Harry & Sharon Mankins' 1963

This fully-equipped '63 convertible came from the factory in Champagne (color code I) with black leather bolsters and inserts (code 86), power windows, power driver's seat, air conditioning, FM radio and wire wheels. It was sold to a dealer in Coldwater, Michigan.

By the mid-'60s it had become a Kansas car and was owned for several years by Steve Parks, who added a Sports Roadster tonneau cover. In the late '70s, Parks gave the car a red/silver two-tone custom paint job with graphics. This custom 'Bird won several trophies in the Daryl Starbird show and others through the early '80s. Parks sold the car to Kirke Hatfield of Belle Plaine, Kansas, who resold the car in 1986 to a Boeing employee, who had the car restored to its original appearance. This car was sold in 1997 to Roscoe Thompson of Elkhart, Kansas, who in turn sold it in 2001 to its current owner, Robert Kennedy of Spring, Texas.

The car is significant to our club because from 1986 through 1997, the Boeing employee who owned the car was Harry Mankins of Wichita. He and his wife Sharon are charter members of our club, and Harry is a past president.