1965 turbine thunderbird

[1965 thunderbird]

Greg,
Thanks for your post, I hope you can find some pics and anything to document this boats history. I really enjoyed talking to you and I am looking forward to meeting you and your brother Dave. By the way if I get this boat seaworthy some day, you and Dave are welcome to borrow it if you would like. I think that you guys really would really appreciate this boat for what it is and share it with your family and friends.
Dave, when I uploaded pics on to this site I had to upgrade my membership. My son showed me a different way also but I don't remember how he did it.
Any way post them if you can but I sure would like to see some originals in person, that would make my day!
thanks
jim

[1965 thunderbird]

Mike
How are you doing?
I think that I will keep this boat for quite awhile, I am getting real attached to it.
I have been thinking of selling the speedliner tunnel hull, it is a piece of history also, it is the last speedliner tunnel hull made. Since Bill Whiles pasted away and he was the designer and distributer I think this one is the last of the breed. If you are interested I will sell it for what I have in it, it is a cherry!
thanks
jim

[blacklabmarine]

Jim,

What's the latest? Pics?

[1965 thunderbird]

Jay
thanks for asking!
I haven't done anything with it for quite awhile. I am hoping to get at it again this summer, I just have to many projects. I am going to sell some of my projects so I can move it up on the list.
How is your project going?
I guess I should take some more pics but it has not progressed much from the last pics. I am still looking for some st-6 turbines but they are hard to find for a reasonable amount.
jim

[racesdad]

jim
would you be interrested in selling this? dad would like to finish and put the pt-6 back in her
Mike Stancombe

[Top Banana]

Originally Posted by racesdad

jim
would you be interrested in selling this? dad would like to finish and put the pt-6 back in her
Mike Stancombe

Are we going to have something interesting to see at the February 2010 ...Miami to Key west Race???

[racesdad]

if he will sell it. we have the motors. dad wants the boat

[1965 thunderbird]

Mike
Did you find st-6's or pt-6's? I have been looking pretty hard and have come up empty. Found some pt-6's but are not quite right, wrong gear ratio and exhaust is different. I would appreciate any leads on st-6's. I don't plan on selling it untill I have turbines in it and have been able to run it for awhile. I don't think I will ever run across something this special in my lifetime again so I better keep it and enjoy it. It is in a nice dry storage barn behind my house until I can find the right parts to restore it correctly, any help would be greatly appreciated. I have had several offers on this boat and have passed on them. I understand your interest, to bad they only built one!! This is truly the first unlimited race boat ever built, it was so far ahead of it's time it was like bringing a gun to a knife fight! Even when they made them detune the engines to less than half of their available horsepower it was still unbeatable. Ofcourse their are plenty of boats that would beat it now but none of them have the class that this boat has, she was and still is a sweet boat!!!
thanks
jim

[racesdad]

gears are not hard to make for us.. dad wants the boat to run. we will take you for a ride. lol

[Photophix]

Originally Posted by Top Banana

And some more

Wow, just saw this thread, what a project what history. My hats off to you.

Armando