“When They Were Real Steel” Part I

My next 6 blogs won't be political or military.  Isn't that NEAT??

Since the day I started driving, I've kept a photo album of every car I've owned.......all 63 of them.  Showing them 10 at a time for the first 50, it'll spread this thing out long enough for me to cool down a bit from the aggravation of this blogsite in general, and I'll just dedicate THIS one to those of you out there who might like old cars.  (God forbid there'd be anything controversial here).....

My love for old cars began around the age of five, and is still there today.  I've never owned anything newer than 1986, and don't plan to.  So this is for anyone out there who likes "classic iron", and I'll list them in chronological sequence, starting with the first ten.

As with many my age, my first car was a 1957 Chevy, Bel Air, 2-door hardtop.  Had a 3-speed Hurst floorshift, and their old "bread & butter" "283" V-8.

When I decided to drag race the car in the 1969/70 era, the old 283 was replaced by a full race "327".  If I knew then what I know now, I'd have just kept it bone-stock and RESTORED it.  A few years ago, I built this 1/16th scale model kit of my "first car."

# 2

My second car was also a '57 Chevy "210" model 4-door station wagon (which today is one of those cars I wish I'd kept----although I'm not sure why).  It had a "265" V-8 with a 2-speed Powerglide automatic in it.  Ran good.

# 3

In very late '69, I found this old '56 Studebaker Commander for only $190.00 and decided to see why a lot of old-timers used to speak so well of the stodgy-looking old "Studes"..........most of them were ugly as sin, but mechanically they were GREAT cars!  I would eventually own 2 more in my lifetime.  THIS one had a "259" V-8 in it with an automatic transmission.

# 4

Here's another one I should have kept, a neat little '53 Chevrolet Bel Air 2-door sedan.  Chevrolet was still using a 6-cylinder ("235") and while it ran good, it didn't have the "OOMPH" to set the world on fire so I sold it later on.  These early Chevys command a lucrative price today........but in 1970?.........a "dime a dozen"...........if ya knew THEN what ya know NOW!

# 5

My FIFTH car however, DID have some "OOMPH!"  It was my first Oldsmobile, and to this day,  the BEST one......a 1959 "88" 4-door hardtop, with a big "371 Rocket" V-8.  A big car with a lot of power, it floated down the road as if you were riding on your sofa.  Starlit night, girlfriend next to ya, "Wolfman Jack" on the radio...........it just didn't get any better.

# 6

This '49 Studebaker was originally tan when I bought it in 1970 for a hundred bucks.  Chuck Flowers, a guy I worked with, helped me paint it as you see it in these photos.  On Friday nights, we'd drive it north from Newark to San Francisco, and cruise up & down 3rd Street, where we'd blow the horn and wave to the drunks staggering out of the bars!

Its little 186 cubic inch flathead-6 purred like a kitten, and the car got great gas mileage through its 3-speed w/Overdrive tranny.  With it's "checkered paint", it was NEVER a target for car theft anywhere in California, and I used to leave the keys in it all the time!

# 7

In 1970.....$225.00 would buy you a running '37 Dodge Coupe!  Had a lot of fun in it...........ANOTHER one I wish I'd kept............."230" flathead-6, 3-speed floor shift.

# 8

.....was a 1959 Chevy Corvette that I DEFINITELY should have kept!  (Back then, you could buy & sell 'em for 800 to 1000 all day long).  "327"/365 hp, 4-speed Muncie.  You could still get 106-octane pump gas then for 38 cents a gallon, and that little 'Vette would BOOGIE!, but  fresh out of the service and under 25-------insurance was eating me up!

# 9

I COULD afford to insure THIS one though....a '61 Chevy Brookwood 4-door station wagon.   It didn't LOOK like much, but it had a SUPERB-running "283" and 2-speed Powerglide.

#10

Rounding out the first ten, I WOULD have kept THIS one, had I not wrecked it & bent the frame on an Oregon curve.  It was a low-mileage '62 Chevy Impala 4-door hardtop, "283" 2-speed Powerglide.  Best running Chevrolet I'd ever owned, before or since.

Well gee.........THAT was kinds nice........ain't even upset at anything........(except wreckin' that Impala, now that I've had a moment or so to think about it!)