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My Cars Through History
A reverse chronological list of vehicles I own or have owned
2010 Mazda 3I Touring
The Dodge truck was beginning to be unreliable (and it only got 13 mpg), so I traded it for this car (which gets 33 mpg) on August 1, 2009.
2009 Nissan Murano
Wife's Volvo is 15 years old now, and even though it only has 50,000 miles on it, we hesitate to depend on it for long trips so we bought this SUV on November 1, 2008. She will keep the Volvo for a "BINGO" car as the parking lot there is notorious for dings and such.
1967 Lotus Europa S1B
I rescued this Europa on 4/21/06 and sold it due to lack of storage on 6/1/07.
1967 Lotus Europa S1A
This Europa came to live with me on 8/19/05 and I sold it on 12/20/08.
1970 Lotus Europa S2 - Sold 10/25/10
I bought my S2 Europa in November 2003 and have been slowly modifying it for improved reliability and appearance. That's my son, Marc in in the photo.
1997 Dodge Dakota Sport 4x4 V8 - Traded on August 1, 2009 for the Mazda 3
My 1997 Dakota 4x4 was purchased late in 1996 and presently (11/17/08) has 39,524 miles on it. I don't drive it a lot but when it do, the 5.2L V8 provides plenty of pulling power. I've added a class III hitch and a Western plow, which I bought to clear the parking lot at work. Now that I'm retired, the plow mostly takes up space in the garage!
1993 Volvo 850 GLT - Sold 7/15/10
This is my wife's 1993 Volvo 850. We've owned it since new. It has 50,0299 miles on it (11/17/08) and still drives like a new car. The 5 cylinder engine and sport-tuned transmission help it to negotiate traffic very well. It is also equipped with traction control, which makes it really good in the snow.
1989 Porsche 944
I've owned this 1989 Porsche 944 since new. It has an Authority clutch upgrade (low mass flywheel, 911 pressure plate, 924S disc), short shift kit and throttle cam. I've also changed all rubber brake hoses to braided stainless steel lines and it has a Bursch exhaust. It currently has 66,666 (1/10/04) miles on the odometer.
Update - Sold it on 1/10/04. - Now I can concentrate on the Europa.
1982 Honda CB750 Motorcycle
Traded some Ham Radio equipment for this motorcycle. It was a decent machine that I used for a year or so. Sold it when I moved my Ham Radio business and lost garage space.
1984 Yamaha Virago 750 Motorcycle
Ditto the above Honda. I became the second owner of this bike when the first owner traded it for some Ham Radio equipment.
1975 BMW 320I
I took this car in partial trade for some Ham Radio equipment. Thought of restoring it, but didn't have the time. It sat in my installation bay for about eight months before I donated it to a local charity.
1992 Toyota Paseao
My wife was nearly killed in this car. She was on her way to work when a full-size van made a u-turn into the drivers front fender and door. She suffered a lot of cuts, her teeth were driven through her lower lip and broken and she had several broken ribs. The car was totaled and when she was well enough to drive again, she decided to buy a Volvo because of their legendary safety. She is still driving the 1993 Volvo we bought.
1988 Chevy Astro Minivan
What can I say, it was a minivan. Did what it was supposed to do. Traded it for the Volvo.
1979 Subaru Brat
Saw this truck on a dealers' lot and just had to have it. It was yellow with "street cat" graphics and jump seats in the bed. Besides, my wife had just bought a new Toyota and I was relegated to her old Chevette. Traded the Chevette without her knowledge or consent. Never going to do that again!!! Turned out to be a really good truck. Drove it for several years then sold it to my son.
1983 Toyota Corolla
This is the first new car we bought. It was a good, reliable car which we drove until 1988 when we bought a van to haul supplies for a night club we owned.
I still had hair in the this photo.
1980 Chevy Chevette
We bought this Chevette used from Avis and it was a very good car. My wife drove it until we bought the Corolla then I traded it on the Subaru Brat.
1969 Subaru FF-1 1100 Sedan (RHD)
We bought this car (very) used in Korea. An officer had imported it from Japan and it was right-hand drive. In Korea they drive on the same side of the road as here, so It was fun to pass cars when I couldn't see around them. It had a 4 speed on the floor I shifted with my left hand and the flat 4 cylinder engine had a single-barrell carb for each cylinder. We abandoned it when we left Korea in 1980.
1967 Volkswagon Squareback Wagon
A $100 experiment in Volkswagon machanics. This car was crap from the day I bought it until I gave it away. Never did get it running right. Lesson learned!
1973 Plymouth Duster
While I was stationed at Fort Meade, Md. I needed a second car and this was it. I don't remember much about the car and don't remember selling it. Must not have been too impressed!
1968 Dodge Dart
This was a temporary car I bought simply to take to school. I was stationed in Fort Meade, Md. at the time and was sent TDY to a school in Augusta, Ga. I paid $300 for the car, used it for several months and sold it for $300.
1969 Honda CB175
This was the most reliable motorcycle I ever owned. I was stationed in Augusta, Ga. and my wife needed the Dart while I was at work so I bought this. Drove it every day for a year with no trouble at all. We rode it all over the Augusta area on weekends. It was a fun time for us.
1972 Dodge Dart Swinger
We bought this Dart used when we returned from Korea in 1975. It was the first car my wife drove. She got lost in DC on her first lone outing after getting her license. Flagged down a taxi and paid him to lead her home.
Rental car in Honolulu in 1973
In January 1973 my wife and I flew from Korea to Honolulu Hawaii to be married. While we were there we rented this car. After we left the rental lot and entered the highway the hood flew open. I bought some touch-up paint at a local auto parts store and fixed the damage before we returned the car.
1964 Ford Fairlane Wagon
Bought this car for my ex-wife to drive when I got transferred to Korea in 1971. She didn't have a license but planned to learn while I was gone. Had Earl Scheib paint it green. She sold it shortly after I left the US and we were divorced soon after that. First and last Ford I ever owned.
1970 1/2 Chevy Camaro
I bought this Camaro in 1970 when I reinlisted in the Army. Took a brief case full of reinlistment cash to Orisman Chevrolet and dumped it on the salesmans' desk. Kept it for less than a year and sold it when the Army transferred me to Korea.
1964 Plymouth Valiant 273 V8
I bought this car from my Dad in 1968 after I completed Army basic training. It was light and the 273 V8 was qiuck. Had a 3 speed manual on the column (three on the tree). Broke the rear end in downtown DC when I was showing off. Repainted it silver with Lacquer and it looked pretty good.
 
1961 Plymouth Valiant
I traded my excellent '59 Chevy Belair on this car simply because it had a three speed shifter on the floor. While it never left me down, the 170 slant six smoked like a furnace. I used "remanufactured" oil and when the oil light came on, I'd dump some in the engine. My Mom and I painted the car red Rustolium (with brushes) and after I joined the Army in 1968 my sister drove it until it died.
1959 Chevrolet Belair
This was a NICE car. It had the Blue Flame six which didn't have a lot of power but the car was in excellent condition. Had a tag in the front that hung from chains with my girlfriends' name on it. I installed a DC/AC converter in it with a 110V outlet under the dash.
1957 Chevrolet Impala
The body on this car was marginally better than the '55 (see below) that donated its' engine. I probably only kept this car six months when a guy with a '59 Belair just had to have it. I got the better deal on the trade.
1955 Chevy Belair
Here's a photo of my first car when I was 16 years old in 1964, a 1955 Chevy rustbucket. Blew the 265 engine one day and replaced it with an old 283 short block. Used the 265 heads, intake and carb and it always ran too lean. Burned the electrodes off the spark plugs on a regular basis. Eventually scrapped the '55 and transplanted the engine to a '57.
I was into hunting when I had the '55 (as all kids in my home town were at that time) and bagged the largest deer in Clearfield county, an 11 point buck. This photo was taken by the local newspaper.
Dirt track racing in 1964
I was a mechanic on our race car from the age of 15 to 18. This photo was taken in 1964 when we were getting ready to go to the races.
1960 Yamaha 50cc Trail Bike
My first motorized vehicle was an early 1960's Yamaha 50cc Trail bike. I was 15 when I was riding it on a frozen pond in this photo.
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