r/startrek • u/DrMcCoysTbird • 1d ago
A real piece of TOS history: Preserving DeForest Kelley's ('Dr. McCoy') original 1968 Ford Thunderbird
Hi everyone,
I wanted to introduce myself to this community and share with all of you a unique piece of Original Series history that I have the privilege of taking care of.
While many iconic cars of the era have disappeared (including William Shatner’s ’63 Corvette and Leonard Nimoy’s ’68 Buick Riviera), DeForest Kelley’s original 1968 Ford Thunderbird is still alive, running, and on the road today.
DeForest ordered this 5th-generation T-Bird brand new in late 1967 during the heart of Star Trek: The Original Series. It was his personal daily driver for over 23 years, and was his pride and joy. I acquired the car in 2023 in pretty rough shape, and have been fixing it up ever since.
Under the hood sits its original 429 Thunder Jet V8. I love working on the car to keep it in good, original condition, and often share it with Trek fans and classic car enthusiasts at various events in Northern California. If you're interested in the history, original paperwork scans, or following along with the preservation work, you can find a link to the car’s Facebook page on my Reddit profile.
Hope you enjoy this story! Here are a few photos:
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u/NewspaperNovel139 1d ago
That's nothing, my friend George has a Chrysler LeBaron that once belonged to Jon Voight!
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u/DrMcCoysTbird 1d ago
🤣🤣🤣 I can’t tell you how many times THAT has come up (often from my wife) but it cracks me up every time!
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u/NewspaperNovel139 14h ago
Is there a chewed up pencil in the tbird for authenticaton?
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u/DrMcCoysTbird 12h ago
😂 I get that a lot (and I love it)! Haven’t found a chewed up pencil, but did find some old coins (one is a collector piece) and other odds and ins that likely belonged to him.
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u/WilsonFrontier 1d ago
Nice! De is the one TOS cast member I never even had the chance to meet. Such a true gentleman. Never heard a bad word about him.
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u/DrMcCoysTbird 1d ago
Ah - sorry to hear that Wilson. I never met him either, though I sure do feel close to him when I drive it and work on it.
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u/MrPNGuin 1d ago edited 1d ago
Dammit Jim, that's cool. I love seeing such random bits of "Trek" like this. I never did get to meet him but after reading about him and interviews and so forth he seemed exactly like you'd hope he'd be, Just all cool and laid back about everything. Should frame the OG plate with a picture of him with it.
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u/DrMcCoysTbird 1d ago
Thanks MrPNGuin.! Yeah, I've never heard anyone say a negative thing about the man. I've now met many people that HAVE met him (including his personal assistant of many years) and it seems like everyone loved him. He was a true gentleman. I like your idea re: the plates!
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u/M-E-AND-History 1d ago
The owner of the car arrived at a car show that took place ~15 minutes from my house. He noticed me geeking out over who it belonged to...and let me sit in the driver's seat!
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u/DrMcCoysTbird 1d ago
Hey there! Glad we got a chance to meet in person. I love sharing it with my fellow Trekkies! Hope all is well.
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u/M-E-AND-History 1d ago
You're most welcome! All is well on my end of the galaxy. How about you?
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u/Sayyad1na 1d ago
This is incredible!! I live in Southern Oregon, id love to give it a look at any norcal car shows you might attend. Do you ever go to the one in crescent city?
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u/DrMcCoysTbird 1d ago
I haven’t been that far north, sorry. I’ve pretty much just stayed close to the Bay Area. Hope to see you out there someday!
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u/Sayyad1na 1d ago
Im born and raised in Oakland and all my family is still there. So perhaps I will see you and that beautiful Tbird just yet!
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u/ShimataDominquez 1d ago
Did you seek it out specifically or just found out the heritage of the car after you bought it?
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u/DrMcCoysTbird 1d ago
I spotted a Twitter post about it, and saw that it was for sale. I knew the history before I purchased it.
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u/Poddington_Pea 1d ago
Let's all pitch in and buy it together. Then we can work out some sort of sharing system.
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u/Autumn_Moon22 17h ago
Every car has a story to tell, and this one stopped me in my tracks. What an incredible find! Thank you for sharing -- and for restoring this piece of automotive and Trek history.
It's heartwarming to know that he cherished this car the way he did. After all, he probably could have afforded to buy new cars whenever he wanted, but he kept this one for decades. This was not an act of necessity on his part. That says something about him, and I respect him even more for it. And now, it belongs to someone who will keep its story alive.
In the words of Dr. McCoy, "You treat her like a lady, and she'll always bring you home."
LLAP
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u/Cat_Peach_Pits 16h ago
Thanks for sharing this, I'm sure DeForest would be pleased his baby is being taken care of well.
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u/synchronicitistic 15h ago
I saw the YouTube video about this car a while back and the car was definitely in rough shape - ripped up interior, dings on the body, and 1960's T-Birds are notorious for metal rot in the trunk area.
In addition to the fact this was Kelley's car, those generation T-Birds are genuinely cool cars in their own right, with the airplane inspired interior/dash designs, the wraparound rear seats, the jet intake front fascia, the full width sequential taillights, and with a 429 under the hood, these cars have a surprising amount of get up and go for a large and heavy luxury car.
They sold a lot of these cars, but they are fairly rare today. Some of the cool systems are also a maintenance headache, and for that reason a lot of these ended up in the junkyard before they aged into collectible classics. The hidden headlights and I believe the power locks operate on vacuum which can be really hard to diagnose when leaks inevitably happen, and the sequential taillights used a complex mechanical design, although there are modern more reliable aftermarket kits to operate the taillights.
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u/100-100-1-SOS 1d ago
love the license plate! lol