Reminiscing My Daddys Thunderbird

[YellowRose]

Mike ~ fomoco59 sent me this and thought you might enjoy it!

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2017/0...s-thunderbird/

[DKheld]

I see more than one Tbird lined up for the "speed test".

Nice article - thanks for the link. Brings back many memories for me too.

Our Tbird found my Dad and Mom rather than the typical go to the car lot story. A guy brought the Tbird in to a finance company where my Mom was working - he didn't qualify for the loan and the dealer was scheduled to pick the car back up later (dealership was an hour away! - - those were the good old days when you could trust folks). Mom saw the car and called my Dad to come and look. They called the dealer and the car went home with Dad and Mom (just like the car had planned all along ).

There was an old abandoned airport in the area. My Dad said one weekend he and a friend took the Tbird out to see how fast it would go (something about "bet it won't do 140 like the speedo indicates"). I remember Dad saying after it hit 125 he was more concerned about how much runway was left and didn't know how much faster it went - so he would only swear to 125.

I've seen 110 - thought I was going about 85. Coming down an interstate on ramp - dumbo tailgating so didn't want to slow down and get hit in the back - big rig right next to me - not moving over to let me in - running out of on ramp - so hit the gas. After I got on the interstate I was shocked when I looked down and saw 110.

We took our Tbird on vacation all the time too. One trip back from Florida (I hated to leave every time) Dad said I was bawling my eyes out in the back seat - until a stow-away tree frog landed on my Dad's neck and scared the crap out of him. Hummmm - wonder how that frog got in there.......?

Also remember coming back from Florida one time and a Chevy Impala passed us. A little while later it was pouring and we passed the Impala. Now it's raining even harder and Dad slowed down a bit - here comes the Impala by us........sliding in the median with the front of the car pointed the wrong way.

But unlike the car in the Hemming's story ours WAS a daily driver for at least 10 years (until Dad bought a barely used '68 Chrylser Newport Custom ) then it was my Moms grocery getter for many years after that.

During the 70's gas crunch my Dad tried to trade it for a Vega (what was he thinking!!!). Luckily when the dealer told my Dad he would have to pay a scrapyard fee to have the Tbird hauled away the deal was off (we still had the Chrysler too). Dad had the Tbird painted (because it had two small spots of rust at the lower rear dog legs) and ordered two new seat covers for the front seat. Said the gas crunch would be over before he made up the difference it would cost to buy the new gas saver. Whew - what a close call. Our grocery store trips were cut way back and we just used the Tbird occasionally.

In the 80's and 90's it was a weekend or car show car - was even featured in a local newspaper article one year. I inherited it in '92. It sat in the garage until 2002 when I put it back on the road.

Probably will out last me and have many more stories to tell.

About 1996 - looks pink - pic was scanned from an old Polaroid.


A trip in 2002 - stopped to take a pic because the car had just turned 100K


Around 2010


Last year at a cruise-in.



Eric

[Yadkin]

Around 2010


Eric

The background here looks familiar and caused me to look at your location. I'm planning a cruise-in July 4th at Sugar Mountain, working with the resort's marketing director. I plan on starting early to coincide with their "mountain climb", a sneakers and boots hike up 1200 vertical feet to the summit and a chair lift ride back down. I was thinking of following up with a car cruise up to the BRP and over the Lin Cove Viaduct. I have yet to find a local car club. If you are interested, know a nearby club or are willing to help out them PM me.

Steve