The Villages - August 2020 - 11

JAY & SHERYL THIVENER

1966 Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is an American icon.
Few cars have such a long and colorful history as the Mustang in the United
States, and it is one of the few classic muscle cars introduced in the 1960s that still
is in production today.
Village of Charlotte resident Jay Thivener had an ideal Mustang in his mind,
and when he happened across this 1966 Ford Mustang, it fit the bill.
He purchased the car in 2019 from a 94-year-old woman who took the car to
shows and competitions with her husband before he passed away.
"Her husband parked the car and they didn't show it anymore," Thivener said.
"They had the car since 1995 and had it totally restored. They used to show the
car and won lots of trophies with it."
Thivener says the previous owners meticulously restored the car to show condition, but in recent years it was tucked away in a garage and needed a good amount
of work again.
"When I bought the car, it had been sitting in her nephew's garage for several
years," Thivener said. "It needed to be refreshed - the windows wouldn't go up
and down, the weather stripping was cracked, the tires were dry-rotted and the
door locks wouldn't work."
Thivener spent a year restoring the car to its former glory, and now the car is
in top shape again, ready to show off at competitions and cruise ins.
Introduced in 1964, the Ford Mustang was the brainchild of legendary
auto executive Lee Iacocca, and the company has produced more than
10 million Mustangs since the first car rolled off the assembly line. The
car went through several design iterations, and Mustangs often are seen
in big Hollywood movies, including "Gone In Sixty Seconds," "Bullitt,"
"John Wick" and many more.
An avid collector of both Mustangs and Corvettes, Thivener
decided the time was right for another Mustang, and he spent a year
and a half hunting for this one.
"I've had five Corvettes and five Mustangs over the years," Thivener said. "The last Mustang I had was 20 years ago, and I said, 'Well,
it's time for one more. I've just got to find the right one.'"
He only recently completed his work on the Mustang, and he says he is
excited to take the car to cruise ins and competitions - he just has not had the
chance yet due to events being postponed during quarantine.
In the meantime, he and his wife Sheryl take the car out for drives around
The Villages and Central Florida in the evenings, and even though he has a fully
working air conditioner in the car, he says they prefer to drive with the windows
down to enjoy the warm summer weather.
Thivener takes meticulous care of the car, rarely taking it out in the rain and
keeping it clean and polished and ready to show off. He also sends regular video
and photo updates to the woman who sold him the car - now 95 years old.
"I send her pictures all the time of everything I'm doing to (the car)," he said.
"I sent her a video, and she gets text messages - she likes that. She's a pretty
sharp lady, and she's happy I'm taking care of it. So far she's liked everything
I've done."
MAGAZINE

The Villages - August 2020

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