‘68 Plymouth Road Runner - I absolutely loved this car! Bought it from my friend’s Mom for $800 back in 1974. Everything was stock except for the Ansen rims. Seven inch fronts, 8” backs. Replaced the fronts with 6” rims and went taller and skinner tires with H60s in the back. Had the carpet replaced and the front seats re-done. Stayed with the tuck ‘n roll ‘cause I didn’t have the money for diamond tuck. Installed an under dash, removable mount for an auto-reverse Panasonic cassette player. Later upgraded to a Teac player. Jensen co-axial speakers in the rear deck and door jams. Over time I put in an Edelbrock manifold, Hooker headers, vacuum pump 600 cfm Holley carb, Accel distributor, shift plate, Lakewood traction bars. Did some upper half engine work. Chromoly push rods, titanium rocker arms and a street / strip cam. Had the car re-painted to Corvette White and the finishing touches were the correct door decals and the trunk panel that I bought brand new. Never got the “383” badge for the hood “wings”. Franking gas embargo and the rising prices did me in and eventually sold it to my older brother. Still wish I could have found a way to keep her but I’m sure the maintenance to keep her looking and running good would have killed my wallet.
‘66 Plymouth Valiant 200 - this was my very first car that, I think, cost $800 too. My Dad and oldest brother found and bought the car from an older Japanese man. Had to repay my Dad with the money I made from my summer job. Being an older 4-door vehicle, it was a good beach car to pile in my friends and go off to the countryside. After I agreed to buy the Road Runner, I put up a bulletin board ad at my part-time job and incredibly sold the car back to the man that sold the car to my Dad! I dunno what the odds would have been but I still marvel at that coincidence.
‘95 Nissan Quest van - bought it brand new and had, at that time, more bells and whistles than our young family was accustomed to. Power windows, Captain’s seats, driver side airbag, nice smooth ride and, I think, a/c vents for the rear passengers. Being able to remove one of the Captain’s seats made going in and out for my kids easier and kept them apart so no in-car fighting. But, went to work for my cousin about a year later and one of the job perks was a company car so we sold the van (…at, of course, a big loss…).
