You Never Forget Your First Time

I got the idea for this post as I was writing last weeks blog when we were "...going forward into the past" a.k.a. remember when. Between last Saturday and now, I've been looking at old pictures, new hot rods, and cool videos of people "exercising" their high performance vehicles after a winters nap. Other ideas popped into my head as I spent some time yesterday morning up at my oldest daughters garage working on a Chrysler 300M that I picked up for basic transportation purposes. My wife will drive it mostly - which is fine. The only things she cared about was that the car was in good shape, was comfy, and had heated leather seats for the wintertime. It was definitely worth the $500 I paid for it, even though we had to dig it out of a 5 foot snowbank in March. This was not the first time I had performed this ritual.

You never forget your first time... car wise, people. Let's keep it out of the gutter. Those other memories I don't even want to know or hear about. I relayed a few stories last week about how I got involved with muscle cars, which lead to a love of drag racing, and then hot rods, and then street rods, and then...
I still fully embrace all facets of the American hot rod and muscle car, but here's a few of my firsts on several fronts. Be sure to comment and/or email yours.

First car - I can remember turning 16, getting my drivers license, having a full time job that summer (and part time the rest of the year), and jonesing for my 1st car. It was a mutual thing between my parents & I because the novelty of driving me around everywhere - and picking me up from work late at night - was wearing off. Cars were a lot cheaper back then, but unfortunately, minimum wage was

only like $1.65 an hour. On the bright side, however, we had an elderly couple who were snowbirds, before there even was such a term for that. They owned a 1970 Mustang with a 302 V-8 coupled with a C-4 automatic. It was the formal hardtop model, so it looked more sedate than it's siblings.
Still though, it spent winters in Florida, and was in immaculate shape. They purchased a new Ford Pinto wagon when they thought the transmission in the Mustang was shot - it wouldn't go into 1st. The local Ford dealer didn't take it in trade - he didn't want to deal with it. They offered it to me for $250 bucks. They thought maybe my Dad & I could "tinker with it." Before committing to purchasing the car, my Dad & I took it out for a test drive and realized the transmission was fine - it was the column shifter that was slightly fubared and couldn't be shifted manually down into 1st. As long as we kept it in drive - it shifted perfectly. We informed our neighbors about this, but they already had another car and sold it to me for the same price anyways.

First mistake selling a car - About a year later, and still driving the Mustang, which by this time had everything fixed - but also added an aluminum intake, 4-barrel carb, new brakes, and dual exhaust to the mix - our neighbors were complaining about the tons of problems they were having with the Pinto, and wanted to buy the Mustang back... for $2000 dollars. That was over a summers worth of paychecks! The car still looked great, sounded great, and actually ran better than when they sold it. They were tickled I took such good care of it. I was urged heavily by my parents to sell, which I did, but the transaction was also fueled by the thirst for another "cool" car - and now I had $2000 to spend! That was my 1st mistake.
The 2nd mistake came shortly thereafter. I searched for weeks for a replacement, but there seemed to be a drought of offerings. Once again, my parents were getting annoyed driving me around (the feeling was mutual) and I broke down and purchased a Ford Granada. The problem was, I needed wheels - beyond yesterday! I tried to reconcile myself that it was a 2-door model with a V-8, in good condition, and it was red. Within a week I entered sellers remorse. The Granada was way heavier than the Mustang, the V-8 had so much smog equipment on it that the performance wasn't even marginal, the trunk always leaked (as did the rear tail lights) and a year later the transmission blew out. I somehow managed to sell it for $500 to a mechanic due to the low mileage and the fact it was practically rust free.

First time street racing - Now, I'm not advocating street racing here. Yes, I know it's been happening since at least the late 40's, and like working at McDonald's - a lot of people have done it. I'm just relaying a memory. It was when I lived in Worcester Massachusetts and the race took place along Park Avenue, which was a major 4-lane roadway that went through the center of the city. There were also numerous traffic lights, but all were about a 1/2 mile apart.
I was actually a passenger in my friends 1966 Dodge Coronet - a beautiful dark blue 2-door that came from the factory with a big block 383. At a time when Mopar's were not as big as they are today, hardly anyone could tell the difference between a 383 and a 440 V-8, especially when my friend had the 383 lid on the air cleaner assembly. The engine was modified and had about 600 horsepower that was hooked to a Hemi 4-speed. And no one really knew what a Dana 60 rear end was or just how bullet proof it was... until my friend had hit 110 mph by the top of 3rd gear...

First muscle car - This one is short and sweet. A 1971 Dodge Charger R/T with a 440 magnum and automatic (so my wife could drive it occasionally). It was sprayed with an odd shade of green, but it was modified nicely. Yes, I street raced it occasionally in Worcester. Both my daughters had their baby pictures taken on the hood of that car. I sold it to put a down payment on a house.

First (and last) "real" restoration - This one is almost as short as the Charger story. What I mean by "real", is this was the only vehicle I've ever owned where I did a frame-off restoration. I went through everything over the course of 5 years - paint, body, interior, tires, wheels, suspension, brakes, engine, transmission, the works. The interior was about 75% done when I sold it. It was a 1979 Chevy C-10 truck that had less than 35K original miles with a very healthy small block 350. In the end, it had a $6000 tri-color paint scheme - Atomic orange pearl, black metallic, and silver pin-striping. God knows how much else was invested into the truck.
The reason why it is my last, is I realized I do not have the time, patience, and strength to sand that much metal ever again - even with the help of others. It literally was "sand until you bleed." Thank God a woman wanted to purchase it for several years and wanted it WAY more than I did. That made things easier...

I want to hear form you!
Until next time, peace out -
Dave