Ford Thunderbird 1962 Images

Ford’s 1962 Thunderbird Sports Roadster used a clever fiberglass tonneau cover to disguise a genuine four-seat convertible as a two-seat sports car, right down to spoke wire wheels and special fender badges. Check the right option box and Ford would add Tri-Power carburetion to the 390 V8, bumping output to a genuine 340 horsepower — but only 120 buyers ever did, out of 1,427 Sports Roadsters built that year. Historians estimate barely 40 of those M-code cars survive today, making this one of the rarest factory options of the entire early Thunderbird generation.

The only engine offered in the “T”- Bird for 1962 is the 390 which develops 300 hp (220 kW) and is bolted to the three speed automatic transmission. The car was used to pace the Indianapolis race in ’62 and a Thunderbird convertible also carried John F. Kennedy to his inauguration that year. The options include a package comprised of set of genuine spoke wheels designed by Kelsey-Hayes and a tonneau cover giving itÂ Â a retro two seated roadster look – like the original Thunderbird. Â There was a special “M” code version of the 390 on the options sheet thatÂ would replace the basic with three-two barrel Holly carburetors, increasing the horsepower rating to 340 or 253.54 kW and, as an added bonus, air conditioning was included with the tri-power option. There were only 200 of the triple carb set up from the factory, making it a very rare version.

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A two-seater that isn’t really a two-seater, wearing a fiberglass tonneau cover that fools you into thinking the back seat doesn’t exist — that’s the pitch behind Ford’s rarest early-’60s Thunderbird trim, and it very nearly didn’t happen at all. The 1962 Sports Roadster added spoke wire wheels, special fender badges, and that clever tonneau to turn a full four-seat convertible into something that looked like a genuine sports car from the curb. Order the right option code, and Ford would drop in a Tri-Power 390 breathing through three two-barrel Holleys, cranking out a genuine 340 horsepower. Only 120 buyers ever checked that box. Of those, historians think barely 40 cars survive today — so what actually made this one-year combination so hard to find?

The Illusion of a True Two-Seater

The Sports Roadster arrived for ’62 as a limited-production convertible trim, dressed up with 48-spoke Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels, special badges on the front fenders, and a passenger-side grab bar for that authentic sports car feel. The real party trick was the fiberglass tonneau cover, which concealed the rear seat entirely and gave a genuine four-seat convertible the profile of a true two-seater. It’s a clever piece of engineering theater that still turns heads today.

The M-Code: Tri-Power Hiding Under a Family Cruiser Hood

The standard T-Bird engine for ’62 was a 390 cubic-inch V8 good for 300 horsepower, bolted to a three-speed automatic. Check the M-code option box, though, and Ford would fit a higher-compression version of that same 390 breathing through Tri-Power — three two-barrel carburetors — bumping output to a genuine 340 horsepower. Of the 1,427 Sports Roadsters built that year, only 120 got the M-code treatment, and historians estimate roughly 40 of those survive today.

Setting the Record Straight on the Pace Car Connection

Worth a footnote here: Ford’s Thunderbird pace car duty at Indianapolis is most commonly dated to 1961, not ’62, and the connection to JFK’s inauguration also traces to that earlier model year. But the third-generation “Bullet Bird” body these pace cars wore carried over into 1962 largely unchanged, so the glamour attached to this generation is earned even if the exact model year gets blurred in most retellings — and the Sports Roadster is arguably the coolest expression of that whole body style.

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