Does Thunderbird still exist?

[dbocha01]

Hey guys....I am trying to get a title for my 66 Thunderbird Cathedral Hull, of which the previous original owner never had a title since it?s so old.

I talked to NJ DMV and told them that it was never titled because back in 66, it wasn?t needed, and HIN?s were not issued back then.

Long story short, she told me to contact the manufacturer to verify that HIN were not inscribed on boats back in 66, and then they can issue me a new HIN number, and then I can proceed with titling the boat.

From what I can tell Thunderbird went out of business. Does anyone have a viable source of info on this, or something solid that states that boats made before 68 did not have HIN issued?

Thanks

 

[salty87]

Re: Does Thunderbird still exist?

http://nasbla.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3383

"The Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971 required manufacturers to assign a unique number to identify vessels for the purpose of recalls or defect notification..."

 

[ziggy]

Re: Does Thunderbird still exist?

best i know, HIN numbers were not used untill 72 maybe 73. i've got a old 72 w/o a hin. had problems registering it too. ended up using a casting number on the block to get it registered...
anyways...

i 'think' thunderbird is now formula...

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: Does Thunderbird still exist?

Yes....sort of. The Formula Boat company is what used to be called Thunderbird. More accurately Formula and Thunderbird are now one company....they sell under the Formula name. http://www.formulaboats.com/history.aspx

Contact them. They should be able to help.

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: Does Thunderbird still exist?

Could be looking for this..

 

[Knightgang]

Re: Does Thunderbird still exist?

Could be looking for this..

Yeah, but there is no HIN on it either...

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Does Thunderbird still exist?

50 years ago, we used to have an older (legal) kid buy it for us at 50-75 cents a quart. I see it is much more expensive, almost to a fine wine price now.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Does Thunderbird still exist?

50 years ago, we used to have an older (legal) kid buy it for us at 50-75 cents a quart. I see it is much more expensive, almost to a fine wine price now.

Good stuff, none of that pretentious cork stuff,
screw top bottles means its semi-imported.

 

[kkdai]

Re: Does Thunderbird still exist?

never had that ralated experience, sorry!

 

[allpoints360]

Re: Does Thunderbird still exist?

Didn't Porter Ricks use a Thunderbird in the TV series Flipper?

I thought the portholes were cool.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Does Thunderbird still exist?

Didn't Porter Ricks use a Thunderbird in the TV series Flipper?

yep, that's what got me interested in finding out what happened to thunderbird... love them underwater shots of twin screws turning..

 

[Redknot]

Re: Does Thunderbird still exist?

I am in the same, sort of, boat. I have an old starcraft sea scamp that was never registered. I'd like to put a motor on it now, but DMV needs some kind of title. Finding title for a forteen foot aluminum star craft might be a lot easier than a Thunderbird, but then again, a Thunderbird is a really nice boat, certainly worth the search! Good luck!