1. 1956 Plymouth Savoy. This was a "rescue car" i.e., my father bought it at the junkyard for $50 in 1966 and I had to put the transmission ($5 from the same junkyard) in so we could drive it. Oh, the transmission was "three-on-the-tree" and this was the car I learned to drive in.
2. 1966 Yamaha Twin Jet 100 (100 cc) motorcycle bought used, it was one year old. It had a two-cylinder two-stroke engine and would go 70 mph downhill with a tailwind and was so smoky that today the EPA would declare it a rolling air pollution alert. But it sure was fun. I rode it all through the winter and haven't been "quite right in the head" about cold weather since.
3. Having had my fill of toughing it out in winter weather the next year I bought a 1962 Mercury Montego (sp?) mostly because I could afford it, at $500. A neat feature of this car was that it had a Montgomery Ward aftermarket air conditioner that would ice up just a little before the thermostat cut the compressor and little pieces of ice would blow out that looked like snow. Friends thought that was cool. Sadly, the drive shaft was bent and eventually broke the transmission and I didn't feel like fooling with it.
4. Next car was a 1962 Ford Fairlane. It would barely get out of it's own way but it was reliable.
5. 1970 Plymouth Duster. I bought it from my mother when my father passed away in 1973 and paid what the blue book was on it at the time. It had the reliable 225 c.i. "slant six" in it. Despite the only options being an automatic transmission and an AM radio I kept that car for 15 years, replacing it only when the floor started rusting out, the rear axle was making noises, and the transmission was shifting funny so I figured it was time.
6. 1983 Buick Century. This was bought new with my soon-to-be ex (but I didn't know that at the time) and she kept the car and the payments. I think we had it for about six months before the split. I still had the Duster at the time.
7. 1985 Chevy Silverado 4WD pickup truck that I special ordered with the options that I wanted since I figured I'd be driving it for a very long time, which turned out to be 18 years. One of the guys at work asked "You're gonna go out on dates in a pickup truck?" and I said "Yeah. And if some girl doesn't want to go out with me because I drive a pickup that's fine. It'll save us both a lot of bother".
8. 2003 GMC 4WD pickup truck that I also ordered with the options I wanted. I still have that truck and at 94k miles now I expect to keep it quite a while longer.
The picture is of the '56 Plymouth. It needed some TLC from time to time, but it was paid for. Cleaned up it actually looked okay.
2. 1966 Yamaha Twin Jet 100 (100 cc) motorcycle bought used, it was one year old. It had a two-cylinder two-stroke engine and would go 70 mph downhill with a tailwind and was so smoky that today the EPA would declare it a rolling air pollution alert. But it sure was fun. I rode it all through the winter and haven't been "quite right in the head" about cold weather since.
3. Having had my fill of toughing it out in winter weather the next year I bought a 1962 Mercury Montego (sp?) mostly because I could afford it, at $500. A neat feature of this car was that it had a Montgomery Ward aftermarket air conditioner that would ice up just a little before the thermostat cut the compressor and little pieces of ice would blow out that looked like snow. Friends thought that was cool. Sadly, the drive shaft was bent and eventually broke the transmission and I didn't feel like fooling with it.
4. Next car was a 1962 Ford Fairlane. It would barely get out of it's own way but it was reliable.
5. 1970 Plymouth Duster. I bought it from my mother when my father passed away in 1973 and paid what the blue book was on it at the time. It had the reliable 225 c.i. "slant six" in it. Despite the only options being an automatic transmission and an AM radio I kept that car for 15 years, replacing it only when the floor started rusting out, the rear axle was making noises, and the transmission was shifting funny so I figured it was time.
6. 1983 Buick Century. This was bought new with my soon-to-be ex (but I didn't know that at the time) and she kept the car and the payments. I think we had it for about six months before the split. I still had the Duster at the time.
7. 1985 Chevy Silverado 4WD pickup truck that I special ordered with the options that I wanted since I figured I'd be driving it for a very long time, which turned out to be 18 years. One of the guys at work asked "You're gonna go out on dates in a pickup truck?" and I said "Yeah. And if some girl doesn't want to go out with me because I drive a pickup that's fine. It'll save us both a lot of bother".
8. 2003 GMC 4WD pickup truck that I also ordered with the options I wanted. I still have that truck and at 94k miles now I expect to keep it quite a while longer.
The picture is of the '56 Plymouth. It needed some TLC from time to time, but it was paid for. Cleaned up it actually looked okay.