Your favorite vehicles of yesteryear.

[Power Hungry]

In looking back, I'd have to say that I have been really blessed throughout my life. For starters, I have a wonderful family and great kids. I have some very good friends (both old and new) and I enjoy my job. This last part is what got me to thinking a little bit....

I've be fortunate enough to be very adept at computer programming as well as very mechanically inclined. At a rather young age I was already interested in how things worked. I used to go to the local dump down the street from our house and come home with broken radios, calculators, or anything else to look like it could be salvaged. Every once in a while I'd turn up a lawn mower or edger and bring that home and begin tearing it apart. I didn't have any tools at that time and had to use my grandfather's tools. He was an ex-mechanic for Miami Lincoln Mercury and had a rather nice set of tools. I guess that's what really got me interested in cars and engines.

Over the following years, I've had the opportunity to work on some really interesting vehicles - 64 Corvair, 72 Corvette, 78 T/A, 65 Galaxie 500, and a host of others. What always amazed me about them was how simple they all were. Some had bigger engines and some had multiple carbs but they all were basically the same. Did I mention simple? 5 wires - 2 for the alternator, 2 for the coil, 1 for the starter solenoid. 1 fuel line to get the juice into the engine. Boy was I ever hooked.

I had a discussion today with a customer and we started talking about the simpler times, not just from a mechanical aspect, but from an aesthetics aspect. Older cars just LOOK nice. I'm so tired of so much of the cheesy plastic crap that Detroit has force-fed the American public over the last 20 years. I want heavy metal again. I want clean, flowing lines that stretch from here to New Mexico. So with this bit of nostalgia gnawing away at me, I offer my list of vehicles for which I find both mechanically and visually appealing.


One vehicle I have always admired for its shape was the 1948 to 1952 Ford F1 pickup. To me, this is what a pickup truck should look like! The lines are nothing short of sexy and with a variety of engines from 226ci to 337ci you could makes these buggers move, especially with some good performance parts. Nothing much to them and you could fix just about anything with a pair of pliers and a screwdriver. I'd love to own one of these some day although I don't know if I'd fully restore it or do something drastic like drop a 7.3L in it.


My all time favorite street machine would be a 1972 Chevelle SS, 2dr hardtop. There is just something about that car with a 454 and a 4spd that screams "I'm gonna blow your f***ing doors off!" I had a 1972, although sadly it wasn't an SS. I miss that car greatly, but you can't look back. (And yes, I know the picture is a '71. Too lazy to find a good '72 picture!)


I have a special place for the 1964 Corvair Monza Spyder. With a turbocharged 6 cylinder and 4 spd manual tranny, it put out an estimated 180 HP although it was only rated at 150 HP for marketing reasons. The sleek styling was actually quite ahead of its time. Unfortunately, production of the Corvair halted in 1969. For some people this wasn't soon enough, especially Ralph Nader.


One other vehicle I think is overlooked and underrated is the 1961 to 1969 Lincoln Continental. Suicide rear doors. Need I say anything else? Those cars have such clean lines on them that I don't think that there is another car to date that can match it. Just don't take the President for a ride in one!


And finally, a throwback to my childhood... the 1969 to 1972 LTD Country Squire Station Wagon. This is the station wagon that make all others look like junk. The aerodynamics and the straight, boxy lines of these cars, not to mention the big 400ci and 460ci engines absolutely scream "Forget fuel economy! Looking good is too important!" I've always been fascinated with the "pop up" rear seats in the back of the wagon. As a kid, I used to play back there with my cousins on those long trips to wherever. We never worried about exhaust fumes. We lived in Florida and the A/C was always cranked FULL BLAST! This folks, is classic styling at it's best.

Well... I guess that's enough random thoughts for now.