A Bright Future Ahead – After Being Parked for Nearly 60 Years, this ’55 Thunderbird Gets a New Lease on Life, and an Appearance on Edelbrock Sick Smokies!
The Ford Thunderbird debuted as a 1955 model, just two years after Chevrolet 2-seater Corvette first hit. Combining some cool features, including style, comfort and speed, including a factory supercharged engine option in 1957, the T-bird was a hit with over 16,000 sold the first year.
Hard to imagine that one of those models, this green 1955 example owned by Dan Wiechowski, was sitting under a tree. Pushed aside by at least three owners for other priorities, Wiechowski saw it on social media, rescued it, and will embark on his first drag and drive with it at Edelbrock Sick Smokies next month!
Jumping into racing at age 16 in a 6-cylinder powered ’69 Dodge Dart, Wiechowski took to racing and cars like a duck to water. “I’m 27 now and drag racing and hot rods are a huge part of my life,” said Wiechowski.
In 2024, Wiechowski would catch a glimpse of his next car, this green Thunderbird, on Facebook. Parked for nearly six decades, the T-Bird sat in a couple different locations before Wiechowski saw it on Facebook.
“In 1966 the car was parked in California with 9,000 miles due to engine issues,” said Wiechowski. “A local Ohio couple went on a trip out to Chino Hills to buy car. They towed it home, and on the way home bought a ‘66 corvette. Both cars were brought back to Cleveland, Ohio, where the T-Bird was pushed into a corner never to be touched.”
In 2024, both cars were sold and made a trip to a farmhouse in Brunswick. It was there that Dragway 42 photographer John Ullman discovered the Thunderbird sitting under the trees, and made a Facebook post about it.
“I saw the post, and waited to find out where it was near,” said Wiechowski. “I eventually got the cross roads info that night, and actually had a high school friend put me in contact (with the owner).”
Wiechowski went to check it out, and a week later made the deal to buy it. Over a five month period, he made the car a driver with a 5.7-liter Gen 3 Hemi, backed with a Tremec TKX transmission, and then broke it in with a massive road trip.
“We just made the deadline for our California road trip,” said Wiechowski. “We drove this car hauling my camper for 7,000 miles all over the west coast and back to Ohio. Now I daily drive the car on nice days and run some local fun runs at Dragway 42.”
After that amount of use, now he is preparing for Edelbrock Sick Smokies. “(I get to) experience a race like never before, and cruise with some of my best buddies,” Wiechowski said. “Broken parts seem inevitable. I’ll bring a spare clutch setup and TKX (transmission) just in case.”
This 1955 T-Bird Gasser of Dan Wiechowski is one of over 70 Gassers that will invade our Edelbrock Sick Smokies event, October 12-19th. Don’t miss the chance to see the largest group of Gassers at a drag and drive race, PLUS 200 additional competitors, at five different tracks over the course of seven days. CLICK HERE for more details on Edelbrock Sick Smokies!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Dan Wiechowski.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com