Dee Luckert, a resident of Wheat Ridge, Colo., became a collector car owner at 64-years-old; but, that does not mean that she is just now gaining an interest in cool cars.  

"I have a brother who is almost 13 years older than me, and when I was a kid, and it was time for the new cars to come out, he and I would go to every dealership to look at the new cars," explains Dee.  "I could look at a car and tell you the make and model.  I still like doing it."  

And after looking at all those cars, one stuck out. Owning a 1965 Mustang has been Dee’s dream, since she was just a teenager. She has had her eye on the vehicle for forty-four years, to be exact.

“When I bought my first car, I was living at home,” explains Dee.  “I come from a family where you got a job right out of high school.  And, you didn’t just pay room and board; your whole check went into the family checking account.  At that time, my dad didn’t drive, so when I bought my first car, it had to be the family car.”

Dee says that when she went shopping for the family car, she also had to keep in mind that four doors were necessary, as her mother had a medical condition that required it.

“I would have rather have had the 1965 Mustang, but I ended up with a 1965 4-door Falcon,” says Dee. “But, it still did have a 289 engine, and I could burn rubber in it!  I really did need to have a family car and help the family.  I never did get the Mustang… until 44 years later.”

And, she goes on to explain that getting her hands on her own ’65 Mustang was pretty much by chance—she did not set out to find one; rather, one grabbed her attention, in passing.

Dee says that a beautiful black ’65 Mustang sat parked at a lot, outside of a collision repair shop; she would later learn the co-owner of the shop, Allen, does restoration work on old vehicles.  She says that the Mustang was parked in that spot for a while, and she would often notice the car, because the shop was along the route she takes to go to the local warehouse club stores and home improvement stores. 

A couple months ago, Dee and her friend, Al, were working on a landscaping project at her house, and trips to the home improvement store increased; noticing the pretty black Mustang alongside the road also increased.  Finally, during a trip to the store, Dee turned to Al and said: “Look at that Mustang.”

On the way back, again, she said: “Look at that thing!”

So, the friends stopped at the shop to take a glance at the car.  Dee says that she had already assumed that the vehicle was a ’65 Mustang from the get-go, and she was correct.  As they were looking at the car, Allen (the seller), came out of the shop to talk to Dee and Al.

“You ought to drive it,” said Allen.

“Well, okay,” replied Dee.

“I really liked it,” says Dee.  “Allen asked me if I was interested in buying it, and I told him I needed to think about it. I came home, and Al turned to me to said ‘Dee, that car is really nice. If you want it, buy it.’”

Dee wanted it. And, after a little bit of negotiation, Dee bought the car.

“This car is so special, because it’s mine,” says Dee.  “And, back it 1965, that car would have been $3000.00, and I would have had to finance it at that price. Today, it is worth a lot more, and I was able to buy it without financing the car.  That’s what happens when you have that work ethic and worked all your life.  When you retire, you can have things like this.”

Dee says that she started a job with a phone company on July 1st, following her graduation from high school. She retired from that same company in 1990, only to be hired back on contract for another ten years.  After dibbing and dabbing in some other work for a little while, Dee finally retired for good, last year.

“I worked all my life, and I deserve this,” says Dee, about purchasing the ’65 Mustang.

With hard work, come great rewards.

“I call her Sally,” says Dee.

She explains that her niece, who lives in Uniontown, Pa., owns a ’92 Corvette that is used for collector purposes; and, Dee called her niece on the phone, after buying the Mustang.

“Her daughter was there, too,” says Dee.  “And, my niece said ‘Aunt Dee bought a Mustang!’  Her daughter said ‘Thelma and Louise!’ And, then my niece said ‘Mustang Sally!’ So, I call her Sally.”

And, while Dee has only owned Sally for a few weeks, she has already visited friends with her Mustang, taken others on drives around town and has shown off Sally to her auto mechanic. (Dee says he loves the car.) 

Dee adds that before the weather gets too cold, she has plans of surprising a few other friends by rolling up to their homes in her beautiful new collector vehicle. She says that she is also looking forward to going to local car shows when that time of year rolls around in Wheat Ridge, Colo.

Story by: Becky McLaughlin

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