What's the Most Over-the-Top Ford Interior of All Time 1971 Ford Thunderbird Brougham

Well , after the last video that I did on the 1975 Buick Electric Park Avenue interior I did and how I thought it was one of the most over the top interiors ever put in a vehicle .

Got me thinking , what Ford would I select for such an honor ?

Certainly could think of a number of G M vehicles that had over the top interiors in the seventies , including the previously mentioned Park Avenue , as well as the Fleetwood Town Ford tended to have a bit more subdued interiors , particularly in that mid seventies era than G M .

Got me thinking what , what I select as the most over the top Ford interior .

Now , of course , there were various designer editions of the Mark Five .

There was also the Diamond Jubilee edition on Mark Fives and Thunderbirds .

It was pretty over the top , but I narrowed it down to really one vehicle that I think is the most over the top interior for Fords .

And that is very specifically the 1971 4 door Thunderbird Brome .

This I find to be the most over the top interior that Ford ever did .

Now , as many of you know , the thunderbird started life in 1955 as a sports car .

And really , the story goes that Ford's Division's general manager , Les Cruso went to the Paris Auto Show with designer George Walker .

And both were enamored with the jaguar X K 1 20 .

As well as Harley Earl's two seat Leber convertible .

And the Ford folks thought , well , why don't we have something like that ?

So they hurried this Thunderbird into production for 1955 and it was quite successful .

Now , the thunderbird story is one that's quite complicated .

We won't get into that here .

We're really gonna focus on this 1971 Thunderbird interior .

But the main thing to know is that from that original thought in 1955 to 1967 when a Ford door Thunderbird was introduced , a lot changed and the Thunderbird became more of a luxury car than a sports car in that 1967 model year .

As I mentioned , Ford offered a four door sedan as well as hard top coops for the thunderbird and both were relatively good selling models priced in the high four thousands .

About 4600 base price to 4800 base price for the Landau four door sedan .

And combined across all models in 1967 Ford sold roughly 75,000 units .

The four door Thunderbird would last all the way until 1971 .

Its final year where it would sell just 6500 and 50 units in that final model year .

But I must say that the Thunderbird of this generation exited with quite the fanfare on the interior side .

So there were three interiors offered in the 1971 Thunderbird .

First , there was the standard interior , then there was the bro interior which I find to be the most opulent and over the top of any of the Ford interiors that I can think of .

And then there was also the special brome interior , which had the hops sack cloth , which was nice , but I would say much more tasteful and even muted if you will in terms of overall design versus the Thunderbird brome interior .

So why did I pick 1971 specifically this bro interior and the special bro interior as well were offered in the 1970 model year ?

And why did I pick the four door Thunderbird versus the two door ?

Well , a couple of reasons first to my mind , the four door Thunderbird just takes what is already an over the top interior and makes it even more over the top .

Something about the more airy cabin in the four door combined with some extra interior space just take , makes this interior and all of its button tufting from the seats to the door panels and pleading .

And I can't even describe , just take a look at the pictures how over the top this interior is the Ford being larger and more having more interior room with which Ford could cover various surfaces with interior materials , just puts it even more over the top .

And I think the 1971 version is also more over the top than the 70 .

For a very simple reason that when you ordered the bro interior in 1971 you got these high back kind of lounge seats as opposed to 1970 where you had a lower style back rest with a head rest .

And I think that the higher back seat again just puts this interior over the top and takes it to the next level .

So it's pretty clear from the photos that this interior is pretty indescribably ridiculous aside from just looking at it .

Uh Some people are gonna say it looks like a New New Orleans Bordello and I would have to agree with them , you know , even more so than the 69 mark three interiors , which were one year only interior and also are quite over the top , but nothing compared to this .

So I guess what are the overall thoughts on the thunderbird itself ?

The 1971 Thunderbird ?

I guess the good part is if you really want one of these cars and you want one of the over the top interiors , they're actually extremely nice riding cars and driving cars as well .

They are quite complicated with many systems operating off a vacuum , including the door locks and the climate control .

Thankfully , Ford didn't have hidden headlights anymore in the Thunderbirds in the 1970 71 model years .

Although the mar three kept them other intricacies associated with this design .

And strange items include power , windshield wipers .

They're operated not by electric motors but operated off of the power steering pump under hood .

However , in spite of the quirks , I must say having owned Mark Three as well as having driven a number of these Thunderbirds .

They drive supremely .

Well , one of the best driving cars on the road ever , certainly of domestic vehicles .

Yes , somebody's gonna say the Citron with the hydro pneumatic suspension is nicer and yes , those did have great rides and that system was even employed in Bentley's in some cases .

But , but the Sichuan had an extremely buzzy awful tractor like agricultural four cylinder engine , that kind of ruins the experience at least for me .

Whereas these Thunderbirds have a wonderfully silky smooth premium fuel 429 cubic inch V eight that produces plenty of horsepower as well as torque to move these vehicles around with relative speed and ease .

It's definitely a vehicle that can keep up with modern traffic cruising down the freeway at 80 plus miles an hour or around town and can take off from a stoplight quite quickly as well .

Aside from that , the quality of these vehicles is also really , really good , especially for the era of domestic cars and the doors have wonderful closures .

The overall body is put together very well with good fit and finish and high quality materials .

Certainly higher quality than the next generation Thunderbird that came after it introduced in 1972 .

The only downside to these vehicles I would say is that some are going to find the ride too mushy and nautical .

And that is just how Fords of this era rode , particularly the Ford luxury cars and the steering ratio is very , very slow , no feedback transmitted through the wheel at all .

It's true .

The G M and Chryslers of the air didn't have much feedback either , but the ratios and the overall steering gears were much more pleasant , particularly in the G MS than on these Fords .

Aside from that , however , I will say that if you locate one , it's going to be an overall comfortable cruiser , something that's great to put the family in , you really won't regret it so long as you can find a mechanic who's willing to work on the sometimes complicated systems .

Oh , and don't forget about the wonderful auto light forty three hundred four barrel carburetor under hood .

Another thing that will be sure to give you some trouble , throw that old Brock or Holly on and you'll be just fine in any case .

I hope you enjoyed this video .

Let me know if you agree that this is the most over the top Ford interior of all time .

Thanks again for watching it .

Until next time .

Take care