My family loves watching old black and white television shows, especially anything by Alfred Hitchcock. Besides being great entertainment, it is fun to see all the classic cars filling the roads and lining the streets. In one episode of the Alfred Hitchcock Hour called “Who Needs An Enemy”, a man was stealing money from his business partner and used part of the proceeds to buy this new convertible:
While I definitely don’t condone embezzling, I can’t fault the thief for his taste in automobiles since he used some of his ill-gotten gains to buy a gorgeous 1963 Thunderbird.
Although Ford called the ’63 Thunderbird the most changed for 1963 with 2,500 engineering and design modifications, most of the visible changes were small ones.
Both the ’61 and ’62 had horizontal lines in their grilles, but the ’63 had only vertical bars:
The side mouldings also differed from the two previous years as did the tail light retainers which featured a new sunburst design.
The standard engine was a 300-hp 390 V8, but there was a 340-hp high-performance V8 option with three two-barrel Holley carburetors. The transmission was a 3-speed Cruise-O-Matic automatic.
The ’63 was available in four models, Landau, hardtop, convertible and sports roadster:
The 1961-63 Thunderbirds are called “Bullet Birds” due to the body shape, and that makes them the perfect choice for a Hitchcock production.
