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Owner story: Back in the 'Bird
By James Russell
Ron Colerick grew up in Rapid City, S.D., the son of a hobby store owner. His talent on the slot car track took him to New York City, where he won a 1963 Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster on national TV after competing in a slot car race contest.
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| Stirling Moss shows off the grand prize in the 1963 Ford/Aurora Grand Nationals: a 1963 Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster. (Photo courtesy of Bob Beers) |
Bob Beers is an avid slot car hobbyist, specializing in Aurora HO cars. He collects anything and everything related to the hobby that he can get his hands on. His passion eventually led him to purchase the same T-Bird won by Colerick in 1963, who hadn't seen the car in more than 40 years.
In 2009, Beers reunited the car and former pint-sized racer.
In the early 1960s, the slot car hobby was sweeping the nation. To capitalize off the popularity, Ford and the Aurora Plastics Corporation, which manufactured the popular HO slot cars, sponsored a series of HO slot car races in hobby stores across the country, with thousands of boys and girls competing for the chance to win a grand prize on national TV.
It’s been 57 years since America first got a glimpse of the Corvette at the New York Waldorf-Astoria ballroom during the 1953 General Motors Motorama.
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| Johnny Carson congratulates Colerick after the 12-year-old's victory in the Ford/Aurora race final. (Photo courtesy of Bob Beers) |
In 1963, the second year of the contest, 12-year-old Colerick was determined to win. "We had races every Friday night and all day Saturday," Colerick told the Rapid City Journal for a 2003 article. He moved through the regional contests, eventually landing a spot in the final race - televised on August 20, 1963, on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
Colerick wound up with the most difficult lane slot, but his practice paid off and he won the 20-lap race by several laps. Stirling Moss, the famous race car driver, handed Colerick the keys to his prize: A brand-new '63 Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster.
"Neat, man. I'll let my dad drive it sometimes," he allegedly told Moss when he got the keys, according to the book "Aurora Slot Cars," by Thomas Graham.
Colerick eventually sold his white Thunderbird to his father, who later traded it for another Thunderbird.
By the 1980s, the car had made its way to Seattle and it needed a serious restoration. A restorer in San Diego purchased the car to return it to its original glory, but he had no idea about its history.
It’s been 57 years since America first got a glimpse of the Corvette at the New York Waldorf-Astoria ballroom during the 1953 General Motors Motorama.
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| Stirling Moss shows off the grand prize in the 1963 Ford/Aurora Grand Nationals: a 1963 Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster. (Photo courtesy of Bob Beers) |
"By the time it was in Seattle, all of its history was buried," said Bob Beers, a.k.a. "Mr. Aurora."
The restorer sent the VIN to the Ford Thunderbird registry, and only then was the car's story unearthed after several decades. Intrigued by its history, the restorer wanted to purchase Colerick's contest trophies to go with the car. He contacted the former racer, still in South Dakota, and learned that the trophies had already been purchased by Beers.
The restorer wanted the trophies, but Beers wanted the car. Five years of back-and-forth ensued, with Beers eventually winning out.
"I called him last summer and caught him at Pebble Beach salivating over a Ferrari," said Beers. Catching him at the right time did the trick, and Beers was able to ship his new T-Bird back to Connecticut.
"I'm an Aurora slot car buff, and this is a unique part of the history," he said.
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| Bob Beers, right, helped reunite the '63 T-Bird with Colerick, left, in 2009. (Photo courtesy of Bob Beers) |
Beers called Colerick, and told him his old car was now in Beers' garage. He talked him into coming east for a slot car show last fall, and Beers had a chance to reunite the two.
"We had a great reunion of Ron Colerick and his car," Beers recalled. "He was able to drive it for the first time since 1966!"
But Beers is quick to note that there's no chance Colerick will take the car back to South Dakota with him.
"It's part of my collection now," he explained. "If I did sell it, I'd be looking to replace it. So what's the point!"
Beers is the author of "The Complete Color Guide to Aurora H.O. Slot Cars," which tells the story of the Ford/Aurora races of the early 1960s in greater detail. To order a copy, visit http://pages.cthome.net/MR_AURORA/orders.html.
Thunderousbird: T-Birds’ Racing Past
While Ford mostly played down the two-seat T-bird's sporting nature early on, hot-blooded owners couldn't overlook the performance potential of such a little car fitted with such a big, powerful V-8. As early as February 1955, Thunderbirds started showing up at sports car racing events like the 12-hour endurance classic at Sebring, Fla., where one finished 37th.
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| Driver Chuck Daigh, in his factory-sponsored and highly-modified Thunderbird, won the Standing Start Acceleration Run in the Daytona Beach Speed Trials with a speed of 88.779 mph. |
A year later, racer Chuck Daigh dropped a bored-out V-8 into a streamlined Thunderbird and took it to Daytona Beach's annual Speed Weeks trials to combat a Corvette team spearheaded by Zora Arkus-Duntov. Daigh's T-bird initially ran faster than Duntov's Vette before both men's cars were disqualified for using engines bored out too far. Daigh then returned to the beach with a stock-spec 312 V-8 fed by dual four-barrel carbs and recorded an 88.779-mph average for the standing-mile.
A truly thunderous four-car T-bird team, specially prepped by DePaolo Engineering in Long Beach, California, went back to Daytona in February 1957, this time with full, unabashed factory backing from Dearborn. Two cars were kept relatively stock in appearance, though they were powered by stroked versions of Ford's optional superchaged Y-block V-8. Known as "Battlebirds," the other two were treated to major modifications inside and out. One was fitted with a big, stroked 430-cubic-inch Lincoln V-8; the other was powered by a 312-cube Y-block stroked to 348 cubes.
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| The 1957 Ford "Battlebird" and Driver Danny Eames on the beach at Daytona. |
While the Lincoln-powered version was later destroyed, its #98 running mate was restored in the early '90s by classic Thunderbird expert Gil Baumgartner for Ford performance collector Bo Cheadle. Looking every bit as wild as it did when it was kicking up sand in February 1957, Cheadle's seriously streamlined Battlebird features a Hilborn-injected Y-block, a Jaguar four-speed gearbox and a Halibrand quick-change rear-end.
Daigh drove the #98 car at Daytona in 1957 and managed an amazing 205-mph flying mile. But he couldn't make the mandatory return pass due to engine trouble, leaving the other Battlebird to cop the official flying-mile title, averaging 160.356 for its two-way run.
At that point the sky appeared to be the limit for Ford's highest-flying Thunderbirds. But then came the Automobile Manufacturers Association's "ban" on factory racing involvement, a decree that in the summer of 1957 convinced Ford chief Robert McNamara to put the kibosh on experimental engineering shenanigans like the Battlebirds.
Like a Phoenix: A Reborn ’Bird
After 43 model runs and 4.3 million cars, Dearborn's long-running Thunderbird legacy came to an end on Thursday, September 4, 1997. A red LX coupe, the last of the breed, rolled off Ford's Lorain assembly line that evening then was donated to the Classic Thunderbird Club International. Sagging sales said enough, and this time there would be no listening to nostalgic pleas to preserve a historic legend like the hue and cry that had saved the Mustang from an unpopular transformation nearly 10 years before.
"Of course we received a ton of calls when we finally made the announcement," said Ford Division public affairs man Jim Bright. "But once the decision was made, there was no turning back. Ford just let the Thunderbird run its course." The company also opted not to formally bid bye-bye 'Birdie. According to one Lorain source, the moment was marked only by "a quiet affair for the plant workers."
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| A reborn two-seat Thunderbird appeared first in concept car form during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January 1999. It debuted as a production model for 2002. |
That Dearborn officials seemingly shed nary a tear had nothing to do with heartlessness; they already were looking ahead to a new beginning. 'Bird watchers were officially informed of a planned reincarnation in May 1998. "A sporty Thunderbird will once again grace America's roads," announced Ford Automotive Operations president Jac Nasser. "With the new T-bird, we promise to bring back the magic of owning and driving an American icon."
Just how important was preserving this particular icon? "The Thunderbird has an emotional hold on the American public that spans decades and generations," added Nasser in January 1999. "This timeless classic is an important part of Ford Motor Company's heritage and, indeed, this country's automotive history."
A reborn two-seat Thunderbird appeared first in concept car form during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January 1999. The work of Ford Design chief J Mays, this concept clearly honored classic roots. "Simple shapes combined with timeless materials and textures convey a relaxed, confident look and a feel that is the true essence of the original Thunderbird," explained Mays. Something old, something new also was part of Mays' plan. "It's not retro," he said. "While the concept is loaded with heritage cues, it is a decidedly modern machine."
When it debuted as a 2002 model, Mays' pride and joy certainly brought back memories. But sales again were limited by its highly personal nature, inspiring Ford to once more bid farewell to the Thunderbird three years later.