Monday, March 24, 2008
Why a '57?
revised 8/8/08
Yeah, my first car was a '63 Fury. And I've tried to get another. More than once. But I just can't compete. The collectors have driven the prices of these cars to ridiculous levels. Everyone and their brother wants to build a Max Wedge clone (then re-sell it for a tidy profit). And all I wanted was a little piece of my nostalgia. I've all but given up on ever getting one again.
I changed my focus after stumbling on to the Christine Car Club a couple of years ago.
Now, I've read Steven King's novel Christine. More than once - so I'll admit that my interest in those Forward Look late fifties MoPars was influenced by a certain red and white 1958 Plymouth Fury. The folks down at the club just helped to give me a shove. Right over the edge. In a friendly sort of way of course. Thanks alot guys!
But I felt an odd connection with her fictitious owner, Arnie Cunningham as well.
It was the mid 1970s and my stepfather, quite the alcoholic, was moving my family and I constantly (that tends to happen when you're trying to run away from the bill collectors). Which in turn made my life during those teenage years quite difficult. Insane might be a better word. I was always the "new kid" in the neighborhood and making friends was a real pain in the @ss. When I did, it was time to move again. So it's no surprise that I became introverted and withdrawn. It seemed every contact I tried to make just wound up causing me trouble or heartache. This eventually translated to some odd interests, like my own first car. Which I almost literally fell in love with. Like Arnie did with Christine*.
Yeah. King's book gave me a real sense of deja-vu. Still does.
So, to make a long story short - the more I thought about it, the more obvious it seemed. She's the car I should have had in the first place!
And maybe I should write my own book while I'm at it.
* - I had arranged to move to Florida with my grandparents at the end of the summer, back in '79. They had a home down in Fort Myers and at the time I thought that living in Florida would be the ultimate in cool. We had a pretty heated argument late one summer evening when they informed me, in no uncertain terms that I couldn't take Lynda with me and that I was to put her up for sale. So, as much as I was looking forward to it, I canceled my Florida plans and headed back to Pennsylvania with Lynda instead. There was no way I could ever sell her.
Yeah, my first car was a '63 Fury. And I've tried to get another. More than once. But I just can't compete. The collectors have driven the prices of these cars to ridiculous levels. Everyone and their brother wants to build a Max Wedge clone (then re-sell it for a tidy profit). And all I wanted was a little piece of my nostalgia. I've all but given up on ever getting one again.
I changed my focus after stumbling on to the Christine Car Club a couple of years ago.
Now, I've read Steven King's novel Christine. More than once - so I'll admit that my interest in those Forward Look late fifties MoPars was influenced by a certain red and white 1958 Plymouth Fury. The folks down at the club just helped to give me a shove. Right over the edge. In a friendly sort of way of course. Thanks alot guys!
But I felt an odd connection with her fictitious owner, Arnie Cunningham as well.
It was the mid 1970s and my stepfather, quite the alcoholic, was moving my family and I constantly (that tends to happen when you're trying to run away from the bill collectors). Which in turn made my life during those teenage years quite difficult. Insane might be a better word. I was always the "new kid" in the neighborhood and making friends was a real pain in the @ss. When I did, it was time to move again. So it's no surprise that I became introverted and withdrawn. It seemed every contact I tried to make just wound up causing me trouble or heartache. This eventually translated to some odd interests, like my own first car. Which I almost literally fell in love with. Like Arnie did with Christine*.
Yeah. King's book gave me a real sense of deja-vu. Still does.
So, to make a long story short - the more I thought about it, the more obvious it seemed. She's the car I should have had in the first place!
And maybe I should write my own book while I'm at it.
* - I had arranged to move to Florida with my grandparents at the end of the summer, back in '79. They had a home down in Fort Myers and at the time I thought that living in Florida would be the ultimate in cool. We had a pretty heated argument late one summer evening when they informed me, in no uncertain terms that I couldn't take Lynda with me and that I was to put her up for sale. So, as much as I was looking forward to it, I canceled my Florida plans and headed back to Pennsylvania with Lynda instead. There was no way I could ever sell her.
Labels: backstory, Christine, first car, history, Plymouth, TMI
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Summer of '79
Fresh out of High School, me and Lynda headed to my old hometown - Cleveland, Ohio for the summer. For the first time in my life I was out on my own, and I still recall our first drive from Erie to Cleveland with great fondness. One hundred and ten miles of open interstate - I just opened her up and let her go. She almost seemed to drive herself that day, like she'd been waiting for the opportunity to get out and run!
I stayed with my grandparents for the summer and of course they insisted that I pay my own way while I was there. It didn't take long to land a decent factory job, one that payed well and left my weekends free. It was hot, dirty work but it left me feeling satisfied at the end of the day.
Grandma usually reserved Saturday mornings for yard work but I still had my afternoons free which meant getting up early, getting my work done then heading out to the flea market at the Brookpark Drive-In. It was a great place to hang out as anyone who was into cars could often be found there, selling and trading parts. At times that place looked more like a car show and swap meet than a flea market and that's where I found my first Sun tach, a nice 4 barrel carb and a set of 4 ET mag wheels for Lynda.
My grandparents were pretty strict and insisted that I be home before 9pm - even on Saturday nights. But I eventually learned that doing some extra chores could soften their attitudes and I was often allowed to stay out past midnight on Saturdays. And so Lynda and I could usually be found back at the Brookpark Drive-In, listening to WMMS until the movie began.
That's a rather compressed version of what I experienced but I think you get the idea.
It was simply a fantastic summer with tons of fond memories.
I stayed with my grandparents for the summer and of course they insisted that I pay my own way while I was there. It didn't take long to land a decent factory job, one that payed well and left my weekends free. It was hot, dirty work but it left me feeling satisfied at the end of the day.
Grandma usually reserved Saturday mornings for yard work but I still had my afternoons free which meant getting up early, getting my work done then heading out to the flea market at the Brookpark Drive-In. It was a great place to hang out as anyone who was into cars could often be found there, selling and trading parts. At times that place looked more like a car show and swap meet than a flea market and that's where I found my first Sun tach, a nice 4 barrel carb and a set of 4 ET mag wheels for Lynda.
My grandparents were pretty strict and insisted that I be home before 9pm - even on Saturday nights. But I eventually learned that doing some extra chores could soften their attitudes and I was often allowed to stay out past midnight on Saturdays. And so Lynda and I could usually be found back at the Brookpark Drive-In, listening to WMMS until the movie began.
That's a rather compressed version of what I experienced but I think you get the idea.
It was simply a fantastic summer with tons of fond memories.
Labels: 63, backstory, first car, Fury, history, Lynda, Plymouth
Monday, February 18, 2008
Backstory
My first car. A 1963 Fury purchased during my senior year in high school, from her original owner for $75, in 1978. By the time I got done with her she was sporting a '64 hemi scoop, new black paint, blacked out windows, ET mags and a custom interior. She was dubbed the Draggin' Wagon by my friends but I knew her as Lynda. When her transmission failed two years later and I couldn't find anyone that could repair the twenty year old push button automatic, I panicked, and traded her for a '73 Satellite.
I've regretted that decision ever since. And that's sort of why I'm here.
May 1978: Lynda and I
...
I've regretted that decision ever since. And that's sort of why I'm here.
May 1978: Lynda and I...
Labels: 63, backstory, first car, Fury, history, Lynda, Plymouth
CHRISTINE movie stills are the property of Columbia Pictures
All other photos are mine except where noted
The custom graphics are my creation as well and are © by me
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