By Dave Chapman, Staff Writer
More than four decades ago, Taylor resident Jean
Roscoe wanted her husband to purchase a 1960 Thunderbird.
It didn’t happen because he said the car was too
small and the family wouldn’t fit.
But Jean finally got her wish recently when her
son, George Roscoe, purchased a Thunderbird for her to drive.
"I wanted a Thunderbird, but my husband said it was
too small," Jean said. "Instead we purchased a 1959 Mercury. It was
so large that it wouldn’t fit in our garage."
Her more recent purchase put her behind the wheel
of — and ended a long search for — the car she always wanted.
"We had been looking for a car for about six months
for a birthday present for my mother," George said. "We found a car
from Texas on eBay. The bidding went higher than we wanted to spend
so we had to let it go.
"This car became available and we managed to buy
it."
The car was shipped in from Canada, but because of
a major snowstorm in Montana its delivery was held up for a few
days. After the car arrived, George realized there was not enough
room in his New Boston garage to house the Thunderbird and his other
vehicles.
An addition then was made to the garage so that the
car could have a roof over its head.
Presently, the Thunderbird has after-market wire
wheels. The Roscoes do have the original wheels and wheel covers,
and when the car’s present narrow whitewall tires need replacing,
they plan to put on a set of period-correct wide whitewalls.
The exterior of the car is in near-perfect
condition and required no work. The interior of the car came
complete with power windows and power seats. The factory air
conditioner needs some work, and the front bucket seats are not in
the shape the Roscoes would like them to be so they plan to replace
them at a later date.
"The only bad thing about this car is that it only
has an AM radio," George said. "It is kind of hard to listen to Bob
Seger on an AM radio."
At this year’s Cruisin’ Downriver, George will
spend most of the time behind the wheel of the Thunderbird, but Jean
is scheduled to make a few trips up and down Fort Street as
well.
After years of waiting, she deserves a few laps.
