![]() I can forgive things like incorrect battery or cables and such but I don't want to drop another 1500 pulling and repainting an engine. Unless this is an M Code there shouldn't be chrome valve covers or chrome anything for that matter.įor 50K the car should be at least correct as far as engine color and trim. It takes all of 30 seconds on the internet to figure out the right block color for a 390 in 1962. It just pisses me off that anyone would present a car for close to 50K and the car doesn't even have the correct engine color. I would be very suspicious of the engine. The engine compartment is a dead giveaway. The car obviously has been restored, and not by someone that knows Thunderbirds. I don't doubt that more than a few convertibles were given the Roadster treatment to make them more desirable. It has all of the right components to be one but every SR component could be bought at the dealership. Checking VIN numbers probably wouldn't be the first thing a potential customer would do and I'm sure few bought the car thinking the thing would be collectable one day. ![]() Most people didn't have a gate release, only a door sticker to look at and if it had all the Sports Roadster options listed it could be easily inferred that the car was a SR when in reality it wasn't. I wonder how many cars were sold in 62 and 63 that were called Sports Roadsters that really weren't. What is irritating is when it is pointed out people become very defensive.Īdd to that the reality that all the components for an SR could be purchased at the dealership in the 1960s. Some don't realize that the car is 'just' a convertible. Many think that slapping a tonneau cover on a convertible will add 15k to the price of the car. I've actually gotten into arguments with people who own an 85 code convertible that claim Sports Roadster status when the car obviously wasn't. Unfortunately faking a Sports Roadster is very easy and people will try to do it knowing they can get 10-20K over a similar convertible. I had an early one and the Eminger release was the first thing I got for it. I wouldn't buy an early 62 without a gate release. ![]() Again according to Wonders book the early cars most of the time had written in large letters across the ROT sheet near the bottom "ROADSTER PACKAGE, TONNEAU" I'm not sure this helps any but good luck. ![]() ![]() The turning weights were discontinued by December of 61. According to this book the first 465 units SN 105844 to 109311 were all painted Rangoon Red and most but not all had black vinyl interior. These early SR were built between VIN # 2Y85Z105844 and 2Y85Z114640 with the first one built on September 13, 1961. According to William Wonders book there were 558 Sports roadsters built that carried the 2Y85Z VIN and 76A body code. One thing you can do is see what the Thunderbird registry has to say about the vin and its history. You obviously have to be careful on these cars when considering them. Not all the 62's had the turning weights in them only the early ones and I don't know if anyone knows exactly when that change was made. So for a 62 with a 85Z it would have to be a very early build date. With the exception of the earliest 1962 SR the vin should have been an "89" and the body type on the door tag a 76B. ![]()
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