Any advice on whether to consider buying a 66?

[Flye]

BRAND NEW to forum....

I'm 75% complete on my most recent project, but I'm not sure the car is going to be one that I want to 'keep' for several reasons.

I have ALWAYS liked the 64-66 T-bird range since I was a boy. I'm locked into the 66, and since this is going to be a weekend cruiser for wife and I, I'm considering a 66 Thunderbird Convertible.

I'm 52 and I want something we can have fun with, and I think I'm just aging out of the muscle car thing. Plus I think she'd enjoy it more if we had a nice cruiser for little weekend trips, going to baseball games, etc.

I'm 'Ford Partial', but I have to admit that I wonder if something like a 65-66 Impala Convertible or late 60s/early 70s GM B body convertible would be easier. I just think the bird has such good lines to it, that it just keeps drawing me back.

I have 'concerns' about reliability, parts availability, and overall serviceability on the bird. Honestly, I've looked at a few Ford Schematics on 'systems' in the car, looked at some 'original parts' on the auction site just to get a feel, and the parts look extremely 'engineered' and complicated compared to most previous projects. Obviously a Thunderbird simply has a lot more on it than a Mustang or similar car, therefore (to my simplistic way of thinking) there is a lot more to 'give trouble'. I do my own work, so I have to consider these things.

Does anyone have comments or thoughts on a 66 convertible? It'll be several months before I'm in the hard market as I've got to finish what I'm working on now as I'm not having two toys at one time. Feel free to contact me directly if that is easier.

Sorry for being 'wordy', but I wanted to give a fair representation of what I was looking for. Thank you.