When They Were Real Steel…….Part VI

# 51

I bought this 1951 Ford 4-door custom sedan in 1995 from an old guy in Boise.  Good running old car and a very classic example of "50's quality".  Just look at that dashboard......no plastic THERE !  At around $1600.00 brand new......you really got your money's worth!  (This one's still here in Mountain Home).

And naturally, under the hood, the original "239" flathead V-8!

# 52

"SLUG BUG.......SLUG BUG!".....and by 1995, I'd owned just about everything else.  All through the years, I'd always thought (like many do), that those old air-cooled VW's were just for college kids, nerds, school teachers and old hippies, but for $500.00 plus a new starter and a set of tires, I was on the road with this '72 Super Beetle.

Initially, it definitely took some "getting used to",  and today, Donna & I own FIVE of them.  Reliable and cheap to operate, they're actually a LOT better car than most folks think they are, and you don't need to float a loan when you pull up to a gas pump!  This one had the 1600cc 4-cylinder w/the standard Bug 4-speed.

# 53

I moved to Apache Junction, Arizona in the winter of '96, and a few years later, bought this '66 VW Bug in Yuma.  This one had the slighter smaller 1500cc, and while it wouldn't cruise at 70-75 on I-10, you could still buzz along in the right-hand lane around 60 and on two different occasions from Apache Junction to Tucson I managed 42 mpg out of it.

# 54

This 1986 Lincoln Town Car was the only OTHER "mistake" I'd made through my "car-acquiring career."  It was the NEWEST one I'd ever owned, and a solid testament to why I'll STICK to the old ones.  Electronic THIS, Electronic THAT, except for changing the oil and sparkplugs, there was virtually NOTHING under that hood that I understood.  Seems like there was always SOMETHING that you had to "take it IN" for.  It WAS a nice riding car, and comfortable.......as long as all the "gadgetry behaved itself!"...............never again...........you can KEEP this over-priced newer stuff!

# 55

This is my little '66 VW Baja Bug.  I bought it in Yuma,  Great for off-road, and fun around town.  standard 1600 was "re-jugged" to 1915cc, full race cam and a 2-barrel Weber carburetor.  Makes about 105 horsepower (opposed to the standard 53-60) in a stock VW.  Donna calls it the "Beasty-Boy."  You usually HEAR it before you can see it!

# 56

Back to Mountain Home in 2004, this is my '66 Ford Thunderbird.  I bought it shortly before Donna  & I were married......and we broke-in the fresh engine rebuild with a trip out to the Oregon coast in it.  It has a bored & balanced "390" in it with a rebuilt C-6.  16-17 mpg is just about all you can squeeze out of it, but it's a joy to drive out on the open road.

# 57

You might not remember seeing this old Bug around town when I first bought it, but ya might remember it a year LATER..................

"Herbie" is a '68 standard Beetle with a very efficient little "1500" in it.  The special aftermarket "Freeway Flyer" 4-speed is very gas-mileage friendly!  (Note-----when the old "Herbie" decals finally got old and started cracking & peeling, I "de-taped" it, and it now just looks like a normal bug today).  I had briefly entertained the idea of just having the numbers & stripes PAINTED-on this time...but because it DOESN'T draw crowds & kids now........I've elected to just leave it alone so I can drive it around without being stared at, or mobbed when it's parked!

# 58

I didn't really need another Bug when this '71 came along, but the price was good.  It had the standard "1600" 4-speed set-up, and became pretty much a "daily driver"....I drove it to Texas & back one year, then to Reno & back the next year.  It had a small oil leak that didn't amount to much, just enough to be irritating, and we never DID find it!  But the car always ran good, so I kept it, until a college student was looking for one, so I went ahead and sold it.

# 59

Next to Donna, THIS is my "sweetheart", my 1956 Oldsmobile 2-door "88" Holiday  hardtop.  Originally from Van Nuys, California, it was a ONE-owner.  When the old man died in the early spring of 2005, his kids didn't want the car------they just wanted whatever MONEY they could get for it.  A classic car brokerage in Lynnwood Washington bought it, trailered it to Seattle, spruced it up and put it on the internet.  My buddy Harvey spotted it on his laptop, knew I'd been looking for one, and called me.  I called the dealership and told them to HOLD it because I was on the way.

I keep it in "hard-storage" here in town.........and ever now and then, when traffic is light and the weather's "just right".........................

It's completely original, from the "324 Rocket V-8" under the hood, to the original owner's manual in the glove box.

# 60

A couple of years later, I added another Olds to the "family", this '67 Toronado......front wheel drive, "425 Rocket V-8".  But I didn't have it all that long though.....another "oldtime Olds guy" at our church kept offering to buy it.  I told him that while it ran great, it DID have some vacuum leaks I still hadn't totally tracked down yet....but he said that was fine, he still wanted it.  He offered me a bit more than I'd paid for it, and I wasn't really "attached" to the car.......so..........

But the black 56?........THAT one isn't going ANYWHERE, except out for a cruise every now & then!