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11-06-2015, 02:58 PM   #16
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QuoteOriginally posted by mohb Quote
Fifty years after passing my driving test I still haven't owned a car,
To most Americans, that's just incomprehensible.

11-06-2015, 03:35 PM   #17
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Neat thread...I've read every post...very enjoyable!

QuoteOriginally posted by Parallax Quote
1972 Honda Coupe. 600cc 2cyl air cooled, front wheel drive, 10" rims. It redlined at 63 mph.
Jim, all I can say is you have more nerve than I do to post that!

Had to have a '55 Chevy....My Dad financed it...I never paid him back totally....even in my youth Otis would have been proud of me!

Nice looker, 2 door coupe, I had rolled & pleated leather seats installed......only about $200 back then and they were beauties!

It ended there. 6cyl that got around 30 miles to the quart of oil...recycled oil @ .15 cents a quart. It dripped off the inside of the hood, ruined many a shirt and made service station attendants cuss a lot. Embarrassing on a date when you had to stop and add oil. Luckily no one could see you from behind because of the smoke trail. Cops pulled me over at night for obstructing the view of traffic. Once I was on the Interstate and the cop made me wait 4 hours for daylight before I could resume my trip.

When I graduated High School I got a half decent job and rented one of my Grandad's rent houses.....went fishing one day in the '55 Chevy and the clutch burned out coming back up a steep bank on the fishing pond. I had no cash for repair, and my Grandad took a look at it and said he was ashamed my Dad ever sold me a piece of junk like that. He tried to make my Dad pay for the repair and a new engine.....my Dad wouldn't budge.

I was at work the next day when my Grandad pulled up in a new Ford Falcon....came in and handed me the keys and asked if I could take off an hour and drive him home. Oh yeah! Never let me pay him back a dime...said it was worth it to give that junker back to my Dad.

I drove it for years, in fact it is where I taught Mrs Rupert the facts of life....well, as much as I could...which wasn't all that much. She demanded all that up front stuff like rings and commitment...in writing!

It was like this one but sky blue.....and it was a very decent car for several years. Fond memories!
Name:  Ford Falcon.jpg
Views: 373
Size:  39.8 KB


That's my story....looking forward to hear more of yours!

Regards!
11-06-2015, 03:53 PM   #18
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QuoteOriginally posted by Rupert Quote
It was like this one but sky blue.....and it was a very decent car for several years. Fond memories!
My grandfather, in 1961 or 62 bought a new Mercury Comet (same car, different nameplates). There was a restored Falcon in light blue for sale here a couple of months ago.
11-06-2015, 05:48 PM   #19
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QuoteOriginally posted by Rupert Quote
Neat thread...I've read every post...very enjoyable!



Jim, all I can say is you have more nerve than I do to post that!

Had to have a '55 Chevy....My Dad financed it...I never paid him back totally....even in my youth Otis would have been proud of me!

Nice looker, 2 door coupe, I had rolled & pleated leather seats installed......only about $200 back then and they were beauties!

It ended there. 6cyl that got around 30 miles to the quart of oil...recycled oil @ .15 cents a quart. It dripped off the inside of the hood, ruined many a shirt and made service station attendants cuss a lot. Embarrassing on a date when you had to stop and add oil. Luckily no one could see you from behind because of the smoke trail. Cops pulled me over at night for obstructing the view of traffic. Once I was on the Interstate and the cop made me wait 4 hours for daylight before I could resume my trip.

When I graduated High School I got a half decent job and rented one of my Grandad's rent houses.....went fishing one day in the '55 Chevy and the clutch burned out coming back up a steep bank on the fishing pond. I had no cash for repair, and my Grandad took a look at it and said he was ashamed my Dad ever sold me a piece of junk like that. He tried to make my Dad pay for the repair and a new engine.....my Dad wouldn't budge.

I was at work the next day when my Grandad pulled up in a new Ford Falcon....came in and handed me the keys and asked if I could take off an hour and drive him home. Oh yeah! Never let me pay him back a dime...said it was worth it to give that junker back to my Dad.

I drove it for years, in fact it is where I taught Mrs Rupert the facts of life....well, as much as I could...which wasn't all that much. She demanded all that up front stuff like rings and commitment...in writing!

It was like this one but sky blue.....and it was a very decent car for several years. Fond memories!
Attachment 287658


That's my story....looking forward to hear more of yours!

Regards!
Rupert, what engine and transmission did you have in the Falcon ?

---------- Post added 11-06-15 at 06:54 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by Parallax Quote
My grandfather, in 1961 or 62 bought a new Mercury Comet (same car, different nameplates). There was a restored Falcon in light blue for sale here a couple of months ago.
Back around 1971 my GF of the time, had a '62 Mercury Comet, 4 door. Light blue, 144 inline six, 2 speed automatic....0-60 mph in one afternoon...if there was a strong tailwind.

It had vacuum assist windshield wipers. What this meant is the higher the engine was revving, the less vacuum the engine had and without much vacuum...the wipers would barely move. Found that out while trying to pass another car on the highway in the rain. It was

11-06-2015, 06:03 PM   #20
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QuoteOriginally posted by lesmore49 Quote
Rupert, what engine and transmission did you have in the Falcon ?

---------- Post added 11-06-15 at 06:54 PM ----------



Back around 1971 my GF of the time, had a '62 Mercury Comet, 4 door. Light blue, 144 inline six, 2 speed automatic....0-60 mph in one afternoon...if there was a strong tailwind.

It had vacuum assist windshield wipers. What this meant is the higher the engine was revving, the less vacuum the engine had and without much vacuum...the wipers would barely move. Found that out while trying to pass another car on the highway in the rain. It was
OMG. I remember those wipers and my grandfather explaining, presumably what he was told by the salesman, that "feature". The story was that at slow speed the wipers had to move faster to clear the windshield than they did at higher speed.
11-06-2015, 06:45 PM   #21
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My first car was supposed to be a hand-me-down 1963 Impala SS 396 Convertible; buckets, console, auto on the floor and a third (mono) spealer in the rear center of the bench Two weeks before I had planned to take my driving test the transmission failed, so my father sold it for $300. I pointed out that I had the money to repair the transmission but my father was unswayed. Eventually I bought a white 1967 Volkswagen Squareback from my mother. The best feature was the way you could lay the rear seatback down 45 degrees - there was a lip that was supported by the edge of the folded-up rear seat - and watch movies at the drive-in or stars at the lake or sleep or . . . I always carried a couple Faribo wool stadium blankets in their zipper pouches in the front trunk. By the time I graduated college I had driven that car all over the Eastern Seaboard.

I traded it in 1977 on an MGB. I had my first date with mrs. monochrome in the that car. To this day she'll tell the story - 'The only reason I accepted the first date with him was to ride in an MG. The second date was a flown-in-fresh lobster boil party - who can say no to fresh lobster? Third date was a formal dinner dance - they had a good band. The next date - OK, I was interested'.

Last edited by monochrome; 11-06-2015 at 06:57 PM.
11-06-2015, 06:57 PM   #22
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My first car was supposed to be a 1968 Mercury Cougar that my stepfather told me would be mine when I turned 18. I upheld my end of the bargain. He didn't.

11-06-2015, 07:49 PM   #23
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QuoteOriginally posted by Rupert Quote
Neat thread...I've read every post...very enjoyable!



Jim, all I can say is you have more nerve than I do to post that!

Had to have a '55 Chevy....My Dad financed it...I never paid him back totally....even in my youth Otis would have been proud of me!

Nice looker, 2 door coupe, I had rolled & pleated leather seats installed......only about $200 back then and they were beauties!

It ended there. 6cyl that got around 30 miles to the quart of oil...recycled oil @ .15 cents a quart. It dripped off the inside of the hood, ruined many a shirt and made service station attendants cuss a lot. Embarrassing on a date when you had to stop and add oil. Luckily no one could see you from behind because of the smoke trail. Cops pulled me over at night for obstructing the view of traffic. Once I was on the Interstate and the cop made me wait 4 hours for daylight before I could resume my trip.

When I graduated High School I got a half decent job and rented one of my Grandad's rent houses.....went fishing one day in the '55 Chevy and the clutch burned out coming back up a steep bank on the fishing pond. I had no cash for repair, and my Grandad took a look at it and said he was ashamed my Dad ever sold me a piece of junk like that. He tried to make my Dad pay for the repair and a new engine.....my Dad wouldn't budge.

I was at work the next day when my Grandad pulled up in a new Ford Falcon....came in and handed me the keys and asked if I could take off an hour and drive him home. Oh yeah! Never let me pay him back a dime...said it was worth it to give that junker back to my Dad.

I drove it for years, in fact it is where I taught Mrs Rupert the facts of life....well, as much as I could...which wasn't all that much. She demanded all that up front stuff like rings and commitment...in writing!

It was like this one but sky blue.....and it was a very decent car for several years. Fond memories!
Attachment 287658


That's my story....looking forward to hear more of yours!

Regards!
Great story and what a great bloke your Grandad is. The old XM Falcons were great old rigs.
11-06-2015, 07:52 PM   #24
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QuoteOriginally posted by Parallax Quote
My first car was supposed to be a 1968 Mercury Cougar that my stepfather told me would be mine when I turned 18. I upheld my end of the bargain. He didn't.
Nice car that would have been!! What the hey, they're just Dads, doin' what Dads do.
11-06-2015, 09:12 PM - 1 Like   #25
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QuoteOriginally posted by Grippy Quote
Great story and what a great bloke your Grandad is.
Thanks! I could write a book of all the things he did for me...it would be a long book. A better man I have never known. He lived to be almost 98 and his favorite person on earth was Mrs Rupert, they were very close.

Regards!
11-07-2015, 05:07 AM   #26
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QuoteOriginally posted by lesmore49 Quote
Tom, that '64 Impala SS with the 4-0-9 interests me. Was it the 340 hp...or one of the big boppers...the 400 or 425 hp job ? Transmission...4 speed ? You must of had some interesting runs in that 409, you wouldn't mind talking about. I realize you're a moderator, but back in the old days I bet you were involved in spirited youthful hi jinks, were you not ?

Les
Chevrolet limited the convertible to the 340 hp engine, I suspect due to concerns of body torque with the wishbone frame and no solid top to help with rigidity, so yes, mine was the 340. It was also the misaligned Powerglide transmission, which was definitely not the same as the one put into most Chevrolet products. It would actually chirp the tires at 60 mph when shifting from low to high. When I put a 4:11 gear set in it, it became a respectable street machine, even at the 340hp rating.

QuoteOriginally posted by lesmore49 Quote
It had vacuum assist windshield wipers. What this meant is the higher the engine was revving, the less vacuum the engine had and without much vacuum...the wipers would barely move. Found that out while trying to pass another car on the highway in the rain. It was
My wife had a 1960 Ford with vacuum wipers. Even worse, it had a Rube Goldberg windshield washer system. It consisted of a knob on the dash you pulled out when the wipers were on. The knob was connected to a series of linkages that lowered a small pump on to the engine fan belt. That pump pressurized the windshield washer fluid bag hanging on the firewall, causing the fluid to travel out two tubes connected to the nozzles located in the cowling. Because similar to the vacuum wipers, it was controlled by engine speed, at idle, you could wash the windshield or with the clutch pressed in, you could rev the engine and wash the windshield of the vehicle behind you. To say I had fun with it, especially with motorcyclists, would be an understatement.
11-07-2015, 08:16 AM   #27
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QuoteOriginally posted by Tom S. Quote
Chevrolet limited the convertible to the 340 hp engine, I suspect due to concerns of body torque with the wishbone frame and no solid top to help with rigidity, so yes, mine was the 340. It was also the misaligned Powerglide transmission, which was definitely not the same as the one put into most Chevrolet products. It would actually chirp the tires at 60 mph when shifting from low to high. When I put a 4:11 gear set in it, it became a respectable street machine, even at the 340hp rating.


I'm a big fan of the 409 in all of it's iterations. There was a guy in my burg that also had a '63 Impala convert with the 340 hp/409 and the powerglide. This W series, big block engine was known as a real torque monster. The PG was an interesting transmissions. Two speeds, but with a very good kickdown and very rugged. In fact modified powerglides are still used behind powerful drag racing engines to this day.

I have a pair of 409 valve covers hanging in my garage. They're Canadian edition...no Chevrolet bowtie stamped in the covers. This was because Canadian edtion Pontiacs, used Chevy engines and transmissions for many years.

My 409 valve covers are actually from a truck...a heavy duty '64-65 C80 I believe.

I bet your '63 Impala 4-0-9 is one of the cars you wish you still had. Early on in my car owning history I had a '62 Volvo PV 544s and a '67 Camaro coupe RS 327, 4 speed Muncie....both would of been nice in my garage...still.
11-07-2015, 08:48 AM   #28
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My first car was a 1959 Caddy Coupe De Ville. I bought it for $85 in 1969 from a guy at work who needed some cash. I didn't have it long, maybe 6 months. I got $500 on a trade in for it when I bought a new Ford Cortina. I would love to have it again today!

Here's a shot from the Cadillac and LaSalle Club site of '59 Coupe De Ville for those who aren't familiar these old land yachts. Mine was a dark green.

11-07-2015, 09:07 AM   #29
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QuoteOriginally posted by Parallax Quote
My first car was supposed to be a 1968 Mercury Cougar that my stepfather told me would be mine when I turned 18. I upheld my end of the bargain. He didn't.
Too bad. That has always been one of my favorite cars. I never owned one but always wanted to. I had a new '67 Camaro when they first came out, but the Cougar was the one I always craved. I had a boss that had one, it was gorgeous!

I'd still like to own one! They must be pretty rare...I never see them around?

Regards!
11-07-2015, 02:29 PM   #30
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QuoteOriginally posted by monochrome Quote
My first car was supposed to be a hand-me-down 1963 Impala SS 396 Convertible; buckets, console, auto on the floor and a third (mono) spealer in the rear center of the bench
The engine wasn't original then, because it wasn't released until 1965. In 63, Chevrolet gave you the choice of a 230 ci inline 6, 283ci, 327ci (2 versions) and 409ci (3 versions).
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