0Y71J183851 - Thunderbird Registry Number 28118
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28118
0Y71J183851
1960
63A - M - 77 - 16H - 4 - 8
Cynthia Butcher says: I am the third owner of 'The Bird' but don't consider myself to be a "real" owner because the car was given to me by my father, who was very legitimately owner #2. The original owner was George Gasek, a Marathon station owner in the tiny town of Corunna, Michigan. He ordered the car with what seemed like all the bells and whistles in 1960 - air conditioning, an AM radio, power driver's seat, tinted windows, power steering, and a magnificent 430 engine. He also ordered five extra coats of paint so it always had a gorgeous look. My father was smitten with the car from the very first day he laid eyes on it and was only too happy to take it off George's hands when he got his next new car two years later. - - - - - - - - -
We have always joked in our family that The Bird was my father's mistress because he fawned over it so. It ALWAYS was kept in the garage. It was only driven in the rain or snow if there was absolutely no way around it which is interesting to me now because the only other vehicle we had then was an early-50's Ford pick up truck. I remember riding in the back of that pick up truck a lot but never made the correlation until recently that it was because the weather wasn't right to take The Bird out. I recall there was always a clear cover on the rear seat where my sister and I were required to nonetheless sit on towels tucked on top of the seat covers. Food and beverages were absolutely unthinkable in the car and I didn't know for a long time that it was even possible to consume drive-through food at some point BEFORE you got back home. - - - - - - - - - If you wanted to spend time with my Dad then you had to go out in the garage because that's where you would find him, tinkering and polishing his pride and joy. I must admit that over the years I developed an ear for microscopic engine maladies from spending countless hours out in the garage with him. The Bird was always kept in pristine, purring condition. He was a journeyman tool and die maker and I don't think there was anything that pleased him more than to design and make some not-very-readily-available part for The Bird. He installed gauges in the car because 'idiot lights' were certainly not an adequate means of monitoring the performance of his beloved Bird. Although it was misplaced somewhere along the line, he used to keep a book of every oil change and drop of gas that was put in the car so the mpg could be calculated for every tank of gas. If the peformance started to slip at all, he read this as an indicator that a full tune-up was needed. I must admit that, to this day, every car I have ever owned has had a similar book where I keep meticulous records. - - - - - - - - - Somewhat sheepishly I now confess that in my late teens when I had finally earned the privilege of driving it, I did not reveal to my Dad that I found The Bird's 430 engine could blow by anything on the road. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the surprised expressions of Corvette drivers in my rear-view mirror as they were resoundingly whupped in the quarter mile by a GIRL driving a T-BIRD. So much for being a careful driver who took seriously the opportunity she has been given to responsibly drive a great car. - - - - - - - - - - He owned this car from 1962 until he signed it over to me in 1995 as a gift for graduating from college with my second Masters degree. His health had been failing and he was no longer able to do the upkeep on the car. Because of that, it needed some body work and a bit of mechanical attention so I had it trailered 200 miles north to where I live. It was taken to a shop touted to be one of the best in the business to have this work done. One of my father's wishes was to be able to drive The Bird just one more time before he died, but the car got shunted to the bottom of a long line of vehicles needing repair and languished at the body shop for three years. Unfortunately, my father died befoe the work was complete and never got the chance to take that last spin in the car he loved so much.
Cynthia Butcher
9/4/2005
430 V-8
Intact
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