The Real Vicky
I purchased this car for less than $8.5K and then spent some modest funds to attend to some basic maintenance issues. Mike Smith pulled the steering column (to correct a balky manual transmission column-shift linkage problem), the engine was also tuned up, the brakes rebuilt and the radiator removed/boiled out/and refilled. I also pulled the seats out, early on, so I could remove the factory carpets and have that original carpeting steam cleaned (it had become quite dirty over the years. The car is beautiful � check out these images.
But what was the most remarkable thing was the history, documents, and paper ephemera that the dealer passed on to me. I must have spent a week sorting through many dozens of documents and discovered a remarkable history that must be unique among all vintage cars. And I came to �know� the remarkable first owner of the car through that written history.
Apparently, the Libby Food company hosted a nationwide contest, in 1956, to award a Vicky to the successful writer of a promotional jingle for that company. Such contests were not unheard in the Fifties. 
A single Salt Lake woman � Gemma Jackson � was the national winner, and the car was awarded to her. She received a Western Union telegraph 
announcing the award of the car to her and it arrived here on a United Airlines cargo jet sometime in the first quarter of 1957. I have searched the �Net and written to the new owners of Libby Food to gain more information about this contest, and haven�t been successful: the only evidence that remains of that contest are the artifacts that came with my car.
Gemma took possession of the car and cared for it until her death in the early Eighties. To say that she �loved� the car would do her a disservice � in fact, Ms. Jackson was passionate about her car and cared for it in ways that bordered on the obsessional. She read everything available on her car, and extensively noted the Owner�s Manual. 
The car was regularly washed and waxed by a selected service station, was never driven in the snow according to her notes (I believe these notes after viewing the rust-free undercarriage that would be impossible to maintain on winter season salt-laden Salt Lake streets), was serviced by Bennett Ford in downtown Salt Lake City whenever even the most minor problem arose, and the factory protective shipping seat covers were only removed after many years. The oil was changed regularly on about 800-mile intervals, and it was constantly tuned. Moreover, Ms. Jackson wrote notes to her car (a kind of diary), and anguished when someone bumped into the rear bumper necessitating its replacement with a factory-authorized replacement (the chrome of which does not match the superb chrome on the front bumper � and it�s missing the characteristic double black stripes). She had even small items taken care of promptly. 
The car will soon require some attention. Though mechanic and GSL judging consultant Mike Smith did some routine work on the car at the time of its purchase about two decades ago, its age dictates that more work is in its near future. The second set of tires are cracked (they were placed on the car in the late Seventies) and will need to be replaced, the engine compartment needs to be freshened up (as does the engine) because a dipstick service station guy at some point sprayed-canned certain panels with a spray bomb, and replaced hoses and clamps with inauthentic replacements. Mike will pull the engine, install fresh gaskets, and adjust the valves and paint it in original colors again while I repaint the underside of the hood (splashing battery acid has damaged the paint) and the inner fender wells. Other factory details will also be re-placed like reproduction decals, date-coded hoses and spark plug wires, and the like. The brake cylinders are also starting to leak, and they will be replaced. But I don�t intend to disassemble the front suspension unless the ball joints have failed � I think it�s important to preserve the vintage patina. Little else on the car will require restoration because of the car�s exquisite original condition.
Cynics might casually observe that Ms. Jackson was a bit over-the-top in her care for her car, but her devotion and great maintenance procedures have delivered to the future an exquisitely authentic and original factory car. I wish I had known her � we might have become friends given out mutual interest in, and dedication to, this great car.
One day, my family will pass this car on to the next owner. That owner � and those that follow � will receive the remarkable history of this car and marvel at the dedication and luck of a woman whose efforts preserved this bit of history.
Please enjoy these pictures of the car before any renovation work begins. Measurements have already been taken 
from this car by way of annotating a photo, and will be used to build the second Vicky model.
Gemma Jackson Club Victoria Photo Essay:
For a tour of the exterior of this remarkable car, go here...
To review the original, unmolested trunk, go here...
To learn more about the engine compartment that needs to be renovated, check out the photos here...
To check out the unrestored interior (that needs to have the kick panels replaced), enjoy the pics here...