1955 Ford Thunderbird restoration project

Description

Up for your bid is my 1955 Ford Thunderbird. This is a project I have been working on for about two years. It is a very solid foundation to start with. I have put a lot of money and time into this car and hate to let it go. I would never sell it but lost my job of 35 years and have to get rid of several cars and projects to pay some debts. Car is located about 30 miles south of Austin Texas out in the country. I have a modest Reserve placed on the Auction or Buy-it-Now for $11,500.
This is a pretty solid and original car. The first year Thunderbirds were ever made. Odometer shows 79k miles but I do not know if that is ac curate or not. I bought this car with a locked up motor. I believe it has all original equipment and had every bolt and component untouched and unmolested on this car. I see very little rust on the car and the floor and truck look solid.
I pulled the original 292 engine got machine work performed on it and and it has been been completely rebuilt. It has been bored 0.030 and the crankshaft is still standard and just needed a polish. The heads have been fully checked, cleaned, machined and rebuilt. The motor has all new pistons, rings, all bearings, timing chain and oil pump as well as the fuel pump. The motor is completely stock and unmodified and original. I sent off the original Teapot carburetor to be professionally rebuilt and it is beautiful. Right now the engine is just bolted in place in the engine bay and connected to the transmission but still needs many components connected and the distributer and starter installed and valves adjusted and the torque converter hooked up.. It is not quite ready to fire up.....but very close. Still needs some work.
Body needs some attention. There are two main areas of work needed and numerous dings, scratches, scrapes and paint wear and chip s. The driver's side has like a side swipe area that starts just past the front wheel opening and into the drivers door. There appears to be a couple of patches in this area from a previous repair. The second area of concern is the passenger side cowl and front windshield frame. The cowl area below the windshield in bent downward like maybe 1/2" to 3/4". The windshield frame itself is bent to the side like 3/4" forward and over and towards the drivers side. The passenger side has the chrome door glass guide broken and missing. This area of damage is not very noticeable unless you have a keen eye. I do not know what happened to the car in this area because the door(s) shut good and body panels have good fit and alignment and spacing. I almost wonder if the car got pushed around and perhaps trailer loaded by people pushing on the windshield frame and that is how it got bent and pushed down the cowl there as well. I do not know how this damaged could have happened. The rest of the car has numerous bad paint areas and minor flaws...but nothing too bad. I have been under the car but do not see too much rust. Floor and trunk are solid. The front and rear bumper are complete and pretty straight but have some surface rust. Front windshield and passenger glass is cracked. I have two new tail light lenses coming with the car.
Interior of the car is very nice. The dash is beautiful and undamaged. Gauges and whole dash face are very nice. Seat and door panels have a little wear and tear but are very nice. Steering wheel has lower horn bar broken off and missing and there is a little rust on the collar and a little on the passenger door panel. Car has original radio and it appears the car is still set up for 6 volts. Worst thing about the interior is the carpet is rough and needs replacing.
Wheels and tires appear in fair condition. Tires hold air good and car rolls and steers good. I believe the wheels are original as well as the hubcaps. The car has no brakes of any kind. Please consider this issue when getting a transport service.
Car comes with both tops. The fabric top is very old but do not know if it is original. It isn't to bad and not torn up or too bad but it is very tight. It probably has shrunk over the years and it will not close up. The car had no hard top when I bought the car - so I found one for it. It is a correct 1955 model (no port hole) but needs to be restored. It is a good solid fiberglass shell but it needs a new headliner and the glass needs to be installed with new weather stripping. I have the rear glass and chrome and a new headliner kit and most of the latches coming with the car. Please note that due to the bent windshield frame I cannot get either top to line up nor seal up properly. Car would have to be transported with the top strapped in place or hauled separately.
Car came with no Title when I bought it. I was given a Notorized Bill of Sale. I have been going thru the process of getting a Bonded Title for the car. I have already started the process and just had the Sheffif's Dept run a check and sign off a VTR-68A form for on the car. The car came back clean and I submitted the Bonded Title paperwork. Right now just waiting on the final steps of the process and then I should be getting a clean Texas title. I have no idea how much longer the process will take but I am guessing 2-4 weeks. But I have no real idea.
Please only serious people bid on the car and ask questions. I am not interested in any trade-ins or any other side deals and low offers. I require an immediate deposit of $500 to the winning bidder of this car. I understand any bidders hesitation about the title issues. Winner of the auction can wait until I get the Title before paying the balance due. If anything happens and I somehow do not get the title - I will gladly refund the $500 deposit. However, I will not refund the deposit if the winning bidder simply changes his/her mind and no longer wants the car. Only refunds given are in the event of a Title not issued. But like I stated before - the car has passed everything with flying colors and I should be issued a title in the near future.