It was the winter of 1962 and the beginning of the second annual Ford/Aurora Grand Nationals. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this event, it had started in 1962 by the Aurora Plastics Corporation (manufacturers of fine HO slot cars), and the Ford Motor Company. This was a series of HO slot car races starting in hobby stores all across the USA. Thousands of boys and girls competed for the chance to move up with prizes and trophies and compete on a national level on television and in front of millions of viewers. The grand prize was a first place trophy and a brand new Ford Thunderbird automobile. In 1962 a Thunderbird Hardtop was awarded to a young boy named Henry Harnish from New Jersey racing Aurora's vibrator cars. After the success of the contest in 1962 came a vigorous push for the challenge of 1963
In the winter of 1962 there was a lot of enthusiasm in Rapid City, South Dakota. Young Jeff Davis had just competed in the first Ford/Aurora Grand Nationals in NY and he represented the Toy Hobby Center of Rapid City. He did not win the competition. Ron Colerick, the son of the hobby store owner, was determined to compete in the 1963 race. Ford and Aurora had announced that the second annual Grand Nationals would feature a brand new 1963 Thunderbird Sports Roadster as the grand prize. As the contest progressed in the spring of 1963, Ronnie kept moving up the ladder of success. He won the store trophy, then the South Dakota state trophy and on to become one of the eight regional finalists.
On August 20th, 1963 Ron Colerick raced his Aurora HO scale thunderjet against three other finalists on national television on the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. Ron won the race and was awarded the keys to a brand new Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster along with a giant first place trophy almost as big as he was. Stirling Moss, the famous race car driver, was the Grand Marshall of the race and he congratulated young Mr. Colerick.
This Thunderbird is that very same car and the documentation is there to prove out the original owner. I have the trophies that Ronnie won and the car to go with them completes the package as it was awarded in 1963. I also have a DVD of the famous race on the Carson Show to further document the occasion.
How did the car come to be in my possession? It is an interesting story to say the least. I have been collecting Aurora HO slot cars for over 20 years. Around 1992 I first tracked down Ron Colerick through a list of Ford Aurora race finalists I got from a hobby store buyout. Ron told me the story of the race and I documented it for my records. Ron said he had no idea where the Thunderbird was but he had his trophies and paperwork from that period in his life. I asked if he was willing to sell the trophies and memorabilia and at that time he was not. Each year I called and wrote to continue the dialog and ask about a possible purchase. In 1998 Ron agreed to sell me his trophies and that in itself is a story for another time. Around 2002, Ron got a call from a Thunderbird collector in CA. inquiring about the car Ron had won. The collector had purchased a 1963 Thunderbird Sports Roadster to restore and upon researching the history had learned of it being a prize in a Model Motoring contest. Ron explained the history of the car to the CA collector, Mark. Mark wanted to buy the trophies to display with the car and it was then that Ron gave Mark my phone number. Mark called and we talked for an extensive time. He wanted to buy my trophies and I wanted to buy his car. It was a stalemate. I contacted Mark every year with the hope of buying the car and finally this fall I succeeded. This is the fully restored Thunderbird and I am thrilled to add it to my Aurora collection.
Story of the Mustang, Bob's other 1:1 car from the Grand Nationals
Bob Tells the story of Ron and the car:
The first time I spoke to Ron was as I said, about 15 years ago. He, as with all the others, was surprised at my interest and to be quite honest, not many people are interested in this stuff. We are probably a group of less than 500 people in the whole world who care about this stuff. I am proud and excited to be one of them. Ron was only 13 yrs old and was in awe of the whole race winning process. He credits his winning to being the youngest and NOT being effected by the pressures of being on the big stage. More on Ron after I talk with him this weekend.
The 1963 race was strictly thunder jets........
Mark the Thunderbird collector, he really wanted the trophies to put with the car. Mark does NOT need the money, clearly. When he and I first talked he was determined not to sell the car. Times change and conditions change. I think he was evolving in his collecting direction to more exotic cars like Ferrari's and such. He was using the $$$ I paid for a small down payment on a Ferrari 1999 550 Marinello. To the Ferrari faithful, the introduction of the 1997 550 Maranello was cause for celebration. This car is the performance leader among Ferrari's "volume" sports cars. Its best lap time at the Fiorano test track is some three seconds faster than that of the F512M. The 550 Maranello marked a return to classic Ferrari form—a berlinetta (coupe) powered by a V12 engine driving the rear wheels. The company sums up the 550 Maranello as, "Performance at no compromise." In recent years, Ferrari has made significant improvements in the quality, reliability and drivability of its cars. In particular, ergonomic improvements include an 8-way adjustable driver's seat. Styled by Pininfarina, the shape of the 550 Maranello is thoroughly modern, yet it incorporates traditional Ferrari styling cues, especially those of the highly acclaimed Daytona coupe of the early 1970s.
The 1963 Thunderbird Sports Roadster is indeed a true roadster, being a 3Y89 VIN number car. It is one of the first 1963 roadsters made having been born in August of 1962 as Thunderbird number 1004. Roadsters were built on the same assembly line as regular tbirds at the same time at the Wixom plant in Michigan. I have not quite traced the total lineage of this bird but after the Colerick's traded it in for a new one, it was sold to another family in SD who I believe, kept it till it somehow wound up in Seattle at a dealer lot needing a full restoration.
There is a story on the net about Lois Eminger, google her. She worked at Ford in the '60's and was responsible for ALL invoices out of the plant. In the '70's when Ford was purging old files she was instructed to destroy the old invoices. She asked to keep important ones for future references and the Thunderbirds, Mustangs, and Cougar invoices were saved. Mark, being a tbird guy, bought the car to restore and sent proof of ownership and the VIN number and $50 to Lois and she registered the car in her Thunderbird Sports Roadster Society and sent him the ORIGINAL invoice(s) from Ford. I now have them and they are the undisputable proof of ownership of the car. Mark, wanting to know the history of the Thunderbird, contacted Ron Colerick, whose name is on the invoice. The invoice clearly states this car was awarded as a prize in a Model Motoring contest.
I currently have no pictures of before and during the restoration process but I am working on getting them. There is a lot of info on the net about thunderbirds and I probably read it all.
The Thunderbird Registry
Lots of Tbird Clubs
Lois Eminger's group The Sports Roadster Society
http://www.hosers-slotcars.com/tribute.htm This is a great story of the Rapid City South Dakota Slot Car Racers. (I own both their cars and spoke to them all at length) The reporter who wrote the article spoke to me at length and sent me copies of the Sunday paper that ran the story.
