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The long, sleek coupe body style remains attractive to today and the Landau irons add a touch of ‘60s class.  The pale yellow paint and fender skirts add to the package of the personal luxury coupe, a trend among the Big Three in the period.  Black padded vinyl roof remains in good condition and is the hallmark of the Landau package.  Town Coupes included the closed roof look but without the vinyl roof of Landau’s simulated irons.  Chrome and brightwork also retain a high pedigree, showing a good shine throughout.  The 15” wheels are topped with original-style Thunderbird-specific covers and they sport Concorde 215/75 whitewall radial tires, which are a period-appropriate complement.  The tires were installed approximately 600 miles ago.  Originally burgundy, the pale yellow really amplifies the presence of the Landau, though we note a flaw in the form of small bubbles forming on the driver’s side fender.

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The interior is a bastion of period luxury, from the “Tilt-Away” steering column to the surround-style rear seats.  Black vinyl upholstery is accented by simulated wood grain paneling, the latter a feature only offered with the Landau trim.  The T-bird is equipped with air conditioning which is functional and blows cool  Beyond the large circumference two-spoke steering wheel is a sweeping horizontal 120 MPH speedometer, the odometer to its right shows 21,000; below are found gauges for oil pressure, fuel, temperature and amperage.  The factory AM radio remains and works well, with clean reception. Power window controls are mounted on the console wood grain.  The big doors feature padded interior panels with wood grain and functional courtesy lights.  The front buckets are separated by a generous console with storage.  We note that there is an overhead interior light to indicate seat belts not fastened is not functional, same for the clock.

The four-barrel carbureted V8 is housed up front in a very clean engine bay featuring the trademark Ford blue air cleaner.  The 390 cubic inch powerplant translates to 6.4L and was rated at 315 horsepower (4600 RPM) when it rolled off the line in Wixom, and a whopping 427 lb.-ft of torque (2800 RPM).  The engine is mated to a Ford C6 three-speed automatic transmission driving the rear wheels.  The cowl tag and door jamb data plate show the VIN as on the Ontario registration in the seller’s name.  Mechanically, the car has been treated to recent reconditioning.  In 2021, the Holley four-barrel carb was professionally rebuilt, with new spark plugs, spark plug wires and rotor were installed.  The starter was replaced as were rear brakes and the brake booster.  There has been minimal mileage driven since so all are in as-installed working order.  The car is currently on the road and – Ontario buyers, please note – seller suggests it will pass Ontario safety check as it sits. It starts and runs easily, the most recent oil change was May 2022.

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This 1966 Ford Thunderbird Landau Coupe is available from its owner with included Owner’s Manual, 1964 Thunderbird service manual, car cover, three sets of keys in Dundas, Ontario.

Decoding this Landau’s VIN reveals the following:
6 – for model year 1966
Y – built in Wixom, Michigan
87 – two-door Town Laundau
Z – 390 cubic-inch 4-barrel carbureted V8 engine
154984 – production sequence

Trim tag codes decode as follows:

Body, 63D – 2 dr. Hardtop Blind roof vinyl
Colour X – Vintage Burgundy
Trim, 26 – Black crinkle vinyl
Date, 13D – April 13
DSO (District Sales Office), 15 – Newark

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