my first car
This was my pride and joy for many years. When I was 15 I was anxious to buy my first car. I'd been saving money since I was 10 delivering the Morning Journal before school each day. I read every issue of Motor Trend magazine cover-to-cover from the age of nine and I LOVED cars. I was particularly fond of the old muscle cars from the 1960's that were becoming a bit scarce in the early 1980's. The 340 Dart was a favorite of mine because it was a bit of a sleeper - grandmas' boxy compact with a big engine. One day while walking home from school I heard a nice engine rumble from behind me. It was a nice old 340 Dart pulling a utility trailer with a lawnmower in the back AND it had a For Sale sign in the rear side window! I had never actually seen one of these cars before let alone one for sale! My heart was pounding. I had 20/5 vision back then and I was one of the fastest runners in my school but I wasn't fast enough and my vision wasn't good enough to see the phone number on the For Sale sign as the car drove by and went up a long hill. BLASTED! There went my dream car. I combed the Auto Trader and newspaper for this car and it never showed up in any ad.
Two weeks later I was driving with my Mom, brother and sister up to Lake Lanier north of Atlanta. I did almost all the family driving when I was 15 with my learners permit and for some reason my Mom wanted us to take the scenic route to the lake. Driving along a country highway BAM! There it was. My car was sitting on a hill in front of a farmhouse with a For Sale sign. DESTINY.
The following day - after a sleepless night: My Dad was a bit breathless after the test drive and I had a mile-wide smile on my face. This car was FAST. I can't believe my Dad didn't try to discourage me from this lethal-fast car with manual drum brakes. After some back and forth negotiation and borrowing $150 from my Dad I had my car! For $1,950 I had an all original Mopar muscle car. This one-owner car was purchased new by a woman in her 60's who loved black and red. The Mercury Marquis she replaced this car with was black with a red vinyl top and red interior and she had on a red dress with black accessories when I met her :)
The Dart sat in our garage for the Summer until I turned 16. This was one of the most exciting years of my life.
my first car
This was my pride and joy for many years. When I was 15 I was anxious to buy my first car. I'd been saving money since I was 10 delivering the Morning Journal before school each day. I read every issue of Motor Trend magazine cover-to-cover from the age of nine and I LOVED cars. I was particularly fond of the old muscle cars from the 1960's that were becoming a bit scarce in the early 1980's. The 340 Dart was a favorite of mine because it was a bit of a sleeper - grandmas' boxy compact with a big engine. One day while walking home from school I heard a nice engine rumble from behind me. It was a nice old 340 Dart pulling a utility trailer with a lawnmower in the back AND it had a For Sale sign in the rear side window! I had never actually seen one of these cars before let alone one for sale! My heart was pounding. I had 20/5 vision back then and I was one of the fastest runners in my school but I wasn't fast enough and my vision wasn't good enough to see the phone number on the For Sale sign as the car drove by and went up a long hill. BLASTED! There went my dream car. I combed the Auto Trader and newspaper for this car and it never showed up in any ad.
Two weeks later I was driving with my Mom, brother and sister up to Lake Lanier north of Atlanta. I did almost all the family driving when I was 15 with my learners permit and for some reason my Mom wanted us to take the scenic route to the lake. Driving along a country highway BAM! There it was. My car was sitting on a hill in front of a farmhouse with a For Sale sign. DESTINY.
The following day - after a sleepless night: My Dad was a bit breathless after the test drive and I had a mile-wide smile on my face. This car was FAST. I can't believe my Dad didn't try to discourage me from this lethal-fast car with manual drum brakes. After some back and forth negotiation and borrowing $150 from my Dad I had my car! For $1,950 I had an all original Mopar muscle car. This one-owner car was purchased new by a woman in her 60's who loved black and red. The Mercury Marquis she replaced this car with was black with a red vinyl top and red interior and she had on a red dress with black accessories when I met her :)
The Dart sat in our garage for the Summer until I turned 16. This was one of the most exciting years of my life.