The Thunderbird’s reputation as a luxury cruiser was cemented by the time the third-generation T-Bird hit the road for 1961. Long gone were any pretensions about sporty road handling, or any hints about affordability. The Thunderbird was a grand touring car with styling and performance to match.

Just one engine was offered, a 390-cu. in. V-8, paired exclusively to Ford’s Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission. Coupes and convertibles were on offer, with buyers favoring the hardtop by a wide margin. At 205 inches from head-to-toe, the Thunderbird was a tight squeeze in suburban garages, but it looked right at home in the wide driveways favored by space age contemporary houses.

By 1963, the last year of the third generation Thunderbird, buyers were fully acclimated to its luxury touches such as the “Swing Away” steering wheel that rotated out of the way for easy ingress and egress. New vacuum-assisted power door locks and an AM/FM radio were among the few changes.

The Thunderbird convertible offered here is one of fewer than 6,000 drop-tops built for 1963. This well-documented example is painted Wimbledon White over a parchment interior, a combination that works well with its Kelsey-Hayes chrome wire wheels wrapped in radial tires and its dealer-installed tonneau cover. Few Thunderbirds were sparsely equipped, and this model is highly outfitted with power windows, the new-for-1963 remote outside mirror, air conditioning, an AM/FM radio, and a power driver’s seat.

This exceptionally well-kept example exhibits few signs of use inside, outside, or under its hood. Its 390-cu. in. V-8 has been properly detailed and features a stainless-steel exhaust with resonators that emit a factory-correct gentle rumble at idle. It will be delivered to its next owner with paperwork, including the original gate release from Ford’s Wixom, Michigan, assembly plant.