FORD THUNDERBIRD CAR 1970 MANUAL
FORD THUNDERBIRD CAR 1970 WINDOWS

All body styles measured 215 inches in length. The two-door body styles rested on a 114.7-inch wheelbase platform while the four-door Landau had a 117.1-inch wheelbase. A single horizontal line ran along the mid-section of the body. It continued to use the sequential turn signals of the prior year, along with full-width tail lamps, although now with an inverted 'U' arrangement. It grew in size and received more luxurious appointments, earning it the appropriately nicknamed 'Glamour Bird.'Īmong the most distinguishable features found on the 1970 Thunderbird was its new front fascia highlighted by a prominent projection resembling a bird's beak that was in line with long angular lines in the hood. The prior unibody construction was replaced with body-on-frame construction with rubber mountings between the body and frame, the convertible body style was eliminated, and a four-door model joined the lineup. Since the Thunderbird and the newly-introduced Mustang were competing against each other for sales, Ford management decided to move the Thunderbird upmarket into Lincoln territory. The Thunderbird had remained fundamentally unchanged from 1958 to 1966, offering buyers a sporty two-door coupe or convertible with two-rows of seating. In 1967, the fifth-generation Thunderbird brought the second major change in the car's design direction since its introduction in 1955. The original convertibles were replaced by much larger 'Square Birds' of 1958 to 1960, followed by the 'Bullet Birds' of 1961-1964 and 'Jet Birds' of 1965-1966. With each succeeding generation, the Thunderbird grew both in equipment and stature, in keeping with contemporary trends.

Priced at nearly $600 less than the Corvette, the Thunderbird sales were an immediate success, with 16,155 units sold in its first year compared to 315 in Corvette's first year and 3,640 in its second year.

FORD THUNDERBIRD CAR 1970 MANUAL

While the Corvette was initially only offered with a 2-speed autoshifter, the Thunderbird was made available with a manual 3-speed or optional Ford-O-Matic.

FORD THUNDERBIRD CAR 1970 WINDOWS

It had an all-steel body rather than fiberglass, a new and powerful V-8 engine rather than an old-fashioned 6-cylinder, a well-fitted cloth top with a hardtop optional rather than Corvette's cloth top, and roll-up windows with power assist optional rather than plastic side curtains.

The Ford Thunderbird was created in response to the Chevrolet Corvette, but watching it falter in popularity and sales, the Thunderbird was set on a new path as a radically different personal car. The name 'Thunderbird' was derived from southwest American Indian lore for a mythical bird glimpsed only briefly in the clouds and responsible for thunder and lightning, a symbol of power, speed and good fortune.

Ford thunderbird car 1970