the 1980 Thunderbird was the start of the ninth generation of T-birds since it's introduction in 1954. The designers started on the Thunderbird after completing the 1979 mustang program. John J. Telnack was to head the design team along with William P. Boyer and Arthur I. Querfield who were also part of the 1955 design team. The T-bird was planed as a four-passenger car which using new construction procedures and materials was combined into a space-efficient package to meet the demanding needs of the Eightys. It was given traditional Thunderbird cues like a long hood, short deck, and a heavy C-pillar which were combined with a sporty low slung appearance achieved by lowering the belt line one inch and slightly reducing the vehicles height. The front- and rear-end designes stayed uniquely Thunderbird with hidden headlights and wrap around taillights. The group worked closely with the engineering vehicle development office throughout the entire design stage to insure the feasibility of the project. One of their goals was to develpo the weight saving urethane bumpers front and rear. The aerodynamic progress the engineers made during the development of the mustang and fairmont was extensively used in the design of the Thunderbird for 1980. Once clay models were finished they were subjected to more than 250 hours of wind-tunnel testing at the University of Maryland in an attempt to reduce the vehicles drag coeficient. From there the engineers built a fiberglass model of the bird and conducted another 150 hours of wind-tunnel testing at lockheed's low-speed wind tunnel. As a result of the changes thnuderbirds drag was reduced to .48 on the last fiberglass model compared to .58 on the first clay model a 13% improvement over the 1979 thunderbird. Inside a unique two-tier instrument panel was planned to give the effect of a luxurious but sporty cockpit.
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Aug17th 12:47 am
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