Wilmington Ford (Wilmington, MA.)

[rbarkley]

Hey Guys,

Does anyone have any pics or information on Wilmington Ford - Wilmington, MA?
My car was shipped to Wilmington Ford on 3/27/1967, but I have not heard much about it.

I did read this about Jay Leno which I thought was pretty cool ...

Leno: "When I was a kid, I always liked stuff that rolled, exploded, and made noise. I liked cars and motorcycles.
When I was old enough, I worked at a Ford dealership in Wilmington, Massachusetts-Wilmington Ford-as a lot boy.
My parents always had Fords. In fact, at the time, we had a '64 Galaxie with a 352 V-8. I talked my dad into buying
a '66 7-Litre Ford with the 428.

I always liked Henry Ford. When I was a kid, I decided I wanted to work for Wilmington Ford. We had this nasty used car manager
and I was carrying a bunch of used hubcaps. I came around the corner and bumped into him, dropped the wheel covers, and
he said, "You're fired!" I didn't tell my parents for a couple of weeks. I wrote a letter to Henry Ford and Ford's board of directors to
tell them my dad had a Galaxie, my mom had a Falcon, and I hoped to have a Mustang one day. I told them about my firing and
how unfair it was. About three weeks later, the owner of Wilmington Ford called and offered me my job back. I've been a loyal Ford guy ever since.

I was one of those kids who believed in the Total Performance thing that Ford had going at the time-Lee Iacocca, the 289 engine. I mean,
I love the 289 because it could be anything you wanted it to be. You could have dual-quads on it in a Cobra or Mustang. You could put Webers
on it and make it look like the most exotic European engine ever. They had an overhead cam version of it for Indy-just an incredible engine."

[JJH]

I do have some pictures somewhere in my basement of a Shelby meet at Wilmington Ford circa 1980. I was around 12 years old at the time taking pictures with my Kodak Instamatic camera. It was a pretty large dealership and all their local newspaper adds referred to the dealership as "The Big W". Unfortunately I am clueless as to how to scan and post pictures here on the forum...(I actually just got rid of my flip phone and purchased a smart phone)

[gt350cs]

Is your car the Nightmist blue GT500?

[Grumpy]

I don't think they got many Shelbys till 67/68.. Oh an one 427 Cobra. I went to school with the owners sons in Andover. Don't remember if Leno was there or not but he did hang out with a lot of us in Shawsheen parking lot..65/66 till the early 70's. (local hang out)  . Damm that was a few years ago !!

[Coralsnake]

I have some photos, will post them as time permits

[rbarkley]

Great!  Thanks for the replies and stories.  Yes, GT 500 #861  Nightmist Blue.  Hopefully get the engine and trans installed soon.
Ron

[gt350cs]

That's the one I thought it would be!

[Coralsnake]

Wilmington Ford

[Coralsnake]

Service Bays

[Coralsnake]

Show Room

[Coralsnake]

Parts Van

[Coralsnake]

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[Grumpy]

Great!  Thanks for the replies and stories.  Yes, GT 500 #861  Nightmist Blue.  Hopefully get the engine and trans installed soon.
Ron

Do you know any history on it ?? I had one in 1970 or 71. You can just see the edge of it in this pic. Have some others somewhere.

[Grumpy]

Pic of a rim that was on the car.. Think it had 14k on it at that time.

[rbarkley]

Here is what I have so far.  Nothing on the first owner and bank that did the repossession.   Was your's an automatic?



Year             Month                      Mileage              Description
1967-68                                      0-2000              1st Owner - Unknown.  Run hard and repossessed by the bank.
1968-74                                      2,000-56,000     2nd Kevin J M
1974           March  21                56,000-59,000    3rd Owner - Estimated Date of Purchase – Tim Lea from Kevin  M
1974          September 20            59,000              4th Owner - MA Registry of Motor Vehicle – Bill of Sale Tim L. to Steve C
Sep 1974-Oct 1975 Receipts/Restoration                Eleven Month Restoration
1975           October 28              UNK                    Vermont Department of Motor Vehicle Registration
1976           July 28                      59,908             Vermont Department of Motor Vehicle Inspection Sticker
1976           September 20            62,000              Application for Massachusetts Title Registration
1977           July 13                      70,000              Blyda Ford Sales – Northampton, MA – Steering/Rotation
1978           January 23                73,000               Blyda Ford Sales – Northampton, MA – Replace Idler arm
1978           October                     UNK                  Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles
1979           January                                             Small block
2014           June                         86,441               5th Owner - Ron B Date of Purchase – Odometer