22 Year Love Affair With A Blue 1966 Ford Thunderbird

Story and Photos by Mike Spicer

When talking about old cars my friend Dale Matthews always says “Understanding Is Not Required!”. Which explains why I started hunting for a Ford Thunderbird immediately after graduating from the University Of Oregon.

One of the best parts of getting an old car is “The Hunt". Meeting interesting people, going to places you could never imagine just to see a car. After looking at several 1964-66 Thunderbirds I stumbled on a blue 1966 Ford Thunderbird Landau at the Portland swap meet.

I was pretty inexperienced but could sense there was a buzz around this car. People were all around checking it out as I sat alone in the driver seat with the doors closed going through the aircraft inspired interior. When I emerged from the car I walked past the swarm of people up to the owner and in an adrenaline infused state of temporary insanity I said “I’ll take it”.

  

Filled with a mix of excitement and uncertainty I drove the car out of the swap meet catching smiles along the way and headed home. I was experiencing a very new feeling and I liked it.

 

Bought new in Portland Oregon the original owner’s son brought the car to the swap meet since his dad couldn’t drive any more. After owning the car for a while I noticed how well it had been cared for. I was pretty lucky stumbling on an incredibly original car in amazing condition with no car buying skill at all.

  

I enjoyed driving the Bird for years. The rear seat is referred to as “the lounge” and you can see why. I often thought of the original owner as I babied it and made sure it was parked indoors at all times.

After 22 years of enjoyment I decided to let her go. You never forget your first love and every time I see a 1966 Thunderbird I feel like a kid again ready to take the blind plunge into classic car ownership, and it feels good.

Story courtesy of Spicer Collector Car Profile
See story on Jalopnik here.

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Is it Weird that I Don't Like Supercars?

Is it Weird that I Don't Like Supercars?

by Marrs

First of all, that thing up there. That’s what the folks who made it over at Aston Martin call the Valkyrie. What am I supposed to do with that???

I'm the kind of guy who prefers Grand Tourers over Sports Cars. I like luxury cars, cars that shift themselves... ever heard of a Cadillac Eldorado?

My first car was a '57 Cadillac, followed by a '76 Jaguar XJ6 (famously soliloquied here) and then I was somehow lured into Porsche 944 ownership before diving into the world of Merkur in the form of two Scorpios, one for parts in the pre-internet days. The Porsche was not my idea, it was a family hand-me-down first owned by my older sister, then my parents who never drove it. I maybe drove it twice. To much shifty-shifty and no room for my friends in the nominal +2 seats hiding out behind the driver and passenger. My primary car today is a 1962 Mercedes-Benz 220se, and while this one is a coupe rather than my clearly-preferred sedans, it rides, drives and feels like the cars I favor.



Next up, that thing up there. What am I supposed to do with that? There's not much vision, which would seem like a useful thing to have at 250-MPH, but heck I guess people will tell me you really only need to see what's right in front of you, which clearly is total bullshit because at higher speeds all those things existing out there in the real world, deer, errant beach balls, Bernie Ecclestone, could all come running out of the hedge at any moment and your reaction time would be much less, except... nobody can drive these cars to their full potential on public roadways. Point being, I have a better view of the road from the inside of my glove box than is offered by the Valkyrie. "Luggage? What's that?" might be the response from many supercar owners as they lift a patio-sized carbon fiber panel to reveal a carpeted box that approximates the size and shape of the smallest Chipotle burrito you've ever been served.

The '62 Benz coupe I mentioned earlier has as much visibility as the deck of an aircraft carrier and with a trunk large enough to carry probably half the number of planes. No joke, I measured. You still have to fold the wings up but they will fit in there!



Now this is the really freaky part to me, see how you can look right through the bodywork on this car, sorta like how you can see through the rear haunches on the new Ford GT? I know the thin bit of fender steel doesn't do much in the way of providing protection but this would just make me feel like my legs were dangling out from the bottom of an inner tube, waiting to be bitten off by a hammerhead shark, or in this instance, a deep curb.

How do you repair these things? When even a Bugatti needs to be shipped back to Mother-France just for a set of new tires, it makes you ponder the downtime, cost and final feasibility of the repair if your half-resin go-kart kits a Camry on it's way out of Costco. Yes, rich people shop at Costco, it's easier to keep your existing money than to make more.

Where do you drive these things to? Not the grocery store, no room for the groceries. Not to the bank, they will surely flag you for investigation for insider trading. Not your in-laws, least you be inundated with requests for a "small, $4-million loan" despite protestations that "I'm good for it!"

These cars were made to be featured in video games where you can switch to a God's eye view, don't need to stow anything whatsoever, and crashes can be fixed with a simple press of a button.

Nah, I'll stick with my old man car and be happy doing it.

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