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Grampa's Bird

By: Dave Brown
My grandfather started buying Thunderbirds in 1959. Grandpa was a mild mannered man of modest means. He sold his immaculate white 1954 Ford fodor with no power steering and bought a used white 1959 T-Bird. It must have been a shock to people who knew him, as he did not seem to be the T-Bird type. For reasons that I am not sure of he later traded the ‘59 for a white 1960 hardtop. I came along in 1960, so I only know these cars from pictures. I’m told I rode home from the hospital in the T-Bird on a cold day in February because my parent’s 1960 Falcon had a worthless heater. My parents have some Fostoria wine glasses and tumblers that were associated with the 1960 T-Bird. They also enjoyed borrowing the T-Bird from grandpa for longer trips.

The 1960 did not have air-conditioning, so in l964 grandpa bought a new burgundy colored Landau, with white top, white leather interior, and almost every available option. This car I remember well! It was gorgeous. It was the first car I had seen with AM/FM, cruise control, and such. My sister and I would fight over who could get to the ‘fasten seat belt’ light to turn it off first. My dad put seat belts in the rear for us. The center glove box always contained an ample supply of Beeman’s gum, horehounds, Brach’s pink round mints, and toothpicks. Loose change filled the ashtray. The car had a unique leather smell. You just don’t forget things like that.

As I said earlier, grandpa was a quiet, reserved man. However, leaving a certain town on a certain stretch of road I would yell out, ‘passing gear,’ from the back seat. He would lay it down and a huge gray cloud of lead laden carbon would billow out from the pipes. I would anxiously watch the unique indicator slide up the tube on the speedometer to 80 or 90. The car just floated along. Grandma would urge him to slow down, and he would just grin. He would let me drive occasionally on new vacant streets that were soon to become neighborhoods. I was 12 or 13 at the time, and it was any kids’ fantasy.

Next came a used l972 baby blue Landau, in 1974. It had a dark blue top, 429 engine, was well optioned, and with more of the good smelling leather interior. It was the first car I had seen with stereo. Cool! I could drive this one legally at 14, and he let me do so often. This car left a lasting impression as a great road car. Now he would ask ME to hit passing gear, and then he would just grin. But the car was huge, and grandma was less than five feet tall. She could not see out of it, so I guess she was probably instrumental in its premature departure in 1975. They still owned the ’64 at the time and she loved it. It had low-back bucket seats, swing-away steering wheel, low belt line; it was perfect for her.

Then came the fateful day, the last day of Boy Scout camp. My folks were out of town, so my grandparents picked me up … in a white 1975 Ford LTD fodor with a blue top, nylon interior, and smogged up 351M. Grandpa grinned as he introduced me to it. It was hard to muster up the “it’s neat,” which was closely followed by a “where’s the T-Bird.” He had traded it off! I tracked it for years. Eventually, it ended up under a carport with the cylinder heads lying on the back seat, the body and undercarriage consumed by Iowa winters. I wished I had never seen it. It was the last T-Bird he owned. He had more surprises later on, however, including a 1979 Mustang Ghia with every available option, including TRX rims, and also a beautiful white 1963 Lincoln with turquoise leather. He gave this one to me. I sold it later to help buy a house, a 1964 Ford F-250 truck, which I still own, and a 1970 Ford Country Squire. He liked that one.

Grandpa quit driving in 1990, gave me the 1970, and he passed away in 2003 at age 96. I miss him terribly. Grandma is 90 now, and is in a care center. She may not remember what happened two days ago, but she still remembers that burgundy 1964 T-Bird.

As for me, I have had many Ford products and in 1999 went on a quest for a ‘64 or a ’72 T-Bird. After looking at a few ‘64s I determined that they are somewhat demanding mechanically, and I do not have the time to tinker like I used to. I settled on a Copper Fire 1972 Landau, with 429 engine and some nice options. With the low compression 429, C-6, GM A/C compressor, single piston discs, the car is easy to work on and dead reliable. My dad and my two sons and I took a trailer to Santa Maria, CA to pick it up from the original owners, who had purchased it as a demo. It had 96K miles on it but appeared to be well cared for. It had some paintwork, unknown to them. It was probably damaged while used as a demonstrator. I hedged, but the car had impeccable maintenance, was a non-smoker, and the original vinyl top was nice even below the back glass! It had that distinct leather smell I remembered from the past. Since I bought it I have added stainless steel duals, 15” magnums with Michelins (notice the center caps I made using late 1970s turbine wheel inserts), pertronix ignition, and I have rebuilt and reinstalled the original carburetor, supplied by the owner in a box. It works fine, I might add. It had failed a California smog check years back. I love the car. My grandparents rode in it a few times, and grandpa just grinned.

There is an interesting side note about the car. The owner, who had been a government employee, had a gun compartment hidden behind the panel above the glove box. He attached magnets to the dash opening and added small washers under the Thunderbird script, so you just pluck the panel out by grabbing the emblem. The gun holster was attached to the ducting, and it was beautifully done. I keep in contact with the previous owners, as they were very interested in seeing the car go to a good home. The are now in their 80’s and are very nice people. I call the car “Betty Bird” after the owner’s wife. I think she gets a chuckle out of it.

Even though this car is probably not as desirable as a 1964, it has been an affordable, well-behaved family cruiser for nice days. I like the uniqueness of it being the only year of this body series to be free of safety bumpers, and I love its clean lines. Every time I slide in behind the wheel and sink into that great smelling glove leather, crank up the Ford stereo and occasionally hit passing gear, it makes the think of grandpa. I just grin.