Cars I Loved
"The Cars that drove my life!"Archive for cars
Yes it’s a Crosley?
When I was about 14 years old we acquired a Crosley – Wikipedia It was a funny little car that even included a propeller on the front grill. A real American classic! The car came to us from our neighbor “Jimmy”. Jimmy was a Sargent in the Marines and he just loved to restore old cars. He had some real beauties and had restored this 1951 Crosley Super Wagon. Jimmy was a great guy, he let me come and learn so much about taking cars apart and putting them together. The real art and craftsmanship of automobiles. So when he decided to sell the Crosley, we bought it. It was Green with Red Seats, Popular color combo in 1951! The stick shift was on the floor and it was a 3 speed “H” pattern shift that was synchronized (no double clutching) This was a fun little car. The Crosley as well as the 1930 Model “A” I wrote of earlier were the first cars I really learned to drive. Learning to drive was a real big man experience back then and in California you could get a learners permit at 15 1/2, so I was sure to be ready. In fact shortly after reaching that very mature age I was able to take drivers training in High School and I graduated with honors! This was a very fun time in my life that I remember it all so well.
Thanks for driving with…
….Craig
My First!
Everyone has one, the first one, the first car! It so happens my first car really wasn’t mine but rather my stepfather‘s. It was his beloved 1930 Ford Model A Pick-up. The truck was green, old with rusted fenders and yellow spoked wheels. It was really cool, I had loved it from the day I first saw it. Here’s the story, my stepfather had owned this truck prior to his college days. He had sold it for needed cash but always kept tabs on its whereabouts. When he graduated from school the Model A came up for sale and his father helped him buy it back. As a young kid I was a bit of a nerd…today I would be a geek.
So when I was about 12, I began to work on this old truck. It didn’t run so I learned to rebuild the flat head four cylinder engine, the mechanical brakes became hydraulic at my hands, the 6 volt electrical system converted to 12 volt with sealed beam headlights. I even learned a bit of upholstery knowledge because of this old truck. So, it was only appropriate that this would be the car to drive first! We lived near the ocean in Southern California and traffic was not anything like today. My driving lessons were out on some dirt roads in an area we used to call the “Back Bay” Interesting truck to drive, it was a stick shift and no synchronized transmission. That meant I had to learn to double clutch! All this and I was only 13 to 14 years old, a full two years before it was legal to drive. Yes, this was my first, my first love. I would go on to drive that car on and off through high school. My brother even learned to drive it. We kept that 1930 Model A in our family until my stepfathers passing many years later. Perhaps you have memories of your first to share? If so please leave a comment..
Thanks for driving with…
….Craig
Cars I Loved 