The evolution of my auto-obsession started when I was quite young. Some
of
my earliest memories revolve around the (now long gone) dragstrip in
Puyallup WA. Dad would race whatever we owned at the time, he even scored a
few trophies, for what I don't remember. My father could barely tell one
end of a wrench from another but he knew how to get down to the end of the
strip. Consequently my fathers lack of knowledge got passed on to me...
Due to my fathers influence my first love was American Iron. Oddly
though,
I never inherited the obsession with speed. My first love was custom vans
(am I dating myself yet?). Yeah! those lumbering crushed velvet, wet bar,
8-track stereo, flare fendered bad boys of the boulevard! That love still
lives on although I've downsized to wagons. When I was old enough to drive,
my first car was 1972 AMC Javelin SST (304cid). Then I entered my "horse
trading" days. The Jav quickly gave way to a '65 Malibu SS, then a '72 Ford
Van, '59 Ranchero. In addition I acquired a '66 Nova Wagon drag car that
never did get out of the driveway.
Then much to my fathers shame I entered my import phase. First on the
chopping block was '73 Civic, quickly followed by a '70 Subaru 360 and a
'72 Honda Z600 (love them micros). But that wasn't enough I need European
car. A '72 Midget quickly joined the stable. What a great car, I bought it
at a lot over an hour away. The car made it about 35 minutes of the way
home and mysteriously died. Magically it started the next day and made it
the rest of the way home. The lovely little Midget continued this behavior
for quite some time before the problem was diagnosed as a bad wire to the
fuel pump. After the problem was fixed I actually drove the car to my job
(again over an hour away). One day in my rear view mirror (vibrating madly
at 60 mph) I saw a car coming up behind me, an unusual thing with the
headlights slightly set in from the fenders and bumps on the hood to
accomodate those lights. I was smitten.
The Midget had proved unreliable enough that I decided I need a
different
car if I actually wanted to drive to work. I sold the MG (lost my shirt)
and bought a '60 VW Baja. Not just any Baja but a car that had been
shortened about a foot behind the B-pillar. An all metal custom job that
retained the full length sliding rag-top so the whole top basically opened
up. Half the car appeard to be made by hand, the Baja sections were all
metal, the bumpers were handmade, the air cleaner was a coffee can, hell
even the intake manifold was hand made! THe car turned out to be both a
dream and a nightmare. Without a doubt the odd thing got comments wherever
I went in it. But it was also squirrelly on the road (very short
wheelbase), the DPO never thought about what to do about the heating after
hacking up the pan. And to top it all off the PO just cut the wire bundle
in two, took out a foot of wire, and taped all the ends back together. More
electrical troubles...
The VW was joined by a '58 VW Deluxe Microbus. About this time I started
seriously dating this girl in my Technical Illustration class at Voc
School. She really needed a car so I acquired a '74 Mazda RX3 for her. We
drove that car away from the church a year later to go on our honeymoon.
Now by this time we were living in an apartment and I had the '72 and '73
Hondas, the '58 and '60 VW's and the Mazda. Way more metal than money. Cars
started disappearing at an incredible rate. In the end we had the RX3 and
the '60 Bajaha. The VW eventually went away and the RX3 was wrecked. Back
to square one. Within a short period of time we had acquired two Civics
again, a '75 1200 and '77 CVCC. But I never forgot the car with headlights...
A short time later I was convinced we needed another LBC, but this time
it
had to be a TR4. Lo and behold what should show up for sale on a chilly
Washington, February morn, but a TR4. The Civic 1200 was used as a partial
trade in and I drove the TR4 back to my apartment. Like all good LBC's the
car had been vandalized by it's PO but I was undaunted. The next day the '4
started up quickly and reved beautifully. It would not however go into
gear. I eventually got around to replacing the slave cylinder but could
still get no clutch action. The car sat for awhile. My wife and I bought a
house and the car came with us by trailer. The house became a priority and
the car languished. I decided to sell. A friend was interested, but I had
to agree to pay for the trailer rental to pickup the TR4. You see in
exchange I had to take a '69 Fiat Spyder. The Fiat was far better car than
I had been lead to believe that Fiats were. But I missed the TR4.
One day the '77 Civic started giving troubles. It got worse. Finally it
just refused to go. We had a trip planned for Victoria B.C. with friends
and had to drive part way in the Fiat. About this time 3rd gear was getting
really bad. It finally gave out on the way home, as did my wifes patience
with me and the car. A new car was in order. Not just any new car but a NEW
car. A '92 Suzuki Swift entered our lives. But I missed the TR4. (And this
is the really touching part) I spoke to my friend who agreed to sell it
back to me.
A year later things got interesting, an unexpected pregnancy. My wife
quit
work, we sold the Suzuki, the Honda was finally repaired (the Jacobs
ignition was the culprit) we were a one (small) car family, did I mention
the TR4 was partially stripped?. Of course a '77 Civic is bit too small,
plus how was my wife to get around while I was at work? Enter the '82 Volvo
Turbo Wagon. About two years later my father inlaw decides he doesn't want
his old car anymore. So we are the second owners of '66 Dodge Dart Wagon.
The inlaws bought the car new because my wife came along.
So that's the car thing as it is today. The Volvo, the Civic (joined by
two parts cars), the Dodge and the TR4. Oddly enough all four cars are
white as was the Suzuki and the '75 Civic. I can't get away from white
cars. But I still miss the TR4, gotta get it back on the road...
BTW the name I use in the real world is Jerry McDonald. I live in
Spanaway
WA. I'm 34 years old. Married 13 years today! I have a 4 year old daughter.
I'm employed by the Boeing Company as a Technical Writer. I write the Air
Conditioning and Engine Pneumatics chapters of the 777 Maintenance and
Fault Isolation Manuals. My other interests include bicycling, philosophy,
gardening and all things Scottish. The TR is CT1272L still in unrestored
condition and getting worse by the minute!
culture.virus
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