NOW: David Shepherd, 78, of Lima, is a fan of the 1963 Cutlass convertible. He owned a ‘63 in 1963 when he graduated from Perry High School. He currently has three ‘63 Cutlass convertibles, including this one he purchased and restored in 2015.
Submitted photos
LIMA – David Shepherd can still see the group of Perry High School cheerleaders sitting in the back of his 1963 Cutlass convertible, waving to people and laughing, as he cruised the downtown streets of Lima.
That was 60 years ago.
Shepherd, now 78 years old, was a senior in high school back then, and arguably had the coolest car in his class. A picture of his Cutlass even made it into the high school yearbook.
How he came to own the car was a matter of being in the right place at the right time.
He was a junior in high school and doing insurance work for the Benton Adjustment Company, located across Spring Street from the old YMCA. The car had been in a garage fire and was totaled.
“I asked if anyone could buy what was left of it. They said, ‘Yeah, anyone with $350.’ I told them, ‘sold,’” Shepherd recalled.
He said he didn’t know a lot about body work or engine work at the time, but he was determined to learn.
“I was self-taught … I learned about cars through trial and error … learned from my mistakes,” he said.
Shepherd opened the South Dixie Garage & Body Shop a few years after graduating from high school. He ran the business for 31 years before closing it two years ago. As for that ‘63 Cutlass convertible, he had it for five years before trading it in for a Buick Riviera.
“It was 1968 and I was married. We had a baby girl. I needed a bigger car,” Shepherd said.
However, he never forgot what he calls, “The ‘63 in ‘63.”
Today, he has three 1963 Cutlass convertibles. One is his “show car” and the others are used for parts. He purchased the show car almost nine years ago and it’s won around 20 trophies and 40 plaques at car shows.
Ironically, the “show car” and his original ‘63 Cutlass convertible had something in common: They both needed a ton of work when he bought them.
“You wouldn’t believe the car today is the same one I bought in 2015. I bought it in Tiffin and got a lot of stares when I drove it home, going 80 miles per hour on I-75 in what looked like a piece of junk.”
He and a buddy, Terry Randolph, worked on the car for 10 months. They got rid of the rust on the quarter panels and completely replaced the entire interior and top. Mag wheels were added. The engine compartment was painted and it housed the original 215 cubic inch, 195 horsepower, V8 engine.
Shepherd still enjoys tinkering with the cars today. He lost his wife of 42 years, Carol, a year go, and the cars keep him going.
“I have a shop behind my house,” he said. “I go out there and play.”
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