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Footman James Car of the Year Heat Two

We first spotted Peter Elliot’s 1957 Ford Thunderbird at Billing Aquadrome the previous weekend. The 1957 Thunderbird is the last year for the smaller and many would argue prettier, original two-seater T-bird. Fitted with a 312cu.in. V8 engine and Ford-O-Matic transmission, the car originated from Missouri and was first brought into the UK by motorbike racing ace Eddie Roberts having been restored in the US by Custom Classics. Unfortunately Eddie just didn’t seem to get to use the car an awful lot, and after sitting round in his garage for a while he decided to move it on.

Eddie’s loss was Peter’s gain and when the car come up for grabs he jumped at the opportunity. Peter, 72, is a retired carpenter-joiner from Leicestershire and says he has always been into Yanks. He paid £10 for his first car back in about 1958 for a straight-eight Pontiac back in the days when no one wanted American cars. Since then he’s had about 20 cars, but we’re sure that this beautiful Thunderbird must be by far the nicest yet!