Previously Featured Car

Herb and Nancy Thoms'

1968 Cougar

This car was purchased from the original owner in Pass Christian, we have had the car for over five years. Our intent is to try and keep it as original as possible. The following information about the car was obtained from Marti Auto Works. (Marti has available the Ford Motor Company's entire production database for the 1967-1973 model years.) The car was built at Dearborn, Michigan on June 29th, 1968. It was the 85, 225th Mercury scheduled for production at Dearborn. It has Lime Frost paint with Onyx roof paint. The vehicle was ordered with the following options: C-4 Select Shift Cruise-O-Matic; 7.35 X 14-4 ply rated tires; power steering; Whisperaire air conditioner; AM radio; tinted glass; and deluxe wheel covers. Because I had to replace the wheels I choose to go with styled steel wheels, which were an option for the '68 Cougar. Over the years we have made improvements and been rewarded with good results at various shows. Including: the Prestige Car Award (95 points or higher) at the AAECM's May 2005 show; first in class in the 05 Camellia Classic; Fabulous 25 in the Mississippi Vietnam Veterans Memorial 2005 show; Best Antique at the L. A. Winter Antique-Classic Can and Truck 2005 show; and several first places at the Mustang and Ford products shows in Mississippi . We also qualified for the Driver Participation Tab at our Southeastern Division National Winter Meet.

Lambert Mims

50 Studebaker Starlite Coupe

This car was sold originally in Oklahoma and was painted gray. It was purchased by a man in Pebble Beach, CA and restored.   The color is an original Studebaker color, Comanche Red.   The car is original with the original upholstery; and shows something like 57,000 miles on the odometer. It is a six cylinder, 3 speed with overdrive. It is unique in that it has a bullet nose and wrap around windows in the rear. The photo was taken as the car was entering the Camellia Classic car show held on the great lawn of beautiful Bellingrath Gardens.

Jerry Finley's

1966 Mustang Coupe

The following article was originally published in the October 1993 issue of MUSTANG MONTHLY.

If is reproduced here with permission of Donald Farr, Editor, Mustang Monthly

Wait for the Grandkids!

Jerry Finley never saw the Mustang as a family car, until now.

Article by Rob Reaser

    Like many '60s parents tuned to the practicalities of nurturing a family, Jerry Finley turned a reluctant shoulder to first-generation pony cars. "When the Mustang cam out," he explains, " I thought it was the best design ever. I still feel that way. But we had two children, and the Mustang did not appear to be a family car. I did not even consider buying one.

    A family car, in those days, meant room for Mom, Dad and the baby up front, with ample space for at least two squirrelly youngsters and Rover in the back seat. Trunk space was calculated not in cubic feet, but in grocery bag, laundry basket, and bicycle capacity. Because carpeted floors were doomed when mixed with kids, soda pop and a long trip to Grandma's house, wall-to-wall vinyl was a must.

    In 1964, the Mustang roamed a different range than the all-American family sedan.

    Twenty-three years after the first ponies hit the streets, Finley, a marine surveyor from Mobile, Alabama, figured the time had come to put a Mustang in his garage. His search for an early model began in late '87 and ended when a classified ad pointed him toward a Signalflare Red '66 hardtop. "The car was sitting in a backyard with the front resting on cinder blocks," Jerry recalls. "The power steering components were removed, disassembled, and stored in a couple of cans." Fortunately, the 289-2V engine, C-4 transmission and 2.80:1 rearend were firmly in place. "The body also looked good, and there were no rusted-out areas. The owner had recently joined the Navy, so his mother sold me the car for $1000."

    Thus began Finley's first steps in bringing his decades-old dream to life. "I towed the car to a friend's garage, we pulled the engine and transmission, and embarked on a year-long project. All I wanted was to turn the car into a good driver but, in 1989 I joined the Mobile Bay Mustang Club and got involved in car shows." Naturally, new goals for the hardtop soon were outlined. Jerry had installed a white interior during the first stage of the restoration. Once competition concerns set in, however, the correct red and red rosette interior scheme displaced the white vinyl. And the fine-tuning didn't stop there. "That winter I put the car on stands and detailed the undercarriage to factory specs."

    The product of Jerry's hard work has been, in part, a trunkload of First Place trophies garnered from Mustang and AACA shows, including Mayor's Choice, Peoples' Choice, Best of Show and Best Interior awards. But more satisfying than the trophies and plaques are the drives to visit friends, to church, and around town, plus the admiration of his expanding family. What the Finleys sacrificed almost 30 years ago is being made up for in interesting ways. "In 1989 I took my 14 year-old grandson, Brandon, to a high-school parking lot," Jerry relates, "an taught him to drive in the Mustang. A privilege, no doubt, few youngsters have ever experienced."

    The Mustang could never be considered a family car when compared to the utilitarian Country Squire station wagons or four-door Galaxies and Fairlanes. But the true value of an automobile is not measured by cubic feet or fuel consumption ratings. Less-tangible assets like fun, character, and spirit are the measures by which successful models are defined. Now that his exemplary '66 hardtop is part of the family, Jerry Finley is putting those assets to good use. With the grandkids along for the ride.

Bill and Leah Musgrove's

1957 Ford Skyliner

Although there had been previous attempts to develop a retractable hardtop convertible, the Skyliner was the first production model.

The following is from http://vintagecars.about.com/od/historygreatmoments/a/frdskyliner_bg.htm

“The complex retracting system required three drive motors, four lock motors, ten power relays, ten limit switches, eight circuit breakers, and 610 feet of wiring. It must have been a mechanic's worst nightmare!

The fuel tank was relocated behind the rear seat, the spare was recessed into the trunk floor, and luggage space was limited to a small bin, though later models offered a continental-style exterior mounting. Rear fenders were three inches longer than on a normal Ford convertible. Riding on a 118-inch wheelbase, the Skyliner was a massive 210 inches in length.

All Skyliners came with V-8 engines, though no one bought them for performance. The real fun took place whenever the driver decided to raise or lower the top, an operation that took over a minute to complete and inevitably attracted a crowd.

In 1957 Ford sold 20,766 Skyliners, helping the company beat Chevrolet for the sales leadership title that model year”.

The first of the Skyliners was presented to President Eisenhower.

The Skyliner cost $2942, $400 more than the Sunliner.

Visit http://www.skyliner.org the web site of the International Ford Retractable Club for more info about these cars.

The Musgroves have found a charming companion for the Skyliner with this 1955 Rod and Reel Trailer. This trailer originally sold for $700.00

DICK CASHDOLLAR

1928 Model A

Dick Cashdollar is the proud owner of this pristine 1928 Ford Model A. Recently the car took a top 25 (participants' choice out of well over 100 cars) at the Cars for a Cause Open Car Show. For this show, Dick displayed many of the items he has been collecting over the past year that would have been in the garage of someone who owned this type of car. Taking a lesson from Bob Gechijian, he "set the stage" for the display of his car. Dick was quoted in a recent issue of our club newsletter, The Sparkplug, as saying; "I was anxious to see the visitor response to this new display addition - and was really surprised at the strong feedback that these nostalgic items drew. It has really encouraged me to continue building on this theme, as well as continually improving my car."

Steve, Cathy, and Trevor Goren

1958 Chevrolet Biscayne

"The Chevrolet Biscayne was a series of automobile produced by Chevrolet for model years 1958 through 1972. Save for 1958, the Biscayne was the least expensive model in the Chevrolet full-size car range, which included the Delray, Bel Air, Impala and the Caprice. The Biscayne name survived in Canada through the 1975 model year. Biscaynes were produced primarily for the fleet market, though they were also available to the general public — particularly to those who wanted low-cost, no-frills transportation with the convenience and room of a full-size automobile." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Biscayne

The car was purchased in Summerdale, Alabama in 2002. There were a couple of reasons that the Goren's decided on this car. One was that Steve was born in 1958 and Cathy loved the colors. In addition to that, Steve felt it was a car that he could work with and learn about restoring a classic. The car was brought to Euriah, Alabama from Texas and then sold to Wayne Butler in Mobile. When Steve bought the car, it had a 235 Blue Flame straight six. This engine gave up the ghost on the way to the last Old South car show held under the interstate overpass. Steve then began to search for a replacement engine. The car now boasts a Chevy 350 V8 with a 350 Turbo trannie and some Edelbrock enhancements. Steve put the engine in himself with help from Eddie Anderson, Buddy Paquet, and his neighbor Wayne.

Jim Henderson' Collection

Mr. Henderson's collection features many unique, one of a kind cars as well as many that have won top AACA awards.

Jim hopes to eventually be able to display at least part of the collection in a manner that will allow the public to see and appreciate it.

How do you move these beauties to and from show venues?

Charlie Froehlich-Thunderbirds

I have been involved with Thunderbirds ever since you have known me, however you may not realize how long ago this association started. It actually goes back to 1923 - yes, 1923! I suppose that takes a little explaining, so here goes: In 1923 my grandfather became the Ford dealer in my small hometown of McClusky, North Dakota. The dealership stayed in the family up until a few years ago when my cousin simply couldn’t make it anymore with all of the requirements placed upon dealers by Ford Motor Company.

Back to my association: In 1955 the town of McClusky had a 50th Anniversary Celebration. I was in high school and worked in the dealership on weekends and summers. For the celebration the dealership was able to borrow a 1955 Thunderbird from Ford to use in the parade. Man I got lucky and drew the long straw; meaning I was able to drive that Goldenrod TBird in the parade. I also snuck out on the highway once with it too. Now 1955 Thunderbirds could not hold a candle to the late 1960’s muscle cars, but there wasn’t much that could stay with them in 1955. I know!

That brings us to our ‘55 Red Bird. We acquired this car about 30 years ago. It was solid but had been run pretty hard. I used it for anything and everything including driving to work. Once we even drove it to Key West. You ought to try two people and two weeks in a car that does not have enough trunk space for one suitcase. But there is something about an unrestored car that makes them lots of fun. That something is that you don’t worry much about chips and dings.

Eventually a “plot” was hatched in my poor feeble mind. Anyway part of the plot involved a cosmetic restoration to get it looking better. Right! When the only bolts left on the body were the ones that held it to the frame they came off too. Several years later the old Bird looked pretty darn good. In the past 12 years Red Bird has been driven to an AACA Divisional Tour in coastal North Carolina, to two AACA National Meets where it scored a Second Junior followed by a First Junior and a couple of Classic Thunderbird Club National Meets where it received First Place Awards in Touring Class. In spite of these trips, the car wasn’t driven all that much, only about 16,000 miles since it was being saved for the previously mentioned “plot”. What was the plot? Remember I drove a ‘55 Bird in the 50th anniversary of McClusky parade. Wouldn’t it be great to do the same thing in the 100th anniversary parade? So in 2005 we did just that. I drove alone to and back from McClusky, a 3500 mile round trip. Ardie had made the trip on the big bird (DC9 type) so she could spend more time with her mother. I had a nice trip. How was the parade? Well it was just a parade and the fact that I was repeating history made no impressions on anyone besides myself. Oh well, the plot is over and back to regular driving. Or would anyone like to buy Red Bird. It now could be bought.

Charlie Froehlich

IS IT A SEDAN, A VAN, OR A TRUCK?