You are bidding on an extremely original 62 Thunderbird convertible with an unique and extraordinary history. This virtually rust-free California car runs and drives and cruises along great even at highway speeds. All of the power accessories work well although the clock stops after a while. The am radio works as do the power top, power windows and power seat and the signals and guages work as well .The car is tight and sound and floats down the road with ease. This car was originally purchased by Paramount Studios in California and spent it's entire life in California, until I purchased it and moved from Nevada to Florida. The car was used in two seasons of the filming of the Perry Mason tv series, then went to a doctor and his family till about 1999 when it was purchased from the family I bought it from in 2006. I have numerous pics( I have listed three of these pics) that I retrieved from the TV series dvd collection(that will be included in the sale) that show the car with both actors Raymond Burr(Perry Mason) and William Hopper(Paul Drake) in the car in various scenes. The car was purchased from Paramount's backlot from a California doctor at the end of the 1962 season as far as I can tell. From what the previous owner's had said ;the car was also used in a Rose Bowl parade in its young life as well as pre-race ceremonies at the first grand prix race that was run in southern California. I have a very complete and detailed paper documentation of the vehicle inclusive of year by year registration cards dating back to 1963 along with work that had been done over the years on the car at Ford garages and repair shops. The car has only a little over 56000 original miles on it and has only had about 4000 miles put on it since 1999,and has been very well taken care of and maintained over the years. The car is rare in the fact that it has factory black interior with gray inserts(verifyed by its trim code) which I believe the inserts were redone at some time ;thefabric is not what I remember being used back then but still looks great with the original black vinyl. The carpet is still the original and shows it,but still very presentable and not all torn up just fading at the rear seat floor hump. The heater core is bypassed and has been since I bought it(I assumed leaking so I bought another one for it but have not installed it(not needed in Florida much) and I noticed in storage that the power steering pump is beginning to seep so I am going to buy another pump for it(may or may not have it on by the time it sells but it is included). The water pump was recently replaced as well as replacing the radiator with a new core and installing an electric fan on it to assist when idling around at cruises although it never runs hot enough to really use it(even here in Florida)but it's there in case,just an ounce of prevention on my part. The engine compartment is extremely clean and the engine is painted the correct black with correct silver air cleaner and valve covers along with the correct engine decals in nice shape as well. The documents I have state the car was repainted in 1988 but I truely think only the sides and maybe the trunk were actually painted the top of the body and hood really look to be a still nice original paint finish not to say that the sides are bad as they look very nice as you can see in the pics it's just to me the top of the body sure looks like a nice original paint finish..The car has obviously spent its entire life stored indoors evidenced by the great rust free condition. It still even has original factory stamp markings showing on the top of the inner front fender aprons(see pic). The other things I have done to it include adding a new passenger side rear view mirror ,adding the true ford kelsey hayes wire wheels although the spinners are new aftermarket( I still have the original rims and hubcaps mounted on newer radial tires in good shape as well.I found period correct new old stock BF Goodrich Silvertown 800 x 14 " bias ply whitewalls(5 of them in great shape) 4 of them I mounted on the wire wheels(along with liners and tubes) I also replaced the 2 front interior door panels(small cracks in the originals(still have them as well) The dash pad is starting a small crack around the speaker area (I have another nice used black pad to go with the car as well) new underhood insulation pads and I purchased a new reproduction trunk mat ,tire cover, and side covers kit for the trunk. I also purchased a new black convertible top for it , the current and the original top were and are white although the white top is in nice shape it still shows dirt and I wanted to change it but have a hard time doing that because it is the orignal color top the car came with and like they say" it's only original once" hence I never got around to changing it. I want to be clear, the car does have small small nicks and touch up spots on one quarter panel by the chevron trims and below the trunk emblem(tried to show in pics) again not bad, and a few very small dings in the flip lid but very minor and some touched spots on the fender skirts but overall the car shows very well for being a 37 year old original. Just trying to be honest in my description. The bumpers are the original and the chrome although very presentablle is not show quality and is aged and one Q has a rub mark on it as I remember( I have show quality rechromed rear bumper Q's and center section not included in the sale of the car) In addition I have a roadster tonneau cover I purchased seperately that is at the shop being redone along with recently nicely recovered head rest pads and all new mounting hardware and center roadster emblem for this tonneau cover,these items could be made available to the winning bidder but are not now included. Again to be clear about the car although it shows very nice as an original ; it is not a 100 point show car. If you wanted to put new paint on it, change the carpet and dash pad and top covering and put on the new back bumper the car would then be very close to if not a real 100% show car It definately does not need much to be one though. You can drive and enjoy it as is, as I have done, or spend a little and restore it to perfection.The car always draws quite large crowds and alot of attention everywhere I go with it even if it is sitting next to high dollar show cars at car shows and cruises,it still seems to be a crowd favorite with it's styling,swing away steering wheel and watching the top and how it works. I would not even begin to want to sell this car if it were not for the fact I recently bought a 65 Corvette just like the one I owned over thirty years ago and now I am reliving my childhood and the Thunderbird is relegated to being kept in storage and rarely comes out(what a shame) and I would rather have someone else have the pleasure of enjoying this car; so it is not a fire sale. or anything like that This is an extraordinary automobile with a bit of nostalgia and a TV history to go along with it ; not to mention ,a very enjoyable and fun car to own and drive. Again included will be a dvd collection and a vcr collection of videos of the Perry Mason tv series showing the car in many of the late 1961 and the 1962 episodes.This is one great original automobile that is fun and pleasurable to own and drive and enjoy. As this is a used car of over 47 years of age there is no warranty given or implied. I reserve the right to end the auction at any time as the car is available locally. The buyer is responsible for all shipping costs and arrangements. Payment is only by bank certified funds ,cash or through paypal. Deposit is by the same methods as the payment. I reserve the right to refuse bids of anyone with zero, less than 2 or negative feedbacks. You must contact me if this applies before bidding.

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On Nov-06-09 at 18:50:45 PST, seller added the following information:

I have had a lot of interest and questions about the California black plates . they do go with the car: as well I have all the California registration cards dating back to 1962 along with a lot of documented history and service on the car .I had the original California pink slip until Florida made me relinquish it when I had it  titled and registered in Florida.