My Bird
When I saw the first T-Birds when they came out in 1955, I wanted one. Being only seven at the time, I had to settle for a toy version. In the early 1970's my father-in-law bought a 1956 T-Bird that was wrecked in the front and I handled getting it back on the road. It was painted a sickly green, with a green interior and matching padded vinyl roof, all of which were definitely not original. Not being very knowledgeable about T-Birds, I didn’t realize then that the massive rear bumper with factory continental kit (1956-only features) was missing. I had it painted white and removed the padding on the vinyl roof when we repaired it, so it did look much better. Then my father-in-law gave the car to me.

Since then I have sunk a lot into the car, even swapping bodies, getting the continental kit mounted, and new upholstery and paint (in it’s original black). I have also learned some headaches common for the “Small Birds” of 1955-1957: minor oil leaks, major water leaks around the hard top and balky wipers. But it’s like my wife Kelly probably thinks about me: definitely flawed, but still loved.