My Cars
As long as I can remember, I was always around cars. My dad worked in a popular body shop in our small town of Rising Sun, Maryland, and he also drove the school bus part-time, so I often rode with him and spent a couple of hours at the shop till he went home. I got an up-close view of what it took to repair damaged cars and how the painting process worked.
Dad started doing side work for customers at our house, so I started working with him in our garage at home when I was 12 years old. We would work outside in the summer on cars that needed various body repairs, from spot painting to complete "all-overs".
Later, Dad started his own business and opened a shop. He was busy right away, and my two brothers and I sanded, taped, and did whatever car repair-related jobs Dad needed us to do. So we certainly spent a lot of time around cars.
My brothers and I got a lot of practice driving cars around the shop and learning to park them inside the building. We got so busy that we had to pack the cars in tightly, so that was a great learning experience. We also did a lot of "practicing" on the rural road we lived on. Dad was a great driving teacher, making sure we always "centered the car between the lines".
As I approached (legal) driving age, I started looking around for a cool first car. We did a lot of work for a Ford dealership in Bel Air, Maryland, and one day while we were picking up a car to work on, I spied a 1966 Buick Skylark sitting in the back row of the used car lot. Dad and I took it for a spin, and I fell in love with it right away. The one below doesn't show the white interior like mine had, and mine was also a hard top with a black vinyl roof, not a convertible. But the maroon color below was exactly like mine. I turned 16 on August 30th, and I was in Chesapeake City, Maryland, the same day to get my driver's license!
Working in a body shop and being around cars made it easy for me to change cars as often as the fancy struck me. And it struck me often. I rarely kept a car for more than a few months before I'd move on to something else. I usually made a profit from each one I had, so I'd invest that in the next car and get it just the way I wanted it. I spent a lot of money on tires, Cragars, exhaust, stereos, air shocks, and more. But I never had a car payment on any of the cars that I owned for a number of years.
It's an understatement to say that these cars are all now worth a fortune. For instance, my '69 Camaro RS convertible below sold for around $2,900 brand new in 1969. I sold it for $2,600 in 1979. Its average value now is about $50,000, with some as high as $80,000!
From ages 16 to 22, I owned 19 cars. That was just the ones I plated and drove! I bought and sold a few others along the way. My favorite of all time was the 1969 Camaro RS Convertible. Not only was it a beautiful car, but there are many wonderful memories associated with it during the 18 months of dating Sonya. My cousin Em spent a lot of time in the Camaro as well, on our way to various activities of our youth.
Sadly, I don't have original photos of every car I own. I have a few, but they are somewhere in boxes and pretty faded. So I looked online for close approximations of each car I had. I have never been able to find the color combination of the Buick Skylark: maroon, white interior, and black vinyl top. That car, if it's still around somewhere, is probably worth a fortune.
I was fortunate to experience the thrill of so many classic cars in such a short time. With 4 Mustangs, 2 Cougar XR7s, 2 Camaros, and just about 1 of every major car brand, the 1970s were filled with great car memories for me.
Click on one of the photos below to begin the slide show. Each photo has a caption/more info underneath it. Use the left and right arrows in the photo area to navigate between photos.
1966 Buick Skylark. 340 Engine (4 Barrel). Maroon with black vinyl roof and white interior - This was my first car when I turned 16 in August of 1973. Mine was a hard top, not a convertible, but it had a black vinyl top and white interior. I have not been able to find that combination online anywhere. Wheels were the same as the one above with white sidewalls. I really didn't have to do much to this car when I got it and I left it pretty much stock. The school bus didn't run where we lived, so mom took us to school and picked us up every day for 10 years. It was now my turn to take me and my brothers Terry and Mark to school every day in this car. Not long after I got this car, the 1973 oil crisis erupted and the price of gas skyrocketed. I remember sitting in gas lines nearly all day to get my gas tank filled. This car got terrible gas mileage, but I didn't really care at the time. It was my first car and it was very cool.
1966 Chevrolet Nova (Deuce). 283 Engine. Blue with blue interior. - I kept the Skylark till the following spring of 1974, sold it, then bought a 1966 Chevy Nova exactly like the one above. Mine had a small engine in it, a 283, with the Cragar wheels and white letter tires like the photo above. My brother Terry was with me when I totaled this car after being run off the road by a truck who was over in my lane. The road was freshly graveled, so I lost control and hit several small trees and a row of fencing. Three of the four wheels were bent and the gas tank came off in the wreck. We were only able to salvage the engine. The rest was unusable. Terry got a few bruises from being bounced around during our wild ride through the trees and fencing, but thankfully, neither one of us were injured.
1968 Chevelle. 327 Engine. Blue with black vinyl roof and black interior. - About a week after I totaled the '66 Nova, I bought a 1968 Chevelle. When I got it, it was maroon with a black vinyl top and black interior. The tires were bad and it had chevy hubcaps. Dad painted it blue for me, very close to the color above. I added Hooker Headers, a Rochester 4 barrel carburetor, dual exhaust, air shocks, Crager wheels and new tires. It was a real beauty. For my 17th birthday, I got a pair of wide G60 tires for the rear.
1969 Mustang Mach 1. 390, 4 barrel engine. Cream yellow. - I sold the '68 Chevelle for a nice profit and was looking for another car when I found a wrecked '69 Mach 1 exactly like the one above. It was hit hard in the front. I repaired it in about two weeks or so with all new parts. Had to have the frame pulled to get it into correct alignment. I plated it on a Friday, and the very next day, we were on a church outing in Washington, DC, on a boat tour on the Potomac. When we returned to the parking lot, a Blue Bird Coach bus had slipped out of gear and knocked a 65 Mustang that was sitting next to mine down a hill and the bus had come to rest alongside of my car, doing damage to the passenger side. Just one day on the road!
1966 Simca 1000. 4 cylinder engine, 4 speed stick. Baby blue with beige interior. - The pastor of our church in Rising Sun Maryland at the time was selling a car just like this one. I think I paid around $200 for it. I bought it just for kicks and it actually was a lot of fun to drive. Gas prices were high then, so I drove this around for awhile and let my V-8 sit more often. I only kept if for a three or four months before I sold it. It was a French-made car that was roomy for a small car.
1971 Dodge Challenger - 318, 2 barrel engine. Automatic. Green with black vinyl roof and green interior. - I had already owned a Buick, Chevy, Ford, and a French-made Simca, so it was time for a Mopar! Gas prices were still kinda high in 1975, so the fuel-efficient 318 engine was a welcome change. I drove this car to South Carolina a number of times from Maryland, so I racked up some miles over a 6 month period. (I was 18 at the time!) I had added air shocks, Cragar wheels and white lettered tires, but the rest of the car remained stock. It was uncomfortable to drive as the front seat was practically on the floor, but it was very dependable and very easy to maintain.
1972 Mercury Capri. 4 cyliinder engine. Copper brown with camel interior. - After nearly getting married in the spring of 1976, I sold the Challenger and bought a 1972 Capri exactly like the one above. It was one of the few cars that I owned that did not need painting or customizing. It was nearly perfect, but it was only a 4 1/2 year old car at the time. This car was a lot of fun to drive. It had a sunroof that you could crank open and it was very fast for a 4 cylinder engine.
1969 Mustang. 351 (Cleveland) engine. 2 barrel. Gold with black interior - I sold the Capri for a nice profit and bought a '69 Mustang like this one. I only had to buff it out to make it look like new, and then I decided to make it into a fake Mach 1. I painted the hood flat black, added the hood pins, and added the Mach 1 stripes down the sides. It already had the rally wheels on it, so it looked very much like a real Mach 1. Late in the summer of '76, I decided to go to Lee College in Cleveland, TN, and this would be the car I would take to school. The back seat folded down, so it gave me some extra room for my luggage and other stuff I needed for school.
1969 Mercury Cougar XR7 Convertible. 390, 4 barrel engine. Turquoise with white interior and white convertible top. - I had only been in Tennessee about 2 weeks when I saw a '69 Cougar just like the one above sitting at a car lot. I traded the '69 Mustang even up for the Cougar. It was getting close to fall and dealers don't like convertibles on the lot. The dealer tried to get some cash from me too, but I told him I was a poor college student. (I was!) This car was horrible on gas, but it was a head-turner. (I think it was also responsible for most of the dates I got with the ladies!) Not many '69 model year cars had power windows, but this one did. Power top and an 8-track tape player too! I loved this car. It was powerful and very solid on the roads. A real pleasure to drive.
1973 Pontiac Grand Prix SJ. 455, 4 barrel engine. Dark brown with dark brown velour interior. All options including T-Tops. - (I couldn't find a photo of one like mine with the colors I had and with the T-Tops, but this is what it looked like.) About a month after I returned home from college for summer break in 1977, I hit a dog not far from where I lived (still in Maryland at the time.) It was a big dog, and fortunately he lived, but he did a lot of damage to my beautiful Cougar XR7 convertible. That car had the slide-away headlight covers, and they were very expensive to fix. We were getting ready to move to Indiana and I was planning on going back to school, so as much as I hated to, I traded my '69 Cougar for a 1973 Grand Prix SJ that was loaded and had the much coveted T-Tops in the roof. I also got $700 cash, which was a considerable sum at the time. And this was for a wrecked Cougar! The Cougar was only 8 years old at the time, but was already considered a classic. I didn't want to keep the Grand Prix, so I tried to sell it, but the 455 engine was a big turn off for gas-conscious drivers in a down economy. So we ended up pulling it behind a huge U-Haul moving truck all the way to Indiana!
1971 Triumph Spitfire Convertible. Yellow with black convertible top and black interior. 4 cylinder engine, 4 speed stick. - I sold the 1973 Grand Prix Sj for $2800 and immediately bought a 73 GMC pickup and a 71 Triumph Spitfire convertible like the one above. Mine was a lighter yellow, but otherwise exactly like this one. It was a blast to drive and I had a lot of fun with it. It wasn't easy to get in and out of, but I was only 20 years old at the time and a bit more flexible too.
1974 AMC Hornet. 6 cylinder automatic. Red with white stripes and red interior. - I had skipped the fall semester at Lee College in 1977 because of our move to Indiana, but decided to go back to the winter semester of 1978. I needed a different car than the Spitfire to drive nearly 600 miles. So I sold my GMC pickup and the Spitfire and bought the 74 Hornet just one day before going back to Cleveland. It was only 3 years old at the time and in like-new condition. But I only had it about 3 weeks before I spied another 69 Mustang that I wanted instead.
1969 Mustang Mach 1. 390, 4 barrel. Gulfstream Aqua Poly with black interior. - About 2 weeks into the the winter semester at Lee College (1978), I was riding around in the countryside and spied a beautiful 69 Mustang Mach 1, exactly like the one above. I always thought this was the prettiest color Ford produced for the Mustangs. I had to have it. I swapped the title of my 74 Hornet for the 69 Mustang and felt I easily got the better deal. This would be my third mustang in two years and like my other big V-8 cars, it got terrible gas mileage. I didn't care at the time.
1972 Camaro - 350, 2 barrel. Blue with blue interior. Factory rally wheels. - I didn't really like any of the Camaros after the 69 model year. But I had sold my 69 Mustang for a nice profit and found a 72 Camaro for a song. It needed paint and some minor mechanical work and I knew I could turn a quick profit on it. Mine was exactly like the one above with the same color paint and same wheels. A couple of days after I bought the Camaro, I was offered a 72 Fiat Spider convertible that needed some TLC as well. So I bought that one too. That's the next photo coming up.
1972 Fiat 124 Spider Convertible. 4 cylinder 5 speed stick. Red with black interior and a black convertible top. - I was still working on the blue 72 Camaro when I was offered the Spider convertible. I needed an everyday car to get around in, so I bought the Spider for that purpose. I quickly changed the color from red to black with some small gold stripes down the side. I had just met my future wife, Sonya and this was the first car she rode in. We weren't dating at the time. I was just providing rides for her to church and other youth functions. I had just got home from Lee College, it was a warm spring and a great summer and this car was perfect for the two or three months that I had it. Lots of fun to drive with the 5 speed stick.
1971 Ford Torino. 302 Windsor V-8, 2 barrel. Light blue with medium blue interior. - I was not a fan of the older model Torinos, but a guy across the street from our shop asked if I was interested in one just like the one above. It only had 37,000 original miles on it and it was in perfect condition. It even had clear plastic covers on the seats from the day it was bought new. He only wanted $400 for and that was a steal. I only had to buff it out and detail it and it was ready to go. So at this point in time, I had three vehicles: 72 Camaro, 72 Fiat convertible, and the 71 Torino. Sonya rode a few times in the Torino as well. I sold the Torino about a month after I bought it for around $1100, so a nice $700 profit in a very short time.
1969 Camaro RS Convertible. 307, 2 barrel automatic. Mediterranean Blue with white interior and a white convertible top. - My crown jewel! Of all the cars I've ever owned, this is the one I'd like to have back. (The car shown above has a 396. Mine had a small 307 V8.) Here's how I got this car: The guy that owned a car lot next to our body shop came over one day and asked me to take a ride with him. (We knew and liked Greg a lot.) He said he had something to show me that I might be interested in. We went to his house and when he raised the garage door, I nearly fell over. It was the most gorgeous car I'd ever seen. We took a quick ride and then he asked me if I'd be interested in it. I said yes, but I told him I couldn't afford what the car was worth. He said he knew that, but he wanted me to have it because he knew I'd baby it. He told me to finish the 72 Camaro and the 72 Fiat Spider and that I could trade both of those cars for the Camaro. I told him he had a deal! Dad thought I was crazy, but I knew I wanted that car. About a week or so later, I owned the Camaro. Sonya and I spent nearly all of our dating days in this car, Summer and Winter. It was the longest I had ever kept a car, nearly 18 months. I sold it about 2 weeks before we got married.
1968 Cougar XR7 Hardtop. 302, 2 barrel. Green with tan interior. - For the first 4 months of the spring/summer of 78, Sonya and I were just friends and I was her taxi for church and other youth functions. Once we decided we actually liked each other, I bought her the 68 Cougar. It was her first car. She liked it, but it was hard for her to drive since the steering wheel was so big and the power steering wasn't very strong. She didn't drive it very long before I sold it and bought her the next car in the list...
1974 Dodge Duster - Slant 6, 2 barrel. Red with half white top and white interior. - Since Sonya had a hard time driving the Cougar, I found a 4 year old Dodge Duster that had low miles and excellent paint. It was drive ready and all I had to do was plate it. Probably not many girls can say their boyfriend bought them two cars before they were married. This car got excellent gas mileage, had a sunroof, and was fun to drive.
1966 Mustang Fastback - 289 2 barrel, 4 speed stick. - A few years after we were married, I found a 66 Mustang fastback like the one above in Gary. It had been sitting for a number of years and had been hit in the rear pretty hard. I bought the car as a spec car to turn it over for a profit. I tried in vain to find a trunk lid for it, but fastback parts were very hard to find back then. I ended up rebuilding the trunk lid with metal and filler. I also had our mechanic swap out the manual transmission for an automatic. I generally like to keep cars stock, but I knew the automatic would sell better. I put it up for sale and it sold in one day. I believe it's still in the Hobart area to this day, mostly garage kept.
1983 Toyota Corolla SR5 Hatchback. 4 cyl 5 speed stick. - I realize this isn't a muscle car, but it was a pretty popular car in the 80s and a lot of fun to drive. Nice looking, sporty car too. I bought this in the late 80s, around 88 or 89.
1969 Cougar XR7. 390 4 barrel automatic. Turquoise with white interior and a white top. - Somewhere around the early 90's, a member of our church called me and wanted to know if I'd be interested in buying his 69 Cougar. It had been sitting in his garage for a few years and they were getting ready to move, so he wanted to sell it. It was black when I bought it, but I thought the turquoise was awesome with the white interior and white top. I sold this one pretty quick, otherwise I would have gotten attached to it. It brought back a lot of good memories of my first XR7 convertible I had a Lee College about 14 years earlier.
1972 Chevelle Convertible. 350 2 barrel automatic. - Somewhere around the early 90's, my brother Mark and his family were living in Little Rock, Arkansas. His next door neighbor had a 72 Chevelle convertible in his drive way. I tried to buy it several times when we would visit Mark, but the owner did not want to sell because the car had belonged to his deceased father. Finally, on one of visits, the neighbor asked if I still wanted to buy it. I said yes, and a week or so later, I flew down to Little Rock to get the car. To get it home to Indiana, I did something kinda wild and crazy (meaning not very smart). I bought a very used 78 Cadillac Coupe De Ville for $500 from a friend of Mark's, and then proceeded to rent a tow bar to pull the chevelle back to Indiana. I basically had 8 very questionable tires on the road, traveling over 650 miles at an average speed of 70 miles an hour. There were no cell phones then, but I had a CB radio and several truckers tried to buy the chevelle from me before I even got home with it. I knew I had a winner for sure! I painted it, put a new convertible top on it and sold it for $6,000 about 3 weeks after I got it. It's average value now is about $41,000. I even sold the ratty old Cadillac for a profit too.
