1963 FORD THUNDERBIRD ITALIEN

The RAREST THUNDERBIRD EVER BUILT
ONE OF A KIND...
THE ONLY ONE IN EXISTENCE...
THE ONLY ONE EVER BUILT!!!

THE 1963 FORD THUNDERBIRD ITALIEN CONCEPT CAR

"One of the few concept cars built by FORD
that escaped the crusher"
A Fastback Concept car built for the 1963
"Ford Custom Car Caravan"

If anyone has ANY information about the ITALIEN
or any of it's history, please CONTACT TOM
THANK YOU!!!

Copyright © Thomas Maruska 2008
All Rights Reserved

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1963 ITALIEN

PRESS FOTO

11-15-05

1963 ITALIEN - This rare automobile started life at the Ford Wixom Assembly Plant just as every other Thunderbird that was ever built. It was destined to be a 1962 model Thunderbird.

By chance, this lucky car happened to roll off the assembly line at the time the Ford Styling Design team was exploring building a fastback thunderbird. The design team took the car into their shop and removed the production roof system and deck and built a roof buck from plywood. Although Ford designed the car, at this point we believe they delivered or sold the car to Dearborn Steel Tubing where the actual modifications were done. You may remember that DST did the body and performance modifications on the 100 Thunderbolts that were built. It was sometime later in the Italiens finishing stages that Ford delivered the '63 Fenders and doors to DST for installation on the car because by the time DST was nearing completion of the ITALIEN, The 1963 model year Thunderbirds were in production and Ford didn't want a 1962 model concept/show car touring with the Custom Car Caravan.

After a very successful tour in Fords first of three "Custom Car Caravan" Car shows, in conjunction with the "ISCA"(International Show Car Association), unlike most Ford concept cars, The Italien escaped the crusher and was given or sold to Dale Robertson who starred in TV Westerns such as "Tales of Wells Fargo", Wagon Train" and others.

It is rumored that Dale had a part in the design of the Italien. He allegedly wanted Ford to build him a unique car and accepted the Italien because it was in the design/construction stage at the time. He made 6-8 trips to Ford to consult in some finishing details of the car. Mr. Robertson eventually gave the car to his gardener who painted it the Silver Mink color it is today.

In the mid 1980's, the noted Ford Collector Don Chambers of Paramount California purchased the car. Don tells me he brought the car to the well known Restorer Mike Fennell who restores cars for the Imperial Palace Car Museum in Las Vegas.

Mike has his shop in Northern California. He left the car there for several days so that Mike could assess the work that would be needed and give Don a ball park estimate of the cost to restore the Italien. Don was anticipating investing $60,000.00-$65,000.00 in the restoration. Don says that for some reason when he contacted Mike to talk to him about his assessment, Mike was acting very "fishy" and "elusive" and wouldn't discuss the car.

Don then returned to get the car and found that Mike had dissassembled some of the parts. He loaded it back on his trailer and brought it back home and put it back in his storage garage where it sat until I found it. The parts removed by Mike had still not been reinstalled and that's why the pictures don't have the back bumper in place.

Here's where I enter the picture...Page 2

Here's how they did it

Ford Styling built a wooden and clay mock up over a stock T-bird ragtop. This photo shows the car with it's '62 style fenders and doors.

A ridge is cut in the clay to for a lip. Rear window is anchored at this point

Heavy oil is applied to the clay to prevent the layers of plaster from sticking

Fences made from fiber board and wax are placed all around molded roof area

The roof mold is completely reinforced so that it doesn't break during hoisting. Now the mold is laid on the floor

The roof panel is set up in fiberglass, using a gell coat, a layer of matting and finally a layer of cloth

With the clay mock up removed, the body is now ready for a new roof. Individual molds were made for each inner panel. Note that it is still sporting the '62 model fenders and doors in this photo.

Sheet metal screws at the windshield header hold the fiberglass toof in place. It is bonded in place at the rear fins

The "Italien" is certainly the most striking T-Bird ever built. The slope-back roof gives it an air of grace

Egg crate grill is made of a series of aluminum strips dovetailed into one another and beautifully chrome plated

Note the immaculate molding work around the area that joins the fiberglass roof to the fender panels

The racy side trim and air vents liven up and slim out the profile of the Italien's body

A special silver emblem mounts in the center of the custom blinkers. The grill was cast, polished and chromed

The wide hood molding was molded from fiberglass and chrome plated. This was much cheaper than casting. The wingspan of the "Thunderbird" is approximately three inches wider than those on the production models.

Dazzling chrome plated wire wheels with knock off spinners do a lot for this custom. Tri-bladed spinners are used. Note that they are the wheel/spinner combination for 1962 Sport Roadsters.

Genuine leather interior has closely spaced rolls and tucks. Deep inserts seperate the sides of the bucket seats from the heavily padded center sections.

The back portion of the bucket seats received a similar roll and tuck treatment. Note the scuff strips

Molded fiberglass panels support the read leather trim at the rear panels. Moldings are chromed fiberglass

Faired in headrests sport plush naugahyde cushions. Hedrests and the package shelf were molded from fiberglass

When the door is opened, this neat chrome-paneled light goes on. A red reflector warns oncoming motorists

A small rear grill and a custom plaque bring up the rear. The "Thunderbird" inscription was custom-made for this show car. This is the same "Thunderbird" that is used on the hood of the 1964 production model.

FORD'S FACTORY-STYLED 'ITALIEN'
By Alex Walordy
(Speed and Custom Magazine June 1963)

FORD'S CAVALCADE of Custom Cars has produced some of the most beautiful customs ever to grace a show. These are not just dream cars of the future, but really fine driveable cars that are ready to provide transportation. At the same time, they show what can be done by an active cus-tomizer in transforming an every day car into a masterpiece. By far the most remarkable of the group is a fast-back T-Bird called the "Italien," probably named with the same logic that Europeans term their super-specials "America" and "Florida."

It's painted in a deep maroon, finished down to the last detail with new, gleaming chrome. Open the door, and you'll find remarkable red leather trim, discrete rolls and pleats, molded and trimmed without a wrinkle in sight. Virtually every moulding and piece of interior trim is hand made. Despite the secrecy that surrounds any styling creations, we had heard rumors of this car, on and off, but couldn't pin down anything until it was right there, at the show. We did manage to locate the man who supervised the actual building of the car and asked him to tell us about some of the problems encountered in translating a finished full-scale model designed by Ford Styling into a rolling automobile.

The basic car used as a starting point was a T-Bird convertible, a car which is already hard to improve on. After discarding the soft top, Ford Styling built a complete wooden buck over the car, approximating the shape of the new fast back. Space was then left to add an outside layer of modeling clay which was shaped to perfection, and checked with special gauges to insure symmetry. Even the windows and rear windshield were completed and faired in.

Fiberglass was the material selected in making the roof of this car, and this called for making a complete mold. This can be done with plaster or fiberglass, though the latter is quite a bit more expensive and also somewhat more difficult to polish and modify .A plaster mold becomes quite heavy and must be handled with a chain hoist. The original clay model, just as completed by Ford stylists was coated with vaseline to protect it while the molds were made. 'Vince Gardner first fenced off the areas around the rear windshield and the trunk lid, and made molds of them. The fencing is made of fiberboard or cardboard, and just serves as a convenient limit for the mold. The window mold was used to create a complete plexiglass back window, while the trunk mold served as a basis for the lid.

After carefully removing these molds, Vince Gardner proceeded to make a complete mold of the roof area. Since the back window requires a mounting lip, a scraper was used all around the window to carve out this section. The mold now incorporates a recessed lip which does not have to be added at a later date. Similarly, a groove duplicating the drains around the trunk lid was also cut. A mold must be carefully reinforced with tubing, or two-by-fours that are bedded into it to maintain alignment. This provides a convenient hoisting place, and insures the mold against breakage or cracking.

Ford Styling designed a remarkable set of faired in head rests for the rear seat passengers, and we'll eat our hat if this doesn't start a new trend in the customizing field. Part of the work involved making a complete panel extending between the two fins of the fender panels. The roof is fastened with sheet metal screws to the front windshield bow and bonded to the newly-made panel. Finally, the center panel is bonded and fastened with sheet metal screws to the fender panels. The junction point is covered with a chrome cap molding. This way, the fiberglass is not joined to metal anywhere in the midst of a panel, and there is no chance of cracks occurring.

Many additional parts had to be made up in fiberglass to complete the job. We'll start with the interior panels that fair in the rear seats and cover the inside of the quarter panels. All of the interior moldings running along the edge of the roof were first made up in clay by Ford Styling, then duplicated in fiberglass by Vince's department, and finally chrome plated. Fiberglass is admittedly hard to chrome, but this is considerably less costly than attempting white metal moldings on a one-of-a-kind basis.

As if all this were not enough, all of the outside trim, from the egg-crate grill which is painstakingly fitted from dovetailed strips of aluminum, down to the brand new tail lights was custom made.

A fast back design has proven much more successful when used in conjunction with the modern slim lines of a Thunderbird than on early cars whose bulkiness was just accented by the torpedo back roof. As a further means of slimming out the car, Ford Styling designed a set of very neat chrome inserts that divide the side panel area. They also present a functional appearance with air scoops exhausting from the rear of the engine compartment.

Now that you have seen how it is done, why not plan some interesting custom work for your own Ford?

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