View Single Post
  #32348  
Old 12-05-2022, 04:47 PM
Lee Stewart's Avatar
Lee Stewart Lee Stewart is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: ABQ, New Mexico
Posts: 36,633
Thanks: 3,506
Thanked 136,542 Times in 22,784 Posts
Default



In an interesting side note, the 1962 version of the Thunderbird Sports Roadster, which was the first year of this package, had offered a set of Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels to further disguise this leviathan as a sports car. These wheels were actually the most expensive option on the entire trim package, weighing in at an extra $372.30 (a commanding $3,625.81 in 2022 dollars). Despite this, the wire wheels became highly problematic and had several issues holding air, as well as supporting the massive weight of the car itself. A notable incident involved none other than Elvis Presley, who found himself driving a Sports Roadster in 1962, when one of the wheels collapsed under heavy cornering. This sole incident had consequently caused Ford engineers to re-think the entire design after the faults of Elvis' Thunderbird made national headlines, which resulted in the majority of 1963 Thunderbirds to be sold with steel wheels.
Reply With Quote
The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to Lee Stewart For This Useful Post:
Dave Rifkin (12-06-2022), downunder1 (12-06-2022), markinnaples (12-05-2022), olredalert (12-05-2022)