Flair Ups

[64ZCODE]

Hi all. I'm starting a thread today called "Flair Ups". All of us who drive 64-66 T Birds know that these cars draw a lot of attention, ranging from smiles and a thumbs up to pulling off the road for lengthy conversations about these beautiful and interesting cars. I thought it would be fun for us Flair bird owners to share some of those stories, so here goes:

Friday 10/19/18, headed south on Hwy 1 in Santa Cruz, CA. A county sheriff pulled up behind me, a little too close. After I got over the initial "uh oh", he pulled around and as he passed me, he gave me a big grin and a thumbs up.

Same Friday, in front of the Ben Lomond CA post office. Guy living across the street gave me a big grin and it was clear he wanted to talk but was partially handicapped, so I walked over to him. His name is Ron and we spoke for about a half hour about the '66 T Bird he had and what a great car it was and he wished he had never sold it. He said it only had one problem, which was loose column shifter linkage - lol, right there, we had a lot in common. He also had a '61 Bullet that he remembered quite fondly, and a collection of other classic cars in his back yard that I hope to go and see sometime in the future.

Saturday 10/20/18, at the "come as you are" car show that happens Saturday mornings in front of the Home Depot in Santa Cruz. I was there with my '64 and a guy named Dennis was admiring the car and commenting about the futuristic styling. He mentioned that he had heard that some of these cars had swing away steering wheels. I proceeded to demonstrate that feature, much to his enjoyment, and it got him talking about other cars back in the day that had a similar features. He's a friend now and I'm looking forward to seeing him again at the shows.

Please feel free to contribute!

Doug

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[Gary Tayman]

Today I went to a car show at Hunsader Farm. This is east of Bradenton, Florida, and this farm has a pumpkin festival every year -- and typically draws 25-30,000 people each day. I think they make more money doing the festival than they make on the farm itself! Whatever, David Hunsader is a wonderful person and a great friend, and I look forward to the car show at the event every year.

But let's go back a day. Knowing I wanted to get there early, I took the car to get gas yesterday. As I pulled up to the pump, there was a T-Bird (much newer) filling up next to me. I saw someone over there, so I asked, what year is that T-Bird? A really cute girl appeared and said it was a 1995. Then she came over and admired my car. She liked hers because she can work on it herself (imagine that!) but she loves the old ones. She asked me to open the hood so she could see. We spent about a half hour in conversation about cars, as a few others also came to have a look. Interesting!

At the show, as with EVERY show, every time I glanced over to look at my car, I saw a crowd of people looking it over, many of them taking pictures of it, and if I walked over to it they would ask questions. Mind you, this car is far from perfect, but it attracts attention nonetheless.

Something about these cars I don't quite understand. Thunderbirds are very difficult and expensive to restore, yet they don't have much value if you try to sell it. As for other Birds, I see them two ways. If another one comes to a show, it's nearly always cleaner than mine -- but I wonder what it's like mechanically. If I see another on the street, it's a rustbucket, with mine being in much better shape. The way I see it, good solid examples of this car are a rarity, and you would think that someday they could become valuable for this reason. But I don't have a crystal ball to tell me this.

Whatever -- other cars, such as Mustangs, Corvettes, and GTO's, are wonderful in their own right. But take one to a show and you simply park it with all the others. A Thunderbird stands out, with its striking styling, its relative rarity, and the public's memories of the one they loved back then. Forget the dollar signs, this is what car collecting is all about!

 

[Frosty]

Hi all. I'm starting a thread today called "Flair Ups". All of us who drive 64-66 T Birds know that these cars draw a lot of attention, ranging from smiles and a thumbs up to pulling off the road for lengthy conversations about these beautiful and interesting cars. I thought it would be fun for us Flair bird owners to share some of those stories, so here goes:

Friday 10/19/18, headed south on Hwy 1 in Santa Cruz, CA. A county sheriff pulled up behind me, a little too close. After I got over the initial "uh oh", he pulled around and as he passed me, he gave me a big grin and a thumbs up.

Same Friday, in front of the Ben Lomond CA post office. Guy living across the street gave me a big grin and it was clear he wanted to talk but was partially handicapped, so I walked over to him. His name is Ron and we spoke for about a half hour about the '66 T Bird he had and what a great car it was and he wished he had never sold it. He said it only had one problem, which was loose column shifter linkage - lol, right there, we had a lot in common. He also had a '61 Bullet that he remembered quite fondly, and a collection of other classic cars in his back yard that I hope to go and see sometime in the future.

Saturday 10/20/18, at the "come as you are" car show that happens Saturday mornings in front of the Home Depot in Santa Cruz. I was there with my '64 and a guy named Dennis was admiring the car and commenting about the futuristic styling. He mentioned that he had heard that some of these cars had swing away steering wheels. I proceeded to demonstrate that feature, much to his enjoyment, and it got him talking about other cars back in the day that had a similar features. He's a friend now and I'm looking forward to seeing him again at the shows.

Please feel free to contribute!

Doug

Hi Doug and others,

Yep I know what its like, just last week I pulled into my local supermarket and parked in my usual spot, furthest from the store, where I can park length ways without other cars either side of me, thus avoiding those who open their doors and bang my car. So upon returning to my car an elderly lady confronted me and talked, and talked , and talked asking all sorts of questions, I was really suprised that such a lady woukd be interested in my Tbird, even to the extent that she told her equally elderly lady freind to go ahead and start shopping as she wantet to wait and find out who owned the Tbird. When I finally got away I got the biggest waves goodbye from my two new freinds right in the middle of the busy car park.

Cheers Dave

 

[64ZCODE]

Hi Dave. You're reminding me that when I first got the '64 in August, I parked it in front of the local auto parts store in Felton CA. When I got back to the car, two ladies in an SUV were parked next to it and wanted to talk. One of them told me that when she was in high school, she had a boyfriend who had a Flair bird and she loved going for rides in the car. The relationship with the boyfriend didn't last and she didn't care about that, it was not getting to ride in the T Bird anymore that she was upset about. Hey, priorities are priorities, right?

Doug

 

[Frosty]

Too Right !

 

[64ZCODE]

I'd like to address Gary's comment above about the value of these cars, and I'll do it in the context of another "flair up" that happened last Saturday at the come as you are car show.

So a fellow was looking at our '64 T Bird and clearly interested. I started talking to him and he asked me why we bought the T Bird. I told him quite honestly that it chose us, not the other way around, and we were powerless to resist! But I did mention that one of the great things about these cars is that a guy like me can afford to buy one because they don't cost and arm and a leg. This was easy to illustrate because across the aisle was a '65 GTO with a price tag of $39K that was an OK straight car but nothing to write home about. I could tell this guy was getting interested, so I told him some other great things including that parts are readily available and there is a community of folks (and great T Bird forums) willing to help and provide expertise.

Another convert, I do believe🙂

Doug

 

[Angry Bird]

Hi Dave. You're reminding me that when I first got the '64 in August, I parked it in front of the local auto parts store in Felton CA. When I got back to the car, two ladies in an SUV were parked next to it and wanted to talk. One of them told me that when she was in high school, she had a boyfriend who had a Flair bird and she loved going for rides in the car. The relationship with the boyfriend didn't last and she didn't care about that, it was not getting to ride in the T Bird anymore that she was upset about. Hey, priorities are priorities, right?

Doug

I think I know that girl! I have had my 64 for 51 years. The girl is long gone.

 

[64ZCODE]

Hi all. Latest "shout out" happened yesterday in Santa Cruz. I parked in front of an office building and a lady working as a receptionist there bolted out the front door and wanted to talk about the car. Her name is Katie and she's always loved T Birds. She lacks the space to have one now, but hopes that will change in the future, hence her suggestion to me that she be listed in my will...

She is a regular at local car shows including "T Birds on the Wharf", an annual event that draws 50-60 nice examples of Gens 1-4 T Birds, and the come as you are car show on Saturday mornings in Santa Cruz. Likely I'll see her again at one of those events.

Doug