Cars

It is funny what things peopple remember. While I cannot remember the name of someone I was just introduced to, I can remember the floor plan of every place I lived. But who cares about that? Cars? That is a different story. The first car I bought was right after my discharge from the US Army in 1962. It was a 1954 Mercury two door hardtop with leather seats. It had a bit of rust on the passenger side rear wheel well but it only cost me $175. Two tone orange and white. Automatic. I bought it with the money I saved while in the Army. After the mone money ran out, I went to work as an orderly in a nursing home in Edina, MN. With steady money coming in I was ready to improve my wheels. 1956 Chevy convetible, Green and Turquoise. Automatic with the wonder bar radio. I really loved that car but in a moment of weakness traded it for a 1958 chevy 2 door sedan. I think I did that because my older brother had the same car before he and I joined the Army. What a lemon!. For the first and only time in my life I backed out of a loan and returned the car to the dealer. My next car was a 1954 Dodge I bought from a friend at work. I don't remember a lot about that car except one unique feature. It had a combination standard/automatic transmission. Used the clutch to shift into 1st gear, then it was an automatic. By this time I had a better job at the U.S. Department of Agriculture so was looking for a better car. I bought my older brother's 1956 Ford Crown Victoria. Blue and white. When he owned it, the car was very nice. By the time I acquired it, things were falling apart. I did another really dumb thing: I removed the accent trim chrome from the side and had Earl Scheib (who remembers him?) paint it all one color - turquoise. The cost, as I remember - was $29.95. It really looked ugly. Next I bought a 1956 Chevy two door sedan from a friend of my wife. Bad choice. Another clunker. Eventually sold it to my younger brother who was/is a wizard with anything. For awhile he raced it at the racetrack in Shakopee. Eventually he sold it. Next up was my first new car. 1965 Corvair Monza. 110 cubic inch. 3 speed on the floor. Bucket Seats But no power on the any grade bigger than 1% And, more important for MN, no heat to speak of. But, on the plus side it was a really cool looking car. The Corvair was probably my favorite car. It looked nice and was fun to drive. I installed speakers in the rea window, added a tachometer and red line tires! My wife and I took our first vacation in that car. a trip to California through the Black Hills, the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, and Las Vegas. Destination: Los Angeles. Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Wax Museum, The observatory and the WATTS Riots. The another dumb move (notice the trend?). I bought a 1957 Ford from my brother in law. Only problem was that it would not start in the winter. I didn't keep that car very long. I kept the Corvair for a lot of years and traded it only because of a minor accident. While driving south on Cedar Ave, I hit an ice patch and spun out of control. Bent the frame. After that the car looked like it was going sideways. To replace it, I bought a 1968 Chevy Biscayne 4 door sedan. Not a cool car at all. BUT, automatic, A/C really big trunk and a 25 (?) gallon gas tank. Bt that our daughter was about 3 so we all drove out to California again, following the same route we used in the Corvair. Shortly after that I bought a VW Beetle from my older brother. While he had, he installed flared fenders on the rear and removed the rear bumber. It really looked cool. Best of all? It had a gasoline heater which was great for the cold Minnesota winters. I added glass pack mufflers so it sounded cool too. We moved to my current home in KS and brought both the VW and Chevy with. By this time we were looking to replace the Chevy. I'm not sure when I sold the VW. A friend at work had just bought a 1975 Ford Pinto and really praised it. Based on his recommendation, I bought one. Big mistake. Small. Terrible gas mileage and did not start well in winters. I only kept that car a few years and then bought another new car: A VW Rabbit. That was a nice car. Good gas mileage. fun to drive and one of the last cars to have crank out side vent windows! The three of us and one of my nieces took that car to CA. Same route as previously. We traded it only because it had a blown piston and the mileage was piling up. Next up, A Nissan Stanza. Another really nice car. Bigger than the Rabbit. 134,000 miles later I traded it for a Ford Taurus. Midnight Blue out, and light blue in. Velour seats. A/C. Automatic. Bucket Seats. (Somewhere in this time frame I bought another car from my brother in law. A really big Cadillace two door coupe. White out and red inside. 8 track tape player, automatic, automatic trunk, PS/PB, etc. Only problem was that it had some type of electrical problem that always drained the battery. We gave the car to my In-laws who lived in Monticello, MN. ) Now things really get fuzzy. I also bought a 1954 Ford four door sedan. Bought it on a whim because it looked nice. Another lemon. Difficult to start and would always "lock up" (vapor lock I think) . When will I learn? After selling the Ford, we were down to one car. I bought a 1972 Nova two door sedan from a friend at work. It was a nice car. But, by the time we acquired it, it had seen better days. I sold that car after a few years so we were down to one - which was OK with my wife but it did limit what we could do. Somewhere in this time frame, I bought a car for my Daughter. It was a red VW. Really nice car. She drove that the last two years she was in high school. When she married, I "took" the car back. I had plans for it!. Looking for that second car, I bought a 1/4 ton Chevy pickup. The owner had done a lot of exterior modications to the truck so it looked real cool. After a blown head casket though, I decided to sell it to my son in law (who owned a garage. He fixed it and then sold it). To replace it I bought a bigger pick up. Nissan. Roll Bars, bucket seats, King Cab, realy big tires. Power all over and A/C. Really a nice truck but it had a lot of miles on it and eventually it started to just fall apart. To replace the truck, I bought a 1993 GEO tracker. White with white convertible top and black interior. A/C, Power. It is a bumpy ride but is fun to ride. I still had the Taurus but it was fast becoming a high mileage car , over 134,000 miles. I traded it for a Ford Windstar Van. The van was really practical. big, front/rear heater and A/C, Traction Control, and 25 gallon fuel tank. The mile piled up on that car pretty fast. My last purchase was 4 years ago. Traded the van for a Toy0ta Rav 4. Another nice car. CD/Cassette player, A/C, power and good fuel mileage. That car now has 90,000 so it is almost decision time. Buy another car or wait a few years to see hoe fuel economy improves with the new hybrids.

I did have another car that I did not drive too often. Again, the time frame is a bit hazy but it was shortly after my Daughter married. I bought a car kit - 1929 Mercedes. Before I bought it I asked my talented younger brother if he would put it together for me. Yep he said. And he did. Only problem was that the interior of the car was so small, I could barely fit in it. Same for the passenger. The interior was only big enough for a 12 year old child. For the drive train, I used the red VW I bought for my daughter when she was in high school. So, there it is, a list of all the cars I have owned/drive since 1962.