1959 Thunderbird convertible: One owner since new
Published Friday October 10th, 2008
Bob Fellner of London, Ontario, enjoys reading my column in the Forest Standard. A new car came into his life nearly 50 years ago:
"My car 'treasure' is a 1959 Ford Thunderbird convertible. This was the middle year of the three year 'Square Bird' run, between the famous two-seaters and the cigar shape that started the trend to ever larger 'Birds".
"When I was 20 years old, in the fall of 1959, my father gave me this car. It was bought through Middlesex Motors in London, Ont., but it was a 'left over' since the 1960's had already come out.
"It was located on a Toronto dealer's lot and I recall going to see it with a few school buddies and how strikingly gorgeous it was, sitting alone in the dealer's back storage area. The paint was 'Sea Reef Green', a light metallic, with green and white interior and a white top.
"The likely reason it was left over is that someone ordered it with a standard transmission with overdrive. Of the 57,195 built in 1959 (only 10,261 of them were convertibles), I understand only seven were ordered with a manual transmission.
"My car became my daily driver through university and later as a 'to work' vehicle. In 1962, it was the car that took my wife and me on our honeymoon to Rainbow Springs, Florida. My 'body and paint man' said I was the only person he knows who still has the same car and the same wife!
"Through to 1973, my car served as a daily driver for work, play, groceries, and bringing two babies home from the hospital. For part of that time, our second car was a 1930 Model A Ford two-door sedan that I put a flathead V8 into. By 1973, we were at the station wagon stage and the 'Bird' was retired in favour of two wagons, a 1965 Comet, and a 1970 Montego.
"Thirty-one years later, the time had come to restore this car to its former glory. The complete restoration took three and a half years with help from two local Forest, Ont., businesses: Bluewater Ford and Roy's Auto Body.
"Today, the car is like new and driven only in fair weather. It was an honour to be invited to enter my Thunderbird in the 19th Invitational Willistead Classic Concours d'Elegance Show in Windsor, Ontario, on Sunday, August 24.
"Bringing my car back to showroom condition was not easy or inexpensive. It is now appraised at ten times what it cost new. It is also appreciated even more than it was as a daily driver."
* Bill Sherk is an automobile historian who has had a passion for the topic since his days pumping gas as a teenager. We want to say thank you to our readers who send in their stories. We are giving a copy of Bill Sherk's book, 60 Years Behind the Wheel: The Cars We Drove in Canada 1900-1960 to each reader whose story is published in this column. To share your stories or photos e-mail billtsherk@sympatico.ca or write Bill Sherk, 33 Oak St. E., P.O. Box 10012, Leamington, ON N8H 2C3.
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