John S. Rehberg, 8/31/1956 to 9/14/2022, Dad you may be gone but you're always with me...

[Budnicks]

you have my deepest & heartfelt condolences
for/to you & your family's & his friends' loss
sounds like he was a great guy, 66 (67) is way too young

May John RIP

I like how you're coping with it
a lil' humor helps too, I think most dad's would relate to that too

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my dad has said;
'When it's his time, he doesn't want a funeral
he wants a celebration of life party,
he doesn't want people wearing all black
& being all sad & crying'

he has chosen to be cremated
(I will spread his ashes where he wanted, his old favorite fishing spot)
& it's already paid for it thru 'the Neptune Society'
several years ago,
he has everything in a living trust/will, planned out very well
so no complication when he's gone
I'm the executor too
I will do exactly as he asked, to the letter
(he's been single for about 42 years now, after 3 failed marriages,
my mom was his 1st)

I lost my mother about 20+ years ago
She was about my age, now...
(I lost my beloved Lisa, about the same time too)

I'm my elderly father's caretaker, since 2007, he's 85 now,
he's lived with me since 2005, been in & out of hospitals...
(he really abused his body when young, 60 years of alcohol abuse
& tobacco, filterless Lucky Strikes for 40 years, tell he was about 50,
finally, quit, when he got COPD, he always thought/wrongly diagnosed as asthma,
then the 40+ years of eating **** food/junk food, even with me harping on him etc.)
Then in rehab for months each time after, each incident or surgery
for different ailments & surgeries
for the past 5+ years

he still has a pretty good sense of humor, sort of old school
thru out all the **** he's gone thru
a huge flirt with his nurses too
that's the way I want to remember him, when he's gone
not to be sad
(I'm sure, I will still be sad)

I can relate

as to 'Harvey' or Dad's cars
his 1st car was my great grandfather's car, from his estate in SF Ca.
(he was one of PG&E's 1st full-time workers, worked there for nearly 50 years)
a 39 Ford coupe that had been parked after he thought the clutch was gone
he took the buss or trolly cars from then on
it had very few miles on when he parked it, like 250 miles they claimed
My Aunt Joan
Dad's elder sister owned it 1st, she bought it from his estate for $50
my granddad was a a person who believed you get what you pay for
he didn't give it to her (for $50 he pretty much did)
In like 1951-1952, when she was a sophomore at Berkeley HS...

When she got married to my Uncle Ron, he was being shipped off to Korean War
she sold the car to my Dad, she wanted a station wagon
for the alleged price of $250 (that' be pretty good money in 1954)...
When my Dad was starting as a senior at Berkeley HS, he graduated in 1955...
He drove that 1939 Ford 5 window coupe flathead v8 3 speed car for a time...
He married my mom, he knocked her up, when she was a sophmore in HS 15 y/o
(with my oldest sister Lori) then he got a 1949 Ford 4 dr, from Shell Oil fleet cars,
my Granddad Whitey/Elmer, Dad's father was an engineer VP at Shell Oil
he got good deals, for them when my dad & mom moved to Concord Ca. to start a family...

They owned the 49 Ford 4 dr until early 1958-ish, they sold it (not sure how much)
My Granddad bought another fleet car, a 57 Plymouth Savoy Plaza 2 dr wagon
for my Mom as a gift, I think it was when was announced my mom was pregnant again
with my middle sister Candy/Kathleen...
Car that they brought me home from the hospital in, in July 1959, from Concord Memorial
maybe why I like 2dr wagons so much...
Dad was working in Alameda for Shell Oil lubrication distribution deliveries,
he got an old (1955?) Buick Skylark or Century (?) about that same time frame
on the open market, for like $300, really nice car...
He divorced my mom, in early Jan 1961, she kicked him out for cheating on her
when I was about 18 months old...
He drove that old 55 Buick till like 1964, I remember riding in it well, lil' kid
like riding a couch down the hwy, floating like a boat...

While he was paying my mom $35 per kid/$105 a month child support,
with no alimony, single mom raising 3 kids, on a seamstress at Capwell's pay...
Dad was working on building a company, Orinda Stagelines & Deliveries
Mom gave him some mercy, cut him some slack, she could have gone after a bunch more...
She was never like that, never talked bad about him...
Dad bought several 1964 Dodge A100 Trucks & Vans for doing deliveries (4 total IIRC)
he wasn't doing real well yet, then he bought a new off-the-showroom floor in Sept. 1964,
a 1965 Skylark Convertible, red ext. & white top/interior lil' V8/auto...

I remember riding in that car, like it was yesterday along with my 2 older sisters,
top-down & cruising, like we were in style, towing his lil' 16' boat/50hp Merc
with the 2 labs he had, Flash & Barron going up to Pinecrest Lake...
It's up here in Tuolumne Co. some 200 east of where we lived then
to the lake, to go fishing & go camping... We went fishing & camping a lot...
Dogs farting while we were gaining altitude, it was funny as hell...
My Dad was always a cut-up doing something, making the miles go fast...
Fun times...

He got remarried wife #2, a hot voluptuous redhead 'Crystal, out of his league
she worked at a local bank in Laffeyett where they both lived...
She liked more sporty cars, she wanted the nicer things in life...
Dad was getting into Trucks, Fords specifically,
he bought a new 1970 F250 Camper Special & a 12' Six Pack Camper,
he was an avid fisherman/boater & camper...
He still had the 65 Buick Skylark for a time still...
(sold it after he got remarried to wife #3)
Crystal/She got an ordered new
1968 300hp 327 Corvette T400, Elkhart Green & saddle tan interior
they had them until she dumped his *** & took everything he had,
except a few pots & pans, his dogs, his record player/stereo system
& his huge record collection, after she caught him chasing skirts
old habbits never die...
Crystal kept the Vett, that car was never to be seen again...
I saw Crystal a few times, she really liked my 2 sisters & my Mom...

Move ahead a few years 1973 he gets remarried to a "bitch" wife #3 Patty
who had 2 young boys, now my new step-brothers
Mark a couple years younger, he was like 11
& Tim he was like 4 months younger than me 13...
They proceeded in adopting two foster children, 2 more sisters for me Noel & Brenda
that Patty wanted...
She had some POS car they got rid of, I don't remember what it was off hand...
& Bought a new off the showroom
1973 CJ5 304cid 3 speed Red with a white top & interior
my dad loved that Jeep, they still had the truck & camper too
Dad was a part owner in a shoestore chain 'Shoe Stable'
(Orinda Stagelines went belly up, after his second divorce)

He bought a 1973 Pinto 4 speed 4 banger, white with blue interior
Patty drove that mostly...
Dad also used it as a sales car when he started to work for Admiral Awnings...

He moves again, with wife #3 up into El Dorado Co., Garden Valley/Georgetown area
165 acres, a really nice place/ranch, he was doing well again...
He started his own business "again", now a Contractor, C contractor
AddOn Home Improvement Co. specializes in Awnings, redwood decks, and skirting
on mostly Mobile homes...
It was a booming business in that area in the early 70's
people getting away for the Bay Area or the Valley, inner-shittys,
more affordable living...

Now another new Truck for work
a 1975 F350 390cid 4 speed 12' flatbed dually, single cab white, blue interior
he still had the 73 CJ5 & the 73 Pinto (see a trend, lots of white vehicles)
he had them past the time I graduated HS...
I moved up to his place when I was in the summer, before my HS sophomore year...
He then moved for her career, he put "Patty" through college to get her Psychology degree...
They moved to Yreka Ca. shortly after I graduated HS 1977'
He traded the 75 Flatbed Ford in on a
1977 Silverado 4x4 350 4 speed, step-side shotbed, nice medium blue color
sold his company to some guy in Placerville, started driving a school bus
for Yreka HS...
Patty traded his 73 Jeep Cj5 in on some crap-box
1978 Ford Fiesta, piss yellow & plaid interior,
she wanted for gas mileage...
"Dad was totally pissed"

Shortly after that
Wife #3, She dumps his *** for her old HS sweetheart, a retired Capt. in the Navy...
He lived up there, part of the reason she took the job up north, so far away,
come to find out later...
Comeupins on Dad roles reversed...

Dad drove the 77 Chevy 4x4 PU for a while, he moved to Tuolumne Co. in 1980
traded it in on a
1984 F150 4x4 ext. cab 360 4 speed, Sierra Tan & brown, with brown interior
he drove that while he was a bus driver for Sonora HS School district
later traded that in on a 1994 F150 4x4 ext. cab long bed 302cid turd 4 speed
He bought a nice low miles barely used
1997 Safari 36' Class A motorhome, 5.9 Cummins turo & Allison 5 speed
exactly just like the one I had, pulling my Featherlite trailer racing,
he loved it so much he wanted one & he drove that like it was his daily driver...

He had also drove that 94 Ford truck until he retired in 2000,
when he sold it to my step bros. Dr. Mark...
Got rid of the motor home, in like 2007, when I moved up here permanently...
After that he drove my 2002 F350 Dually 4x4 ext. cab 7.3 PS Turbo 6 speed,
more than me since 2007
he drove it like a daily driver, he put 150k miles on it until I traded it in on the
2020 Launch Edition Jeep Gladiator Rubicon 4x4 Jeep/TJ 'white w/black accents'
(it's called Whitey, after my Granddads nickname, from him wearing white tennis tongs all the time)
with a special graphite gray/looks black & red accent stitching, all leather
'Launch edition' interior
Just so he'd have something more reasonable to drive daily, than my 1 ton diesel dually tow rig...
& 5th wheel Jayco trailer all over the damn country...

 

[guy gadbois]

I need to learn to be more succinct and to the point like Mr Budnicks!

 

[guy gadbois]

OK...until I graduate from the Budnicks School of neat and concise journalism, I shall continue to subject you all to my rambling narrative...
Next in my dad's line of vehicles was a 64 Impala. I don't have a photo of it scanned to my computer, but it looked just like this one, down to the wheelcovers, save ours had a black interior. And memory say the antenna was on the quarter on our car, but don't hold me to that.

It was even 283/glide like this.
I'll spare you the story of going to pick it up and the thunderstorm that blew up a transformer in front of us and flamed out several square miles of MidTown Tulsa, but I think I'll share a bit of the selection process as it gives some insight to dad and a couple of his later acquisitions.
When dad decided to get a new 'family car' , he went back to Pontiac first. I distinctly remember a new, 64 Grand Prix on the showroom floor; it was dark blue metallic with an ice blue interior and 8 lug wheels. Can close my eyes and 'see' it. I was in LOVE, and did everything I knew how to talk dad into buying that. To humour me I'm sure, dad did go over, look at the car and then look at the sticker...I think thats the first time [of millions] that I remember my dad saying to me "boy, that must be yer butt talkin cause your head is smarter than that!"
He went back to looking at Catalinas.
They couldn't get together on a price, so he went back down to Fred jones Ford. dad REALLY wanted a 64 Ford Galaxie 4 door hardtop for some reason, but again, couldn't get to the number he wanted. As we drove up 11th street, I again pled with dad - PLEASE...lets stop at Cox Chrysler Plymouth! Mr Sward has a new Plymouth and I love it!. [it was a 2 dr hdtp B bodied Plymouth and that roofline just knocked me out. Still does] Dad kept going...
We stopped at Wilkerson Chevrolet. We looked, studied, drove a couple and took the brochure home to study some more.
What dad really wanted was a light yellow SS with the 283. Wilkerson had a yellow SS, but it had the performance 327; cool! But dad didn't want an 'Ethyl" engine. I [and the salesman] suggested ordering, but dad was having none of it - he wanted to drive the actual car before he bought it. said you could order it and the car might be a Monday car or a lemon. [something I found out was true many years later...] So we ended up with our Impala. I liked the car - at least it was a 2 door! And it was a great car - when dad went to buy another 'family car' , he sold the 64 to a guy at Amoco. That guy used it as a daily for awhile then gave it to his kid. it served the kid thru high school, college and grad school. Kid lost it in a divorce not long after and disappeared, but the last time we saw it, the car had ~325k on it and had never been apart.

 

[guy gadbois]

Next up was another 'driver' for dad. I probably wouldn't spend much time on this car except a] I liked it and b] I believe it holds a unique position, at least in Corvair -land.
Dad brought home a 62 Corvair Monza. Again, someone from the Lab had bought it new and went to trade it in on another new one. It was a 4 speed car with two carbs. Chevrolet called the colour "Twilight Turquoise", but I'm not sure why - 'twilight' would seem to indicate , to me at least, a dark shade, but this was a very light, non metallic turquoise colour. The interior was a slightly darker than 'medium' turquoise. I thought/think its pretty, but can't find an internet picture, so you'll hafta look back at the original post it you're curious.
Anyway, I liked that car as a kid and remember it vividly. When dad started making noises about needing another pickup, I lobbied extensively for a Corvair Rampside. [to no avail] But the thing that may - probably not, but anyway - be of interest is a repair dad did to the car.
Those that are familiar with Corvairs know that they have a bad habit of developing oil leaks around the pushrod tubes. Every 15 to 20k, you hafta replace the seals or just let it leak. Dad HATED oil leaks.
Dad was an engineer, with his area of specialty being deep well offshore stuff. He was a member of the ASME, ASPE, API and SAE, and maybe others I can't remember. Anyway, one day at work he received an envelope with a bunch of different sized O-rings and a letter explaining that these were made of a new wonder material called Viton. Viton was purported to be a boon to the oil industry, hydraulic manufacture and maybe even the auto industry. The letter went on to state how neat this stuff was as it held against heat and oil seepage like a rabid pit bull. Why dad received this, he never knew because he had nothing to do with purchasing, but he wrote them back and asked for 24 Viton O-rings in a specific size for an 'experiment' he was conducting. That experiment was our Corvair's push rod tubes.
To the best of my knowledge, our Corvair was the first one in the country to receive Viton pushrod seals, which quickly became - and still is - the 'standard' for quality repair of Corvair oil leaks once the product became available to the public.

 

[PlymCrazy]

I did a picture - all matted and framed - of them at his 50 yr anniversary of driving. [ 1993] It looks like this -

I love this

OK... on to the list!

32 Chevrolet coupe
36 Ford Tudor sedan
39 Ford Tudor sedan
51 Chevrolet
50 Ford
55 ford - dad's first new car
57 Ford - mom's first car bought new for her by dad. Of course, they weren't 'Mom and dad' then, just John and Jean...
40 Ford Tudor sedan - Mom and dad [still not mom and dad] became a two car family. Dad drove the 40 to work and errands, taking the back seat out to haul hay for his horse...
58 Pontiac Star Chief
50 Buick
53 Buick
61 VW
62 Ford Falcon Ranchero
64 Chevrolet Impala
62 Corvair
66 Corvette
69 Impala
69 Chevy pickup
70 Ford Galaxie
73 "chevy' LUV...
75 Chevrolet Silverado pickup C20
78 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme - the only car dad ever ordered
72 Datsun 510 that was my fault ; may expand later
78 Ford Fiesta S
79 Dodge D50 Sport - the Nuclear Truklet!
82 Olds Cutlass
81 Ford F100
84 Buick LeSabre
85 Dodge 4WD pickup
85 Ford F150 XLT Lariat 4WD
89 Chevrolet Silverado K1500
86 Ford F150 - that was actually mine that I ordered that dad had for a few months
91 Lincoln Town Car
91 Chevrolet Silverado K1500 Z71
79 Porsche 911 SC
96 Chevrolet Camaro Z28

Looks like your dad had a car or two for nearly every letter of the alphabet too!

...was not 'technically' dad's car - it was the 'family car' ...

Good point.

...and if you know how small those cars actually are, you will understand that everyone had to be on pretty good terms to ride some 3 and a half to 4 hours each way in one....

You had to know my dad to kinda understand this next car. Dad was, um, lets say... 'fiscally responsible'. But dad also had a thing for NVH and good suspension. And that 57 Ford drove him nuts; he hated that thing. Ford did something different with their front end and the steering was completely different from even his 55 , and dad said that thing was awful. He did everything he knew to do, took it back for warranty more than once and just generally obsessed on that car, but could NOT get it to steer or 'handle' right. [I know...handling is a relative/subjective term and not usually used in the same sentence as 57 Ford...] Drove him crazy. Said other 57 Fords drove crappy too. Really bugged him. Bad design. And he hated bad design. So, very much unlike my dad, he said 'enough!' , prepared to take the financial hickey and started looking for a new 'family car' , tho the 'family' part was several months away.
The 59s had just been introduced and he went looking, tho NOT at any Ford products.
He wandered into Cashon Pontiac on 11th looking to maybe buy a new Catalina 2 dr sedan. He drove a couple, looked at a few, found a base model that he thought he could afford and started dealing. [as an aside - you do NOT want to be on the other side of the desk trying to make a car deal with my dad...] He and the salesman danced around but couldn't get to Dad's number; when Dad had a number in mind, that was all he was going. Period. Anyway, they got within $25, but dad wouldn't budge. Nor would the salesman. So dad started out the door...
The general manager had been in his office and had overheard all of this. When he saw dad walking, he trotted up to dad, introduced himself and asked if dad might be interested in a top-of-the-line Star Chief 4 door hardtop for LESS money than he had offered for the Catalina?
Dad was interested.
Only one problem... the car was a brand new, year old 58 model. Seems that the dealer had received this car off a rail shipment at the beginning of the LAST model year. it was a beautiful car - bright white with ice blue 'coves' , gorgeous tritone blue leather interior and an uprated engine with 2 fours and Hydramatic. Power steering, power brakes, most every option available except... no a/c.
Seems the car had been put on the wrong rail car; it was supposed to go to Wisconsin, but landed in Tulsa Oklahoma, humidity capital of the world. Most cars still didn't have a/c, but no one was gonna buy a top of the line expensive car without it here. The dealer called GM, told them of the problem, but the general decided it would cost more than it was worth to re-ship the car and told Cashon to just keep it. Gave 'em a heck of a deal on it. But Cashon had been unable to move it. Enter Dad.
They went way out back and looked at the car - it was dirty from sitting almost a year, but was indeed brand new. They drove it around - dad liked it. then they started talking numbers...
dad beat the guy to death on it cause he could 'smell blood'. They reached a tentative agreement and then dad added, "of course, that would be AFTER you install FACTORY air in it, right?"
Poor manager swallowed hard, said 'yeah, I can put a Mk IV underdash unit in it for you' with sweat pouring from his forehead.
Dad said' No, I would need factory air - this is too nice a car to hang something under that beautiful dashboard.'
manager declined.
No problem - dad shook his hand, said good night and went home.
Next morning, dealership's owner called and agreed to the deal; they wanted that car GONE. Done deal.
Dad and mom drove the car for a few weeks while the Parts Department ordered in every single little piece to make the car factory air. Every. Single. Little bitty. Piece.
Once all the parts were in, he took it in to the Service dept. They said they would have to have it for a week or so since they had to tear half of the bleedin car apart. dad needed a loaner, so the sales manager gave dad his personal 'Company Car - a 58 Bonneville convertible with Tri Power to drive. We have a photo of that car also, but I dont have a scanned one of my parent's unit. So, with 58 Pontiacs being slightly esoteric, I shall follow Mr Plym Crazy's example and go find a similar car off the www for a visual.

View attachment 1598864
Just turn the turquoise parts Ice Blue Metallic and narrow the whitewalls a bit and you know what our 58 Poncho looked like

Yup, unique back story on that one. Wow!

Speaking of Volkswagens, brings to mind a story. I think it's hilarious, y'all may not, but I'm gonna tell it anyway.

My dad was a truly unique individual. Most people upon meeting him thought him a ‘stuffed shirt’. His IQ was, literally, off the chart, [obviously your humble scribe did NOT take after him there…] and he was ALWAYS thinking, hence, he didn’t come across as a light hearted, fun guy. However, he actually had a real keen sense of humour that showed through once you got to know him. It was very cerebral though.



In the early to mid 60s, Volkswagens began to get fairly popular. They seemed to appeal to a pretty narrow demographic; actually two distinct and different segments of society. Mainly, they were bought by self important deluded pseudo intellectual leftists who wanted to eschew the trappings of vulgar western capitalism and make their sociopolitical statement vis a vis conspicuous non-conspicuous consumption. Whilst most of these types resided in major metropolitan areas and owned no car atall, those in other areas who needed transportation seemed to seek Beetles out as anti status symbol status symbols. Somewhat like prius herders today.

The other group that tended to buy new Bugs were the uber pragmatists. These folk tended to pursue a life free of aesthetic value with practical economy their idol. Austerity, even when there was no economic reason, was their raison d’etre. This crowd also thought themselves intellectually superior and felt their cleverness in simplicity and monetary economy vaulted them above the teeming masses of the great unwashed for some reason. This is the bunch Bill Cosby describes on the ‘200 MPH’ record about his purchase of a Cobra.

Lots of mid tier technicians, accountants and statistical mathematicians in this pack.

There were a few of those at Amoco.

One in particular was a fellow with whom my dad had a friendly business acquaintance. He purchased a new Beetle and immediately set about making a real pest of himself continuously extolling the virtue and economy of his new machine, ofttimes making haughty, disparaging remarks about the inferiority of others choice of transport. He harped incessantly about his petrol mileage, so Dad had an idea.

Bill the BugMan had made it clear that he only needed to fill the tiny tank in the wunderwagen from Wolfsburg on a certain day each week, so every Monday morning, me Pater brought a couple of one gallon cans of gasoline to work. He added the extra petrol to Bills car for 6 weeks. In that time, the bragging grew longer and louder by the day. Bills self satisfaction ballooned to where he could barely fit his head through the door to enter the room and tell you how smart he was for buying such an amazing little bit of mechanical kit.

Then, Dad decided to get his gasoline back.

So Monday, Pops brought his cans and a length of hose to the office.

Bill went ape. The first week, he just got quiet, obviously thinking he somehow had made a mathematical error. When queried about the disposition of his car late in the workweek, ‘Oh, its fine’ was the answer.

The second week that dad retrieved his petroleum distillate, Bill was quiet, but Pops noticed the car wasn’t in the parking lot by Wednesday.

‘Wheres your car Bill? Not a problem is there?’

‘Oh, just a little warranty adjustment.’

By the third week, Bill was a ‘bit cross’.

In week four, Bill had to break down and admit that his gas mileage was in the toilet and he couldn’t understand why. He admitted to taking the car back to the dealer twice by then and demanding a new carburetor after the rebuild of the original. He was so desperate that he even asked my Dads [mechanical] advice.

Bill was despondent in week 5. He stopped going on coffee break so he wouldn’t have to talk about his car. Dad said he looked like he wasn’t sleeping well. Again the car disappeared from the lot.


Dad never did get all his gasoline back though, as he stopped after that. He felt sorry for the poor dealer and what they were having to go through with Mr G, as well as Volkswagens needless warranty cost. He even sorta felt sorry for Bill. The gas mileage suddenly stabilised and poor Bill was back to being happy. Sort of. He just could NOT figure out what in the world had happened to his little car…



And Dad never told him. Ever.

I need to learn to be more succinct and to the point like Mr Budnicks!

I appreciate you sharing in the way you have. I believe we all get to know your dad best that way. Part of him obviously lives through you

...the car had ~325k on it and had never been apart.

Very impressive, wow!

 

[j-c-c-62]

I have never been a proponent of mourning the "loss" of anybody. Nobody in my world ever owned another to lose. We, if lucky have shared great memories together and enjoyed many times together with those no longer here. All of our times on this earth are limited, and all of us eventually meet the same fate. We only should spend the time we all have left making more memories and reflecting on the great shared memories, not the end of them. Any sorrow should be soon erased by that transition, as this thread well exemplifies and why you indeed are blessed.

 

[PlymCrazy]

...maybe why I like 2dr wagons so much...

Same here man. For different reasons however.

...She was never like that, never talked bad about him...

That's solid

I remember riding in that car, like it was yesterday along with my 2 older sisters,
top-down & cruising, like we were in style, towing his lil' 16' boat/50hp Merc
with the 2 labs he had, Flash & Barron going up to Pinecrest Lake...
It's up here in Tuolumne Co. some 200 east of where we lived then
to the lake, to go fishing & go camping... We went fishing & camping a lot...
Dogs farting while we were gaining altitude, it was funny as hell...
My Dad was always a cut-up doing something, making the miles go fast...
Fun times...

I obviously don't know your dad. But I imagine Harvey smiling as he hears memories like this being shared.

...took everything he had,
except a few pots & pans, his dogs, his record player/stereo system
& his huge record collection...

Thank God he at least got to keep the dogs and music I'll say...

...165 acres, a really nice place/ranch, he was doing well again...
He started his own business "again", now a Contractor, C contractor
AddOn Home Improvement Co. specializes in Awnings, redwood decks, and skirting
on mostly Mobile homes...
It was a booming business in that area in the early 70's
people getting away for the Bay Area or the Valley, inner-shittys,
more affordable living...

One word comes to mind here...resilient.

...Patty traded his 73 Jeep Cj5 in on some crap-box
1978 Ford Fiesta, piss yellow & plaid interior,
she wanted for gas mileage...
"Dad was totally pissed"

View attachment 1599431

All good man. Appreciate you sharing. And if I recall correctly, you're the caretaker of your dad these days? That says more than your wall of text can ever convey

 

[Budnicks]

My stepdad Bob, I had 2 fathers, & 2 mothers
it has it's advantages & downfalls too
Bob who was a diehard car guy/Union pipefitter by trade
always had a drag car or project car or doing a side job for someone
until the time I graduated HS...

(He's not doing real well, he's in a senior assisted living center, my sister Candy put him in)

Many of them built for my older cousin Joe,
big tall dude 6'6" 250+ was big-time into shows
& off the wall builds, a lot of customs...
Bob & I helped (albeit not much but I was out there), as much as a kid could
they'd hand me a piece of sandpaper, a scraper &/or make me fetch tools, sweep up...

I cut my teeth on a lot of his/Joe's stuff, I got many hand-me-downs from Joe too...
His old bicycles, his old 1st minibike, his old gocart to name a couple...
Bob (stepdad) who raised me from 6-14 y/o, married my Mom when I was 6
took us out of the place we were & got us into a nice house in Concord
before I moved to my Dad's place, when I was 14 going into my sophomore year in HS...
Me & Bob didn't always get along, he did teach me a ton about cars,
sanding, body work, mechanics, welding & fabricating...

Anywho...

From what I remember him telling me...
His 1st car was a Rambler American, got from his dad 'Grampa Bob'
I'm not sure the year, he graduated HS in 1956,
so I assume it was a 50's car, never seen any photos etc.
He went into the Army, then reserves, up in Anchorage Alaska,
he was there during the big 9.4? earthquake...
He did talk about it/car some, it was green & white, cloth bench seat
he had said the Alcan highway, tore it up pretty bad, going Up & coming back
He said;
"it was just basic transportation"...

He also had a 49 Indian, Scout 45cid (IIRC) he rode a lot, like a bobber style
still had it when he married my Mom, (basket case thou) sold it not long after...

He had several other cars before he married my mom in 1965
One I knew a
35 Ford PU with a Buick Nailhead 401/425 dana 60, Lesale 4 speed OD
a true hot rod, he said he had a flathead 239cid V8 in it for the 1st few years
with Denver heads (hi-compression) & dual Stromberges
& lake pipes typical 50's Hot Rod...
Fast light lil' truck...

He had a I think stock 57 210 Sedan Delivery 2dr,
no idea what color or any mods, a while before he married my mom too...

He also had bought new from Meridian Pontiac, Concord
a 64 GTO 389 tri-power 4 speed 4.11:1
a medium blue, blue interior, HT, he raced in H/S drag racing & drove on the street
I remember the pie-type 'cheater slicks' very well, he ran on the street
when he 1st married my Mom, he ended up selling it 1968-ish to he buddy Wes
who was like his crew chief, in darg racing, went to all the races with him...
Wes had some really good connection with the Pontiac crowd,
they both had some cool cars/truck...
He sold it to get a down payment for a bigger house in Cobblestone Ct.
in Concord, 2 story house big 3 car garage, huge back yard
for us kids, my mom was prego' with my lil' sister Tina...

He was working on a
53 Ford F100 short bed step side PU
w/hopped up 354-FE Toploader T-10 4 speed dana 60
I loved that truck, I learned to drive in that truck at 10 y/o
&
He was building a car/wagon for my mom,
her old 57 Plymouth Savoy 2dr Plaza wagon
she got from my Garnddad (Havey's dad) was getting long in the tooth,
like 200k miles...
Bob/He was building her a 2 tone red & silver top
57 Ford DelRio 2dr Ranch Wagon, w/354 T10 combo
with power brakes & power steering, that was a 1st for her
all our cars were manual trans cars/trucks,
then he got a
66 GTO 389/4bbl 4speed 4.11:1, Orkid colored/black top-interior
to race H/S, temporarily,
he bought it used off the lot at Meridian Pontiac, Concord

he bought a new pick up
1967 Ford F250 Camper Special 390 2bbl/c6, 8lug 16.5 split rims wheels
& some crap-box camper (don't remember the brand)
we had quite a few cars on the property, my mom always complained
"we need to thin the herd"

Same Year later In Nov. of 1967, he went to SF Chrysler Plymouth,
ordered a new (for Mom, it was her 1st ever-new car)
1968 Plymouth Sport Satellite 383/4bbl 4 speed GG1/Dark Green
power steering, power Disc brakes, AC & w/white top/bucket seat interior
(no console),
he had the dealer, install before he picked it up as part of the deal
a 3.91:1 gears & a sure-grip (3.23:1 open diff., was in a box in the trunk)
& some 15" rims (polished slots) & tires Uniroyl raised white letter
L60s in the rear & G60's in front (IIRC)

(I much later bought/traded Bob & Mom for that car 68 S/S in 1979, for $350 cash
& a 71 Demon slant 6, 3 on the tree, I acquired in another deal
for it, Bob wanted a commuter gas mileage car, I wanted the Sport Satellite bad)

Bob, an avid Pontiac guy knew Mickey Thompson thru his buddy Wes
grew up with him, he got a storming deal "arranged" on a new,
was supposed to be body in white 68 Firebird 400
for racing/stripped down, but they couldn't get one quick enough,
so they sold him one off the lot at the same price as a body in white
a new 1968 Firebird 400 Ram Air II 4 speed, aluminum 12 bolt rear carrier
with 4.11:1 gears, dark green, with black top & interior
really nice car, dealer stock car, this was what would replace
his "temp" 66 GTO as his track car...

Bob was a bit of a hoarder, as you can probably tell
especially cars, Some # of boats or bikes too...
He had 4-5 at any one time usually...

He'd go to the flea market, swap meats & wheel & deal all the time...
Drag something home as a project, clean it up get it running good,
sell it & do another...
Somewhere along the way in or at, about that same era
he bought a really nice
67 Fairlane GT 427 2x4bbl Super T-10 4 speed, 9" Ford rear,
baby blue/light blue interior, used from a racing buddy,
to use as his daily driver, he drove it to the powerplants where he worked mostly,
he put 150k miles on it...
Don't remember what he did with that car

He ended up with a 65 Corvair Monza Spyder Turbo 4 speed 'Convertible,
had some body damage, he redid the whole thing
& he ended up giving to my oldest sister Lori to drive in HS,
so she wouldn't drive his truck/s or the GTO/s or what not
one of his cherished cars...
I remember going for rides, she was a crazy woman, it was a fun car...
She sold it when she got married, 'the 1st time'...

In Sept. of 1970, He acquired (I think given to him) a brand new
1970 GTO Judge Ram Air IV 4 speed, silver & black, with the blue-red strips
that he raced in G/S until he quit racing in 1975-ish
He had another 71 Judge 455cid, white with an auto for street driving,
in like 1973-ish (?) not sure how he got that one

I remember him buying a new 1975 Datsun pick up, in the gas crunch era
I knew he was done after that...

I was kind of out of the loop for a while after 1974-ish...

I moved east to my Dad's/Harvey's ranch property 165 acres,
to go to a better school, less minorities, causing trouble,
me getting in far less fights or trouble, to go up & live
in a rural area of Garden Valley/Georgetown Ca in Eldorado Co,
So I lost track of some of what he did or what he had...

He sort of shifted his main interests at that time, to FordMotorCo,
turned an avid Blue Oval fan (he is a total pro-union liberal after all)
he sort of always had a Ford too
he had a bunch of them, a Taurus & an SVO Taurus
that thing was pretty sporty for the times
& then a Taurus Wagon (years ?) malaise & milk-toast era 80's & 90s
Mom drove them mostly...
He had several T-birds in the mid-later 80s, early 90's
he was a diehard & big Bill Elliot fan (NASCAR)

But he still had his old 67 F-250,
later years we put a nice cam 300*/.500" lift 1.6:1 intake rockers, rowdy cam
lil' porting on the heads, bigger intake valves, stainless exhausts,
(replaced the Holley 2300 2bbl, 70# Iron 2bbl intake)
w/Alum. Edelbrock 4bbl Torker intake & a Holley 780vs 4bbl with electric choke
& higher stall TC 2800 (B&M IIRC), nice 2.5" Flowmaster exhaust,
nice new 15" wider wheels, ETs IIRC & 30"x10" tires,
(got rid of those 'killers'/16.5" split rims)
a lil lower stance & lowering blocks in the rear, shorter springs upfront,
nice shocks, a lil' chrome here & there, VCs, pulleys & Aircleaner to make him happy
& he was still driving it occasionally, it was known as Grampa's truck,
when he went into the senior home...

He had quite a few newer trucks Fords, ext. cabs usually,
several in the later 90's every few years, to 2018 F-250
my sister Candy has it now...
They were gas motors/no diesel, usually 302 or 360 autos, in most,
& a crappy 5th wheel Trailer towed behind it...
My sister liquidated most of that stuff, the trailer, mostly a lot of junk,
rundown & not worth much, when she took over his estate & bills,
she was the one closest to him...

That's what I remember for now

edit;
Bob he had way way more than that by far, most were to flip & get some cash
he did have a 60-61 (?) 2dr HT Pheonix/Dart with a 2x4bbl long ram wedge,
he had for a time, a fugly *** big car, but sort of cool drivetrain
but;
Mauve-colored exterior, with a cloth paisley mauve interior...
'puke pink' we called it
Bob liked to drive fast, that car would cruise at 85-90, all day long
& fit the whole family in comfort/style, we'd drive up to the family property
in Fiddletown often...
Like most of his projects, he sold it not long after, getting it
in great running condition...

 

[MoparMur]

Such good stories guys, thank you all.

 

[guy gadbois]

Next up in order of dad's cars is undoubtedly my favourite of them ever - a 1966 Corvette roadster.
Sports cars had a huge surge in popularity in the early 60s . Mostly little British cars, but just sports cars in general. The parking lot at Amoco was full of them; TRs, MGs, Austin Healeys, Jags and the occasional Alfa Romeo. I remember seeing one particularly ugly little car there once - "Dad, whats that weird little white car?"
'That's a Porsche son."
"its really ugly - looks like an upside down bath tub!"
Anyway, dad really wanted an Austin Healey 3000, but they were expensive and , shall we say...um, not overly troublefree. Dad was pretty much the 'go to' guy at the Lab when it came to cars and car problems, so he heard it all and helped most of the guys work on them on Saturday. But dad REALLY liked the looks of them and had driven a couple. He still liked em...
So one day this gorgeous Corvette shows up. Back then, the paper tag showed the new owner's name, so dad looked and saw it was one of the secretaries in another group. He recognised the name and went to talk to her about it; she was only too eager to discuss her new car! She had just gotten married and they bought this car as opposed to an expensive honeymoon or whatever and she was loving it. Dad and she talked awhile, went out and looked it over and she took him for a short drive. Nice car - 350/327, wide ratio 4 speed, undercar 'offroad exhaust', AM/FM , wood steering wheel.
Dad continued to look at new and used sports cars; we looked at all the Brit stuff including a Sunbeam Tiger, which I liked. You weren't gonna get dad to go Italian, even tho I tried. Dad looked at Porsches, but was thoroughly repulsed at the price of warmed over Volkswagens. We looked at a Shelby GT350 at Fred Jones, but dad said it drove poorly - typically 'loosey goosey' Ford front end. I liked it tho. Cobras were too expensive. Same with E types, plus they were notoriously unreliable.
Fast forward 6 or 7 months and the aforementioned secretary showed up in dad's office; she just discovered that she was pregnant and the Corvette had to go. A deal was made and we became the proud owner of an almost new Corvette.
[as an aside, the first nice day that dad drove the car to work and left the top down, the girl came storming in his office wanting to know exactly what in the wide world of sports he was doing leaving HER car in the parking lot with the top down?!?!?!? After the baby came, she and her husband bought a 67 coupe - room for the baby stuff in the back!]
WAY too many stories and recollections of that car for me to go into here - dont know if the site has that much bandwidth and I'm positive the readers - all both of you - haven't the stamina. I could tell of trips to WarBonnet. Talk about going to Penningtons and / or Dairy Queen. The story of Deacon Jones - a blind guy who ran the Sinclair station we traded at is humourous too. I'm sure not gonna tell about dad putting two big English Pointers in the back of it where the soft top is stored when its down and taking them bird hunting... I won't even estimate how many hundred thousands of miles the poor shifter had on it from me sitting for hours going thru the gears whilst still, in the garage. I will mention that I stumbled into the car about 25 years ago; I contacted the owner and naturally tried to buy it, after first reminding my wife that you COULD live in a car but you couldnt drive a house...
I could go on for hours, but I shan't. I will post a picture of it tho.

 

[guy gadbois]

My mom started making noises about a new car every 3 or 4 years, but dad held on til at least 5. So in 69, it was time for another 'family car'. Back to Wilkerson Chevrolet and the 64 Impala turned into a 69; this time a 4 dr sedan, Butternut yellow, black vinyl top and interior. Pretty standard - 350 - 4 , Turbo 350, steering brakes and air. No photo on my computer, but you know what it looked like.
Then, my world basically ended.
Dad traded the Corvette for a new 69 Chevrolet pickup. I was very angry with him and literally didn't speak to him for quite awhile. Whilst few people like old Chevy pickups better than I, this was just too much. In fact, it is still painful to discuss...

 

[guy gadbois]

As the calendar turned to just about time for mom to get a new car, my father committed the [nearly] unpardonable sin; he bought a used one. Mom was not pleased. [as an aside, my father said to me more than once, "son, if I had all the money Ive wasted on buying new cars, I could retire 20 years early..."] But it was too good of a deal for dad to pass up.
See, my Grandpa called dad one evening and told him about this car a guy he knew had for sale; 1970 Ford Galaxie 500 - the 'fastback' or 'SportsRoof' in Ford parlance. The guy bought it new and other than bringing it home, the car had never been out of the little town where he lived nor had never even been in the weather. It was ~4 years old and had just over 3000 miles on it. 351 Windsor, auto, steering brakes and air. It was a bronze metallic colour with a white vinyl top and interior. He only wanted $1500 for it. Dad told Grandpa to hang up and go buy it. Right then. That night.
Didn't hear back from Grandpa, so Dad called him the next evening; seems Grandpa decided against it because he didnt really want a two door... dad told him to call the man, tell him we would take it and be down to get it the next weekend.
We went and got it. Mom never liked that car ; she claimed it was because 'it was hard to see out of' or that 'it didn't drive right'. As this particular model is somewhat esoteric, I have scoured the www for a photo - the photo below is just like ours, even the 10 pound wheelcovers. Just change the 'green' in this picture to bronze metallic and you have 'seen' our car.

Doesn't look too hard to see out of to me...And dad and I both thought it drove real well...
Couple of fun things about that car...
One afternoon, mom and dad were walking out of the grocery store and saw someone in their car. dad stiffened for a moment then noticed it was a middle aged White woman, not your basic demographic for bold daylight car thieves... so he calmly walked up and said 'hi'. The lady returned the greeting. Dad asked her if she was having car problems and she allowed as to how her ignition key wouldnt fit... Long story short w/o boring you with dialogue, of the millions of potential variations of keys for 70 Fords, her door key and ours were the same! AND... her car - same colours and options - was parked one row over. In a small [at the time] suburban hamlet deep in the US Flyover Zone. What are the odds?!?
About 4 years later, when dad capitulated and was looking at a new car - he really liked that Ford - Amoco was doing some expansion at the Lab. Dad had ordered the only new car he ever ordered in his life and was driving the Ford til it came in. It wasn't worth much money, so he just put a For sale sign in the window once the Olds got here and drove it to work for awhile for exposure. he ended up selling the car to a construction guy that was commuting a bit over 120 miles a day. 3 other construction workers rode in with him 5 days a week.
I saw the car sitting at a 7-11 several years later and pulled in to talk to the owner. Come to find out, it was still the same guy who bought it from us; the poor White interior looked awful, but the rest of the car looked OK and had over 420k on it at that time, never having been apart.

 

[guy gadbois]

When the first manufactured 'gas crisis' came about, dad sold our green 69 Chevy pickup to my Godfather to use on a farm and bought a yellow 73 Chevy LUV truck. Stories about that which I shan't bore you with now, but some 18 months or so later, dad said he was tired of these $%^& little trucks and he didnt care if gasoline got to 75 cents a gallon - he wanted a real truck! So back to Swinson Chevrolet we went and the little yellow LUV truck turned into a new 75 Chevy 3/4 ton Silverado. It was really pretty and really a nice truck; it was a lovely pewter metallic and white two tone with a grey interior. 16.5 white wheels and big tyres with some pretty snazzy hub caps. Lovely vehicle that drove out superbly. I REALLY liked that pickup. Several stories there too, but not for now.
Don't have a scan of either of those two on the computer, but y'all know what they looked like. Plus, I'm trying to channel a bit of my "inner Budnicks" here...

 

[guy gadbois]

The only new car my father ever ordered was a 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme.
Dad was an 'earth tone ' kind of guy and didn't like blues. [no way I am his son... didnt like blue?!!?] Mom preferred blues and whites. So when dad decided to get a new car, he told mom that he would spec out the car and she could pick the colours.
Dad ordered the car for a couple of reasons, but the main one was that he specifically wanted an OLDSMOBILE engine; this was the beginning of GM cars getting whatever engine they had a surplus of that day, and dad didnt want a buick or Pontiac motor. Chevy woulda been 'ok' but there was that valvestem seal issue... He wanted an OLDS engine. He specifically wanted the 'new' little 260 Olds and no dealers were ordering them in so equipped. So dad broke down and ordered a car. It was an Olds Cutlass Supreme 2 door, 260 Olds V8 and the new auto/overdrive transmission. Steering brakes air and even power windows - a concession to my mom. Dad never wanted power windows or locks and such - just one more thing to go wrong - but he gave in and ordered it on this car for mom because she wanted em. Tilt and cruise too AND a factory AM FM 8 track and CB. Cool. Mom chose the hue.
car looked like this one save the half vinyl and interior was black as opposed to light blue - it was really a pretty car.

Only story I shall relate here is one of the VERY few times I was right and dad was wrong, tho it took years for it to surface.
I came out of the womb holding a box of kleenex ... I have been plagued with allergies most of my life. [up until about 20 years ago when a chiropractor fixed em... seriously] After that Olds was a year or two old, it gave me a headache when I rode in it for any length of time with the A/C going. I told dad such and he dismissed it saying it was all in my head... [which technically I guess it was...] Anyway, almost 6 years later GM issued a TSB saying that the G bodied cars a/c systems were holding moisture in the ducts causing mold and triggering allergic reactions in many owners. There was a factory fix and GM was extending warranties to cover it. of course, our 78 was gone by then, but I SERIOUSLY enjoyed showing that to my father! Vindication was sweet...

 

[PlymCrazy]

Bob who was ...Union pipefitter by trade

I can relate

...big tall dude 6'6" 250+

Too tall for a car lift I see...big dude no doubt.

they'd hand me a piece of sandpaper, a scraper &/or make me fetch tools, sweep up...

...he did teach me a ton about cars,
sanding, body work, mechanics, welding & fabricating...

Don't so many of us with similar passions have similar beginnings?

...His 1st car was a Rambler American, got from his dad 'Grampa Bob'
...He also had a 49 Indian, Scout 45cid (IIRC) he rode a lot, like a bobber style
...35 Ford PU with a Buick Nailhead 401/425 dana 60, Lesale 4 speed OD
...he said he had a flathead 239cid V8 in it for the 1st few years
...Fast light lil' truck...
...He had a I think stock 57 210 Sedan Delivery 2dr,

Love the variety

He also had bought new from Meridian Pontiac, Concord

a 64 GTO 389 tri-power 4 speed 4.11:1
a medium blue, blue interior, HT, he raced in H/S drag racing & drove on the street
I remember the pie-type 'cheater slicks' very well, he ran on the street

Wow

He sold it to get a down payment for a bigger house in Cobblestone Ct.

I did the same with a muscle car I had nearly 20 years ago now. Sold it to help with the down payment on the bigger house we're in now...

53 Ford F100 short bed step side PU
w/hopped up 354-FE Toploader T-10 4 speed dana 60
I loved that truck, I learned to drive in that truck at 10 y/o

He was building a car/wagon for my mom,
...her old 57 Plymouth Savoy 2dr Plaza wagon
Bob/He was building her a 2 tone red & silver top
57 Ford DelRio 2dr Ranch Wagon, w/354 T10 combo
with power brakes & power steering
...then he got a
66 GTO 389/4bbl 4speed 4.11:1, Orkid colored/black top-interior
...1967 Ford F250 Camper Special 390 2bbl/c6, 8lug 16.5 split rims wheels
...for Mom, it was her 1st ever-new car
1968 Plymouth Sport Satellite 383/4bbl 4 speed GG1/Dark Green

You got me at "for mom"

& a 71 Demon slant 6, 3 on the tree, I acquired in another deal
for it, Bob wanted a commuter gas mileage car, I wanted the Sport Satellite bad)

There's a Demon combination I don't hear of often...

Bob, an avid Pontiac guy knew Mickey Thompson thru his buddy

Mickey Thompson? The name I see on tires and valve covers? Whoa...

a new 1968 Firebird 400 Ram Air II 4 speed, aluminum 12 bolt rear carrier
with 4.11:1 gears, dark green, with black top & interior

That sounds like one bad a.. ride right there.

...67 Fairlane GT 427 2x4bbl Super T-10 4 speed, 9" Ford rear,
baby blue/light blue interior,
...65 Corvair Monza Spyder Turbo 4 speed 'Convertible,
...1970 GTO Judge Ram Air IV 4 speed, silver & black, with the blue-red strips
... 71 Judge 455cid, white with an auto for street driving,
...1975 Datsun pick up, in the gas crunch era
... Taurus & an SVO Taurus
...Taurus Wagon (years ?) malaise & milk-toast era 80's & 90s
...He had several T-birds & ... 67 F-250,

later years we put a nice cam 300*/.500" lift 1.6:1 intake rockers, rowdy cam
lil' porting on the heads, bigger intake valves, stainless exhausts,
(replaced the Holley 2300 2bbl, 70# Iron 2bbl intake)
w/Alum. Edelbrock 4bbl Torker intake & a Holley 780vs 4bbl with electric choke
& higher stall TC 2800 (B&M IIRC), nice 2.5" Flowmaster exhaust,
nice new 15" wider wheels, ETs IIRC & 30"x10" tires,
(got rid of those 'killers'/16.5" split rims)
a lil lower stance & lowering blocks in the rear, shorter springs upfront,
nice shocks, a lil' chrome here & there, VCs, pulleys & Aircleaner to make him happy

Hence your enhanced engine performance skills we see shine around here on FBBO ...

...2018 F-250
...Bob he had way way more than that by far, most were to flip & get some cash
...60-61 (?) 2dr HT Pheonix/Dart with a 2x4bbl long ram wedge

Here's to the unmentioned vehicles Bob had

 

[guy gadbois]

Normally I would just mention the next car and go on, but I just gotta tell the story on this one.
The next vehicle in my father's klatsch of kars is a 72 Datsun 510. The reason that this car is special to me - tho not necessarily to him - is that it represents the one and ONLY time in my life that I was able to successfully use extortion with my dad.
Let me explain...
If you were my father's child, you WERE going to college. This was made clear very shortly after birth. Naturally, when the time came, I had no desire to do so, but accepted my fate relatively good naturedly. Several institutions of higher non-learning were actually silly enough to offer to pay me to go there, but I had a GREAT job as a teenager, [if I had a lick of sense i would still be there... ] did NOT want to live in a dorm, was pretty active helping a friend on a race car [great point for decision making, huh?] and had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up anyway, so I took the offer from a small-ish private liberal arts university not too far way that I could commute to, keep my job, live at home and work on Larry's race car.
Given the greatness of the job I had, midway thru my senior year in high school I purchased a Corvette. I had some money and had the proceeds of selling my RoadRunner, but was still a bit short for the Tupperware car. Asked dad for a short term loan and he stated that it was time for me to begin to establish credit, so he took me to the credit union at Amoco and co-signed a loan for me for the balance.
Cool.
As the summer of 78 progressed, I was doubling up on car payments and setting a bit aside for doing a few things to the bright yellow Chevrolet, but there was still a lien on it. So close to the time to start school, I opined to my dad that I needed a daily driver as I was NOT going to leave my Corvette in a downtown-ish parking lot to attend university. I suggested a short term loan from him. He opined that i already had a car that was perfectly drivable and was not quite paid for. I again reiterated that it would not be left in a parking lot as the possibility of theft and vandalism was fairly high and my insurance was ridiculous already. I calmly explained my reasoning , pointing out the value of having a second car for the commute and nasty weather. I proposed something relatively economical as I would be racking up the miles. My arguments were flawless to my way of thinking, but dad dug his heels in and declared that I had a perfectly good car to drive that I had chosen and wasnt paid for so that was that.
Then, I mustered all of my courage and resolve, channeled all the Clint Eastwood, John Wayne and Charles Bronson I could and levelling the most steady icy stare I could muster, looked dad square in the eye and said "Fine. I'll just lay out of school for a year til I get the Corvette paid off and can buy another car to drive."
It was tense for a few moments, but dad 'blinked'.
He agreed to talk about it.
I was ready; I thought i had it all worked out. There was an ad in the back of Competition Press - the forerunner of Autoweek - from a Chevrolet dealer in one of the Carolinas. They had 22 - TWENTY TWO - brand new 76 Cosworth Vegas, any colour and both 4 and 5 speed transmission - your choice for the low low price of something like $2700, or about half of sticker. I mean whats not to like?!? It was a cool car [which dad didnt care about] that got good gas mileage and was new with a full warranty! Such. A. Deal. Just fly out there, drive one home and Bob's yer uncle.
Dad didn't think that was a good idea. Typical.
But I had a backup plan; I already had a 71 Alfa GTV1750 spied at Chris Nikels. Dad thought that was even stupider. That elicited the ubiquitous 'boy that must be yer butt talkin cause yo head is smarter than that...' But not as idiotic as the Fiat 131 or Triumph TR7 idea. I even mentioned a Volare/Roadrunner, but he reminded me that it got poorer fuel mileage than the Corvette...
So back to Square One.
Without boring you too much more, Datsun 510s were on my radar. Neat little cars that looked good and handled well. Giugiaro penned the original design brief, the L series engine in it was a direct copy of Mercedes, as was the IRS, and the unibody architecture looked amazingly like a cross between a Cortina and a BMW 2002. They were successful race and rally cars and were pretty flickable/fun to drive. August was here and the clock was ticking. I saw a 510 in the Bargain Post one Thursday and called on it; sounded good. Called dad and asked if THAT would be a potentially acceptable candidate, and he allowed as to how that might be a maybe. Called the owner back and set an appointment to go look at it that evening.
We drove over to the guy's apartment complex, got the story and looked at the car. Owner's parents had bought the car for him as a graduation present to take him through college. Guy had gone to school, got his degree and then went back one more year for an MBA or CPA, cant remember which. Got a good job, moved to Tulsa and now wanted to get a 'better ' car. [which it wasnt, but whatever...] The 510 was one owner, never hit, decent mile. It was that awful baby potty brown that Datsun painted at least 50% of them in 72 along with dealer installed 'body side mouldings' and had every AMCO 'option' from the catalog; bumper guards and over riders, centre console, CoCo mats and leather shift knob with a cloisonne Datsun emblem on it. It had dealer installed air too. The only option missing was a factory tach. [after we bought it, I found one; Murf the Surf had one new in the box on the shelf, so we installed it. Weird deal tho...the car itself was regular 12V negative ground, but the tach was POSITIVE ground somehow we eventually discovered...] Dad made the deal and on the way home I asked about my payment plan; dad said not to worry - just go on to school [which curtailed my work hours / income quite a bit ] and pay him next summer when I got back ahead.
Win.

 

[Budnicks]

Normally I would just mention the next car and go on, but I just gotta tell the story on this one.
The next vehicle in my father's klatsch of kars is a 72 Datsun 510. The reason that this car is special to me - tho not necessarily to him - is that it represents the one and ONLY time in my life that I was able to successfully use extortion with my dad.
Let me explain...
If you were my father's child, you WERE going to college. This was made clear very shortly after birth. Naturally, when the time came, I had no desire to do so, but accepted my fate relatively good naturedly. Several institutions of higher non-learning were actually silly enough to offer to pay me to go there, but I had a GREAT job as a teenager, [if I had a lick of sense i would still be there... ] did NOT want to live in a dorm, was pretty active helping a friend on a race car [great point for decision making, huh?] and had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up anyway, so I took the offer from a small-ish private liberal arts university not too far way that I could commute to, keep my job, live at home and work on Larry's race car.
Given the greatness of the job I had, midway thru my senior year in high school I purchased a Corvette. I had some money and had the proceeds of selling my RoadRunner, but was still a bit short for the Tupperware car. Asked dad for a short term loan and he stated that it was time for me to begin to establish credit, so he took me to the credit union at Amoco and co-signed a loan for me for the balance.
Cool.
As the summer of 78 progressed, I was doubling up on car payments and setting a bit aside for doing a few things to the bright yellow Chevrolet, but there was still a lien on it. So close to the time to start school, I opined to my dad that I needed a daily driver as I was NOT going to leave my Corvette in a downtown-ish parking lot to attend university. I suggested a short term loan from him. He opined that i already had a car that was perfectly drivable and was not quite paid for. I again reiterated that it would not be left in a parking lot as the possibility of theft and vandalism was fairly high and my insurance was ridiculous already. I calmly explained my reasoning , pointing out the value of having a second car for the commute and nasty weather. I proposed something relatively economical as I would be racking up the miles. My arguments were flawless to my way of thinking, but dad dug his heels in and declared that I had a perfectly good car to drive that I had chosen and wasnt paid for so that was that.
Then, I mustered all of my courage and resolve, channeled all the Clint Eastwood, John Wayne and Charles Bronson I could and levelling the most steady icy stare I could muster, looked dad square in the eye and said "Fine. I'll just lay out of school for a year til I get the Corvette paid off and can buy another car to drive."
It was tense for a few moments, but dad 'blinked'.
He agreed to talk about it.
I was ready; I thought i had it all worked out. There was an ad in the back of Competition Press - the forerunner of Autoweek - from a Chevrolet dealer in one of the Carolinas. They had 22 - TWENTY TWO - brand new 76 Cosworth Vegas, any colour and both 4 and 5 speed transmission - your choice for the low low price of something like $2700, or about half of sticker. I mean whats not to like?!? It was a cool car [which dad didnt care about] that got good gas mileage and was new with a full warranty! Such. A. Deal. Just fly out there, drive one home and Bob's yer uncle.
Dad didn't think that was a good idea. Typical.
But I had a backup plan; I already had a 71 Alfa GTV1750 spied at Chris Nikels. Dad thought that was even stupider. That elicited the ubiquitous 'boy that must be yer butt talkin cause yo head is smarter than that...' But not as idiotic as the Fiat 131 or Triumph TR7 idea. I mentioned a Volare/Roadrunner, but he reminded me that it got poorer fuel mileage than the Corvette...
So back to Square One.
Without boring you too much more, Datsun 510s were on my radar. Neat little cars that looked good and handled well. Giugiaro penned the original design brief, the L series engine in it was a direct copy of Mercedes, as was the IRS, and the unibody architecture looked amazingly like a cross between a Cortina and a BMW 2002. They were successful race and rally cars and were pretty flickable/fun to drive. August was here and the clock was ticking. I saw a 510 in the Bargain Post one Thursday and called on it; sounded good. Called dad and asked if THAT would be a potentially acceptable candidate, and he allowed as to how that might be a maybe. Called the owner back and set an appointment to go look at it that evening.
We drove over to the guy's apartment complex, got the story and looked at the car. Owner's parents had bought the car for him as a graduation present to take him through college. Guy had gone to school, got his degree and then went back one more year for an MBA or CPA, cant remember which. Got a good job, moved to Tulsa and now wanted to get a 'better ' car. [which it wasnt, but whatever...] The 510 was one owner, never hit, decent mile. It was that awful baby potty brown that Datsun painted at least 50% of them in 72 and had every AMCO 'option' from the catalog; bumper guards and over riders, centre console, CoCo mats and leather shift knob with a cloisonne Datsun emblem on it. It had dealer installed air too. The only option missing was a factory tach. [after we bought it, I found one; Murf the Surf had one new in the box on the shelf, so we installed it. Weird deal tho...the car itself was regular 12V negative ground, but the tach was POSITIVE ground somehow we eventually discovered...] Dad made the deal and on the way home I asked about my payment plan; dad said not to worry - just go on to school [which curtailed my work hours / income quite a bit ] and pay him next summer when I got back ahead.
Win.
View attachment 1602681

I love the stories/exploits

I have an old buddy with a 71-72-ish era Datsun 510 Bluebird 2dr
'garage built'
his dad was an old car guy from the later 50's too
he still lived with his parents, his dad had a lot of influence on him still
he/Robby
extended the front fenders 4-5"s IIRC, full 2x3" rails
& full 12pt cage, 14x32" on Centerlines tucked under the fenders
fat & skinny combo, a 9" Ford trussed rear end, Mustang II front suspension
with a Fuel Injected 468cid BBC Mark IV 12:1 roller/Powerglide trans
with 5500 stall converter yada yada yada,
thing would run on a Barry Grant electric fuel pump
CNC style pump 500gph/low pressure style 15psi-21-psi bypass style system
carb style, not intended for EFI & but he had the regular high-pressure nozzles
for a mechanical style of Injected Fuel pump
on a Crower or Hilborn Stack Injection yada yada yada
He could change nozzles & run methanol if he wanted too, pick up 50-60hp
thing would run in the hi-8's when that was still really a feet,
& EFI wasn't the craze, it'd be not that big of a deal today
& easily run mid-hi 9's (9.70's 140-ish) street trim

This kid (he was almost 10 years younger than me, he's a man, he was 20-ish)
he was a freaken' genious,
this was later 80s he was in school for Mechanical Engineering, originally
Machine Tech classes, still at JC DVC/Diablo Valley College, Concord
ended up working at the Lawrence Livermore Lab/Berkeley as an Engineer too

His 1st car
he took his dad's old Commuter 59' Morris Minor 2 dr coupe
& put a combo 2.8ltr 60* v6 (POS) w/5 speed & narrowed the rear
out of a 80's S10
with a bigger for that day Turbo on it, had a boost regulated nob inside the car
he could crank up the boost, that thing was crazy too, fun & handle like on rails
sort of tricked out to a lesser extent, than his 510 Bluebird was
quick thou

sorry, I sort of got a bit off-subject
the 510 got me remembering Robby & his exploits

sorry photo quality sucks

 

[guy gadbois]

Believe it or don't, that 510 sorta 'rings a bell' with me from back in the recesses of my poor ol tired mind... seems I saw pictures of it maybe in the "Five & Dime", a 510 publication out of NorCal in the mid to late 80s [?]

 

[Budnicks]

Believe it or don't, that 510 sorta 'rings a bell' with me from back in the recesses of my poor ol tired mind... seems I saw pictures of it maybe in the "Five & Dime", a 510 publication out of NorCal in the mid to late 80s [?]

I lost contact with him
not sure if he still owns it, I know he still had it in 1997
he's originally from Concord Ca. too

I've probably posted it here too, maybe in the
"Anybody for Concord Ca. from back in the day"
thread I started many moons ago,
a couple people here new the same people I did, small world
& Alex @Meep-Meep knew Robby too

 

[guy gadbois]

I am aware that it is inadvisable, nay, a fool's errand, to contradict Mr Budnicks, but I fear I must disagree with him here on one thing...

The next car in dad's list is a 78 Ford Fiesta S. Mr Budnicks has already made it clear as to his opinion of Fiestas earlier in a post of his, but I loved the thing. Bought it from dad after he had it for about a year myself. Didn't want to sell it when I did, but it lost out in a priority decision. Would have another if I could find a real good one thats affordable. Great little cars for what they were.
Shan't get started on telling tales from the time I owned it, but might tell about bringing it home.

One Saturday at lunch , dad asked if I would like to go with him to look at cars. Naturally I would... so we saddled up and 'headed into town'. Dad opined that he feared those - insert a litany of nonPC terms and adjectives describing hominids of the middle eastern persuasion - were fixin to turn the spigot off again and maybe he ought to have something a might easier on petrol than the big beautiful 3/4 tonne Chevy for his commute. So we set off.
The Vega had soured him on small GM motors, so we bypassed those. Dad was NOT a Mopar person, so we didn't go there. [the next vehicle changed that trend momentarily and is a bit of a story on its own about how we got it...] VW Rabbits were the 'thing' at the time , so we went and looked at those. Nice enough car, but the dealers were charging sticker plus... Dad don't play that game. My Datsun had been a good car, so we went by Tulsa Datsun BMW, but the 'new' 510 was a pale shadow of the original and did not impress. Dad wouldnt spend the money for a BMW and their reputation for expensive and frequent repairs made them a nonstarter anyway. As we worked our way into the centre of town, we looked at a couple more that didnt impress and then stopped at Doenges Brothers Ford.
Doenges Brothers' back lot was covered in Fiestas, probably 40 or 50 of them. They all seemed to be either silver, dark blue or orange. I naturally gravitated towards dark cerulean units, but dad said no - little cars need to be bright! The orange was fine, but the interior... the interiors on the things looked like pumpkin skin. Seriously, it looked like Ford skinned pumpkins and stretched it over the seat frames. It was about 3 shades off from matching the exterior and clashed greatly. Dad didnt care.
Seems Ford had sent the dealer a train load of the things and they weren't selling particularly well, so they were ready to deal. As dad and the salesman went to the office to get down to binness, I went back out and started wandering way out back looking for an alternative. WAY behind the service dept in a clutch of a dozen or so of the model, I saw a White one. White should be ok to dad. Plus, this one had a little orange stripe, 'styled steel' wheels and slightly larger tyres. The seats looked pretty cool ; they had side bolsters, were black and had a yellow/orange/gold gradient stripe in the insert. Neat. I literally RAN back into the showroom hoping to stop the process of the pumpkin purchase in time. As I slid across the terrazzo floor and into office, papers were being filled out. I breathlessly told dad i found a White one with some extra stuff on it - he HAD to come look.
He did.
We drove it.
Dad got his 'pencil out and sharpened it'...
Don't know how I talked dad into spending the extra. I even offered to pay the extra myself! Truth is, I think he didnt like the pumpkin skin either and did like the bigger sway bars and tyres. But for whatever reason, we got the White S model for $142 extra. Thankfully.

[as an aside... Fiestas didn't come with a radio - I assume maybe it was due to all the different markets they sold in, but for whatever reason, radios were a dealer add. There was a little plastic 'box' that was fitted to a place in the lower dash; Doenges didn't have one in stock for some reason, so they ordered the kit and the AM/FM radio dad chose. When it came in and we scheduled a time for it to be installed a couple of weeks later, Doenges lot was empty of Fiestas and when one came in it was selling at sticker. Dad had been right...]