Guess What I Found in Katrina Trash?

[2K2BIRD]

Re: Guess What I Found in Katrina Trash?

As some here know I live in New Orleans and took our Merlot bird to Texas for Hurricane Katrina..... Today I was out for a walk to survey damage and the rebuilding progress of the neighborhood and found a yellow 2002 hardtop in the trash heap four blocks from my house.

Roger,

I thought I remembered you saying that you had found a yellow hardtop in the trash after Katrina. Stangely enough, I may have a little info on "the rest of the story".

I have noticed a yellow 2002 T-bird parked out in front of the local movie theatre for several months. It has some rather extensive body damage that has some signs of being worked on by a body shop.

Today I was getting new tires put on the car and the guy doing it asked me if I knew Doctor So-in-So. I said no. Turns out, he and his wife own the movie theatre and the yellow Thunderbird. It also seems that the car was a Katrina victim and the Dr. has been slowly restoring it (including a complete interior replacement and electrical overhaul). It would be a pretty small world if this is the car that the hard top you found came from.

How many yellow Thunderbirds were Katrina victims? Who knows? Just thought it was an interesting coincidence.

[Vintage Merlot]

Re: Guess What I Found in Katrina Trash?

Yes, it would be hard to restore the roof. It was missing much of its trim, headliner,etc. I stripped it and took off all rubber gaskets around side windows and removed the trim rings from the portholes and have all of the hardware that secures the top to the body of the car. The windows were broken. The fiberglass was cracked in several places and broken in others. I eventually put it on the street for the FEMA trucks to pick it up.. However the car you have seen may be the same car. It was not in the neighborhood during the storm and was moved to the owners business site in Chalmette LA..Chalmette had 7 feet of water so the car took a good bath. But it seems very unlikely that multiple yellow birds were involved in Katrina. This might be the car.

[PaulD]

Re: Guess What I Found in Katrina Trash?

Listening to this made me think about the Joplin tornado. I watch eBay a lot and I noticed that there were a lot of Ford parts (unopened in the box) from Joplin area right after the big tornado. I suspect a Ford dealer got hit and someone "found" a lot of Ford parts that showed up on eBay.

[WyrdBird]

Re: Guess What I Found in Katrina Trash?

Yes, it would be hard to restore the roof. It was missing much of its trim, headliner,etc. I stripped it and took off all rubber gaskets around side windows and removed the trim rings from the portholes and have all of the hardware that secures the top to the body of the car. The windows were broken. The fiberglass was cracked in several places and broken in others. I eventually put it on the street for the FEMA trucks to pick it up.. However the car you have seen may be the same car. It was not in the neighborhood during the storm and was moved to the owners business site in Chalmette LA..Chalmette had 7 feet of water so the car took a good bath. But it seems very unlikely that multiple yellow birds were involved in Katrina. This might be the car.

I would have been tempted to restore it with vinyl and a moonroof

But I'm just crazy that way.

[Vintage Merlot]

Re: Guess What I Found in Katrina Trash?

Alex, that was my intention but my search to replace all the missing parts ended up with a projected cost of more than $1,500 plus all the hassle. Top was manufactured by a specialty vendor that appeared to no longer be in business.

I have wanted a vinyl covered top for several years....but don't think I want the porthole.