Kimberly V. Althage – May 13, 2021
Initially Theresa and her husband, Michael were looking for a 1955 Chevy Bel Air with no posts. Theresa’s mother had one and it holds a lot of memories for her. They looked all over for it, including on the Gateway Classic Cars website. Finding nothing to their liking, they changed focus. A DeSoto caught their eye, but it was about two feet longer than their garage would hold, so they had to change course yet again.
They were a little bummed, but they knew it had to fit. This is when they saw a 1947 Ford Coupe in the Las Vegas showroom. Theresa said she thought, “how cute is that?”
She continued, “my husband said we should go look at it, so off we went. They were so nice down there. I needed to drive it just to get the feel of it. They let me drive it around the parking lot, which sealed the deal. I really wanted that Coupe.”
Theresa was excited. They bought the car. Then Michael turns to her and said, “this is your car.”
“REALLY?!” Theresa asked not believing it. “I LOVE old cars,” she explained. “I love classic cars, they’re just cool. I love the older classics from 1953 on back that have been restored. I didn’t want one that I was afraid to drive and would just sit in the garage. I wanted a driver so I could just tool around town,” she said.
“That’s how we came to get the 47 versus the 55,” she explained. “I went older, but it’s apropos because I was born in 1947 so it’s a 47 for a 47.”
Theresa’s love for these older cars that are brought back to life is understandable. “I think it’s just wonderful and it takes me back too, the nostalgia,” she explained. Michael and Theresa watch car shows on television all the time. “We watch the builds and it’s just a fun thing to do. It’s a lot of work and a real skill set,” she clarified.
Theresa explained, “The whole experience has been great. Mark Stueber is who sold us the car. He was wonderful. He said it was really a nice car.” She continued, “We had a mechanic look at it before we bought it. He said, ‘WOW! Yeah, this is a great car.’”
“We got a personalized plate for the car,” she continued. “Michael said, ‘well this is your car so how about ‘HER47.’ We were going to put ‘DATECAR’ on it but that was taken. ‘HER47’ is even better,” she admitted. “I’ve had so much fun driving it around town. People giving me the thumbs up, it’s like ‘way to go.’ Especially women will say, ‘oh, that’s your car?’ and I say, ‘yes ma’am indeed, it’s my car.’”
“I’m just having a blast with it,” Theresa continued. “In fact, my eighty-seven-year-old neighbor – I drove her around doing some errands for her and she goes, “oh this is so cute, I love this car.” Adding, “oh my goodness, it’s been seventy years since I’ve been in a 47. I feel like a little queen riding around in this car.”
“I love it!” Theresa said. And it is easy to see why, having a Mustang II front end with power steering and brakes gives it a modern car feel. Its full leather interior with custom storage boxes under the seat and its custom wood dash are such nice touches to its classy interior.
Theresa explained it is unique when getting your first classic car. Gateway Classic Cars was their first experience going the classic car route. Now having gone through it, she said “then it’s like ‘ooooh, what else is out there? Let’s look at something else.’” She said Michael is looking for an old restomod pickup. “We’re going to be a classic car family,” she exclaimed.
In fact, they plan on taking ‘HER47’ to some car shows.
Theresa explained, “you get a rapport with other classic car owners. How they came about getting theirs, what they did to modify it. We met a gentleman that redid three of them in his garage. In fact, he has two of them at Gateway and they’re beautiful.” Continuing she said, “It’s just nice to talk to other car owners. You get to meet new people; you get to make new friends because you have things in common.”
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