Featured Member and It’s not just a party, it’s a Fiesta!

18 August 2010

Featured Member: Dan Kirchen

Dan (AKA Super88dan) is a heck of a nice guy, and a regular contributor over in the forum, and he’s this month’s Featured Member. Click through the slideshow below to see some pictures of his beautiful Super 88 convertible. It’s a fantastic car…and perfect for the upcoming summer weather! Thanks for all the help, Dan!

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It’s not just a party…

I got an e-mail a while back from Jason with some questions about a ’60 Olds…but it wasn’t just any ’60, it was this gorgeous (and rare) Fiesta Wagon! There weren’t very many of these manufactured in the first place, so it’s a real treat to see one fully restored to it’s original beauty.

The idea of the station wagon itself might seem quaint today, but it was once a staple of American life, as much as apple pie and firecrackers on the 4th of July! People with large families would often opt for them as a people mover, the same as people today often pick an minivan or SUV over a sedan for their superior cargo space. Because of the way they were used, they were often simply worn out and retired to a wrecking yard at the end of their service life, leaving fewer and fewer on the road today. Today, driving one makes a real statement!

Here’s Jasons’ story…

“Went South of Los Angeles to buy and trailer home a 1960 Coup De Ville. When I got there and spent some time looking it over, I went home with an empty trailer. Long ride home!

A week or so later my buddy spotted this car on Craig’s List in Sonoma, California. I wasn’t so excited about the station wagon part of it, but boy was she pretty. He convinced me that everyone has a 55-57 Chevy Belair, but you’ll never see one of these around! We drove up, again with trailer in tow, spent an hour looking it over before asking to test drive it. And the rest is history!

Now, she lives in Tres Pinos California next to my restored 1968 Bronco in a 100+ year old restored barn.

Planning on taking a drive to Monterey next month to Cherries Jubilee. We’ll see from there.
Outside and inside, she looks terrific. Under the hood, well, this winter should get the oil leaks resolved!”

He’s definitely right about not seeing another one! I’ve only ever seen one Fiesta wagon up close (many years ago)…it wasn’t being driven and was slowly decaying. Thanks so much for sharing, Jason!