Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Johnny's '59 Lincoln
1959 Lincoln Mark IV Continental Convertible
Johnny was 15 years old in the early 1960's. He lived with his dad in a huge mansion in Birmingham. He couldn't wait to get his first car. Somehow, he talked his father (who was well off) into buying him a custom '59 Lincoln Mark IV Continental convertible. It was painted pearl white and in beautiful condition. The seats were black and white leather with black carpeting and a matching black and white steering wheel.
Johnny's Lincoln was parked in the driveway, covered by a car cover. He wouldn't be allowed to drive it until he turned 16 and got his driver's license.
His best friends tried to convince him to sneak it out of the driveway after his dad was sleeping but Johnny's father was very strict about the rules of the house and Johnny wasn't interested:
- No video games on school nights
- No leaving the house after 10 pm
- No visitors unless his dad was home
- No stealing his beer
- No driving until you turn 16 AND get your driver's license
A couple months after the '59 Lincoln was purchased, Johnny's dad left for an overnight business trip. His Grandma Jean was supposed to come stay with him, but she ended up coming down with a stomach flu and had to cancel at the last minute. Johnny's father decided to let him stay alone over night.
Johnny's friend Reg caught wind of this news and descended on Johnny.
Reg was Johnny's closest friend. He had gone through a growth spurt during the past summer and towered over Johnny. His hair and clothes looked as if he had just rolled out of bed. Reg lived with his mom on the next block down from Johnny. They had met on the bus their first day of Kindergarten and they've been best friends since. Reg was like a little devil that sat on Johnny's shoulder and got him in trouble all the time and this time would be no different.
"Johnny, he'll never find out, we'll mark chalk dots on the driveway cement so we can put the car back exactly where it was," Reg said.
"No way!" Johnny shouted.
"Ok, how about if we just sit in it and put the convertible top down?"
"I guess that would be ok." Johnny mumbled.
Reg wasted no time grabbing the keys from the hook inside the kitchen cupboard and raced out the front door where the car sat.
They uncovered the car together. Reg unlocked the driver's door, jumped in and stuck the key in the ignition to turn the car on. The glass packs made a loud deep rumbling sound. Johnny prayed his neighbors wouldn't hear anything. They were good friends with his dad and would rat him out in a second. Reg found the power top switch just as Johnny's butt hit the passenger's seat, the top quickly retracted.
Reg cranked up the radio and without a word spoken they both leaned back in their seats and looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful, clear summer's night and the stars were sparkling.
Johnny smiled. "This is pretty great" he thought to himself.
"Let's take her for a quick drive down Woodward and back, just for 5 minutes," Reg said excitedly.
"NO WAY! You don't have you driver's license either, Reg!" Johnny yelled.
The two of them argued back and forth until, like always, Johnny gave in to Reg's nagging.
Reg decided he would be the one to drive, since his mom had let him drive around the parking lot at the high school a few times.
They slowly crept the convertible out of the driveway and down to the stop sign. Two turns and they'd be flying down Woodward (just south of 15 Mile Road).
Reg waited until all four lanes on Woodward were clear. His heart was racing. He slammed on the gas, both their heads jerked backwards from the sudden acceleration. He stayed in the right lane, he only hit the curb a couple times before getting a feel for the beast.
They decided they'd go down to 13 Mile, turn around and head back home. As Reg grew closer to the Ram's Horn Restaurant (just north of 13 Mile on Woodward), he and Johnny began to hear a rattling noise. Within seconds the hood flew open and completely blocked Reg's view of the road. They both began to scream. Reg closed his eyes and with both fee, slammed on the brakes. Tires screeched and horns honked all around them.
When Reg opened his eyes, flashes of blue and red reflected off the car's hood, which was pointing straight up to the sky. Both boys slowly turned around. Two Royal Oak police officers approached the Lincoln, one on each side.
"Sir, can I see your license and registration?"
Reg burst into tears and told them everything. Johnny sat quietly shaking his head from side to side.
The police called Johnny's father and had his Lincoln towed back to Johnny's house.
Johnny lost his video game privileges and his freedom for six months. He mowed lawns to reimburse his dad for the hood and towing expenses.
Oh and Reg...he decided to steer clear of Johnny's house until school started back up in the fall.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Paul's Love of Cars
Paul's Story
Paul grew up two blocks from the local car dealership. He lived in the times of black and white televisions. Where women wore dresses and heels every day and men always wore hats.
Every morning Paul would ride his red Schwinn bicycle to school and pass by the chain link fence outside the dealership, stopping to admire all the cars that were lined up row after row, Studebaker's, Packard's, all post-war cars.
Paul would frequently get detention after school for being caught drawing sketches of cars on his notebooks or in the margins of his papers.
Paul's dad was amazing and he understood his son's obsession with cars. To appease Paul, his father would point to passing cars and say "Paul, what kind of car is that?" This was Paul's favorite game! More than playing marbles or jacks, "what car is that' was HIS game.
His dad would take him to auto shows that would come to town. When Christmas rolled around, Paul had just turned 10. His gift from his dad was a Sears Craftsman Tool Set.
When Paul turned 13, he got his first ride in a 1958 Lincoln Continental. It belonged to a friend of his dads who actually understood the fact that Paul was obsessed with cars. He even let him drive it up and down a few of the back roads of Detroit.
Paul said there were rumors that this car belonged to a member of the Detroit Mafia, but he didn't care who it belonged to. He got to DRIVE a car at 13 years old!
Senior year, they drove to the Upper Peninsula to visit a friend from high school. It was the dead of winter and the friend was out on a lake ice fishing. I guess you can blame the case of Schlitz malt liquor (liquid courage) for the reason Paul's friend drove the 3500 lb. car out onto the ice
As you have probably already deduced, the ice buckled under the weight of the Packard and their beautiful 56 Packard sunk to the bottom of the lake, brown and tan beer cans began to pop up to the surface among the broken ice. Luckily for Paul and his inebriated friends, no one was injured.
Paul's next car was supposed to be a Vette, but he ended up with a 1963 Triumph Spitfire...but we'll save that story for another blog!
Friday, March 30, 2012
Bob's 66 Corvette Stingray
Mike and Mark had just parked and ordered two large, frosty A&W root beers, double cheeseburgers and curly fries. Suddenly, they heard the familiar rumble of Bob's 66 Corvette rolling into the parking lot of the local drive in.
Bob was a huge man. He was in his late 50's, stood at 6'5" and must have weighed over 270 lbs. Mike and Mark were amazed he could squeeze his huge frame in and out of his Corvette. He made Mike and Mark look like small children.
The "cool guys" would meet up at A&W every Wednesday evening during the summer. Classic cars from all over would take over the restaurant for the evening. The owner didn't mind at all. For the most part, they were a respectful group of guys. They were great for business too.
Luckily for Mike and Mark, Bob liked them. While Bob was pulling into A&W, an old wood paneled station wagon pulled in right behind him. Four young girls, music blaring, bouncing up and down to the beat. They were laughing and smiling, having a great time enjoying the warm, summer evening.
Unfortunately, the girl driving the station wagon wasn't paying much attention to what was going on in front of her. Her car rolled forward and over the blaring radio echoed the sound of a sickening "CRACK". The young girl had hit the back of Bob's pristine Corvette.
Mike and Mark heard the engine of the Vette shut down. The door of Bob's car flew open. Mike and Mark start chewing faster and harder, like two kids eating popcorn during the climax of a movie at the theatre.
Bob walked to the back of his Vette, to view how much damage has been done to his baby's bumper. Without a word or even a glance towards the cowering teenagers, Bob walked back to his car, leaned into his car window and pulled out a shiny, metal baseball bat.
Mike and Matt's mouths simultaneously stop chewing. "Holy sh--" Mike whispered. Both were frozen from the scene unfolding before their eyes. Why does he have a bat in his backseat? they wonder. He doesn't even play baseball. Maybe he had been saving it for an occasion such as this!
Still silent, Bob lumbered up to the front of the station wagon, faced the windshield,lifted the bat above his head with both hands, and with all of his power, repeatedly smashed the bat into the hood of the wagon.
The nervous teenage girls began screaming and wrapping their arms around each other. One had her hands over her ears to muffle the sickening thud of his baseball bat slamming into the hood of their car.
When Bob was done, he walked quietly back to his Vette. Threw the bat into the passengers seat and poured his huge frame back into his seat. He started up his car and calmly and slowly, pulled into the unoccupied space next to Mike and Mark (who were laughing uncontrollably about what had just went down).
A car-hop skillfully rolled up on her old school roller-skates. Bob placed his order as if nothing had happened, ordering his usual, cheeseburger with extra pickles, curly fries and large root beer float.
Mike and Mark leaned over, still snickering and said "How's it going, Bob?"
"Just fine. What are you guys up to?"
Meanwhile, behind them, the four teenage girls have pulled their beaten and bruised station wagon into a parking spot, far away from Bob, and have gotten out to see the damage. All of them crying and freaking out.
The manager suddenly appeared next to Bob's car window and gave him a heads up that the cops were on their way.
"Who cares. Let 'em come. I'm still eating my dinner."
In less than five minutes, four cop cars rolled up. A police officer walked carefully up to Bob's drivers side window. Bob recognized the officer. They had butted heads more than a couple times over the past few years. Bob hated this guy.
"I need you to get out of your car now." said Officer Tom.
"Why? If I get out of my car, I'm gonna hurt somebody."
The officer kept insisting and eventually Bob got out of his Vette and showed the officer the damage to his bumper.
"Look at that!" Bob yelled.
"What?" the officer replied.
"Look closer" said Bob
The officer bent down, his face an inch away from the bumper of Bob's car. Bob suddenly did the unthinkable and smashed the officer in the face with his giant knee sending blood spurting from Officer Tom's nose.
At that point, all hell broke loose. It took 4 officers to hold Bob down. He was taken away to jail in handcuffs.
A week later, Mike and Mark saw Bob pull in to A& W. He took up his usual space right next to them. Bob informed them he was out on bail. While Mike and Mark were chatting, Bob spotted the arresting officer sitting across the street in his patrol car. Bob stopped in mid sentence, his eyes grew dark and cold and he took of running. According to Mike and Mark, he beat the tar out of the officer and was put back in jail. This time he got four years.
Sadly, Mike and Mark learned that within a year after Bob's release from serving four years in jail, he was killed in a car crash while being chased by the police!
Friday, March 23, 2012
Sean's First Classic Car!
In the fall of 2010, Sean began to research 1960's Mustangs for sale. He looked on Craig's List, E bay, and local newspapers. He researched engine sizes, body types, exterior colors and interior colors. His three requirements before purchasing a Mustang were:
- $3,000 or less
- Must have cool racing stripe in paint job
- Must have been built in the late 1960's
Sean looked on line and in newspapers for over a year before finding a 1968 Ford Mustang Coupe, 289 V8 engine. The car was located in Maine, Sean lived in Michigan.
Now, I should probably mention that Sean is 13 years old! He was twelve, when he started this huge undertaking of finding his first car.
Sean's passion for classic cars began sometime around the third grade. He loved to spend Saturday afternoons watching the Mecum Auto Auction on television with his dad. They would watch for hours at a time together and still do!
Every August, he looks forward to heading up to Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak, Michigan with his parents and younger brother and sister for the annual Woodward Dream Cruise, where thousands of classic cars come together every year. They cruise in his mom's restored 1968 Ford Mustang! I think you can see where his passion for the Ford Mustang came from. His Grandma Chris also had a classic Ford Mustang, a 66 Ford Mustang Coupe!
For four years Sean saved up $1500 mowing lawns, shoveling driveways and doing odd jobs around the neighborhood. His father agreed to match his $1500 towards his first car.
On a cold sunny day in November of 2011, Sean's 1968 Ford Mustang was delivered to his home all the way from the state of Maine! The pictures at the beginning of this blog were taken the morning it arrived.
Sean's hopes and dreams are to restore the Mustang, one piece at a time, with his dad's help, guidance and money! In Sean's defense, I should say he is saving up all of his money to help his dad pay for the restoration pieces.
His goal is to have it restored by the time he receives his drivers permit, in two years.
Now that spring has arrived, Sean can be found every day after school either in the garage or in his mom's driveway working on his new toy! Last weekend he replaced the front brake pads and polished the exterior!
His largest and most expensive renovation will be the interior, it needs to be completely replaced.
Sean's ultimate dream is to own a 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302!
I believe with the passion and drive he has already, he'll have no problem fulfilling his dream!
Friday, March 16, 2012
Bob's 1964 Ford Galaxy 500 XL
This week's post is close to my heart. I will be sharing my older brother Bob's classic car story about his 1964 Ford Galaxy 500 XL. Bob bought the car from a local ad he had seen in the Royal Oak Daily Tribune. He paid $2,800 for it in 1972.
His Galaxy was durable, reliable and surprisingly comfortable to ride in. For those of you bloggers that love to hear the specs of these cars here you go! 18 inch wheels, 233 6 cylinder with the 3 speed on the column, for being a Detroit owned car it had very little rust. 1964 was the fourth and final year for this body style.
Bob was a 17 year old junior at Royal Oak Kimball High School at the time he purchased this car.
We were living on a beautiful, tree lined street named BonnieView, in Royal Oak, Michigan.
On a sunny Saturday in July, Bob picked up his blind date, Karen and the two of them drove off, windows down, hair blowing in the wind in his 64 Galaxy 500, destination...Pine Knob to see Jefferson Starship perform.
Bob and Karen pulled into the parking lot, joining several of his friends for a tailgate party. Several cocktails later, Bob and Karen stumbled their way up the seemingly never-ending steps to the top of the hill at Pine Knob. Karen spread out a blanket and the two of them watched the sun set and the stars come out while songs from the warm up band filled the air.
Everything seemed to be picture perfect between Bob and his blind date. They realized they had a lot in common. They talked and laughed until Jefferson Starship came on stage. The quiet, romantic hill they were perched upon was suddenly rushed by hundreds of screaming, drunk, out of control Jefferson Starship groupies. Their blanket was trampled, covered in mud and beer. After an hour of getting shoved around and stepped on, Bob and Karen decided to leave the concert early.
They made their way back down the 150 stairs and out the exit. They couple made it to the Galaxy with little trouble, but when Bob went to start up the car, he realized the battery was dead. Turns out Karen had forgotten to turn off the dome light after she put her lipstick on and had killed the battery. For my younger readers, please understand, this was way before cell phones were around, so Bob went on foot to track down a security car to jump start them. After a half hour, Bob returned with help.
A quick jump and they were cruising out of the parking lot. Two short lights and they were on I-75 heading back home. Bob was showing off to his new girl, doing over 80 down the freeway, stereo cranked as loud as it would go, both smiling and laughing.
They had planned on driving to Pasquales, on Woodward for a late pizza. Unfortunately, fate had other plans for them. A mile before the exit to Woodward, thick grey smoke started billowing out from the hood of the Galaxy 500. So thick, Bob had to roll down the drivers side window and stick his head out to see where he needed to pull over on the shoulder.
Karen jumped out gasping for fresh air while Bob popped the hood to see what was smoking so badly. He was embarrassed that his blind date wasn't going so well. The smell of burning rubber filled the hot night air. Bob kept a water can in the trunk and poured some into the radiator, hoping that would sooth his sick, choking car.
After letting the engine cool down for a bit, they hopped back in and made their way to the Woodward exit. Bob could tell something wasn't right with his car, it was running rough, luckily Karen didn't know any better. They pulled up to the light at 11 and Woodward. It was Saturday night and all four lanes of Woodward were lined up with cars coming and going.
The light turned green. Bob hit the gas pedal, the Galaxy that usually jumps off the line like a horse at the Kentucky Derby, dies right in the middle of the intersection and in the middle lane too! Almost instantly, the sound of car horns begin a chorus behind them. Bob and Karen are both filled with embarrassment. Bob thinks fast and puts on his flashers, he has Karen steer and he pushes the dead beast into the gas station at the northeast corner of 11 and Woodward.
Karen had decided she had been through enough on this blind date and used the pay phone to call her dad to come pick her up. Bob never did hear from Karen after that night.
As for the Galaxy 500, Bob figured out that it wouldn't go forward in DRIVE but it would go backward in REVERSE. He had no money in the bank to fix his car. He knew the back roads of Royal Oak extremely well and ended up driving the Galaxy 500 all the way home BACKWARDS!!
Friday, March 9, 2012
Ian's 1967 Chevy Chevelle SS
Ian found this metallic blue 1967 Chevy Chevelle SS on a classic cars for sale website. He paid $8,500 for it.
The 1967 model was upgraded to include front disc brakes14 inch wheels and a 3 speed automatic 350 engine and rear shock absorbers.
The interior included bucket seats, power windows, rear defrost and an AM/FM stereo system.
Ian bought the car with the intentions of fixing it up and selling it for a profit, to help pay his way through college. He was renting a house near campus along with 3 of his classmates. He spent most nights in the 2 car detached garage, staring at the underside of his Chevelle, with only a space heater to keep him warm on the cold Michigan winter nights. Replacing parts when he could afford them.
His roommates turned out to be very handy under the hood of a car and in between their classes, they would wander out to the garage, beer in hand, offering to help Ian out.
It took over 6 months to fix up the Chevelle to the point where it was safe to drive. Ian and his roommates would pile in the bucket seats and head down to Detroit. Their favorite destination was Greektown, for saginaki and beer. Ian's Chevelle became part of the group. With it's metallic blue paint, it was easy to recognize cruising through the streets of Detroit.
Ian and his roommates ended up keeping the Chevelle through their 4 years of college. It had helped them create too many awesome memories to sell.
The year after graduation, Ian sold his pride and joy to a college freshman from his alma mater, hoping to carry on the memories into the next four years.
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