LOVEBIRDS’ LOVE BIRD
Couple buys back 1955 Ford Thunderbird convertible they drove at their wedding
Gerry Francoeur was just out of high school in 1980 and working for the British Columbia Lands and Forests when he first saw the 1955 Ford Thunderbird being driven by a co-worker. The owner had been transferred to the central Vancouver Island paper mill community and brought the car with him.
Port Alberni's economy revolved around the paper mill and there was big money to buy muscle cars. Gerry had owned a 1967 Dodge Dart with a powerful 383 cubic engine and a big block Chevrolet El Camino. So, the T-Bird was a bit of an oddball car for the island community, but it struck a chord with the 19-year-old. The owner had a growing family and needed to sell the car to buy a house. Gerry called family friend Al Brett in Nanaimo who has restored numerous “baby birds” and is a very experienced Thunderbird show judge. Upon inspection, Al declared the car to be a rust-free California car and, despite being painted a non-original blue colour, would be a very worthwhile purchase.
`If you don't buy it, I will,' ” Gerry recalls Al saying.
Gerry stepped up and bought the 1955 Thunderbird.
The two-seat Thunderbird convertible made quite a statement at the local high school where Gerry would pick up his girlfriend, LaFern. Al convinced Gerry to repaint the car in its original Torch Red colour.
The Thunderbird became the wedding car when Gerry married LaFern in 1985. A year later, Gerry sold the car to buy the lot where he and his contractor father would build the couple's first home.
Two daughters and a son and a career in the paper mill saw the years fly by. The Thunderbird had been purchased by Al Brett's co-worker at the Harmac Pulp Mill in Nanaimo.
Bob Houston's son was a body man and painter. Father and son removed the body from the frame and completed a ground-up, show-quality restoration on the Thunderbird. The final touch was the addition of Thunderbird wire wheels.
The car is fully optioned with the removable hardtop and the folding convertible top along with driving comforts including power steering, brakes and seat.
After decades of ownership, health issues forced Houston to make the difficult decision to sell his collection of collector cars including the Torch Red 1955 Thunderbird. When he consulted longtime friend Brett, Al said: “What about Gerry?”
A call was made, and Gerry drove to Nanaimo to see the Thunderbird he had purchased years before as a teenager.
“It took me about three seconds to say yes,” Gerry recalls. “I gave Bob two thousand dollars off my asking price 35 years before and I asked for the same discount when I bought it back.”
Gerry and LaFern's teenage date and wedding car is now back in the family after nearly four decades. It became their daughter's wedding car and is proudly displayed in the garage at their waterfront home on Sproat Lake, 20 minutes from Port Alberni.
The couple is working to complete their new home. When that's finished, they have a new project: a 1957 Corvette that Gerry will give a full ground-up restoration similar to the 1955 Thunderbird. The colour they have chosen is red and white to match the T-Bird.