Hello! If any of you are engaged with similar cars to mine, I would enjoy hearing from you! Check out my pix in the gallery.

I'm currently finishing up a restoration of a 1967 TBird coupe that was one of the first cars for which I worked on the design at Ford in 64 when we still called the function "Ford Styling". I wanted a Candy Apple Red exterior with a Saddle Tan interior for the one I ordered in the fall of '66 but had to special order it since that color combination wasn't offered. After finally receiving the car exactly as I had specified with the HD handling pkg, HD cooling, PW, PS, etc. and installing a set of custom gold line tires to match the saddle tan, I enjoyed many thousands of miles in it before moving on to other new cars which followed.

To recreate that car now has proven to be a bit of a chore though, since the color combination was unique and I did not want a vinyl top. To accomplish what I wanted, it was necessary to start with a nice rust-free low mileage red coupe (how does a laser straight 30K mile rust free southern car sound?) and a few other coupes with beautiful original saddle tan interiors (I found two!).

My car is now ready for paint - after removing the almost perfect red interior, chrome trim etc. and repairing a few minor parking lot scratches. Many new rubber and replacement chrome parts have been located as well and soon it will be ready to reassemble into my visit to the past! A final tune up should be all that's needed to get it ready for the summer show season.

My other cars currently being finished up as I write this include three 1990 TBird 35th Anniversary SC coupes. I intend to keep one and sell the other two when all are finished. One of my daily drivers is an 89 SC I bought last year with only 26K miles and is almost like a new car despite its age! I had both an 89 SC and a 90 35th Anny TBird ordered from new and loved driving both of them.

The 63 Avanti has been in the "family" for many years and since it only sees summer driving here in Michigan, it too is a low mileage car with only 44K miles. It is a totally original 4 speed R1 289 V8 with Studebaker's "Twin Traction" and "Hillholder" features. It still is a very exciting car to drive and am constantly tickled by the questions that young folks ask like "...what Italian company makes these?" or "What is a Studebaker?" Lots of fun!

The 67 Eldo and the 72 Mark are both cars which I feel are design milestones in their own rights. Yes, they are from another era of big cars with big block engines, but they each represent the pinnacle of the "personal luxury car". The Eldo was significant in having FWD as well as a skillful blending of razor edge contemporary styling combined with close coupled classic proportions. The 72 Mark in its first year with a new body, though large was deftly styled with clean smooth surfaces, a minimum of decoration, a distinct identity and a high level of comfort and convenience.

I've always like Virgil Exner's wonderful 1957 cars that turned Detroit's car designers on their heads with their distinctive and dramatic styling! My second car was a 57 Dodge D500 which was a screamer for the time! I recently sold four 57 D500s and several other cars including my favorite 53 Studebaker Commander Starliner because I just didn't have any more room in the garage and there were just too many cars! (some would say there are still too many!)

My other daily driver, a 94 Chrysler LHS is now approaching the quarter million mile mark on its clock and still drives almost as new - a very enjoyable ride! Before I retire it, it will most likely be similar to "grandfather's axe"!

Friday, March 21, 2008

The 67 Bird is coming along nicely in primer and is ready for color paint as soon as the gas tank is removed for cleaning. The interior trim is being prepped now to be ready for installation as soon as the car is painted. The metal componens will be resprayed in saddle tan so all the interior trim will match in color. I was lucky to find some nice new parts for the interior lights with good lenses. Also found some NOS gauges for the instrument panel.

In the meantime detail work has progressed on the 90 Anniversary SCs. The wheels have been refinished and bumpers surfaced and are ready for paint. Interiors have been cleaned and now must tackle the JBL stereo systems! One car just lost all the sound! Don't know what happened since it was working fine. Another one of the cars grabbed my CD and wouldn't play it and wouldn't reject it either! The third car needs a new speaker in the sub woofer which will be easy to fix, but the other stuff will require some sleuthing. If anyone has knowledge about these JBL systems please let me know as I am not an electronics engineer!!