I think Richard Bunting (DHS '67) sent me the message containing these pictures. [Correction: Lou Payton (SLHS '46) sent me these pictures.] I know there are some motoring enthusiasts in the crowd, so I thought I'd post the photos and explanatory text.
Let me introduce two people that restored every one of these cars and still retain ownership to everyone. Ted and Sharon (Sunflower) Forbes live in Sooke B.C. which is on the southern tip of Vancouver Island . This collection is without a doubt the absolute finest collection of fifties cars in the World. I will endeavor through mere photographs to display this incredible collection of beauty on this webpage.
Below: 1956 Ford Skyliner (Glasstop) We restored this car in 1988 from an original car that came from the India n reservation here on Vancouver Island . It is full power with all options.
1956 Meteor Crown Victoria We restored this car in 1990 and drove it to Ocean Shores Washington for its first drive. It is full power with all accessories except "air".
1955 Meteor Convertible This car is mostly original and it has taken me 28 years to buy it from the original owner. This car spent a good part of its life in Winnipeg . There is probably only about 8 of these cars surviving out of the total production of 201 cars. We have driven this car more last summer than any of our other cars. I rebuilt all the mechanics and added all the accessories and options and it has everything except "air". There is an article on this car in FoMoCo Times.
1956 Meteor Convertible Meteors used some Mercury colors in 1956. This 56 Meteor is painted Grove Green and Saffron Yellow with a black lightning bolt and the production numbers are only 479. It is full power with all accessories except "air". She has taken us to Rockin Red Deer in Alberta , Hot August Nights in Reno and many other trips. Because of the colour, we call her "Juicy Fruit" and many people have seen this car.
1956 Mercury M-100 Pickup We have driven this truck all over the place form Calif to Manitoba to Sturgis many times since we bought it in 1978. About 12 years ago I put an Aspen suspension , 302 and AOD in the truck to make it drive better It has never missed a beat. The next time I rebuild the truck I have a 5 L. for it.
55 Merc Sun Valley . I bought this car from an old ladies estate sale in 1983. It was rust free but pretty banged up with only 26000 miles on it. I added all the options and accessories and restored only as needed keeping the car as original as possible.
56 Mercury Montclair Convertible. This car is one of our favorites. I found what was left of it in the Spokane area and restored and drove it to Hot August Nights in Reno in 1996. It is London Grey and Persimmon with full power and all accessories.
1955 Mercury Convertible I tow barred this car from Southern Calif in 1989 behind my little Ford short box 302. The 55 was so ugly, not once did anyone give me the "thumbs up". It is now restored Canadian colors, Sunset Coral with matching Tapestry weave interior and Metric speedo, full power and accessory steering wheel. It has only 530 miles on it because we mostly drive the 56 Mercury convertible.
1958 Pontiac Parisienne Convertible. I built this car out of a super basket case. I welded 6 months on this car alone. It is a 348 tri-power, bucket seats and with practically every factory and dealer option available in 1958. We drove this car to Hot August Nights in 2004.
1966 Park Lane convertible. I bought this car at Don Wheaton's in Edmonton when I was a kid working in the oilfields in 1968. My wife and I honey mooned in this car in 1969 and then went overseas to work in the oilfield for 25 years. I had the car in my barn in Manitoba until May 2005. It is now at home on Vancouver Island with 30,000 miles showing on the speedometer. This is a Canadian built, bucket seat car in which only a handful were made.
The 64 Park Lane convertible is a good old 78,000 mile car, with all good parts to restore it. It is a full power, bucket seat car with super marauder engine and rare 15" wheels. I have cast iron headers and tri-power for it.
1958 Mercury Convertible I looked for one of these cars for about 10 years and finally got this one from John Fowlie in Calif. We restored it with a 430, full power with memory seat and everything and it is big. I was able to find a lot of NOS parts for this car probably because not many of these cars are being restored. Mostly 57's.
When I found the 59 Impala it was a rust bucket folded up on a 8 ft pallat. The car had no interior or powertrain. It was originally a black Canadian built car. I have installed a 1995 LT-1 fuel injected engine with 700R4 trans but when finished this car will look like it was built this way from the factory(I hope) It is going to be the usual cruiser with fenderskirts, full continental kit, spotlights and so on. It is presently 70% finished but will probably be finished for next spring.
This 1959 Edsel Convertible is the latest addition to the Mountaintop Collection. Of course it goes without saying, this machine has full power options and has been meticulously restored under the skilled hands of Ted Forbes. Another beautiful contribution to an already stunning collection. Congrats Guys!
It is hard to imagine for me how all the cars that I had always admired all my life and just dreamed about how they used to look..........can actually be located in and indeed be the property of one couple right here in Canada . They couldn't possibly belong to finer people. Without their vision fortitude and desire, these cars would very probably be nothing but a mere memory processed in a scrap yard somewhere. Our hat goes off to Ted and Sharon..........their efforts have ensured that these treasures of our past will be enjoyed by many generations to come. Thanks Guys!
