Tom Saelens has had several T-birds — two-seaters and four-seaters alike — but he never guessed his latest, a ’57, would wind up his favorite.
"My first was a 1956 (Thunderbird),” Saelens said. “My second was my favorite, a ’62 coupe in Wimbledon White with a red interior. The third was a ’73 with a 460 V-8 that I bought in ’74.”
Saelens was hoping to relive the good old days with another 1961-’63 Thunderbird when the 1957 shown here flew onto his radar. That was about seven years ago.
“We had looked at a ’63 the day before, because I remembered my ’62 was such a nice-driving car. We drove somewhere out west and the car was supposed to have very little rust. I think what (the seller) meant was there was very little left that wasn’t rust.
“Then my wife saw an ad for this ’57. It had been sitting and was covered with dust. The minute he opened the door, Marian lit up like a Christmas tree. We took a ride and she said, ‘I want this car.’ It was music to my ears.”
Although he’s owned vehicles from General Motors, Chrysler Corp. and Ford Motor Co., Saelens is a Ford man. Fords are the cars he experienced as a kid, and the cars that always brought him home. That’s especially true of Fords of the 1950s.
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