C7FH395735 - Thunderbird Registry Number 32391
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32391
C7FH395735
1957
40 -
Dale Stewart says:This is a lost 1957 Thunderbird I am searching for. My father wanted to purchase a Thunderbird when he got out of the Army in the 50's. His father owned a speedometer, auto clock and radio repair service in Youngwood, Pennsylvania, and used his automotive connections to help my father buy this T-bird directly from Ford Division in Pittsburgh. It was originally a Colonial White convertible with a 292 V-8 and 3-speed manual. The interior was a peachy red and white if memory serves me correctly. It had anual everything I think except power brakes which my dad modified to make manual. He also switched to 15" rims over the 14" solid ones, installes aluminum finned discs between the rims and drums, and switched to the smaller Ford wheel covers to improve the brakes and reduce fade. He later painted the car red and put an overdrive transmission from a 53 Ford in it. He never installed the T-handle under the dash, but had a linkage come up from the floor, made from the top of an old radio antenna to engage the overdrive. He sold it in Greensburg, Pennsylvania in 1971 for $1200 I believe. I was only 5, but I remember it well. My brother, who was 8 at the time, and I cried when the car was sold. Years passed and in 1984 or 1985 my father and I were in Pittsburgh and we saw some early T-birds through a showroom window. We went in and started talking to a man about the Thunderbirds on display. My father told him the story of his...the man asked if he had mounted the radio antenna some odd place...or perhaps it was the unusual "radio antenna" overdrive control asked about. Whatever it was, my father acknowledged it, and asked how he knew. The man replied that he was the one who bought the T-bird! Instead of restoring it to it's original white color as he said he would when he bought it, he said he had disassembled it with the intent of restoration. It sat for years in storage, and he sold the frame to someone needing one. He said he had aquired another frame and was going to build it up with a 312 engine, possibly use the OD transmission, and paint it Inca gold. He asked my dad how he kept the body so solid (he sprayed oil in the panels and rust prone areas regularly). My father was heartbroken to find out his Thunderbird had not been restored to its original color and with the original frame, but I know this car must still be around in some form, unless it is still in a warehouse somewhere in peices. If anyone knows the whereabouts of this car, or knows someone who dealt with T-birds in the Pittsburgh area who recognizes the story of this car, I'd sure appreciate any information. --------------------------
Anyway, as the years went by, I dreamed about owning a 1957 Thunderbird. I owned a couple replicas, but now I recently bought my own real 1957 Thunderbird! It is similar to my fathers as it was originally colonial white, but was painted red...and had an overdrive transmission put in it...I will register this car next on this registry.
Dale Stewart
6/3/2006
292 V-8
M.I.A., information is sought
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