This Thunderbird is no Myth
Some cryptozoologists have theorized the thunderbird myth to be based on sightings of a real animal that has of late dwindled in population.
Consider this account: July 25, 1977 Lawndale, Illinois. About 9 p.m. a group of three boys were at play in a residential back yard. Two large birds approached, and chased the boys. Two escaped unharmed, but the third boy, ten-year-old Marlon Lowe, did not. One of the birds reportedly clamped his shoulder with its claws, then lifted Lowe about two feet off the ground, carrying him some distance. Lowe fought against the bird, which released him.
However this may be, I can report to you the the big Thunderbird is alive and well in Spokane, Washington. In May of 1999, the big bird swooped down and captured Barry and Kayse Lyn Iverson. To date they have been unable to escape from the clutches of the bird. It is reported to be a bright Viper Red in color The big bird has been seen flying from car show to car show.
I recently caught up with the big bird at the Inland Empire Car Club Council car show in downtown Spokane, Washington July 20th, 2006. Here’s the story as related to me by Barry.
Barry and Kayse were not planning to acquire a Thunderbird, but through a mutual friend discovered the 19
65 convertible with the roadster tonneau gathering dust in a barn near Chewelah, Washington. What do you do when you find your dream car lurking in a barn only a modest distance from your home? You buy it! The owner wanted $14,000 for the old bird. That seemed a bit much to the Iversons, but after some dickering a deal was struck and the bird found a new home with the Iversons in Spokane.
No one seemd to know the history of the car, but the T-bird started life as a white car with white interior. Sometime in the past the previous owners had changed the color to red. They must have really liked the red
color as they had painted the car with so many layers of red paint that it was crazing and cracking from being too thick. In an attempt to shape the car up to be presentable the Iversons had a relatively inexpensive repaint job done on the bird. The result was that the car looked very good, but on closer inspection you could see the crazing and cracking coming back again. So, after a few years of being less that satisfied with the appearance of the thunderbird, there was nothing to do but run the car into the shop for a quality restoration job, and do it right. That was about a year and a half ago.
Scott Kennedy was the man at Watson’s Body shop who was commissioned to do the restoration work. In order that the costs be kept as low as possible for a quality job, it was agreed that the T-bird would be fill-in work when the shop was not preoccupied with time-sensitive production work.
Many folks who set out to restore a classic discover that the work needed is much more extensive and expensive than they had planned or hoped would be the
case. Indeed, that was the case here. Rust repair was much more extensive than anticipated. They even found a dent that had been filled with bondo instead of proper repair. But, when you have a collectible car that you love, it is like dealing with the expense of a sick child. You simply find the money to do it right. As will happen, the months rolled by and the work required steadily increased
as new problems were found that needed correction.
As you will see in the photos, replacement panels were installed on the lower rear quarters, the lower doors and rocker panels. The rear wheel well liners needed to be completely rebuilt. One front fender was replaced and the other repaired.
Quality body work is neither cheap nor fast. Finally, the day arrived when the body was ready to be refinished. Viper Red was chosen. Although not a stock Thunderbird color, Kayse decided that the bright Viper Red did not have the “tomato soup” look of the stock Rangoon Red Thunderbird color.
With the body work completed the search was on for perfect door panels and the seats were due for a complete rebuild by Jacob’s Upholstery. After 18 months in the auto hospital the big bird roadster was home again for final assembly.
Take a look at the photos of the completed job. Who wouldn’t want a gorgeous red Thunderbird convertible such as this in their collection? Congratulations to Barry and Kayse for job well done on a magnificent example of 1960’s automobile style.
When asked, “If you had it to do over again, what would you do differently?”
Barry replied: 1. He would not have started off with the inexpensive refinish job that eventually needed to be completely redone. And, 2. Figure out as best you can what the restoration work is going to cost and how long it will take… then double those figures, and you will be about right.
For a listing of some of the suppliers and resources utilized in the restoration of this fabulous Ford Thunderbird, see the web site of the Inland Northwest Thunderbird Club and check their resources list:http://www.inwthunderbird.org -WDM




We got off of the freeway and started searching. The car was in fact a 1956 Ford Crown Victoria, black and white. It was parked in an alley where he could only have seen the drivers door for a brief moment from the freeway. The car looked very good except that someone had just smashed the windshield by throwing a beer bottle at the car. The owner wanted to sell. We made a reasonable offer which he accepted, and the car was the buy of the year for us.
I was on a business trip to Pullman, Washington one day when driving through the town of Colfax, Washington at the posted speed of 25 mph, out of the corner of my eye a got a brief glimpse of an oval headlight that to my mind said “Avanti.” I flipped a “U” turn and found a wrecked 1963 Studebaker Avanti lurking behind a service station that had just been towed in.
Check your local picture car publication immediately after printing. If you have a weekly or bi-monthly free picture publication of automobiles. Check it out regularly when it is hot off of the press. Look for the new listings that you know were not in the previous edition. If you find something particularly interesting follow up on it immediately. Your goal is to get to the seller before someone else does. I have missed some wonderful opportunities by failing to do this. I have also made some very good buys for our collection by catching the new ads before someone else got to the seller. Here is an important tip: If you know what it is that you are looking for, and if you find it, be prepared to pay cash. If you have a little safe at home, keep some cash on hand for dealing on nights or weekends when a check won’t work but you cannot get to your bank.
Most folks find that the car with a bold, forward thrusting face just looks more attractive than a soft slumping face that reminds them of Mr. Wimp on a bad day. Example: When Ford came out with the new F-150 pick-up in 1997 it had that slumping wimpy look that just shouted, “weak and puny.” This did not appeal to buyers that wanted to buy a truck that had guts and stamina. Dodge had it right with the big, bold face on their pick-up truck. The Dodge sent a message that said,”Get outta my way or you’re gonna get crushed.”
Where did Ford get the goofy designers that did this to their popular truck? It didn’t take long for the sales people to figure it out and demand that the Ford look more like a copy of the Dodge.
Car buffs in the small town of Palouse, Washington put on one of the best car shows to be found in the Pacific Northwest. Palouse, a town of approximately 1,000 residents is located near the Idaho border in Eastern Washington State. Mid-September is the time that the town goes all out to welcome up to several hundred cars from all over the Northwest. Trophies, door prizes, merchant free-bees, a poker walk, specialty shops and galleries, good food and drink, all add up to make an event that is worth the effort for car buffs from far and wide to make a special effort to get there for the show. Following are some photos that are representative of some of the many cars on display. Plan now to attend the Palouse Days Show & Shine, September 16th, 2006.
























The business is owned by Don and his daughter Nicole Morse. Over the past thirty years or so, I and my brother have purchase from and sold several cars to Don. We know that his business is one that has the highest integrity and reputation for fair dealing.









































