Ford Thunderbird 1963 Convertible

1963 marked the final year of Ford’s “Bullet Bird” Thunderbird generation, and the convertible — always the rarest body style in the lineup — was about to disappear along with it. Under the hood sat a 300-horsepower, 390-cubic-inch V-8 built for effortless cruising rather than outright speed. Ford built just 5,913 convertibles out of just over 63,000 Thunderbirds that year. Here’s what made this particular body style so scarce.

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By 1963, Ford was already saying goodbye to a Thunderbird design that had only been on sale for three model years. The “Bullet Bird” generation was wrapping up its run, and the convertible variant — always the rarest body style in the lineup — was about to disappear along with it. Underneath a fresh grille and updated trim sat one of the biggest V-8s Ford offered in a personal luxury car of the era, paired with a driving experience built more for boulevard cruising than stoplight racing. Why did Ford let this particular body style fade out just as the design was hitting its stride?

The Last Year of the Bullet Bird

The third-generation “Bullet Bird” Thunderbird ran for just three model years, 1961 through 1963, and 1963 brought the final round of updates before a full redesign: a new vertical-bar grille, revised body sides and taillights, and a switch from generators to alternators across the lineup. Four body styles were offered across the generation — hardtop, formal Landau hardtop, convertible, and the sportier Sports Roadster for 1962-63 — but the convertible remained the scarcest of them all.

300 Horsepower for Comfortable, Not Ferocious, Speed

Under the hood sat a 390-cubic-inch V-8 producing 300 horsepower and 428 lb-ft of torque, backed exclusively by a three-speed automatic. That was serious displacement for the era, but the Thunderbird was tuned for effortless highway cruising rather than outright acceleration, reflecting its position as a personal luxury car rather than a street racer. At roughly 4,200 pounds and priced at $5,563, the convertible was also the most expensive body style in the 1963 lineup.

A Genuinely Rare Body Style

Ford built 63,313 Thunderbirds across all body styles for 1963, and only 5,913 of them were convertibles — a small fraction of total production even in the model’s final year on that platform. That relative rarity, combined with the clean, understated styling of the last Bullet Bird update, is exactly why a well-kept 1963 Thunderbird convertible still draws attention today, even outside dedicated muscle car circles.

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