Michael & Colleen Lucas

I have always loved convertibles…especially roadsters.  I acquired my first one back in 1968, a red ’64 AH Sprite.  Shortly afterwards I discovered The Texas Spokes Sports Car Club of Austin.  It was full of great gear-heads like me who loved to autocross.  I joined and loved it!  It wasn’t long before I started making modifications to my car to make it more competitive and then getting a second Sprite so I could convert the red one into a full fledged race car, participating in SCCA and Green Valley Racing Association events.  That passed after a few years as raising a family with three kiddos and a broadcasting career took priority.

In the 80s the urge resurfaced and I bought a classic MGB and again started tricking it up to make it handle like a racer.  Though I didn’t succumb to the racing bug again, by the time I added competition anti-sway bars, juiced up the shocks and changed the springs, boy did this old car handle and was a joy to drive, especially on Austin’s 2222 and other hill country roads.  Eventually however, the need to relocate due to work requirements, I sold the B.  Deja-vu all over again!

It wasn’t long before I couldn’t stand it any longer and started shopping around for my next roadster.  Old gear-head friends suggested I consider a Mazda Miata, because whenever one owns a British car, you need to travel with a set of tools or you probably won’t make it home without some repairs to be done, and Miata’s are supposed to be almost bullet proof.  So I grabbed a cherry red ’93 NA and immediately started modifying the suspension to make it track like a race car.  While not “officially” racing, driving the hill country roads was a thrill!  Moving again, after a dozen years I let the Miata go.

Last year the bug started gnawing at me again.  But by this time I was in my 80s and less interested in crawling around under a car, or busting knuckles.  I wanted a cruiser and the retro-bird seemed like a great option.  I’ve always been partial to Fords anyway and it seemed the logical fit.  I finally settled on a gorgeous bronze ’05 retro T-Bird, shown in the accompanying photos.  Now I don’t worry so much about my car handling like a racer, but more like a cruiser…and boy, does this Bird fill the bill.  If the weather fits, I drive with the soft top down.  The AC might be blowing but the top is down!  Yes, I have a hard-top but since the day I bought my car in August, it’s lived in my garage pretty much permanently.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!