POWERGRAMS

35 F or some people, old cars are almost like part of the family. That's certainly true for Terry Henderson, who still owns his first car – a 1956 peacock blue and white Ford Fairlane Victoria he bought for $500 as a 16-year- old. The car, which has been restored to its original glory, is his "pride and joy," and is often the center of attention at car shows, he said. "I will never sell it," Henderson declared. "I just loved that car, and something in my head just told me to keep it all these years. My buddies say, 'I could kick myself for not keeping my first car.'" Henderson bought the car in 1964 through a local Ford dealership in his hometown of Fayetteville, Tennessee, and drove it for four years. He said he knew the Victoria was for sale and he had to have it, adding it was one of the "sharpest cars in town." Henderson then purchased another Ford, but kept his first one. When he took a job at Oxmoor Press in Birmingham in 1968, he left the Victoria in Fayetteville with his dad, who drove it for a while. It was not until 1982 that Henderson brought it home to Alabama. "It was the top of the line car," Henderson said. "It had a 202 horsepower Thunderbird engine. It was the biggest engine at the time and had the most horsepower." In 2013, Henderson, who had previously retired after working at Alabama Power's Print Shop for almost 30 years, decided it was time to restore the Victoria, which had deteriorated and was not running. He asked his cousin, Johnny Davis, owner of a restoration shop in Fayetteville, to take on the job. The car also held sentimental value for Davis because the teens were working together sacking groceries at the local Piggly Wiggly when it was first delivered to Henderson. "Johnny took the car all the way down to the ground and started from the frame up," said Henderson, noting the parts from 1956 are still available today. "He replaced everything: the engine, seat covers, seatbelts, springs and even down to the nuts and bolts, and repainted it. Only my door handles are original." Henderson even found an old car hop tray reminiscent of the drive-in theaters and restaurants of the 1950s and 1960s at a flea market, and added it to the car window. A speaker for listening PROFILE Queen Victoria Restored 62-year-old vehicle reigns supreme in retiree's realm Photos by Christopher Jones

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