It's not my intention, with these Ramblings, to bore you with every detail of my life, but rather to talk about car things that might spark memories of your own times, learning to drive, buying your first car and ALL of that fun stuff. Having said that, I will resist the temptation to yak about the details of things that happened in my "Truck Years" because I'm sure you all remember those milestones of your own. Things like getting your first traffic ticket or into that first fender bender are memories that tend to stick with us! What I WILL do here is jump right to the point in time when I FINALLY reached "Car Club Thing Journeyman Status" Poncho style!!
There were so many changes in my life the years after high school but the one thing that did remain consistent was my love of cars! I had read so many magazines and books and simply found that there wasn't a car made that I didn't find interesting in one way or another. I still feel that way today. Yeah, it's cool owning a Super Duty, you have to own and drive one for a while to really appreciate it, but when I attend a cruise or car show, I like everybody else's car better. That's just the way I am, I pop open my hood, do a little wiping here and there, then I'm off looking at all the other rides. I totally lose interest in my own car. Anyhow, getting back on track, when I finally landed my first "real" job and figured I could afford to buy whatever I wanted, I had a pretty good idea of what I was looking for.
MY MUSCLECAR RECIPE Please keep in mind as you read this, that what I'm about to write is what I PERSONALLY was looking for in my first muscle machine. In NO WAY am I saying this is what is needed to call a vehicle a musclecar! That's another arena I'll wander into later but for now, here was my criteria! My car was going to have only two doors and IF it had a back seat, access to it would be awkward at best. Even though I liked the look of a bench seat in the late 60's Road Runners and GTX's, I was really partial to bucket seats with a floor mounted shifter. Once behind the wheel, my perfect ride would have a full array of gauges along with the means to blast my music as I cruised! The body had to be either a fastback or convertible with a hood that was bulged, cowled, shakered, scooped or had SOMETHING to indicate something powerful was hiding beneath it. Another thing I felt important was room in the wheel wells for some wide meats, the wider the better! Optionwise, power steering and brakes were needed from a performance stand point, but the car I wanted had no room for things like air conditioning, power windows or cruise control. Then we come to the main ingredient, the engine. I love big blocks!!! I'm well versed in the wonderful traits of small block motors and have a lot of respect for them but, I love big blocks!!! If the displacement didn't start with a 4 and have something other than a zero following it, I wasn't interested. With all those ingredients in mind, I made my choice, and I guarantee you MIXING THE INGREDIENTS Yep, that was the ultimate car in MY books, the AC Cobra! It had everything I wanted in a car and more. I had read so much material on that car but what really cinched the deal was something I read in one of the magazines I had The next month was spent scouring the papers hoping against hope that one would show up. What's almost funny is that one finally did and it was just around the corner from my parents house. Now make sure you are sitting as you read this because this is one SAD, SAD story. The ad read WHY AIN'T THE "DOUGH" RISING??
You can say I was full of youthful optimism, wet behind the ears or just plain stupid, but I figured I was going to waltz into a bank, without a gun, ask for five thou and they would give it to me!! As I quickly learned, it just don't work that way. It didn't matter that I put on my best clothes, combed my hair, talked politely, had a job or wrapped my arms around the bank officer's legs and begged! That silly little book she was holding said the car was worth $1200 and they would loan only 80% of that IFFF I qualified. No matter which bank I went to, I got the same answer, as if they called each other on the phone
to say I was
considering my options. I could: (1) Wait a few months and save my money diligently until I had enough to buy a Cobra outright, then get back into the market. Even though this is the one that makes the most sense to me as a grown adult, especially knowing NOW what happened to Cobra prices, as a kid, that option took too long! (2) I could buy a different used musclecar that wasn't as highly priced. This would have also been a good choice since in those days you could buy Hemi Cudas, SS Chevelles & Novas, AMX's, Boss Mustangs or GTO's for a song! Or(3) Follow the bank guy's suggestion and buy something brand new! Sounds good but you have to remember, this was 1974 and factory built muscle was suppose to be a thing of the past. Looking at my choices and rethinking the pros and cons a thousand times, I figured a cheaper used car was the way to go. Which one was the question. I dug out the stack of car magazines I had in my closet and started thumbing through them trying to make a choice. There were just so many cars to choose from and I liked ALL of them! Frustrated, I was about to set the mags aside for the night when suddenly, right there before my eyes, in the May 1973 edition of Car & Driver Magazine, was the perfect choice. It was an article about a test drive of the 1973 SD 455 Trans Am and the stats were pretty impressive. LOOK WHAT'S COOKIN' The very next day, I got out of work early and hurried straight to the dealership after picking up a close friend of mine. It was Friday and I was anxious because in those days, new car showrooms were closed on Saturday so I didn't want to have to wait a whole weekend! Jim and I arrived in plenty of time but with the combination of our young looks, long hair and work dirty clothing, the four salesmen standing in the showroom talking to each other didn't seem to want to give us the time of day! Suddenly a fifth guy appeared out of the service bay and asked if I'd been helped yet. When I replied "No" he asked if there was anything he could do?! This was it, my chance had arrived and I was totally excited and nervous! I had full intentions of ordering it in Cameo White with red interior and red decals but you could only get blue decals on a white car so when all was said and done, I ended up with Admiralty blue and medium blue custom interior. The tranny was buyers choice with no additional cost for auto or stick but they had an extra cost M21 Close Ratio four speed so I ordered that. Wheels were the same deal, Rally II or Honeycomb, buyers choice with me going to the Rallys. From there my options of choice were, AM/FM Stereo, 8 track player, tinted glass, center console, electric rear window defroster, radial tuned suspension, 3.42 Posi and the hood decal. I was really at odds over the decal. I thought it to be a bit gaudy but it seemed to be one of those things that it needed to make it "complete." Anyhow, with all said and done, the bill came to a total of $5321 out the door. Greg asked if I wanted to finance it with GMAC to which I quickly answered yes because going back to the banks was not something I wanted to do. We filled out the appropriate forms for that and the ordering process was done. Talk about being nervous, I was! As he disappeared with my order into another office (followed by the other salesmen
like a row of ducklings), the thoughts of not being able to get the money filled my head!! Could I withstand another rejection?? Although it couldn't have been more than maybe 15 minutes, it seemed like an eternity waiting for the answer.
Actually, apprehensive is the wrong word.."GUILTY" would be a better choice. I'm telling you, I was feeling SO guilty that I had second thoughts and even considered canceling the order. It's not that I didn't want my Dad there with me when I ordered my first new car, and having reached fatherhood myself, I can see how hurtful it probably was. It's just that everytime the discussion turned to my buying a car, well, his idea of what I should buy and mine were worlds apart. I didn't want a Maverick or Pinto and saw this as my one and only chance to get what I truly wanted!! I don't know if I took a step towards independence and
growth or if I diminished it somewhat, but going home and telling him what happened was something I was dreading. I didn't want to hurt his feelings. For years, I would wait for him to wake up and we'd talk about stuff as he got ready for work. I never let anything get in the way of our time together, He was shaving with his old Schick razor as I said to him ~RAMBLINGS - FORWARD TO PAGE 4~ The contents of this site are copyright© 2000, Jamos1/Superduty455.com
it wasn't a Deuce and a Half Army truck.
It wasn't a Pontiac either!
It said, and I can't remember the exact numbers.
"The Cobra can go from zero to 100 and back to zero in 13.3 seconds & it's NOT because the brakes are so good!!"
I wanted that car in the worst way!!
"1965 AC Cobra For Sale, Excellent Condition. $5000.00 FIRM!"
I called and found it was still for sale so I rode over on my Schwinn Typhoon to look at it. It looked just like the 67 in the picture above. Dark Blue, White Stripes, 427 Engine and totally awesome. I was really testing the patience of the seller as I walked around that car 100 times until I finally got up the nerve to ask if I could test drive it. He snapped,
"NO, you'll just have to take my word for it that it runs perfectly. Do you want it or NOT??!!"
I stuck my hand into my pocket and pulled out a crumpled up $20 bill, which he took as a sign of good faith, and I rode off pedaling that old bike home sooooo fast and totally excited about "My Cobra." When I think about it still today, I am always amazed. Here is a nine year old 427 Cobra for sale for a mere 5 Grand, some 19 year old "kid" rides up on a Schwinn, hands the seller a twenty dollar bill to hold it and without a test drive or receipt, the deal is done!
To say it was a simpler time would be a gross understatement!
Little did I know however, I was about to get a lesson in Economics 101.
"He's on his way and here is what I told him!!"
Since I didn't have the rest of the money,
my hopes quickly faded. THIS was the time I needed the persistence I had while trying to buy that Army truck but it just wasn't there. Instead, something one of the loan officers told me stuck in my head.
If I bought a new car instead, 5% down was all they needed!!
After trying to get my $20 deposit back, without luck, I headed off in a new direction,
0-60 in 5.4 seconds
Quarter mile in 13.8@103.6
All done in factory trim with an automatic car leaving the shifter in "D"!! My mind was back to full speed ahead and all that was left to find out was if the option was carried over to the 74 model year!!
"Ummmm Yes....Ummmm, is the SD 455 still offered on the Trans Am?"
When his response was positive I simply said,
"Well, I'm here to buy one!"
Buddy, you could have heard a pin drop as the four way conversation the salesmen were having about gas prices came to a screeching halt! It was so cool!! Greg invited me into his cubicle and gave me the lowdown
on the SD's! It was very interesting in that he was telling me the sales staff had been instructed by GM to
not offer the Super Duty option unless the customer asked for it first! Then he informed me there would be a minimum three month wait for delivery!
"Still want to order one??"
That was the question and you all know my answer!!
I was lost in thought when I suddenly realized Greg was back as I heard him say
"10% down upon delivery, $136 a month and its yours."
I couldn't believe my ears and my response was profound as I said, "HUH??" I know the look on my face must have been way out because he asked if I was feeling ok! In truth, I didn't know how I felt at that moment! You would have thought complete excitement would have been the only emotion but after leaving a $100 deposit, shaking his hand and walking out of the door, I was a bit apprehensive, and for good reason!
so as I approached, he had no reason to suspect I was about to drop a bomb on him.
"Dad, I bought a car today!"
The look in his eyes already showed hurt and disappointment but when I answered his question as to what kind of car, it turned into what seemed like anger!! He threw his razor into the sink actually chipping the porcelain as he responded with
"WHAT in the HELL is WRONG with you????!!!!"
Whoaaaa!! I knew his feelings would be hurt but I never suspected to this degree!!
"FIVE GRAND???!!! You could have bought a Lincoln for that much money!!!!" "They'll kill you on insurance!
HOW are you going to pay for THAT??!!"
I was bombarded with the realities of car ownership but, even though I was feeling real small, I decided to stick to my guns. It wasn't until many years later, as he and I sat in a duck blind, that we talked about the events of that day. It was then he told me that the very night before I ordered my car, the son of a co-worker died in a high speed crash in his brand new Cuda and that's what prompted his "anger", a fear that I would be next!! But through the years, we had fun with that car! Wrenching on it together or just taking it for a drive with him behind the wheel. He was totally amazed at the awesome holeshot it could pull. In the end, it seemed that the car that threatened to push us apart, ended up bringing us closer together. Cars have a way of doing that, pushing or pulling...there's a real power there! You know, that standard thing that parents tell their kids, "Someday you'll understand", is so true and with three boys of my own, let me say I'm getting an education!
Anyhow, the deed was done and all I could do was wait.
CLICK ON MY CAR TO GO
TO THE NAVIGATION PAGE
All Rights Reserved