Customer Reviews

Thunderbird Restoration Guide, 1958-1966 (Motorbooks Workshop)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is THE book if you are in the process of restoring a 1958 - 1966 Thunderbird. This book goes into every detail. I mean, they even give the specifications of the M 390 engine, right down to the cam lift and duration! This book goes into more fine details about the classic 4 seat Tbirds then any other book I have ever read. This is a must have if you are even thinking about buying or restoring one of these classics. It has chapters for every year from 58 - 66, and talks about every model for every year. Such cars as the 62 and 63 Sports Roadster, the Princess Monaco Landau, the 65 "Special Landau", and the 1960 sun roof are even included. This has to be the most complete restoration guide for these classic 4 seat Thunderbirds I have ever seen. Even if you think you know all about Thunderbirds, read this book! I can assure you that you will find things you never knew about these timeless classics.

This book isn't a detailed step by step guide in the specifics of restoring an old T-bird but it does give the new Bird owner a good idea not only of what he or she has, but what it is worth. There is a lot of very good info on the history of the 58-66 T-birds as well as an excellent section on the rare M-Code T-birds of 62-63.

Great reading for the T-bird fan or just for any car nut

There are some helpful diagrams but the pictures were of very poor quality and with other information available on the internet and from available shop and assembly manuals, save your money and pass this book up.

This book may not "compare" to the information available on the Internet, as another reviewer suggested, but I find it to be superior to Internet sites with their many errors, poor spelling, and omissions. The book was published before the popularity of the Internet and should be considered a valuable addition to your Ford library. No one source is perfect and therefore you should have more than one title, then cross-reference and validate information. I have found that the data in this book is accurate. There is a very interesting section about 1962 and 1963 M-code Thunderbirds as well as obscure paint mix codes. Certainly worth $25 and much more. My answer to those who prefer the Internet for "information", if you are in a hurry and do not place a high value on accuracy then check the Internet. If you prefer to get accurate information and are willing to actually pick up a book and turn its pages for 5 minutes, get this volume.

So the book was exactly what I was looking for, however the delivery was disappointing. I had it shipped to another address since it was a gift. I did not choose gift wrapping since that was an unnecessary expense. However I did expect since it was sent to another person's name and address that my detailed invoice information would NOT be included in the package. My credit card was charged; I received an invoice via email, so including an invoice copy inside the book that was shipped was totally unexpected. I shouldn't HAVE to purchase gift wrapping in order to keep the price I paid a secret. Last time I'm ordering a gift from Amazon for sure.

The printing quality is equivalent to a photocopy and is inexcusable for the type of book and the price being charged. Much of the text references illustrations that are so muddy or dark that they can't be seen.

The charts and diagrams are clear, but are taken from Ford Service and Parts documents, (as mentioned by other reviewers) so if you already have those, you can pass on this book. Not the author's fault, as there are interesting tidbits related to the various model years, but the publisher should be ashamed for putting out such a poor quality print job.

Very disappointing and I would return it, but don't want to deal with the hassle. This is ONLY for those who really want everything related to T-birds.

This book had been out-of-print. The new edition that is now available looks like it was copied from an original on a Xerox copier. This makes many of the photos of little value since they did not reproduce well. The book is still good to have but it would be worth looking for an old edition with good quality photos.

Book pays to much attention to the "top of the line" Models.
Besides that its VERY good
Stefan