When the Chevrolet Corvette was first shown to the public at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York in 1953 it sent a shockwave through the American automotive world. Power was increased from 245 bhp to 300+ bhp. The Ford Thunderbird F-Code was released in 1957, it was powered by the high-performance 312 cubic inch Ford V8 which had a McCulloch/Paxtoncentrifugal supercharger fitted.The styling of the Thunderbird was pure Jet Age, in fact the car is often used now as an example of Jet Age automotive design, with all the fins, chrome, and aircraft inspired styling you could possibly want.The engineering that went into the Thunderbird was standard for the time, with drum brakes front and rear, body-on-chassis construction, independent front suspension, a live axle rear, and a front-mounted V8 sending power back through either a manual or automatic gearbox.It was a direct answer to the Chevrolet Corvette that had appeared in 1953, and to an extent it was also aimed at competing with the onslaught of successful sports cars pouring into the United States from England. The first generation Ford Thunderbird was introduced in the 1955 model year and sold until 1957.Fast Facts – The Ford Thunderbird “F-Code” Just 212 examples of the F-Code Thunderbird were made, largely due to the significant additional cost, but Ford hadn’t developed the high-performance version in the hopes of selling them hand over fist – they were developed to homologate the supercharged version for NASCAR competition.
Externally they look much like their naturally-aspirated stablemates but once you look under the hood you can’t miss the hefty McCulloch/Paxton centrifugal supercharger. The Ford Thunderbird “F-Code” is undeniably the most desirable of the first generation production Thunderbirds.
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