Oh Baby, Have You Seen My Baby?

Isn't she gorgeous? We're getting some big snow tonight and tomorrow so hubby is off to give her some exercise. The delicate flower she is we pay for a storage locker in the winter months so she doesn't get all road-salty and rust-slushy.

Ever hear "There's no such thing as a free lunch"? Well, there's no such thing as a free car either. My sister and her hubby once owned our girl, bought her from the son of the original owner, but alas classic cars are not for the faint of heart or tight of wallet. My hubby always drooled over this car and when my sister sold her house way up in Maine she gave it to him for his birthday. To be completely honest she had to get it off the property before they closed on the house and it was hubby or the heap as having it towed and stored was going to cost a fortune.

Well the bucks added up fast anyway. The old girl decided an hour into her trip that she wasn't going to make it back to MA. So she got towed anyway. My sister, in her usual way, forgot to mention that when she said "all original" she meant the tires as well. Dry rot was not part of her lexicon at the time.

We got the girl home, well to our garage, later that day. Our mechanic made a face I've never seen before but being the good sport he is we left out girl with a promise he could get her back up to spec in a week. Well about $1,000 later our girl had her some shiny new shoes, white wall tires to the uninitiated, as well as a slew of new belts, hoses, etc. Anything that was worn, tired or looked like it might be worn or tired. Hubby went to pick her up and pay the bill, I think he clutched his chest a little, and brought home our new "free" car.

She's a lovely mint and jade, 1979 Ford Thunderbird with off-white leather interior. She has power windows and a cassette player as well as AC and a few other goodies. She's also a real boat, over 18 feet long with a huge wingspan when her doors are open. They all work except the cassette player which died about a month later so if you see one for sale let me know. We hunt parts for her when we have time, NOS preferred. We're always looking for extra tail light lenses, baby's are unique the only year Ford used them and they're hard to find and PRICEY.

Our girl does have a downside or two. She's a 1979 American made luxury car which means she eats gas like crazy. I feel a little guilty about this, I keep pretty green, but we only use her for special trips and in the summer months and she represents a bit of automotive history sooooooooo I offset with other things. Maybe our next everyday car will be a hybrid to make up for the baby's bad gas mileage.

This year we want to have her repainted. We're saving out pennies, lots of them, because you can't just take baby to Macco. We want her paint matched to the 1979 special order Jade Glow she is. New carpet on the floors might be needed too, it's looking a tad worn in spots. For 30 years and LESS THAN 35,000 miles baby looks great, a real head turner. So we'll tuck her back in her locker after a little ride and give her a little freedom as the Winter allows until Spring when she snow goes and the drive-in opens. Baby loves her a Summer night at the drive-in and we love to take her.