Met Amos Minter today....

[wowbird]

Wow, I had a great impromptu meeting today with Amos Minter. What a nice guy. As you might expect I visit his web site regularily. I live just a couple of miles from his showroom and stop by to "window shop" on weekend trips to Lowes when doing chores around home. I stopped in this morning to see if I could find a resource for a 55 ford emblem for my 02. When I walked in, I was greeted by Mr. Minter. We talked for at least 45 minutes and I could have stayed all day. What a treat for me. I did not know that Mr. Minter was on the design team for our retro birds. You might also expect that he is not a huge fan of the retro birds although he does drive one regularily to church. He is the owner of number 17 from the 02 production. It is black with red/black interior just like my 02. Anyway I wanted to share my excitement at getting to meet Amos Minter today. Drive Safely.....

[Lonestar]

Re: Met Amos Minter today....

Did he elaborate on why he was not a big fan of the 02-05s?

[texasbird]

Re: Met Amos Minter today....

Amos Minter is definitely the master Thunderbird restoration specialist.

[islandtime]

Re: Met Amos Minter today....

Oh MY!!! What a memorable experience! Just goes to show - you never know when you'll be in the right place at the right time!

[Leroy]

Re: Met Amos Minter today....

Amos has good taste in his color choice for his 02. Leroy

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[EllisonCal]

Re: Met Amos Minter today....

Wow, I had a great impromptu meeting today with Amos Minter. What a nice guy. As you might expect I visit his web site regularily. I live just a couple of miles from his showroom and stop by to "window shop" on weekend trips to Lowes when doing chores around home. I stopped in this morning to see if I could find a resource for a 55 ford emblem for my 02. When I walked in, I was greeted by Mr. Minter. We talked for at least 45 minutes and I could have stayed all day. What a treat for me. I did not know that Mr. Minter was on the design team for our retro birds. You might also expect that he is not a huge fan of the retro birds although he does drive one regularily to church. He is the owner of number 17 from the 02 production. It is black with red/black interior just like my 02. Anyway I wanted to share my excitement at getting to meet Amos Minter today. Drive Safely.....

Check "National Parts Depot", NPD.dirxion.com, I believe. I saw them at their store in Canton, Michigan last week. They are from the '55 Tbird and I think they're $16.95 each plus shipping and tax.
Cal

[wowbird]

Re: Met Amos Minter today....

To answer the question about "why Mr. Minter was not a big fan of the retro birds": Amos was part of the design team for what was to be the reintroduction of the T-Bird in 02. His vision was more of a 55 T-Bird. He felt as many do that the T-Bird being based on a Lincoln LS chasis with many of the same dash components etc... was a cop out. We all know that this was in fact what happened. I want to own a 55 or 56 some day, but I will keep my 02 until I am planted in the ground. I very much enjoy the driving experience and the nice folks that I meet that own a retro bird. While I respect his lack of enthusiasm for this production, it did not dimenish my passion for them. Love my Bird!!!!!

[KerryW]

Re: Met Amos Minter today....

I had the opportunity to visit with Amos and his son on two different occasions. Both were extremely cordial and were in no hurry during my visit. They have a great facility with a lot of beautiful/rare cars.

They were adjusting a door on a '56 during one of my visits. It was amazing how much attention to detail they put into a restoration. The door shut smoother than a new car.

My father bought a '56 Victoria (with Thunderbird Special engine). Not as sporty as a BIrd but it's a great looking car. It's white and powder blue, which is a nice color combo on a 50's era car.

Amos mentioned not being crazy about the new birds but didn't elaborate why. Nice to get the rest of the story from wowbird.

[Lindy]

Re: Met Amos Minter today....

What a great story Charlie! However, I must say IMHO, am suprised that Mr. Minter would have thunk that borrowing many major components from Lincoln LS as well as the motor from Jaguar, was a cop out; after all, the 1955 Ford Thunderbird's blind quarters hard-top was a borrowed design from Lincoln Mark II, while the motor was that of the Mercury, the running gear was Ford station wagon, and the tail-lights were Ford as well, etc. However, I would opine that a reverse opening hood (like those on the four-door late-model Jaguars; Ford owned Jaguar from 1989-2008) with a semi functional scoop, whould have added a great deal more authenticity to an already very authentic new two-seater Thunderbird.

[HKS]

Re: Met Amos Minter today....

Yes,

I too would have liked the reverse opening hood.

HKS

What a great story Charlie! However, I must say IMHO, am suprised that Mr. Minter would have thunk that borrowing many major components from Lincoln LS as well as the motor from Jaguar, was a cop out; after all, the 1955 Ford Thunderbird's blind quarters hard-top was a borrowed design from Lincoln Mark II, while the motor was that of the Mercury, the running gear was Ford station wagon, and the tail-lights were Ford as well, etc. However, I would opine that a reverse opening hood (like those on the four-door late-model Jaguars; Ford owned Jaguar from 1989-2008) with a semi functional scoop, whould have added a great deal more authenticity to an already very authentic new two-seater Thunderbird.