![]() This fin angled perfectly to the outside is above the dual round tail lights, wrapped below by the rechromed bumper and floating in a field of square chromed eggcrate. On the doors begins the arrow styled bump-out which will eventually grow to become the rear fin. This fronts some very clean front wrap around glass swept clean by stainless wipers. On the hood, a small scoop is in the center and is a homage to the first-generation Thunderbirds. A single gunsight oval adorns the tops off the front fenders which frame wide whites wrapping steel wheels and their turbine style wheel covers, all in sexy polished chrome form. Now dual headlights are protected by an upper “visor” and float above the big open egg crate chromed smiling grille, all neatly inserted within the rechromed bumper. This beauty with straight rust-free panels minding their gaps very well, is all bathed in a respray of Regatta Blue that is looking very special. This was the best looking Thunderbird by far, and everyone was complaining about the back seat, but it did not matter. Stylish yet contemporary, it would fit into any driveway today and look nearly modern. Passed from the original owner's wife to her daughter, then to our consignor's husband in 1985, you'll hear and see the word original a lot in the following description, so don't ignore it, as I'm trying to be, well….original! It has had a respray of the original Regatta paint, and the interior is just immaculate, and it has verified low miles to boot (58,175). This one has been under the care of the original owner, and the original owner's family since new. It is all immaterial because it misses the point: Despite its deviation from the original concept, the first four-seat Thunderbird was simply a masterpiece of design.įor consignment, the timeless design of the 1958 Squarebird, deviating from the original concept with a back seat…Gadzooks and stone the crows! Yes, it has a back bench in addition to those front buckets. “We always start with white and go from there,” he said.Lay aside everything you've heard in condemnation of the four-seat 1958-1960 Ford Thunderbird - all that stuff about forsaking the sports car, substituting glitz for function, adding the hated back seat. The bird’s white paint was a requirement for Short. It all has to flow from the front to back, and on the inside and out, so you’ll see that treatment throughout the car.” ![]() “Then we put the grille pattern in the paint. “The grilles are popular on this car - the honeycomb pattern - so we rebuilt all of the grilles on the car and then gave the same grille treatment to the intake cover,” Miller said. Miller says they started taking styling cues from the car itself, starting with grille. Overhangs were filled in, and the bumpers were tucked. For example, all the handles, emblems, and mounting hardware were shaved. While the square bird boasts new age technology, tons of good old fashioned hot rodding went into its design. A Retrosound stereo system provides the tunes, an A/C system allows Short to cruise in comfort, and an Accuair suspension system delivers a smooth ride. A custom made console holds an Ipad, and the stock dash features billet accents. Using the Coyote engine as inspiration, Short and Miller continued to incorporate more modern upgrades. The engine features a custom cold air system that routes air though a one-off cowl system. The Coyote gives the Thunderbird a combination of great fuel mileage and good power - a combination that simply wasn’t possible in 1958. Short already had a Ford 5.oL Coyote motor lined up for the bird. ![]() The modern touches start with what’s under the hood. So we thought we’d make a modern ‘square bird’ with the modern touches.” “And then we just started throwing ideas around, because the ‘square birds,’ especially these ones, aren’t super popular in the custom world, although they’re hot in the lowrider scene. “We were just going to do a clean, simple build,” Miller said. You’ll see a lot of really well done Thunderbirds around Reno, but there’s not a chance you’ll see another one like Alex Short’s ’58 Thunderbird. In fact, Short himself couldn’t envision how his Thunderbird would turn out when he took it to friend Cam Miller’s shop, HS Customs in Logan, UT. ![]() RENO, NV - Ford Thunderbirds are a popular car, especially at Hot August Nights.
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