Gary Tayman
Tayman Electrical LLC
The other thread about locations has me wondering, just how many other Thunderbirds do you see at local car cruises and shows? Do you attend many of these yourself?
This is probably a dumb time to bring up the subject, as it seems right now everything north of the Florida peninsula is covered with ice and snow, but maybe this will help you close your eyes and think about summer for a moment.
Anyway, I am IN Florida -- one of the collector car hot spots, and wonderful because we have more car shows in the winter than in the summer -- in fact a huge show in Sarasota this coming Sunday. Other collector car hot spots seem to be southern California, and up north -- Michigan, and maybe Pennsylvania.
But wherever you are, I'm curious as to whether you have the same scenario as I see here. Any show field, be it a Friday car cruise or Saturday show, first of all -- do you attend the shows, and second, is your Thunderbird the only one there?
Personally I attend a LOT of cruises, nearly every Friday and Saturday night, in Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, Englewood, and North Port. (Last week I DJ'ed for a Volkswagen show in Clearwater called "Bugfest"; there were 230 VW's and one T-Bird -- guess which car got the most attention? Didn't mean to steal the show . . .) It seems my own 64 hardtop wins the prize as the most-recognized Bird at these shows, although there is also a 62 convertible that frequents the Venice cruises. Seems there are a half-dozen others that appear once in a blue moon, but the fact remains that among the Mustangs, Chevelles, Corvettes, and various street rods, Thunderbirds seem to be a rarity. Now -- I'm talking big birds; there are a few little birds around, although even those are scarce compared to the Chevelles and such.
What I find is that my car, imperfect as it may be, seems to get quite a bit of attention. In fact it attracted attention even when it showed up as a project car with torn seats and crappy paint! I guess there's no denying that it's got stunning styling, and at twice-the-price of a Mustang there weren't nearly as many sold in the first place. Investment value? Poor, as it seems the car requires triple that of most others to restore, and is worth less when finished. But I'll keep mine, even with its major problems, as you'll have to admit it's not a car you see on every street corner.
This is probably a dumb time to bring up the subject, as it seems right now everything north of the Florida peninsula is covered with ice and snow, but maybe this will help you close your eyes and think about summer for a moment.
Anyway, I am IN Florida -- one of the collector car hot spots, and wonderful because we have more car shows in the winter than in the summer -- in fact a huge show in Sarasota this coming Sunday. Other collector car hot spots seem to be southern California, and up north -- Michigan, and maybe Pennsylvania.
But wherever you are, I'm curious as to whether you have the same scenario as I see here. Any show field, be it a Friday car cruise or Saturday show, first of all -- do you attend the shows, and second, is your Thunderbird the only one there?
Personally I attend a LOT of cruises, nearly every Friday and Saturday night, in Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, Englewood, and North Port. (Last week I DJ'ed for a Volkswagen show in Clearwater called "Bugfest"; there were 230 VW's and one T-Bird -- guess which car got the most attention? Didn't mean to steal the show . . .) It seems my own 64 hardtop wins the prize as the most-recognized Bird at these shows, although there is also a 62 convertible that frequents the Venice cruises. Seems there are a half-dozen others that appear once in a blue moon, but the fact remains that among the Mustangs, Chevelles, Corvettes, and various street rods, Thunderbirds seem to be a rarity. Now -- I'm talking big birds; there are a few little birds around, although even those are scarce compared to the Chevelles and such.
What I find is that my car, imperfect as it may be, seems to get quite a bit of attention. In fact it attracted attention even when it showed up as a project car with torn seats and crappy paint! I guess there's no denying that it's got stunning styling, and at twice-the-price of a Mustang there weren't nearly as many sold in the first place. Investment value? Poor, as it seems the car requires triple that of most others to restore, and is worth less when finished. But I'll keep mine, even with its major problems, as you'll have to admit it's not a car you see on every street corner.
