The best thing about that car was "Low Rider" coming on the radio as I drove it to the dealership to trade it in.
"No matter how many hours you study opponent films, there's only going to be eleven players on the other side of the line of scrimmage." - Sid Gillman
It's a simple game in which strategic beauty comes not from being surprised by some new clever trick, but from the sublime, routine brilliance of a master in his element.
My first car was a copper colored 1972 Mercury Capri -- bought with the help of a summer job with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) building an electrical transmission line between Po Station and Fults, IL.
First car. Well I drove my dad's 1960 VW Beetle - heater didn't work, no gas gauge (I don't mean the gas gauge didn't work, it came without a gas gage. If it sputtered when you were low you switched to the reserve tank like a motorcycle.) With more than one person inside on a cold winter day you had to scrape the frost off of the inside of the windshield due to condensation and freezing from your breath. The brakes were weak. Top speed was about 65 MPH going down a bit of a grade, slower if heading into the wind. All in all, a bit of a death trap. My younger brother rolled it and came out with a few scratches but nothing serious. It was replaced with a '63. By then they had included an actual gas gage right there on the dash! It still had the reserve tank, though. It wasn't really as nice as the '60 though. It generally would not start by cranking the starter but was easy to start by bumping. I was working at Hy Vee and used to park on the lot on the only slightly sloping area, come out after work and turn the key on, give it a bit of a push, hope in, pop it into second, then pop the clutch to take off.
The first car I actually co-owned with my brother (the one who rolled the VW). It was a 1957 Ford 2 door sedan that had belonged to our grandparents. Inspired by the whole American Graffiti car culture in the mid 70s we got a cheap paint job (black) and rebuilt the engine and thought we were pretty cool with our Craig 8 Track player and the speakers on the package tray. This was my college car for two or three years. I sold it to my younger brother who still owns it today after rebuilding it the last few years. Been in the family since new in 1957.
After that I latched on to 1964 Ford Custom 4 door. The exterior was "rough" but the interior was in perfect condition. A nice 289 engine but there was no weather stripping on the door windows so if it rained then froze the doors would not latch closed when they were opened for the first time. I remember driving back to Ames on I80 with the passenger door held shut by stringing the passenger seat belt through the door handle and latching it. The driver door I held closed with my left hand. It was probably 10 below Zero. I stopped at several rest areas to blow the hand dryer to warm up my hands. Oh, the heater didn't work in it. Also, it would not start if the temperature dropped below 10 degrees. 10-20 was iffy. I remember a little game I used to play - coming out of a store with my buddies I would say, "I will trade my car for any vehicle in the lot - sight unseen".
One of my goals in life when I was going to graduate was to one day own a car less than 10 years old. I achieved that goal 6 months after graduation.
Last edited by MeanDean; 10-14-2011 at 06:28 PM.
No matter what, I could NEVER cheer for Dirt and Urine.
Just like this, had factory air conditioning that would shoot ice particles at the occupants when it was really humid. Paid 1,500 dollars for it with 30 some thousand miles on it in 1975. I had lots of hair then. Falstaff with riddles on the inside of the caps. 99 cents a six pack when it was on sale. put over 100 k more miles on it before I was done with it. Craig powerplay tape deck in front and powerplay speakers in the rear. A cassette player that all my friends said " where are you going to find cassette tape to play in it.
Last edited by mkadl; 10-14-2011 at 06:57 PM.
"To run this drill, Everyone line up in a circle, pair up in rows of three, alphabetically"
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
[/IMG]
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by dmclone 
No matter what, I could NEVER cheer for Dirt and Urine.
Bookmarks