... After spotting a classified ad in Hemmings Motor News in late October (2005) listing the ITALIEN for sale, I telephoned the number in the ad as well as emailed the listed email. When I called, I didn't get an answer but rather an answering machine so I left a message. After about 10 days went by without getting any kind of response I had given up on it as sold, and the owner simply wasn't going to respond. We've all been there.

Then on a Wednesday afternoon I got a phone call from Ailene Chambers, Dons Wife, and she said Don wasn't available right then but he wanted to talk to me and told me I should call on Saturday at 10 AM. This was the best time to catch Don.

Now I was excited all over again! I couldn't wait for Saturday to get here so I could talk to him. Saturday finally arrived and at noon sharp (CDT, 10 AM Pacific) I dialed the number and the phone was answered "Mustang". I thought I had the wrong number and asked if this was Don Chambers and he said "Yes it is". He owns a business called "Mustang Country" in Paramount California and he sells Classic Mustang and other Ford cars.

Anyway, we discussed the ITALIEN and I found out that it hadn't been sold yet (whew) and that He and Ailene had been away for two weeks to their home in Utah, and that's why he hadn't responded sooner to my call and email. Don is a talker, let me tell you. He will talk forever if you don't cut him off. I was on the phone with him for 45 minutes and learned things about him I shouldn't know. Don't get me wrong, he is a super nice guy, and so is Ailene (a super nice woman that is)

I told him I'd like to see the car and I would make arrangements to fly out there sometime the following week. I asked him if the car would still be available then as I didn't want to buy a ticket and go out there if he was going to sell it before I got to see it. He said he's been all over the country buying cars in his lifetime and he hated when someone would do that to him so he said he would never do that to someone. After getting the airline ticket I called Ailene and told her that I could be there on Saturday the 19th at 11:07 AM, and she said she would pick me up at the airport so I didn't have to rent a car and fight traffic and try and find my way in a strange, busy city.

It was a beautiful sunny day around 78 degrees when I arrived. Ailene picked me up in her 2002 Chrysler Crossfire with 190 miles on it! It was about a 20 minute ride to "Mustang Country". Don was out when we arrived, so Ailene started showing me around the place. We walked into a warehouse room immediately behind the office where the walls were lined with pallet racking up to the 18' high ceilings, on this shelving were hundred of "Juniors", the miniature cars with gas or electric motors that were made as promos when car manufacturers came out with a new model. He has at least one of every one that was ever made, and has 3 and 4 of many of them. It's simply the most amazing collection I've ever seen. I had no idea there were so many different kinds. I knew about most of the tbird Juniors, but not the other models. I'll put up some pictures soon.

Then we walked into the next room, and it is filled with Mustangs and Tbirds. The Tbirds are mostly Small Birds, 55-57, with the exception of one. And that's the one I wanted to see. It's absolutely GEORGEOUS. There is about 1/4" dust over the entire car, and it is partially disassembled. The interior and trunk are full of parts that have been removed, and the leather upholstery, dash and door panels are really ragged. The hot California sun did a number on this car. It also baked all the paint right off it. I read somewhere that there were 28 coats of Candy Apple Red Lacquer paint applied to the car originally, and on top of that were several coats of blue metallic that Dale Robertson's Gardener put on the car after he acquired it, and they're mostly all baked off

The "presentation" is largely why the ITALIEN hadn't sold yet. I've hauled home some real junk over the years and restored it. Friends and family have always thought I was completely nuts. Here is a picture of a 1963 Thunderbird Convertible that I restored a few years back. Click here
This picture is after the new floors had been welded in place. Maybe I was nuts then. The whole story of the restoration including before and after pictures is here

I've learned to look past the cracked and peeling paint, the dirt and grease and the ragged interiors. I look at a car for it's structural integrity, authenticity and its completeness. The ITALIEN passed all of these tests so I made Don an offer. Keep in mind that the entire time I'm looking the car over, Don is talking. He talked about Mustangs, He talked about car shows, swap meets, auctions, his relationship with Carroll Shelby, he talked, he talked, he talked.

Without being rude, I had to slip my offer in while he was taking a breath. He became real quite for a moment and finally simply said "Oh, OK, I'll give that some thought". He then picked up where he left off.

We went to his office and sat for a couple hours and talked some more (Don did anyway) and people came in asking about Mustangs and parts and Don took care of them.

It was getting late so I asked Ailene if she could give me a ride back to the hotel near the airport I had booked a room at.

We agreed to talk again in a few days.

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