Wish I still had it!

We all miss a car or two from our past. When I was a kid I had a few really special cars that I had no idea were special. To me, they were just old, entry-level vehicles. I loved them, but couldn't wait to replace them with something newer.

Mine were a '65 Mustang fastback, a '65 Pontiac LeMans two door and a day glow orange, Minnesota Highway Department '66 C-10 short box stepside, 6 cylinder, 3 on the tree and probably 300,000 miles.

When I bought the truck, it had to be towed home. It wouldn't start and oil poured out the back of the engine. The prior owner couldn't solve it, so sold the truck to me for $300. I figured out the cam was walking around and had kicked the frost plug out the back. A new distributor gear and frost plug were all the parts I needed. Probably $20 and a couple hours into truck ownership and I was driving.

The prior owner had put a pair of chrome exhaust pipes up behind the cab which several people regretfully used as hand-holds when climbing into the bed. I'm sure there are still a few people running around in Minnesota without fingerprints.

I never had a moment of trouble with that truck! I drove it through college and finally sold it (so I could pay rent) a few months after graduation on 1982.

After a couple decades owning modern cars, I've gotten back into the good stuff! I'm currently building a '55 BelAir (a car I wanted for over 30 years) and have a couple other high-performance cars in the garage.

I will replace that truck in the next year or two. My preference is a '64-'66 but earlier would make me happy as well. I'm not looking aggressively yet....just sort of keeping my eyes open. But the moment my BelAir is back together, the hunt is on.

Jay