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Praetorium Honoris

Saturday, November 28, 2020

To All the Cars I’ve Loved Before

 


I tried to wake Sarge, but he just grumbled something about being in a Tryptophan coma so I'm giving him some more time off.  Here's a piece I wrote for the San Diego Mustang Club newsletter.  It's not our usual fare here, but it might be interesting for some of you.  Most all of us have cars so we have at least some interest in them, although maybe not to the extent I express below.   For some car enthusiasts, it's a lifestyle, for others, just a mode of transportation.  I've been on both sides of that, but being an enthusiast is a lot more fun.  I get good SPG-  Smiles Per Gallon. 



I have loved cars since I was a little kid.  In my lifetime I’ve owned my current ride, a 2017 Ruby Red Metallic Ecoboost Premium convertible, a 66 Mustang Convertible, a 67 Fastback, a 1972 Chevy El Camino, a 1980 Datsun 240Z, a 69 Dodge Charger, a 74 Corvette, a 1979 Jaguar XJS, a 73 VW Baja Bug, a 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo, a 1979 TransAm, a 57 T-Bird, a 1975 Ferrari 308 GTB, a 78 Econoline Van, and a 1971 VW Beetle.  Those cars set me on my way to a love of cars in general, vintage cars especially, and Mustangs most of all.   I went all over the world with most of them- in the Alps, the rugged woods of the Pacific Northwest, the streets of Monaco, the Autobahn in Germany, and in my own neighborhood.  Unfortunately, only the first and the last one were cars I was actually able to drive, the rest being my favorite Hotwheels cars of my youth, taking them wherever my imagination drove me. 


 
That’s where it often starts for us though, as kids with our toy cars, not knowing anything about what’s under the hood, but loving the styling, the lines, the fire-chicken on the hood of a Trans-Am, or the jacked up back-end with the extra wide rear wheels on hot rods.  I saw these cars in the movies (Bullett, Smokey and the Bandit, Bond films), on TV (Magnum PI, Dukes of Hazard, Vegas), and on the streets and roads of San Diego and Southern Oregon where I grew up. I’d see wild ones in CARtoons magazine with Krass and Bernie. I also read about them in my first car magazine subscription- Popular Hot Rodding. I didn’t understand why at the time, but it was the only magazine my mom would let me read.  However, I figured it out once I hit puberty, with cars and hot girls going together like PB&J.  The other mags had a little too much skin for a 10-year-old, but PHR was just about the cars.

                                          Source


Now it's Car and Driver- a magazine I've subscribed to since the late 80s.  I love its motto on the front cover of every edition-  Intelligence, Independence, Irreverence.  Slickly humorous writing which I really like.  Every once in a while a letter to the editor complains about the magazine covering cars that no one can truly afford save for the richest of the rich.  That's part of what the enthusiast likes about it- seeing and learning about cars we can't even come close to.  Maybe they are dream cars, but it's nice to dream.  

It has been a life-long love affair with cars for me, although one that was rarely consummated.  In my early 20s I bought a new Acura Integra, which I loved, but had to sell it as the Navy sent me to Japan for my first duty station after flight training.  Then with a wife and small kids, cars were just tools- practical vehicles that were good family cars- the econobox (some white Japanese things that were basically disposable for them- and cheap for us .mil types), the four-door sedan (a couple Camrys), the mini-van (a new model Odyssey), the four-door pickup (Tacoma) for hauling Boy Scout camping gear.  But I never forgot my first love, the 67 Lime-Gold Mustang convertible with the center console. 




My mom bought it new from the same dealer I used for mine, just 50 years earlier.  I was able to drive it on the back roads of Oregon a couple times, but only while sitting in my dad’s lap. We lost her before I could drive, (the car, not my mom), but I never forgot her. Fortunately, now as empty nesters, practicality doesn’t mean anything.  We have no kids to ferry around, no cargo to haul anymore.  So now I have the car I love, a younger version of my first crush, but perfect in her own way. 



So am I alone in my semi-unreasonable interest in Mustangs, or maybe cars in general?  What do you drive?  What car was your favorite and what do you wish you had or had never let go?

45 comments:

  1. parent's car: 55 lime green, Buick Special convertible. i only got to drive it once, at 17, before leaving home for collage. at 20 passed up an indian that was offered to me for $70.

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    1. Nice. I had to look that one up. Good looking car. Same chassis as the 55 Bel Air I'd expect.

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  2. My first was a ‘68 Mustang - beautiful car that I (unfortunately) wrecked. Next was a ‘65 fastback which we wanted to rebuild but being in the Air Force, couldn’t afford to keep. Now, a ‘68 Mustang coupe sits in our garage. It took five years to get it working properly but everything works and she’ll go anywhere.

    Everyone has a Mustang story.

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    1. I had my share of wrecks, fortunately none in a Mustang- that's tragic. Got any pics of the 68 you have now?

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  3. Ain't thought of Krass n Bernie in years! Those guys were my heroes and at 53, I got the rusted out T bucket to prove it. Remember the Cartoons magazine iron-ons? Can't even think of those without recalling the smell of the hot iron as mom made me another "custom" T shirt. Hell, it's supposed to be mid-40s in my neck of Colorado, I might just peel back the car cover and take a little spin this afternoon.

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    1. What's under the car cover? Not familiar with T-Bucket- T-Bird or Model T?

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    2. It's a 1920 model T roadster pickup, comically channeled 5 inches at the cowl and 3 inches at the rear to give it that Krass n Bernie cartoon rake, SBC/4 speed drivetrain, '33 plymouth "wavy tube" front axle, 9" ford rear, fenderless time machine. :) I'd show ya if I wasn't a technotard, too computer illiterate to figure out how to attach a picture.

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  4. My first car - sounds like a 5th Grader's first composition the first week of school. Nonetheless my first car was used SAAB 3=puttputt: $100 back in '57 and I probably overpaid by at least $100. I'd fill the tank on the first of the month - that was about half a quart of oil (it was, after all a lawnmower engine) and whatever gas was needed to top it off.
    Zero to 60: well, it would never quite reach that; even downhill with a good tailwind, the max I ever got out of her ws a whopping 55.
    I loved her - she was my first, after all.

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    1. Do you mean a Saab 93? Can't find a Saab 3. I've driven cars that burned more oil than fuel.

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  5. My first car was a 1967 Nightmist Blue Mustang Fastback, with a 289 HiPo. My first truck, a Government Green 1947 International KB-1 pickup!

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    1. Beautiful! https://www.speednik.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2018/03/michael-gullery-2018-03-14_01-03-05_120439.jpg

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  6. I'll keep it to cars I bought on my own.
    1973 Ford LTD - traded for our old family car when dad needed money for a hay bailing bill. Got 73 miles out of it before it crapped out. No refund. It was an amazing donut maker.
    1964 Olds Starfire - Paid 425 for it in 1980, drove it 500 miles, swapped out the slim jim trans with a good one right before the exhaust manifold cracked and it wouldn't pass inspection. Drug it around until a few years ago, when I decided it was time to let it go.
    1974 Fury - The best car ever. Bought it for 300 after the timing gear stripped. Replaced that, and drove it like a go kart for a year. I'd buy another in a heart beat. It was an amazing ride. She died in an unfortunate wreck, December 1981.
    1973 Olds 98 - The land yacht. Smooth sailing even on one dead cylinder. Started leaving me afoot. It finally got parked at dad's until he scrapped it.

    Not sure why, but the folks bought a car for every one of the kids but me. I think it was because of the Carter economy. Just luck of the draw that I came of age during that time. They never said, I never asked.

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    1. Your 74 might have been the best car ever, but I have to call it a butterface! haha. Sorry, I just call it like I see it.

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  7. Hey Tuna;

    A car that I still miss was my 1986 Mustang GT that I drove the autobahns in Germany for 5 years. Like a fool I traded the car in for a F150 in 1991 when I came back to the world, partly to slow me down...still got 4 speeding tickets in the F150. I had the F150 for 10 years then sold the truck and got a 2001 Sport Trac, now I loved that truck, was the uniqueness of that ride. had to trade the truck in in 2010 because the gas was $5 a gallon and I was driving 48 miles one way to work. so I bought a focus....Now I drive a 1999 F150 with the 4.6 and it is a good truck, but I still miss the Mustang.

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    1. You're definitely a Ford guy! There are several patriots at work that won't ever buy anything else. I was a speeder too- 2 tickets before I was 20, had to go everywhere fast. I slowed down for many years, but living in SoCal means fast is normal. I have hit 130 in my Mustang. It could have gone faster, but I was worried about getting caught.

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  8. My senior year of high school (1969) I bought a 1965 Mustang - lime-gold, 289 with a three speed on the floor. I loved that car. It was scary fast. I sold it after I joined the Navy and was carless for a time. After the Navy I bought my all time favorite car - a 1971 240z. It was one of those 1970's funny gold looking colors . It vapor locked during the summer ( this was in Georgia) and the AC almost never worked. But, it would run all day at 100 MPH. I still miss it. Today I drive a 2017 Honda Ridgeline. A great truck, for me.

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    1. We had so many problems with our cars when I was young that I have no interest in sitting on the side of the road again. I'll stick to well maintained cars that act new. That means no 67 dream car for me, but that's ok.

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  9. My first 'Me own' car was a Ford Aerostar minivan, with the 2.8L Mustang engine in it. Sucker could go 100mph with a full load of camping supplies. Then, when it died, a holding pattern little grey Chevy hatchback me mum brought up while we went looking for another actual ride, which... me mum found at her dealer, a big white Ford E150 panel van which I named it alternately the 'serial killer' van or the 'sex offender' van. When that died, an '86 GMC Safari, which I kept running almost to its last legs, which got traded out for a 2016 Ram Promaster City.

    I have this thing for logistically practical vehicles. Must tote two people and a metric tonne of assorted thingamabobs and stuff.

    If I had the ability, a surplus 5 tonner or an M548 tracked logistics vehicle (unarmored tracked carrier based on the M113 APC) or its 6 bogie wheel big brother (with the Cat 400hp diesel) but, well, where would I park them? Always practical... Sigh.

    Now, always wanted one of those German 3/4 track motorcycles, if only to freak out the 4-wheeler drivers in the area. And, practically, would be good for hunting, fishing, gold prospecting, annoying the neighbors (hey, they annoy me, so payback...) and such.

    Again, though I appreciate the sexy looks of muscle cars, I find a huge cargo capacity to be quite fetching.

    Though,.. there's that surplus Army 5 tonner with an attached crane that's designed to lift 20' conex containers on and off it's back. Hmmm... unlike the LCSessessesses, I'd actually be able to do mission-modules. One for pre-built camp quarters (surplus, either a straight conex or one that expands.) A woodworking module. A metal working module. Straight-up cargo module. Soooo many possibilities...

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    1. "Again, though I appreciate the sexy looks of muscle cars, I find a huge cargo capacity to be quite fetching."

      Reminds me of that Sir Mix-a-Lot song.

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  10. If I have to pick only one, it's the '69 Alfa Romeo roadster that I bought brand new, against my better judgement. I traded in a '69 Ford Torino GT fastback that I only had for about ten months but got me into a lot of trouble.
    The next most favoritest vehicle is a '75 Chevy Silverado that I still see on the road today. If it hadn't been a gas hog, I might still be driving it.

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    1. 70's era Ford and Chevy pickups are all the rage these days. I've seen quite a few at Cars and Coffee events. Glazed over patina on them so they look old, but are new underneath is pretty popular- Resto-Mod is what they call it.

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  11. You all may have noticed the spam comments made herein earlier today, thanks to those who told them to "go pound sand" but that's not necessary. When I detect spam (which is pretty easy to do, and note, I read ALL of the comments on the blog) I kill it, immediately. If you respond to the original spam comment, your response dies to, sorry as some of the reader's responses to spammers are pretty good, it's just the way Blogger works. (I suppose that should be in quotes, perhaps "operates" would be a better word.)

    Anyhoo, as to cars...

    Two Volkswagen Beetles in my early days, a '71 then a '73 Super Beetle (curved windshield vice flat, little more room inside as well). Moved on to a Volkswagen Jetta in 1983, believe he was an '83 as I bought him brand new. (A post regarding why I refer to some of my vehicles as "he" and some as "she" deserves some explanation, but not today. Though I'm feeling MUCH better, even have another episode in the war for tomorrow, I need to save some ideas for later, POCIR.)

    The Jetta was an outstanding car, loved it, he took me down to Texas (from Colorado) and back, a great car. Loved it so much that when it was "his time" to go, I bought another. Which didn't work out very well at all. Hecho en México in the '90s was not an indicator of quality, the opposite in fact. So The Missus Herself (whom that car nearly killed) decreed, "No more Volkswagens!" A policy to which we have adhered to this day.

    There was a Ford Tempo in the mix at one point, 'twas The Missus Herself's car, but it got traded in with 1st Jetta to get 2nd Jetta. As we had orders to Germany, we only needed one auto voiture so it made sense, at the time, to trade in two older cars for one newer car.

    After the demise of the '91 Jetta, I bought (while overseas) a Dodge Stratus. Car was a pleasure to drive, was good in snow, and...

    Was essentially a "hangar queen." After receiving my beloved Big Girl, a 2005 blue Honda Element, I swore off les voitures américaines for all time. Even though LUSH's mother-in-law works for Jeep-Chrysler, she could have gotten me the "insider's deal," I said, no thanks. It's Honda for me, Toyota for the The Missus Herself, which itself deserves a post as to the "why" of that.

    Now I drive a 2020 Honda Pilot and am absolutely enthralled with that vehicle. Blue is the vehicle's name and she's a smooth ride, she goes fast when she needs to (effortlessly I might add, 90mph and she doesn't even begin to complain) and is damned good on fuel, much better than the Element and nearly as good as the old Beetle on the highway (29mpg in the Pilot, got about 30mpg in the Bug).

    While I'm not a huge car guy, I do like to drive. I once thought of buying a Mustang, but it's a voitures américaines and I just don't trust 'em. I have reason to, ya know?

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    1. I think you're overgeneralizing with the American cars of today. I have heard only good things from the blue ovals, and they didn't take the bailout money in 07 which matters a little bit to me. We've had 2 Bugs- a 71, an 01, and a 03 Passat wagon. Sold the first and last, daughter scraped a guardrail in the 2nd so it went to the scrapyard. If you ever get out here again, I'll let you drive Miss Triss. She is a FUN ride.

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  12. Let's see. My memory isn't built for yarns & storytelling, so the model years are lost in time. High school (late 70's) was a VW Squareback, although while I drove it, Mom actually owned it. Provided me the transport that allowed me to get my first job. Was car-less in college until the beginning of Senior year, when I bought my first, being a used Chevy Monza. It shared the aluminum 4 with the Vega, which means it melted and seized just as easily. Ran nicely once I had it rebuilt with cast iron sleeves. But by that point it was graduation and time for a real Ensign-mobile, that being a new 1980 VW Scirocco. That was replaced by a second gen Scirocco bought in D.C circa 1988. That one was stolen in San Diego a year or two later, to be replaced by a used BMW 320i with a sad 4 cylinder engine. Being tired of everyone passing me on the hills coming out of Mission Valley, I replaced it with newer but still used 325is, which was sold upon departure to Thailand in 1995. It was interesting in a sad way how a car classed as medium/average mileage in SOCAL was looked at as dangerously high mileage in Fayetteville. After returning from Bangkok I bought a new Honda Prelude and drove it until my son was born and I needed 4 doors. That need was met by a sequence of 2 Sonata's and then a Kia 2013 Optima, which is still in the garage.

    My son is now (supposedly) driving, although it appears Gen Z kids do so kicking and screaming. But it has allowed me to fulfill a desire I've had for nearly 35 years, that being getting myself a Maserati. That started when I was stationed in Long Beach and lived in Redondo Beach. There was a Biturbo convertible just down the street that I fell in love with. Fortunately my roommate talked me out of buying it at the time ("Maintenance, dude! Who's going to fix those Italian turbos when you get back to San Dog?". After that my target shifted to the Quatroporte. Once I got serious last year about finally scratching the itch I discovered it was a bit too big for the garage, so I settled on the Ghibli. After a lot of searching I found a 2018 that met my spec (Not black/white/grey, not black interior, ventilated seats, Android Auto, all wheel drive). Blu Emozione Mica paint with Cuoio (light brown) interior. The color combo gets lots of compliments (and not just at Cars & Coffee) and I get a smile every time I start her up. Picked it up in June and am still figuring out all the electronics and controls, but driving is fun, fun, fun. As they say https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjGXn249Fc0

    /
    L.J.

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    1. LOVED the BMW 330ci Convertible we had for 3 years. Bought it off a buddy with 2 kids whose wife had just gotten pregnant- too small for the family. It just cost us 10K in normal "those things just go out on Beemers" maintenance. Had to ditch it and wife got a certified used Camry. I drove a 2002 in college for a bit (roommate let me drive it), and I was impressed. Great car, but too expensive to maintain. Your Italian car is beautiful, but too exotic for me. Nice movie line!

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  13. Of all the cars I've owned, only two stand out enough to make me want them again: the '68 Dodge Super Bee (383 Magnum, 4.10 Suregrip rear diff, very fast) and the '98 Ford Expedition we bought for moving to Alaska (big, roomy, capacious cargo area, built on a Ford F150 shortbed chassis, and very, very capable in any terrain).

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    1. I like any classic car and the Super Bee fits the bill.

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  14. The one that got away, Aston Martin DB5, RHD. Had it for a week and didn't buy it for $7500.

    Spin Drift

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  15. As a kid, I was given an Mercury with a blown head gasket, repaired it and that car took me across the country and back. Then a 1964 Pontiac LeMans, ragtop. Then the motorcycles took over the dollars vs speed equation. And then just as I got enough money to have a nice car, airplanes took hold and guess where all the money went?

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    1. Never had the time or opportunity to become a gearhead- no garage in Oregon and dad wasn't all that mechanical.

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  16. I've been a "Car Guy" since I was 10 years old. Had a 67 Mustang coupe that I really liked. It had been my Mom's car, and since she didn't drive in snow, and I had a brand-new Trans Am, she "gave" me her car for winter.

    289, 2bbl, C4 Cruise-O-Matic, and the deluxe interior. I always liked the way the "tambour" door rolled up and down in the console. I put a dual exhaust on it when the stock single exhaust rotted out, and it made quite a difference over the single. The gas mileage went up to 20MPG, and it had more pep.

    Nice little car, but man, did it RUST! It was at least as bad as the FIAT I had years later. And I could never get over the top of the gas tank being the trunk floor. All that protected the tank was a rubber mat.

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    1. I knew I wasn't alone! 67 coupe- nice. No rust issues here in SanDog.

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    2. It was a sweet running car. I was always a "GM Guy", but I drooled over GT-350's, and I'd positively swoon over a GT-350R. My '67 always started, never got stuck in the winter, always got me there and back, and was a very pleasant car to drive.

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  17. Fords I've known and loved. Buddy Santo's 66 notchback 289/271horse 4spd 410 9 inch Stang. Would pull L/f wheel on launch, loved it. Jerrys 289/271 horse 64 Fairlane, put more 4 speed top loaders in it than I remember. Tim's 1970 429 Super Cobra Jet purple Torino. I rode on a tiny trailer behind it with no rails with his Mom's Lawnboy going to mow one of her rental homes. I'll drive slow he said, 3 power shifted gears later my arms were longer,Bastard. Tony Darwin's chopped and channeled Ford roadster,Boss 429,4 speed 430 locker,red plexiglas windows,Holley 1050 3 barrel. Seventeen years old working at my Dad's gas staion on a lonely stretch of Gandy blvd in St.Pete. About closing time he comes in,we are bullshitting,he ask's you want to drive it? Dead stop middle of 4 lane high way go through 3 gears and let off.Man that was fast.There were lots of others but don't want to hog your space.Allan

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    1. Thanks Allan. I've probably driven past where ever that gas station is/was as I've driven Gandy a bunch across the bay from Tampa.

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    2. Hi Tuna.Dad's gas station was a off brand Super Test in the 70's. It was about across from the Dog Track Training Area,not Derby Lane.Was working alone one early Sunday morning.The single pump island was angled to Gandy Blvd and San Martin. A tanker semi went flying by and rr wheelset came off and went through the pump island drive and crashed through a liquor store front window.Destroyed the place,that wasn't a boring Sunday. Another Sunday the local Channel 10 weather hottie got pulled over on the far side of the pumps in her De Tomaso Mangusta. High way patrolman kept her there for 45 minutes.She had her legs out of the car giving him,us a show.Needless to say she did not get a ticket.Was a cool place to work from a young guy.

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  18. BTW....the green convertible is a 1968. It has the "scalloped" rear side scoop ahead of the rear wheel, where the 1976 had two small simulated vents there.

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    1. I just searched for a pic of a Lime Gold 67 and took what I could find. I know well the difference, but it was close enough for a last minute blog piece.

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    2. That occurred to me right after I posted......

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  19. The thing is, I Me a exactly what made the Mustang, and the KB-1 go down the road. I have no idea what makes my F-150 go. I suspect it is the Black Thingie under the hood, but I wouldn't get money on that.

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  20. Tuna, the 1966 Mustang (convertible or hard-top) is, in my mind, the finest car ever produced by an American car maker in terms of look and ability to be driven. I still love them - I owned different '66 hardtops and my father (for a time) own a completely top of the line '66 convertible with the upgraded pony interior and original air conditioning unit (and the 289 engine). I fool with getting one from time to time - you can find them reasonable for $20,000, which is not that bad of a price - but what would I do with one?

    (Runner up for speed would be the 1971 Mach 1 with the 350 engine. Fastest I ever drove.)

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    1. I love all Mustangs, (even the Mustang II), but like the slightly more beefier 67 & 68 than the fragile looking predecessors.

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  21. 66 GOAT. 389 Tri-power, 4-spd, no power, no air. Ran like a scalded dog! Loved that car. Saw one the other day, in the process of being restored.

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