MIKE & CHRIS JAQUINT

1956 Thunderbird

My dad was the third owner of this car. He bought it in 1961 from a co-worker. The original color was Raven Black, but it already was repainted white when my dad bought it. The car has been repainted twice since then, but it has always been done in some shade of white. The last time it was repainted, which was sometime prior to 1972, it was done in Wimbledon White (not the original Colonial White color for 1956).

The T-Bird was my daily driver from 1962-1965 when I was in college at the University of Michigan. It sat outside in the cold winters and the hot summers. When I graduated in 1965, I bought a new car and gave the T-Bird back to my dad. He had some work done on it since then and ended up giving it back to me to keep in 1987.

Since I have owned the T-Bird, I have driven it quite a bit in the summer. It attracts a lot of attention and is fun to drive. I had the engine rebuilt and many new parts installed since the fall of 2005. The car needs some body work and a new paint job, but it still looks pretty good going down the road.

For now, I plan to just drive it as is and have fun with it.