When it finally came time to let it snap and find the car he had been dreaming about for three decades, James Pantelis wasn’t taking any chances.
The Melbourne, Australia, resident had been fawning over the first-generation Ford Thunderbirds — the “Baby Birds” — since he first laid eyes on one. He isn’t sure, but he thought the red ’56 Thunderbird he first spotted on display — but not for sale — in a showroom back in the 1980s might have been the only one of its kind in Australia at the time. The car was way out of his league, and he knew it, but Pantelis never completely gave up hope that he’d have such a machine some day.
“I was mesmerized,” laughs Pantelis. “First, a car like that would have been selling for about $120,000 here back then. I just remember stopping late at night and thinking, ‘Wow, 120 grand for a two-seater that you’ll probably rarely drive.’ And second, ‘What must you do to be able to afford to add one of those to your collection?’”
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