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The Cimarron Starlite Cruisers' Car Club proudly features,
great classic vehicles, which belong to the good folks of Oklahoma.
The March 2015 Great Oklahoma Classic belongs to Lynn and Edwardene
Fees of Kellyville, Oklahoma. We met Lynn and his son Clay on a cold February day at the Annual
Central Technology Center Car Show located in Drumright, Oklahoma. They were attending
to share their great 1966 Corvette and long time family car a beautiful
1957 Ford Thunderbird.
Lynn
began to save his money when he was only twelve years old to buy a Cushman
scooter. Later Lynn thought he would be able to get a real motorcycle but his
parents were not going to let that happen. After learning to water ski, Lynn
thought he
would save for a boat. But that did not come to pass either. Several years past
and Lynn began to think
about buying his own car. Lynn fell in love with the classic 1957 Thunderbird.
He got a job as a janitor and continued to save his money. When Lynn was a
junior in high school his father told him he would provide one half of the
money for any car he wanted to buy! This was the break Lynn was waiting for and
soon he found the perfect car, a red Thunderbird! Lynn drove this car while
attending high
school, through several years of college and then married the love of his life
Edwardene. Lynn says the old Thunderbird knows more about him than his wife! After
getting married, it was
determined the young couple needed a more practical family car a 1968 Opel, but they still kept the Thunderbird.
As
time went by the Fees decided to purchase their first home but needed money for
the down payment. This is when the Thunderbird made possible another very important happening in their lives. Lynn’s
mother told him she would buy the Thunderbird for the down payment money need
for the home and when he could afford to pay her back she would return the
Thunderbird.
Lynn’s mother really liked the 57 Thunderbird. When in her
sixties, she had the classic Ford completely restored. She had Ray Williams of
El Reno work over the mechanical aspects of the car. Lynn’s mother entered the Thunderbird in several
area car shows along with Lynn’s brother who was showing his 1932 Ford.
This Thunderbird rides on 7.50/14 wide whitewall tires mounted on
classic chrome spoke wheels.
This
classic Thunderbird has the original 312 V8 which produces 245 horsepower and
332 pounds feet of torque. The 312 is equipped
with the factory Dress Up Kit. The power
is applied to the rear wheels through a three speed standard transmission with
overdrive.
In 1971 Lynn enlisted in the, 120th Combat Engineering
Battalion, which is part of the “Fighting 45th Infantry Brigade
whose symbol is the “Thunderbird”. Today Clay Fees, Lynn’s oldest son is a JAG Officer in the 45th and uses the classic 1957 Thunderbird as a recruiting tool for the Oklahoma National
Guard 45th Infantry Brigade in Tulsa area car shows.
As you can see, the “Red” interior of this classic Thunderbird with
telescopic steering and power seats, is
still
in excellent condition.
The
porthole side windows were in the 1956 and 1957 Thunderbirds. These did not show up again until the 2000 retro model was introduced.
Due
to life and family, Lynn never purchased the Thunderbird back from his mother. The
car just set in the family garage for many years. Lynn’s mother passed
in 1999 and he was given
the classic Ford as stated in her will. He let the Thunderbird set for several
years then began to drive it again. In
2007 Lynn had Richard Johnson of Sapulpa repaint the car.
Lynn’s oldest son was able to drive the car to his senior prom! Lynn’s grandson who is in middle school is
looking forward to driving the Thunderbird to his senior prom in the future,
making three generations of Fees driving the classic to a school prom!
The finder skirts and the exhaust exiting through the rear bumper
is classic 1957 Ford Thunderbird styling!
The Cimarron Starlite
Cruisers sincerely appreciate Lynn and Edwardene Fees for sharing their classic
1957 Ford Thunderbird as our Great Oklahoma Classic for March 2015!
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