I’ve been seeing following this ’59 T Bird for years now. I first shot about five years ago, and wrote up a full CC on it here. It used to sit in front of an older rental house near downtown. Then that house got sold, and the tenants had to move. Now here it is, a couple of blocks away, almost buried in trash. This is rather atypical of Eugene.
But here it is, along with an MN-12 Cougar and an Econoline, along with so much other detritus. That turquoise paint makes it stand out now, just as it did in 1959.
Just don’t let the trash man haul it away.
At least it didn’t go straight to the junkyard, so it may be saved yet.
So very sad to see a rig treated like that.
Please, will someone at Squarebirds.org save this worthy Bird? If Alexander were alive, we would have flown out to rescue her personally….!!!
The beginning and end of the formal roofline/wide C pillar represented. Being in the trash is rather symbolic.
Not sure I would call this the end of the formal roofline AND wide C pillar as the 69 had a C pillar so wide it did away with the rear quarter window (not sure if the 68 also used that C pillar “treatment). And maybe it’s just me, but the Thunderbird used a very squared-off roofline through the 82 models.
Of the 58 through 60 models, the 59 is my favorite as it is the “ccleanest” of the 3 model years….no superfluous bits of chrome trim.
I’m referring to the end being the Cougar next to it
Pointless trying to understand some people.
So I didn’t look closely at that Cougar and thought it was the generation following the one actually pictured which didn’t have a formal roof…..just that odd rear quarter window treatment.
Yes, once again I put my foot in my mouth….thank you for pointing it out to any and all.
Jeeze Howard ;
Don’t sweat it , everyone has a different opinion here…. =8-) .
To me , that’s what makes this place so great ~ I come to read about one thing and always learn something new .
-Nate
I missed the text and wondered what trick of camera angle made the quarter window on that Golf so short!
One of my favorite fifties color combinations. It stands out, even amongst the trash.
In the early 1960’s when these were late model used cars , they were not liked by many .
As time has gone on I have realized it’s beauty as it’s a ” Personal Luxury Coupe ” , not any pretensions of the more Sporty ’55 T-Birds .
I too hope it gets saved , I like the pastel colors .
-Nate
This is like finding out that the hottest girl in your high school class is now the crazy cat lady living in squalor.
++1
Also, I’m surprised the city or county has not written-up the owners for the garbage dump.
Where I live, I’ve would have been hit with fines and court appearances for something this bad!!
SO true ! .
When I was in High School the prettiest Cheerleader was also incredibly stuck up and snotty , a few years later I was in line @ the grocery store @ 07:00 and there she was , all Ghetto Fabulous in pyjamas , raggedy dirty housecoat and hair sticking every which way but loose .
I decided to be kind and not say ‘ oh , hi Rene ‘ .
-Nate
This reminds me of the sone “Walk Away Renee” by the Left Banke (1966).
Lyrics are:
Just walk away Rene,
You won’t see me follow you back home!
That’s a good analogy.
Even the poor tree is trying to get OUT of there!
Could be worse. Could be rusting away (or already rusted away) in Pennsylvania.
What a truly sad sight, both the yard and the cars. Somebody needs to rescue this old T-bird and bring it back to life.
Sad, yes. Situations like these make me think the owners likely fell on hard times and cling to memories of better ones.
I don’t think we need to worry about the trash man coming from the looks of it.
The color combo on the T bird is great. I echo the sentiment that it should be saved. I like the Cougar too. How about a “Picker’s Bundle”, all three for three hundred bucks?
This is sad, I know personally of a 60 Thunderbird, factory equipped with the Lincoln motor, In Black with a Red interior, which has been essentially left to rot in a driveway. The owner refreshes the tags as needed so it is legal, but has not moved since 2001, The interior is sunbaked and the seats are park bench hard. the black paint has worn away to gray and down to metal, now wit surface rust. this is in the Southwest, else it would have clean rusted away, as it is the rockers are shot. I know the owner he is a stubborn hoarder. Will not part with it as it was a gift (running at the time) So very sad. but it would cost a fortune to get it back just into driver condition. every bit of rubber and every seal has no doubt atrophied.
A sad state of affairs for this old Bird. Looks like the Eugene weather has been kind to it though.
I just realized that Cougar lacks the chrome trim around the side windows, which means it’s a 89-92 XR7. Can’t tell the specific year from the debris covering other key places, but that’s a pretty rare car, especially if it’s the supercharged 89-90 5 speed.
Dang that trash pile is unacceptable, even by my standards. Nice looking Thunderbird, but I have my doubts it is going to be saved,
Quite sad. There is a ’58 or ’59 T-bird slowly rusting away in a parking lot near my house in Maryland. Previously, the owner condemned an Edsel to a similar fate. The cars sit until the tires go flat and then one day they just disappear only to be replaced by something else. Can’t get my head around why people buy fine old cars and never use or maintain them.
I hate to see these pieces of automotive history left to rot away as relics,ruins,and a monument to what once was. Many owners have the intention of either “getting it running”,or restoring it “Someday”.When in all honesty and actuality, someday never comes. Either ,finances,health problems,old age,or life circumstances get in the way. Many of these cars are owned by people that can’t afford to restore them,but they won’t even consider selling them to someone that has the means by which to have them restored? A lot of folks tend to think that their non running, rusted out,and neglected “parts cars” are worth mega bucks. They’ll never repair,or restore them,but they won’t sell them either. It’s a crying shame to see these once beautiful automobiles,sitting among-st a hoard of junk,like they are yesterday’s garbage. If you’re going to neglect it,sell it to someone who appreciates it. I’m just sayin.
took this photo (model: a friend of mine, “mollynicole16”) with this T-bird in 2014.
Amazed this car is even still around. And note that the block the T-bird sat on in the Jefferson-Westside area was also known for a beat-up ’56 Cadillac with Minnesota plates and “Jimbo” painted on the trunk around 2005-07 and a couple early 60s Ford products around 2011.