Parting with Dad's cars

[Volktales]

Yes it has begun...





This is Dad's 1955 Thunderbird, and it was his last "stock" restoration that he ever did.  He bought this as a project car back around '97, but did not start the build until around 2000.  This was a very solid car, but was a comprehensive restoration and took almost three years to complete.  The only deviation from original was a 12 volt negative ground conversion, but it did not stay that way for long.  Dad decided it needed some upgrades to make it a good car for long distance touring and soon he did just that...





Pretty soon he had installed the front disc brakes, radial whitewall tires, dual master cylinder, better Holley carburetor than the leak prone design it came with, upgraded electronic distributor, electric tachometer (original was cable drive), and probably other stuff I didn't know about.  His biggest mod was installing a GM rack and pinion steering system, which looked like it was factory installed the way he did it.  Surprisingly after all this work, Dad rarely drove the car because by now he had the purple '56 hot-rodded T-bird on the road, and of course liked that one better...

So recently Dad's good buddy Al, who was there throughout the construction of the car, spotted a wanted ad in the Vancouver based Totem T-bird Club newsletter.  Someone on the mainland wanted a nice '55 Thunderbird, preferably in white with turquoise interior.  Well you can guess what happened next, and I have been busy the last couple of weeks detailing the car and setting things up for the buyer to come have a look.  Well he liked what he saw...





The new owners Mike and Trudy in the middle, with Al on the left and my Mom on the right.  Mike fell in love with the car right away and was very happy with the condition and presentation.  And he liked the modifications as well.  They enthusiastically dropped the top, and cruised on home in their "new" wheels.  Everyone was all around happy with how the deal went down, and Dad would have been happy the car was going to new caring owners who paid a decent price as well.  

We are hopeful the next sales will be painless too.  Still have to sell the purple '56 T-bird, the blue '56 Bel-Air convertible, and of course the Ute.  We will see how those go...

[tony]

It must be hard to see a family member move out after all those years years. The old bird looks pretty good for her age ......😁

[Volktales]

Forgot to add this picture.  This was the second car of Dad's that has been sold.  I did not remember to take a final picture of the '56 Bel Air before it went, so here is a much earlier one, with Brian behind the wheel and his grandson getting ready for his graduation (this was several years ago).  When preparing this car for sale, there were a number of small mechanical issues and a few cosmetic ones that I was unable to address.  I was worried the next owner (who agreed to buy the car without an inspection) might be unhappy about this and he was told the day he came to see it in person that there were some issues that were not previously known.  Given he was paying the big $$$ for the car, I thought he might want to lower the price for some compensation...


Turns out I should not have worried...  Apparently his words were "It is even better than I remembered!  And I have wanted this exact car for years!"  So a very happy customer then, and he was still happy several weeks later, too!  The new owner lives in Vancouver and has his own communication company of some kind.  Dad's old car has now joined a garage that contains around 40 other hot rods and specialty cars...  The new owner definitely has his priorities right...

Now two more cars to go...  And you know I have an ulterior motive, as once Dad's cars are gone, I have more storage room for mine...  

[Volktales]

I will put this picture here.  This is Dad's truck and it is NOT for sale.  This was the only vehicle my Dad ever bought new in his life and it must have had a strong importance for both Mom and Dad.  Mom does not want to sell it and I am ok with that.  This is a 2000 Ford F-150, but what makes it special is that it is the Harley Davidson edition.  Ford did this co-branding for awhile, and this was the first edition.  Dad bought it off the showroom floor at the Parksville Ford dealership, and he managed to get a ton of extras including Harley branded mugs, models, a leather jacket, etc.  He also carefully saved EVERY single document related to this truck.  At only 105,000km, it should be around for some time.  It does need a major detailing though, and it will get it.





Because this truck sits out in the carport, Dad was a believer in using laundry sheets to keep away the potential of rats.  The rats must have liked the fresh smell as this is what they built their nest out of on top of the intake manifold...  The battery was not happy either, and is taking a charge overnight.  I guess I need to drive this one a bit more...

One thing I just learned is, the Ford oil filters that came with the Corvair parts stash are the correct ones for this truck.  Nice!