It’s hard to believe today, but in 1959 the T-Bird was considered a compact when compared to the Fairlane/Galaxie, and the “real” compact, the Falcon, wouldn’t arrive for another year. The car had established the personal luxury segment that the competition would spend the 1960s playing catch-up. Sales went from 21,000 copies in 1957 to 38,000 units in 1958, and more than 67,000 Thunderbirds were produced in 1959. The Ford bean counters had to be thrilled with changes to the second-generation T-Bird. Located in Oceanside, California, the Ford is available here on Barn Finds Classifieds for $8,600 OBO. It was recently pulled from a barn/shed after 45 years in storage and may only need some minor mechanical work. Other than some refinements, the 1959 T-Bird like this one would be little changed (why mess with success?).
But those complaints were short-lived as the revised cars appealed to a broader audience who responded by buying twice as many of the automobiles. The car was transformed into a 4-seat cruiser that turned up the dial on both luxury and performance. Ford redesigned its 2-seat Thunderbird in 1958 and took some heat from purists.
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