1963 THUNDERBIRD ITALIEN


February 24,2006
I'm trying to get caught up a little on the website today. I just finished putting
Page 5 together and now I'll get this page done too.
We are presently getting a lot of snow. The weatherman said 2-4 inches this morning
and already I have 12 or more. I wish I could have had that job. Where else can
you get paid good money to be wrong all the time.
The ITALIEN finally left Los Angeles around 7:30 PM on Saturday February 11th.
It was getting dark out there, that's why the poor pictures. The Guy in the white
shirt Don Chambers, pretty hard to tell though. It was two weeks on the road.
The truck had numerous stops for pick-ups and deliveries along the way.
It finally arrived here around 3PM on Sunday, February 19th.
I talked to Don right after they loaded it out there and he said it rolled into the
trailer pretty easily. Good thing too, because Don wouldn't have been much help.
Unfortunately his health is deteriorating.
The temperature here when the Italien arrived was around 10 degrees F above zero.
Four of us could not roll the Italien out of the truck by hand so it must not
have liked the cold and didn't want to come out of the truck.
I finally got my "persuader" and coaxed the ITALIEN out into the fresh Minnesota air.
She's resting peacefully with a couple of her sisters in the garage now
patiently awaiting her return to the spotlight.
I expect to begin the restoration sometime in June or July, as soon as I finish the
'62 M series Sport Roadster I'm working on now.


These are pictures of the ITALIEN getting loaded on the trailer for her ride to Duluth
itali002.jpg
Basking in the sun
one last time 		itali003.jpg
Temporary
Mobile home 		itali006.jpg
Almost in 		itali008.jpg
See ya Don!


Detroit newspaper in 1963 announcing the Autorama at Cobo Hall and Press release from
Owens Corning Fiberglass anouncing their part in the construction of the ITALIEN
and a scan from the August 1963 "Model Car Science" magazine
 showing how to build a model of the ITALIEN
from parts from other AMT model kits.
ford_show_customs_paper_clipping.jpg
Detroit Autorama, Cobo Hall 		italien_owens_corning_fiberglas_text1.jpg
Owens Corning Fiberglass 		italien_owens_corning_fiberglas_picture1.jpg
Italian w/Owens Corning Model 		italien_model.jpg
How to build
Italien Model


A couple nice interior pictures of the ITALIEN.
Now you can see why Motor Trend, August '63 described the
back seat as a "coctail-lounge rear seat"
Then there are 2 photos that Dale Robertson autographed for me on Feb 8th, 2006
italien_interior_front1m.jpg
Interior Front Seat 		italien_interior_back1m.jpg
Interior Back Seat 		autograph_robertson_front1m.jpg
Autographed by
Dale Robertson 		autograph_robertson_rear1m.jpg
Another view
autographed


Here are a couple pictures of the ITALIEN sitting in front of the Thunderbird Motel
in Los Angeles that Don Chambers owned.
This is around the mid 80's when he first purchased the ITALIEN.
"The lively ones from FORD presents "THE FORD CUSTOM CAR CARAVAN"
and then aconcept drawing of the ultimate concept car, the ITALIEN!
italien_blue21.jpg
In the old days 		italien_blue11.jpg
In front of
Thunderbird Motel 		custom_car_caravan1.jpg
Custom Car
Caravan 		italien_concept_ideas1.jpg
Concept Drawing
of Concept Car


The ITALIEN arriving at my home in Duluth Minnesota on Sunday February 19th, 2006
italien_comingm.jpg
Almost home 		italien_bobm.jpg
No smog in this air! 		home_at_lastm.jpg
Get me offa here! 		italien_me_m.jpg
Happy me


Here she sits in the garage with her sisters until the weather warms up
and she'll want to come out and "play"
italien_familym.jpg
Nice and safe
with sisters 		italien_family2m.jpg
ZZZZZZzzzzz

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