Premier Jim Prentice's restored '56 T-bird a deal, say aficionados

Premier Jim Prentice made an astute purchase when he outbid all comers at a vintage car auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., Sunday.

“You can find them cheaper, but then you have to do a lot work on them,” Bob Benson of Edmonton’s Thunderbird Car Club told Edmonton AM’s Mark Connolly. “It’s not a bad price for that particular car.”

The ‘56 T-bird is in the model’s original baby-bird style complete with the Continental kit in which the spare tire is set up on the back bumper.

“To me it’s what makes the car,” Benson said.

The car’s uniqueness made the car iconic in its early years, said club member Marie Knipelberg

Prentice made a pit stop at the Barrett-Jackson auction while returning home from pipeline meetings in Texas Sunday to bid on the car.

In total, he ended up paying $59,400 US, about $71,000 Cdn.

The auctions themselves are a huge draw even for those not intending to bid on a car, Knipelberg said.

“The excitement is something you can’t even describe,” she said. “It’s seven days of pandemonium."

“I would recommend it to any car lover. That should be on everybody’s bucket list.”