THE 1963 THUNDERBIRD ITALIEN


Chapter 21 - UNIQUE TAIL LIGHTS

Copyright © Thomas Maruska 2008
All Rights Reserved


This is a picture of the Italien taken in October 1962 just after the construction of the car was completed.
This picture is on the Rotunda at the Ford Proving grounds in Dearborn Michigan.
I got this photo and another front 3/4 shot as well as interior photos of the front and back seats
from Ford Archives Department. 
These photos were very helpful throughout the restoration of the Italien.


When I first saw the Italien this is how it looked sitting in Don Chambers warehouse.
Note that the tail lights are not in the bumper Q's where they belong but inside the trunk.


Here's another close up of the taillights.


This is how the back end of the body is cut out to accomodate the custom tail lights.
The tail light buckets attach to the body rather than to the bumper as the
production cars do.



Here are a couple picture of the tail lights completely disassembled
They were complete except for the centers




Don told me he thought the tail light centers were the same bird emblem as is used on the
horn center of the bullet birds.  Others speculated that the center from a 63 wire wheel
spinner was used and still others that the center from a 64 deluxe hubcap was used.
Well since the 64 deluxe has a red center
and I know from the original color picture
 that the Italien had a black center that was one possibility eliminated quickly.

To help determine if a spinner or horn center was used,
I enlarged the archives photo of the rear end


and then just the right tail light


I printed the picture in 8X10  and brought it out to the shop
where I had taken the center from a spinner,
trimmed the "THUNDERBIRD" script from the edges
so it fit in the tail light to try and compare it to the photo


Then I did the same with a horn center.  Note that the horn centers are clear with a gold bird emblem
so I had to color the background black.


If you look closely at the bird wings in the centers of the mock ups with the spinner and horn centers
and compare them to the picture of the original center along side
you can see that the wings on the horn center match exactly the profile of the originals.
The spinner bird wings are a little too narrow.


Here is a completed tail light


Here is a close up in the finished restoration


And here it is at dusk one balmy August evening with the lights on.
KEWL!!



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