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My first 1957 Ford Thunderbird was purchased at a car auction in 1978 for about $7,500. I knew little about them at that time -
it just appealed to me. I almost bought a '56 Lincoln instead. As I learned about the car I realized how much the interior had
been customized and that the two front fenders were fiberglass! Live and learn.

I drove the car for a couple of years and then had the opportunity to buy a '57 that was in more original condition for $10,500.
The great thing was that I had both at the same time for a short period and was able to take all the good parts and put them
on the new 'bird before I sold the old one. I had to make a choice though - the new one only had a hard top. The other, only
a rag top. I chose the rag for the car I was keeping. It's a road car, not a show car. The hard top is really impractical.

There have been many solo trips crisscrossing the US and Canada over the years. The longest  trip was 11,000 miles in three 
weeks. Other than a pre-trip road test of a couple hundred miles, most rides were at least 5000 miles or it wasn't worth getting 
the car out of the garage. Speaking of ride, I will never forget the day I went from wide, white bias-ply to radials. Unbelievable.

For 25 years the top was down, unless I was pushing my luck with a thunder storm coming faster than I was going. The fender 
skirts and original hub caps were usually removed for traveling and, yes, there were mechanical failures from time to time. 
That's just part of the adventure...

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