VANCOUVER — Ken Carr will be leading a flock of ‘birds to Vancouver from Kelowna in his beautiful black ‘bird, born in 1962. Tony Vickers’ black ‘bird hails from 1965 and Brian Widrick’s yellow ‘bird from the year following.
Joe Fort will be leading a flock from Vancouver Island with his pink ‘bird, joined by Lance Lindgren’s blue ‘bird and Dave Hart’s red ‘bird.
These birds of the Pacific Northwest fly – but they don’t leave the ground. The flock is made up of some of the best examples of Ford’s famed Thunderbird, converging on Vancouver to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the car’s introduction.
Thunderbird cars are a feature display at the Luxury & Supercar Weekend this Saturday and Sunday on the great lawn of VanDusen Botanical Garden. The T-Birds are displayed in Concours d’Elegance classes which also include Rolls-Royce, European sports cars, cars representing the 50th anniversary of MGA’s introduction, E-Type Jaguars, micro cars, pre-war American and European classics, 1940 Fords and Japanese collectibles.
This 1965 Thunderbird featuring the sports roadster package will be displayed by Kelowna’s Tony Vickers.
Alyn Edwards, Driving
The featured Thunderbirds will represent nine of the 11 model generations from 1955 through 2005. The Thunderbird entered production for the 1955 model year as a sporty two-seat convertible, developing a new market segment – the personal luxury car.
In 1958, the Thunderbird became a four-seater to capture an even bigger market share. Succeeding generations became larger until the line was downsized in 1977, again in 1980 and once again in 1983. The 1990s saw Thunderbirds issued as two-door coupes and, when they became unpopular, production ceased at the end of 1997.
In 2002, the Ford Thunderbird was reintroduced as a retro-look two-seat model, which was available through the end of the 2005 model year with a bevy of unusual colour combinations.
In all, Ford produced more than 4.4 million Thunderbirds from the introduction of the iconic 1955 Thunderbird to its phase-out in 2005.
1956 Ford Thunderbird
Alyn Edwards, Driving
Joe Fort’s customized pink 1956 Ford Thunderbird will be displayed at the top of the hill overlooking 15 other prime Thunderbirds. The retired Nanaimo electrician also has a beautifully restored ’55 Thunderbird and a ’59 convertible to share garage space with the ‘lilac lace’ ’56 Thunderbird custom car.
“I would dream about building this car when I went to bed at night,” Fort says of the customized Thunderbird he constructed from a pile of parts left over from previous restorations.
“I bought a frame in Seattle, used the rear body and front inner fenders from a 1955 Thunderbird, the continental kit from a 1956 Thunderbird and two front fenders from a 1957 Thunderbird, the console from a 1959 Thunderbird and bucket seats from a Mustang,” he says. “It is beauty created from a big basket of parts.” The idea for the colour came from a friend’s wife who painted her flower shop delivery truck a fetching lilac shade.
Apart from the arresting colour, the car features electric doors and a louvered hood with a scoop extended to house the triple carburetor setup on the original 292-cubic-inch Thunderbird Special engine, hooked to a four-speed manual transmission.
The T-Bird display was organized by local enthusiast Michael Moore, who notes, “The baby birds over the initial three years of manufacture – 1955 to 1957 – had some of the most generous offerings of paint colours, so I focused on the unusual colours to illustrate the history of the cars.” He also sought examples of the 1962 to 1965 Thunderbird ‘sport roadster’ convertibles with the fiberglass tonneau cover over the rear seat.
The display also includes examples of the so-called ‘square birds’ built between 1958 and 1960, along with the large luxury Thunderbirds of the 1970s and the retro T-Birds from the 21st Century.
“The Luxury & Supercar Weekend offers a unique, up-close opportunity to view the world’s most important examples of automotive achievement from manufacturers and private collection,” says founder and president Craig Stowe.
Visit luxurysupercar.com for more information and tickets.
Alyn Edwards is a classic car enthusiast and partner in Peak Communicators, a Vancouver-based public relations company. aedwards@peakco.com
