1978 Ford Thunderbird Diamond Jubilee!! Exterior Walk Around Video!! 25,000 ACTUAL MILES!!

[@keniacobelli1618]

My heart aches!!!!!! It's another bucket list car.. Wow

[@christianbugatticg]

Man this is FRESH!

[@keniacobelli1618]

yep....one more car that I'll cheer across the finish line...and dream of owning one someday...@@christianbugatticg

[@BilllieverMinistry]

When I was a junior in high school in 1989, there were no fewer than 6 of these driven by fellow classmates. I loved this generation of Thunderbird and still do. This one is very special being a DJ anniversary edition. What a gorgeous car.

[@drno-xc1yt]

That was my experience as well. I had a Bird of this generation in high school, as did a few other people. In the late 80s and early 90s, these cars were everywhere, and they were inexpensive, too, in part because of the fact they sold so many of them between 77 and 79. The 302 was underpowered but it was a rock solid engine. Mine had a 351, which didn't make it a racecar by any stretch but the 351 gave these cars decent get up and go by malaise-era standards.

[@christianbugatticg]

Thank you thank you!

[@christianbugatticg]

Nice! @@drno-xc1yt

[@MuniTechnology]

That generation of T-bird was everywhere when I was a kid. Such a beautiful color. Similar to our Brittany blue '67 Ford wagon. I remember T-birds, Grand Prixs, Monte Carlos and Cutlasses were every other car on the road. The tires are giving me convulsions, but that's an easy fix.

[@christianbugatticg]

Love this car! I was kind of on the fence with the Vogues... no??

[@MuniTechnology]

​@christianbugatticg The Vogue whitewall profile is not showcasing the wheels properly. It hurts to look at them. There's no gentle way to say it.

[@christianbugatticg]

I think you are right. @@MuniTechnology

[@eaglefit8239]

Beautiful!! Unique and amazing presentation!!

[@christianbugatticg]

Thanks!

[@ChrisZettel]

I owned the pastel beige color of this exact car. This one is beautiful.

[@christianbugatticg]

Nice

[@FitzArias]

Wow an absolute collectible. Love how Ford went square with all their 1970's cars, giving them their own identity.

[@christianbugatticg]

Yes yes!

[@seand2711]

Man i love these DJB T-Birds.

[@christianbugatticg]

Factory tach blows my mind! lol

[@seand2711]

@christianbugatticg I didn't see the interior vid yet..

[@derrickjackson6737]

Diamond Jubuliee on a T’Bird and Mk5 top of the line is timeless and priceless personal luruxy at its Best

[@christianbugatticg]

I certainly agree!

[@styldsteel1]

Correction. There was no American made car with an "MK" designation since the model Ts. The MK designation was introduced by Lincoln in the 2000s.

[@gclarkbloomfield8848]

…hey, Phil…the reason this Diamond Jubilee Thunderbird resembles the same year Mark V’s is that they were both assembled at the Wixom plant in suburban Detroit… …seeing as this Special Edition was more than $2,000 higher than the standard coupe; Ford wanted to ensure a higher overall build quality…

[@hdrangers]

The Thunderbird was ssembled at Wixom for model years 1958 - 76 and 2002 - 05 only.

[@christianbugatticg]

Yes, they certainly mimic each other!

[@houseofno]

The other Thunderbird/Cougar/Lincoln Mark assembly location was Loraine, Ohio through the 1997 model year. This is also where Ford assembled their Econoline E-xxx vans.

[@christianbugatticg]

Thanks @@houseofno

[@rickhelper3221]

That extra paint very well could have been applied at the assembly plant. They have a "reprocess" area where any cars go if there was any factory damage or they didn't pass all the necessary checks before they got shipped. This color is much better than the gold they offered for Diamond Jubilees. Nice car!

[@christianbugatticg]

Now that is true!!! I didn't think of that

[@CapriLucianno]

Fabulous So Like A Mark Edition Top Of The Line ❤

[@christianbugatticg]

Yes!!

[@CapriLucianno]

@@christianbugatticg 💫❤️💫

[@bertram46]

Beautiful car and you're right you never see those

[@christianbugatticg]

Thank you!

[@styldsteel1]

For Ford's 75th Anniversary, they chose the 78 Thunderbird and the 78 Mark V. The base price of a Mark V was approximately 16 grand + or - the Diamond Jubilee option package was a $7000 option package making the Lincoln Mark V north of 20,000 bucks, making this the first American made car to exceed the $20,000 Mark 😮

[@christianbugatticg]

Big numbers for 1978!

[@styldsteel1]

@@christianbugatticg oh yea! Lol. Just for shits and giggles, I used an inflation calculator. 20000 dollars in 2024 money is 96 thousand dollars. Lol!

[@styldsteel1]

@@christianbugatticg oh yea! Lol. Just for shits and giggles, I used an inflation calculator. 20000 dollars in 2024 money is 96 thousand dollars. Lol!

[@joemiller2057]

I would love to see the inside of the Car and the dash board

[@christianbugatticg]

Yes, I have another video up covering all of that.

[@christianbugatticg]

Actually that video didn't upload yet. Hang tight!

[@terrencastelow2753]

I’m not ready for this. I haven’t watched the whole video . If it doesn’t have the ford 400, I might sell the house to buy it.

[@christianbugatticg]

Lol! 351, so you are safe! Or are you?? lol

[@christianbugatticg]

NOW LIVE AND UP FOR BID ON BRING A TRAILER!!! bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-ford-thunderbird-16/

[@jamesddr8131]

That color was highly susceptible to sun fade in that generation. I am guessing if it was painted on the top that may be why.

[@christianbugatticg]

You know I don't think so. The very side of one fender and the top of the other. Zero sun fade anywhere on the car. One guy did bring up a good point. These had paint touch up after the fact from the factory.

[@styldsteel1]

And yet another stunner. But can you do me a favor? That hood ornament is backwards. The wings should be swept backwards. It's on a spring.

[@christianbugatticg]

Thanks! And I literary saw that and fixed it either in this video or the other one! Nice catch! lol

[@styldsteel1]

@@christianbugatticg yw! Pleasure

[@commandertopgun]

Do you sell your cars, it just feature them? I love all the cars. I ask as, it's my 1st time seeing your videos.

[@christianbugatticg]

Hey there! So everything is for sale. My normal business model is to offer them up for auction on a site called, Bring a Trailer. If I have something you want and it and it has not been submitted to BAT, I will sell it to you!! Thanks!

[@clapolla]

I think the '77 & '78 models were essentially the same car (perhaps some minor upgrades inside from one year to the next).

[@christianbugatticg]

Yes, pretty close.

[@dennismccallister3994]

I think they used the term Zebrano wood aplique on the dash, why this sticks in my head, I like the 79 better only due to the tail lamp design.

[@christianbugatticg]

Thanks!

[@Barbarapape]

"Thunderbirds are go", all we had in the UK was Gerry Andersons puppets and naff cars whilst you had these, life is so cruel. There is no disputing that the USA knew how to design a great looking car in the 70/80's. Today they all look the same wherever they are designed, just look at a Tesla or perhaps better not! they will never be as desirable as a Thunderbird or Lincoln.

[@christianbugatticg]

Hey now, let's ship one over!!

[@Barbarapape]

Very Very tempting! all i need is a much larger garage!@@christianbugatticg

[@houseofno]

Actually, Ford's design "autism" (pretending to ignore the 1973 gasoline embargo in terms of their brick shaped car designs) nearly bankrupted the company in the early 1980s. By 1981, Ford had lost over a billion dollars in operating losses, and that was in late 70's early 80's dollars. Then as is now, no company can sustain that sort of financial bleeding indefinitely.

[@mrknotthall]

Sorry, it’s a pos. Nothing made in the 70’s is any good.

[@christianbugatticg]

So when were you born??? Lol

[@mrknotthall]

1946, back when cars were made with form, beauty, a lot of chrome and when you saw the new year cars come out in September, they were all different from one another. They were put together right. They were a thing of beauty. @@christianbugatticg

[@houseofno]

Don't blame car companies. A lot of it had to do with things beyond their control (the 1973 oil embargo, increasing emissions, fuel economy, and safety regulations). I disagree with your assessment that "nothing made in the 70s was any good." Many cars manufactured in the period are today highly sought after collectors items. Most of these are no longer on the road (car accidents, rust, getting scrapped for various reasons), making the few survivors that much rarer and much more appreciated. The fact that you don't see cars from this era on the roads very often is an indication of their rarity and corresponding high value to collectors.

[@mrknotthall]

I'm not blaming the car companies 100% but they do share some of the blame for a less than quality product. Quality took a back seat in the 70's AND into the 80's. American lives were hectic back then for a variety of reasons and quality suffered. Cars in the 70's are highly sought after because people born in the mid to late 50's don't know how nice the cars were in the 50's and 60's. They were too young to drive then. So they associate with cars from the 70's because that's all they know. That's their childhood, that's their coming of age automobile. Houses, cars, electronics, are well known not to be of a high quality in the 70's. My generation doesn't touch those cars. I deal with a lot of "car" people and that's their general feeling. Have a great day. @@houseofno

[@christianbugatticg]

He is probably just a negative person! lol @@houseofno

[@jimgigs1900]

Don’t see one thing that says diamond Jubilee on it

[@drno-xc1yt]

It's on the little porthole window, and the wraparound vinyl top was exclusive to the Diamond Jubilee - the base T-Birds had another side window at the back.

[@tcheek8591]

You're correct. Was going to say same thing being that I owned one of these DJ Birds. Mine also had a small plaque on dash above glovebox that said made especially for..and had my name engraved on it

[@jimgigs1900]

@@tcheek8591 he should have shown it

[@tedlym.3390]

@@jimgigs1900He did. three times.

[@christianbugatticg]

Lol, no I didn't show it. I am hiding it on purpose! haha! I guess some folks didn't catch it in the title of the video. @@tedlym.3390

[@jimgigs1900]

Don’t see one thing on it that says diamond Jubilee

[@christianbugatticg]

Please watch the video, you can see it in the back quarter glass about 3 times.

[@jimgigs1900]

@@christianbugatticg I see it now you do a great job keep it up

[@christianbugatticg]

Awesome and thank you!! @@jimgigs1900