Today is our annual Ford dealership’s rod and car show…y’all should be here…two blocks closed and just look at all the great vehicles ( as viewed from the roof of the show room looking n.w. to n.e. )
And, yes , we have those funny little air filled ‘men’ with the flappy arms 
Is that your GT-40?
The blue one poking its nose out from around the side is. The red one is a customer’s
Ken, I’m impressed! How much do you drive it, and where?
Well, let’s clarify ; When you asked if it’s ‘‘my’’ GT40…it is the one I’ve spoken of in the past but it is owned by my Ford dealer for whom I’ve been employed since 1979. It gets driven for shows and parades and other dealer occasions.
My personal collector vehicle is a 1979 Chevy pickup, short stepside 4X2, blue to begin with then in 1981 done up black with a red swoosh stripe and red interior. Not in the show as it has been sun beaten, the clear coat looks horrible and the bed wood slats too.
A re-do is on the bucket list.
I like your personal collector, too. I’ve always been fond of the step side bed.
Not a bad one in the entire herd. If storms blow up hopefully the retractable hardtop on that Ford won’t get balky… 
Just curious, but in the top right pic does the same guy own all 3 of those light blue/green cars?
I ask because of the unusual color being present on all three.
Different owners, all three.
The 57 2door ranch wagon to the left has a for sale sign…call Chuck .
The mustang to the right is city coucilman Cecil Garcia’s as is the red truck to its right.
The sign on the roof of the Mustang is to honor Cecil’s late brother Ben under whom I apprenticed here in the parts department when I started. Ben just passed away last month.
My phone doesn’t do the colors justice as all three blues are slightly different when viewed in person.
Thank you for the clarification and sincere condolences on the loss of your parts mentor. Nice gesture keeping the memory alive.
Thanks for sharing, Ken.
My pick of the lot would be the T-Bird convertible.
Now that’s a car!
On the topic of the GT-40, I recently saw one in my neighborhood, and it was really a thrill to see something that is so rare. However, I would still prefer that “Square Bird”.
Here, I’ll ‘‘give you the bird’’ quick before the weather moves in. ( having trouble transfering the front view )
Front view.
And now the crowd gathers for the ‘‘must be present ot win’’ drawing for the 1995 Mustang convertable.
And finally, the crowd disperses and the show cars rumble off down the street…Yes, they’re ALL pefectly drivable, even the model Ts.
Guess I missed it. I drove all around town looking for it but no luck. Where is “here” anyway?
I went to a local show last week. Nothing much to brag about but a few nice color sanded paint jobs. One guy has a 32 Ford Rod but it had a Chevrolet engine. I wonder what ole Henry would have to say about that?
I guess this is more for the regulars who remember where I am, I didn’t really expect anyone on these boards to be close enough to Gallup NM to zip over here on short notice. I have seen some posters from the Phoenix area and Denver but certainly nothing close enough.
‘‘If youall intend to motor west, take the hiway that’s the best, get your kicks on route 66…
You’ll see Amarillo, and Gallup New Mexico…’’
…off I-40 in western New Mexico from exit 20 to 26.
August is the Intertribal Indian Ceremonials and the first weekend in December is the Red Rock Ballon Rally. See the Gallup NM chamber of commerce website for more.
“I wonder what ole Henry would have to say about that?”
More than likely, “ole Henry” would have attributed it to “the international Zionist conspiracy”.
While he was undoubtedly a mechanical genius, Henry was an anti-Semite of major proportions, and in his later years, this particular prejudice of his influenced virtually all of his opinions. He provided clear evidence of the reality that intelligence does not necessarily lead to logical conclusions, or even to rational decision-making.
Because one of his early designs–the expensive, up-market Model K–was a failure, and because it had a 6-cylinder engine, he believed that making a car with a 6-cylinder engine was a sure road to failure.
GM proved him wrong.
He kept the Model T in production for several years too long, and GM “got the jump on him” as a result of his irrational refusal for many years to produce a modern car.
He retained mechanical brakes long after most manufacturers had adopted hydraulic brakes, thus giving us one more example of his lack of rational thought.
He retained transverse leaf springs with a solid axle, after other manufacturers had adopted independent front suspension with coil springs.
Truthfully, if he had not died when he did, Ford Motor Company might have ceased to exist.
Only because FDR & company had real fears about FoMoCo’s ability to come through with their promised WW II defense projects did crazy old Henry relinquish control to his grandson. Of course, prior to that event, he drove his son, Edsel, to death with his irrational demands, and with his frequent countermanding of Edsel’s very sound business decisions.
Our neighbor had a second generation convertible Thunderbird like the one you show. It was his company car. He sold Fords at the local dealership and he must have been good at it because he always had a higher end car.
I agree VDC and for what he did to Edsel was truly cruel and unusual. If it wouldn’t have been for Edsel, FOMOCO would have gone by the wayside.
Still he is an interesting study in self-sufficiency and verticle integration in manufacturing. Something the Harvard MBA’s could learn from. In every plant he tried to control all of the resources and means of production. Even his home generated its own power. In the St. Paul plant like I said before, he located on the river to allow his own power generation, used the silicone on the banks to make his own glass, located near the railroads to provide cheap transport, etc. Paid his guys $5 a day but then hired hoodlums to beat the crap out of his workforce. Yep, he was involved in every single detail of the plants for better or worse. But a nice man, he wasn’t necessarily except he had his twisted views that seemed to justify his actions to himself.
Then again, just about every large character from the past had their faults as they contributed greatly to the world. I often wonder how the world would have been different if Ike would have allowed Patton to continue on to Moscow like he wanted to. Maybe it would have been a blood bath for us but maybe would have saved a lot of suffering in Eastern Europe through the 80’s and Russia would not be the risk that they are now. Same thing for Schwartzkoff when he wanted to go to Bagdad after the Gulf war. But then conquest is not our goal for better or worse.
^
The problem with “continuing on” to…Moscow…or even to Baghdad…is that maintaining control of a vast region over the long term is very much different from invading and temporarily subduing it.
Even if we had the manpower and armaments necessary to go all the way to Moscow, maintaining control over Russia and/or Eastern Europe would have been a completely different matter.