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Home > Articles > Desper•Auto > Burch's "Bad" Black Bird
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By Tyrone Delmonico
Ralph Burch - San Diego, CA • USA
1955 Ford Thunderbird
You know the old adage..."This ain't your Father's Oldsmobile". Then, if you'll recall the movie "American Graffiti", you'll remember the beautiful blond that cruised the late night streets in what was then the definitive "classic T-bird" - a lily white model with whitewalls. Well now, make no mistake about it, "This ain't Susanne Sommer's Thunderbird!" In fact, Ralph Burch's take on the classic icon could almost be the antithesis of what most purist think about when they conjure up images of Ford's little single seater - That is, they think mostly in white and pastels with visions of continental kits and fake wire wheel covers. Yep, the traditional image that most people have of Henry's initial foray into the "sports car" market from 1955 to 57 is pretty "girly" to say the least. That said, that's the way they're thought of, and that's mostly how they're restored to this day. Not really something an Oakland Raider's fan would like to be seen in.
Enter our man Ralph, a Motorburg associate artist and a fellow with a penchant of "zigging" while the rest of us are generally following the directions for properly "zagging". Now ol' Ralph has the utmost respect for vintage tin and in this case had no intentions of modifying a metal masterpiece... but a purist he's not - and are we glad for that. He chose to abandon the wire covers and whitewalls and even though the "pastel purists" are a little shaken by those choices, we think his efforts are unique and masterful. With just a few changes to traditional thinking, Ralph has offered up a statement that gives restoration a pleasantly aggressive attitude. And for those who say that the artist has strayed from tradition, we point out that every piece of chrome is right, the body is true and straight and... he even retained what a lot discard, "that covering" over the rear wheels. That's right he kept his rears covered and yet, what Ralph has instilled into this "Bad" Black Bird can only be described as a "manly" quality, a characteristic not easily attained by something that's still wearing skirts.
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When we had a sit-down with Ralph in his Southern California home, he offered up some insight into this latest of his many cool automotive projects. According to Ralph, he had always wanted to do an "early bird". A few years ago he ran across a fairly good example and one he thought solid enough to merit the time and money required for a first-class restoration effort. He went on to say rather casually, "All I had to give up was my custom Harley but hey, I can always build another bike, but these Birds are hard to find." (Wow, thank goodness for people with vision and a willingness to make sacrifices.)
He's got about two years in the "Bird" and it was a complete frame-off restoration. He told us that although the car looked rather "ratty" (see the interior pictures below) it was actually fairly decent having never been involved in a major fender-bender. Also of interest was the fact that the car had all it's parts (albeit in a somewhat sorry state) and was without rust. The lack of rust, Ralph conceded, was a major reason he decided to push ahead with the project. Now for those of you reading this that can't understand the possibility of a 50 year old car with no rust, well... things like that sometimes happen when a car spends its entire life in So-Cal.
The standard 292 engine was disassembled and rebuilt and everything was cleaned, painted or polished. Everything is original except the old 6 volt system was changed over to 12. The body was hand-stripped, primed right and painted twice and take our word for it, this is one of the straightest Birds you'll find. It had to be - he painted it black! And black wasn't just an artistic choice, even when every indication was that the car was green - the VIN number told another story... the car was originally black. Who said Ralph wasn't really a purest at heart? In the end, we think anyone would be proud to take the wheel of this Thunderbird... even an Oakland Raider's fan.
Now, enjoy Ralph's Thunderbird in more detail and don't forget to visit his "Meet the Artist" and Gallery pages in the Motorburg Shopping Mall. |
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