I’ve never been a smoker, thus tobacco smoke never voluntarily entered my system, other than through secondhand contact with the known carcinogen. A coworker years ago tried to stop smoking several times and failed. He told me that non-smokers don’t have a clue how powerful nicotine is, especially after someone’s been using tobacco products for as long as he has.
Dan was trying out some type of special gum this last go-around in hopes it’d help get him over the hump. Thankfully, it did. That was some 10 years ago and from what I hear he’s still tobacco-free.
If there is anything I became addicted to, it’s hotrod cars. I was first introduced to them in 1967, when a fellow in a gas station, Doug Sizemore, gave me a ride home in his 1963 Ford Sprint. The little car originally had a 260 V-8 with a 4-speed, but Doug swapped in a larger 289 engine. He went through the gears during my short ride. I was hooked.
“Car Craft” and “Hot Rod” magazines were as close as I got to having my own hotrods until 1970. That’s when a 1954 Chevrolet “high-boy” sedan came into my life. This car had been built by a military man named Specialist Don Weber at Fort Richardson Army Base, and things have never been the same since I purchased it from him. Hotrods in the blood system, much like nicotine, is an addiction that’s hard to shake.
The front of my ’54 Chevy was raised four inches with an I-beam on each side, with the rear end jacked up the same using spring shackles. Originally painted gray, it looked awesome that way, looking even better after I had it sprayed purple by a man named Issac Bloodsaw. It’s a bloody miracle I can still recall all of these names because that was over 50 years ago.
Since then I’ve built several hotrods, with perhaps the best, a 1970 Chevrolet Vega GT with a small block Corvette 350 engine under the hood instead of the original 4-cylinder. The vehicle looked totally stock, with the only things giving it away — 5 lug wheels, and a throaty V-8 echoing through twin glass pack mufflers. My wife drove that car to work and back on nice days absolutely loving the power.
Since then, there’ve been 440 and 426 Hemi-powered 1968 Dodge Chargers, a 1971 SS454 Chevelle, a 1974 SS454 El Camino, a supercharged 426 Hemi 1968 Plymouth GTX, and a couple of newer Hemi Dodge products, which include the first-year Dodge Ram half-ton pickup with 5.7 liter Hemi power.
As the years slipped by, almost all of my older friends parted company with the hobby, with me now being the lone survivor it seems, although one friend continues to say he’s going to build another. We’ll see how that works out.
I’ve been slowly selling off my cars as a means to downsize, thinking that’s the right thing to do. My Havasu friends, Jerry Crowe and Jim Brownfield went “cold turkey” with their hotrod involvement, with me believing I needed to do the same. A cold turkey sandwich is actually more to my liking.
That thought of becoming strictly a benchwarmer somewhat cooled after attending the 3rd Annual “Horsepower by the Lake” car, boat, and motorcycle show held at Riviera – Havasu boat launch last Friday and Saturday. My blood was rejuvenated seeing all of that chrome and shiny paint, along with hearing a few supercharged engines perform their infamous whine.
A super nice man that my wife and I met there, Bruce Joy, had an awesome 1965 Ford Mustang painted Plum Crazy purple. It caught our attention because Joleen once owned a 1970 Dodge Challenger convertible in the exact same hue. Ted was around my age – perhaps a couple of years younger – with the man giving no indication of slowing down.
This gentleman said that he, along with his son, did all of the bodywork and paint on the Mustang and that they were currently building a 1965 Pontiac GTO. Hearing that fired up my inner workings, with a renewed desire to curb “letting go” of vehicles and tools. Maybe it’s best when I die, for the wife to just give this stuff away instead of me selling it. That’s always been a big joke, not just with us, but with other couples we know.
A new car show is coming to town at Havasu 95 Speedway, sponsored by Calvary Church on March 8. It’s called the Crossroads – 17th Annual – Classic Car and Bike Show. The hours are from 9 AM – 1 PM. Entries are open to those vehicles no newer than 1999.
I plan on dusting off my old 1950 Chevrolet pickup, and hopefully, driving it to this event. I’ll undoubtedly bring along some smoke in the process, more like the oil-burning variety rather than the other. A Calvary website says to call Dick at (928) 680-6057 for event information. Hopefully, we’ll see you there!
I like to write junk... 