(Click photo for larger view)
1971 LTD Convertible
This Featured car story I thought I'd do something a little different and find a member that we don't see at the meetings and probably most members have not seen any of the cars. After looking over the member roster I found Jim and Linda Swank.
They live in the Bakersfield area which is quite a distance to travel to LA from as they live approx. 2 hours north of where I lived at the time and it was a long drive for me.
They were happy to allow me to feature them and a
couple of thier cars.
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Jim started collecting cars at age 12 so he has seen many come and go over the years. Among the 40+ cars (not all Ford) he has now are 7 Edsel's 6 1959 Mercury's, 3 1960 galaxies, 2 1964 Mercury Marauders, 1970 Mercury Monterey, the 71 LTD conv. plus 4 Studebakers, 3 Packards, a 1954 Desoto taxi, 2 Mark Lincolns, and a 1971 Dodge Polara CHP car! Just to name a few.
The longest owned cars of the Ford family is a 1959
Mercury Parklane 2 door with
77. 000 original miles which they have owned for about 20 yrs.
The car they have
had the longest and the favorite of all the cars is a '58
Packard 2 door hardtop coupe (sometimes known as the
"Starlight") which has been in the family for 32 yrs!
(Click photo for larger view)
1959 Mercury Parklane
(Click photo for larger view not including back of car)
1958 Packard
Some different fins/tail lights aren't they?
(The rear photo is not the same car but one I found on
the web)
Of the 40+ cars 21 of them are turn key and driven at least 10 miles per month for exercise. That just about fills up the month don't it.
One of the questions I had to ask since I'm always
for a good car story is "do
any of the cars have an unusual story that goes along with it?"
Jim's reply was the
story below that goes with this nice '71 LTD convertible.
A fine example of someone not taking "No" as an answer and
standing firm on the desire to own a particular
Ford automobile the way they wanted it. Ford delivered but
it took some
interesting turns on the way!
Not only did she demand what she wanted she also
remembered the now
owners of this car after a chance parking lot meeting. How cool
is that!
Read the story below!
(click photo for larger view)
Back in January of 1971 a
woman went into Thousand Oaks Ford and ordered a
1971 Ford LTD convertible. The only way the dealer would place
the order was
for her to pay for it in full. She paid cash! The reason was,
that out of over four thousand 71 convertibles sold that year
hers was the only one ordered with a
3 speed column shift standard transmission. She was told
that her car would be
ready in six weeks. After eight weeks she went back to the
dealer to check on her
car. The dealer called the zone office to check on the status
and was told that
there was a parts problem. This was around the first week in
April. On April 20th
she received a letter from Ford Motor Company offering her a new
Country Squire
or Thunderbird for the same money.
But she wanted the car she
paid for. At the time both California assembly plants
did not have parts in inventory to build her car. Around the
first week in May a meeting was held in Dearborn, Michigan for
all of the assembly plant managers
to discuss plant operations. Her car was one of the subjects
brought up. The
Louisville, Kentucky truck plant manager said if they would send
him the
convertible minus the engine and transmission he would put a
351 Windsor
and 3 speed from his truck line in it. She finally got her car
toward the end of July!
I met the lady about 10/12 years later in a mall parking lot. I
told her how much I
liked her car and if she every wanted to sell it to call me. I
got the call in 2000
from her son who was given the car as a school car. Boy was it
thrashed! He had broken the shift collar so he put an
after market floor shifter in and trashed the interior and top.
What a mess!
But now it was mine! For being a top of the line LTD convertible
it has strange
options. Along with the 3 speed trans. it has power steering,
power disc brakes, air conditioning, AM radio, manual drivers
side mirror, and "dog dish" hub caps.
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The finally question asked was "What are your thoughts on collecting?"
The car hobby has changed so
much since I first started collecting old cars
thirty-five years ago. back then you could buy cars for a
hundred dollars or less
that ran! Now you are lucky to buy them for a thousand dollars
and they are like
a giant model kit that's missing pieces. Or the prices are so
high that you need a
2nd on your house to get them. It's no longer a hobby but an
investment.
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cars as our "Featured Car"
Written by
Deb Demele