Classic T-Bird the tops for Ogden man

By Becky Wright, Standard-Examiner staff

Thu, 07/15/2010 - 8:20pm

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(MATTHEW HATFIELD/Standard-Examiner) Marv Rabe sits in his 1964 Thunderbird at his home in Ogden. Rabe bought the car in 2001 after his friend, who bought the car new in 1963, passed away.

Marv Rabe bought his car at a viewing.

It's not something he would normally do, of course, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity.

Rabe's business is insurance, and one of his clients was Harold Ritchey, a former president of Thiokol. In the fall of 1963, Ritchey bought a 1964 Ford Thunderbird convertible.

"Every time I would deliver the policy, I would admire the car, particularly when it got to be a classic," said Rabe, of Ogden.

Rabe and Ritchey were friends and fishing buddies, so when Ritchey passed away in 2002, Rabe went to the viewing to pay his respects. While offering his condolences, Rabe asked Ritchey's son what he planned to do with the T-bird.

"He asked, 'Do you want to buy it?' and I said, 'Just give me a figure,' " Rabe remembered. "I bought it on the spot, without driving it."

Because Ritchey usually drove a company car, Rabe knew the old Thunderbird would be in great shape.

"You have to see it to appreciate it," he said. "Everything on it is original, nothing has been replaced. The engine's original, the upholstery is original -- the only thing I've done is paint it, and do normal maintenance. It's a beautiful car."

The 1964 Thunderbird can be appreciated at the Aggie Car Show on Saturday in Ogden's Liberty Park.

The show is a fundraiser for scholarships awarded by the Utah State University Alumni Association. While checking out the cars, visitors can enjoy Aggie ice cream. Winning cars will be featured in Ogden's Pioneer Days Parade on July 24.

Classy convertible

Rabe loves his convertible.

"It's his baby. If he had to make a choice between his wife and the car, he'd choose the car," joked his wife, Janet Rabe.

The black car, with lots of chrome and a beautifully stitched red interior, has about 57,000 miles on it, and the Rabes add only about 1,000 per year.

"From an insurance standpoint, they're not that practical," Marv Rabe said of convertibles, adding that passengers are more at risk without a hard top in roll-over accidents. "You have to be extremely careful, and that's one of the reasons why I don't take it out too often."

Another reason is that there's no place for his golf clubs -- what looks like a big trunk is actually where the car's soft top is stored when not in use.

"It blows the ladies' hair all over, and you can hear all the traffic," he added.

But practical and quiet aren't reasons why people buy convertibles.

"They love the notoriety," he said. "They love the attention."

Convertibles are valued because there are fewer of them than hard tops, and also because of the glamour and lifestyle associated with them.

"I think it's sexy," Janet Rabe said of riding with the top down. "When I was a young girl, from Morgan, I knew a fellow in Ogden who had a convertible. ... I thought, when I get to Ogden again, I'm going to cut my hair and go for a ride in his car."

She never saw him again, and she really missed the car.

"You see a lot of people in convertibles, and they seem to be having a ball," she said.

And now she's one of them.

With the top down

Semon Sosa and George Wintle are also showing convertibles at the Aggie Car Show.

Sosa, of Ogden, has owned his 1962 Chevrolet convertible for about 25 years.

"I looked at it, sitting in a field, and I liked it," he said of the first time he saw the car. He restored it, giving it new upholstery, a new aqua green paint job, and a new top. Since then, it's won awards and been part of the July 24 parade.

Sosa also owns a copper-colored 1967 Chevrolet Impala SS convertible, and he's working on a 1953 Chevy convertible.

Wintle, of Riverdale, has a 1951 Ford convertible.

"When I got it, it had basically been junked," he said, adding that he made trips to Montana and South Dakota for the restoration. "I bought two other cars to get parts to build this."

The car still resembles a '51 Ford, but it has been customized. The bumpers are from a Plymouth, and Wintle installed two Smithy's mufflers.

"The lights are frenched in," he said, noting the molding around the taillights.

Even though he put a lot of time, money and work into the car, Wintle's ready to sell it.

"I don't use it," he said. "I just go up the canyon a couple of times, otherwise it sits here."

He thinks it should appeal to a buyer.

"Convertibles are always nice cars," he said.

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