Bob’s Corner
Auto nostalgia
From our weekly issue dated June 16, 2010
A fellow newspaperman wrote recently about his nostalgia revolving around cars of yesteryear. Actually, as far as I“m concerned, the motor vehicles after 1961 (the year I escaped ... er, graduated from high school) are all from yesteryear.
That“s because it no longer mattered those 49 years ago that I know all years, makes and models. You know, it was important until then, what with hanging around guys who were almost obsessed with knowing everything about cars. And where to buy cheap hamburgers.
Anyway, the fellow news guy mentioned items including fender skirts, sun screens, steering wheel knobs, and curb feelers. Actually, those are in my memory. That could be one reason why I can“t remember what my wife told me to do 20 minutes ago. My brain is too cluttered. It“s a guy thing.
But I can recite near-useless information about various cars from the “50s and “60s, especially “52 Fords, “55 Buicks, “66 AMC Ramblers, and “56 Mercurys, to name a few. That“s because a Ford was my first car; a Buick my second; an AMC 440 my third; and the Mercury was owned by the parents of one of my best friends in San Diego. Strange though, that when I see such vehicles now, among many that I recall, they do not seem as attractive as when I was a young, smart Alec cruiser.
Yeah, I ran around wearing a white T-shirt and Levi“s with small cuffs, and either desert boots or black-and-white high-top tennis shoes. Way cool. Or for going to high school and college classes I“d wear white low-cut tennis shoes, white bucks or penny loafers, plus Ivy League shirts, and trousers with modestly pegged cuffs and a nonfunctional belt in the back. Sometimes I“d add a car coat. Yeah, way cool.
OK, I was talking about cars and wandered. Running out of room, so just let me describe my first vehicle, that “52 Ford I mentioned. It was kind of a wreck. I talked my Dad into buying it for me. It was dented here and there, smoked and used oil. But the thing had a “54 Olds V-8 engine from a Super 88 and a Hydra-Matic transmission. So the beast could move, because the mill was made for a heavier car. Plus it had an AM radio!
Unfortunately, whoever handled the mechanical modification did a sloppy job. Also, they left in the Ford axle, so I broke several because of the torque. Took my entire $60 paycheck every time that happened.
Ah, memories. Especially the blowback that filled the car interior. But only when the engine was running.
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