As many cars and trucks I have owned I would say that was one of my hobbies over the years.
I don’t know how old I was when I wanted a car; probably 12 or 13. Besides the pool hall there were two gas stations that were popular hang outs in the little town I was raised in. I watched them work on cars and by the time I got my first car I could do a lot of the maintenance myself.
When I turned 16 in 1958 I saw a car advertised in the paper; a 1947 Ford Coupe for $150. I had $75 and ask Mom if she thought Dad would give me the other $75. She ask him and he said hell no! The next Saturday he said come go with me and look at that car. It was at a farm and the guy said it was his Dads car. He drove it out of the barn and Dad and I went for a ride. He didn’t let me drive it but told the guy we would take it. I was grinning ear to ear!
It looked a mess and I thought it was a dark blue; the back seat had straw all over, it had 47,000 miles on it. I bought a can of Simonize cleaner and a can of wax and went to work on it. I cleaned out the inside and went to work on the body. It turned out looking almost new; a dark green I think they called Jade Green. Over the next two years I had shaved the hood and trunk and got those repainted; installed lowering shackles, add on white sidewalls, added fender skirts, full wheel covers and fake side chrome exhaust pipes.
I got married in a fever right out of high school and joined the USAF. My first base was in Homestead Florida and the car made it down there. I drove it there until 1962 sometime and sold it for $150. That was the only car I bought and sold for the exact same money! The car I bought in place of it was one I wish I had now; a white 1954 Mercury convertible with a white top. The interior was black with red trim rolled leather that was stock.
I suppose it was only fitting with my love of cars that I would end up working at the Ford Lima Engine Plant for 30 years. I counted up and listed all the cars I had owned before I retired in 2003. It was over 20 I think, I have the list somewhere but can’t find it right now. This included 4 I had bought both kids in high school and college. The last 10 years I worked I leased every two years so drove recent new cars. We always had two vehicles and later the second one was a pick-up truck.
Memorable cars were a red 1964 Corvair Monza, a fun car to drive. I had a Ford Granada, 4 door; Dove Grey with a vinyl roof and a 350 V8, a pretty hot sedan! Mine and my wife’s favorite was a 1985 Mustang GT convertible; silver and black. My wife is a pretty safe driver and drives the speed limit. With the Mustang she had a two mile stretch of back road going to my Mothers were she would put it to the floor. She turned into a little old lady race driver for a moment!
In 1998 I bought a Ford Ranger pick-up truck to drive to work. It had a 2.5 OHV 4 cylinder engine Ford started building in 1973 when I first started with them. It had a 4 speed floor shift with over-drive. It had air but just crank up windows. I drove it to work until I retired in 2003; a 40 mile round trip daily. Since I retired it is used mostly when I need to haul something. It has about 97,000 miles on it. It has never been garaged; always sat out. It has no rust that I can see and very few scratches. Pictured here was after I just ran it through a car wash that does the tires and gives a Simonize hot wax. I would say it is in great shape for being 17 years old.
Our current car is a 2005 Ford Freestyle; we bought it just after the 2006’s came out. I am getting the urge now to get a new one and would get the same model but they don’t make them now. It was a great driving car and a perfect height for the wife and I to get in and out of. As soon as the 2016’s come out we are thinking of a 2015 Ford Edge.
Smokin Don