directly; the same overview notes that John Gunnell's figure of 1,882 Sports Roadsters for 1962-63 combined, including 455 built in 1963, is consistent with that 1,427 total for 1962 alone, this record's own production notes calling the 1,882-minus-455 arithmetic a check across one lineage rather than an independent count.^1,2

This record's own overview also gives the 390 V-8 at 300 horsepower as standard, with the M-code "Thunderbird Special" 390 using three Holley two-barrel carburetors and rated 340 horsepower; Old Cars Weekly gives its dealer cost as $171 and its retail price as $242.10, and cites, in its own words, "a reported total of just 120" M-code Sports Roadsters, a figure this record's own key facts section repeats while noting Old Cars Weekly itself calls it "reported" rather than confirmed.²

This record's own production section partitions the year's totals across several rows: 78,011 Thunderbirds overall, 68,127 hardtops including Landau (which Ford never split out separately, per the table's own note), and 9,884 convertibles including Sports Roadster; within that convertible total, 8,440 carried the standard 390, 17 carried the M-code 390 outside the Sports Roadster package, and 1,427 were Sports Roadsters, the three figures summing to the 9,884 convertible row by this record's own arithmetic rather than a source statement.³

This record's own unpublished-leads section holds the 78,011 total and 9,884 convertible count as a separate Wikipedia claim without a specific reference, distinct from the same figures already carried in the production section from the Over-Drive Magazine table; it also holds an Old Cars Weekly performance claim, an M-code car running 0-60 in about 8.5 seconds with a 125-mph top speed, unpublished because no test publication or configuration is named.^4,2

This record's own options section prices the M-code engine itself at $242.10, chrome wire wheels at $373, air conditioning at $415, the Equa-Lock differential at $39, and the Swing-Away movable steering control at $25. 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 same Body Paint Color Mix Codes list used throughout this record's own options and specifications sections.³

This record's own specifications section gives a 113.0-inch wheelbase, a 205.0-inch overall length, a 76.0-inch width, 61.0-inch front and 60.0-inch rear track, and 8.00x14 four-ply tubeless tires, with a single 3.0 rear axle ratio and no optional alternative; shipping weights range from 4,132 pounds for the hardtop to 4,471 pounds for the Sports Roadster. This record's own prices section carries four figures by body: $4,321 for the hardtop, $4,398 for the Landau, $4,788 for the convertible and $5,439 for the Sports Roadster, all four factory prices from the Over-Drive compilation. This record's own conflicts section is empty for the year, and its own identification and performance sections carry no entries either, leaving the production and unpublished-leads sections as this record's own richest sources for the year's disputed figures.³

This record's own interiors section carries 25 entries from the Automotive Mileposts interior trim page: eight crinkle-grain all-vinyl combinations coded 50 through 59, five vinyl-and-Bedford-cord combinations coded 70, 72, 74, 76 and 77, seven genuine-leather combinations coded 80 through 89, three convertible-top codes, and two Landau vinyl roof codes, A for Black and B for White. Code 70 pairs a Light Silver Blue Metallic bolster with an insert the page prints only as "Medium Silver", and this record's own row quotes it as printed. The Silver Blue codes 50, 70 and 80 sit alongside the Medium Chestnut Metallic codes 59 and 89.⁵