Muscle Car of the Week: 1957 Ford Thunderbird!

If you're looking for a classic car restoration project then you can't do any better than the 1957 Ford Thunderbird. For the model's third production year, Ford made some great changes that really upped the ante in the sports car industry.

The biggest upgrade to the T-Bird in '57 was a redesigned trunk that eliminated the need for the spare tire to be housed outside of the car. This got rid of the so-called "Continental Kit" that was included in the two years prior. Other new designs included new tail fins, a wider grill, bigger tail lights and a more defined body style that lent itself to competition with some of the other top muscle cars of the day.

Under the hood Ford continued to offer a 292 cubic inch V8 as the base choice, but the engine output increased substantially. Additionally, you could upgrade to a 312 V8 that got 245 horsepower on the chassis dynometer tests, or a Super Charged 312 that produced 300 horsepower.

Originally, the Thunderbird went for around $3,500 in 1957. Today a fully restored beauty could fetch up to $135,000!

Image source: c-it.com