A LIFETIME OF OLD CLUNKERS (& some nice ones too)

1959 TRIUMPH TR3
I'm really stuck for a blog to-night so decided to reach back into my blog archives & see if I could find something older but current. Came up with this blog I wrote in September of 2007. And yup that's really me in the Triumph above & sitting atop the Carman Ghia in bottom picture:))

This article was in response to some postings on the 50+ forum one time by some guys talking about all the different cars they've had over the years. It got me thinking back to seemingly simpler times & ways of doing things. Once I sat down with a pencil & paper & began putting to-gether a list of remembered vehicles, I was truly surprised at the sheer number of vehicles that have passed through my hands & it sure has been a great exercise for clearing the aging cobwebs out of my brain. Hard to remember exact years of the vehicles but I think most of them are right, or very close.

One of the reasons for so many vehicles was that years ago you could buy a used car from a buddy for fifty bucks or off a lot for a couple of hundred. Sometimes you just traded stuff. All my vehicles were used except for a 73 Mazda 808 & an 85 Pontiac Fiero. Didn't need expensive insurance (if any) back in the 60's, no costly safety checks, & sometimes ya got away with an expired drivers license for awhile too. And sometimes you didn't even bother changing over the ownership before you sold it again. Oh dear!! To the best of my knowledge here are the vehicles I've had. I probably have forgot a couple VW Beetles here & there......loved those things, ya could take em anywhere.....& I did!! Here is the blog & I've dug up a few old pics to go with it too.............................

1.- 1961 Volkswagon Beetle (my very first car. but being a smart-alec teen-age male, I totalled it:((

2.- 55 Ford (red & white with big rust holes in the floor))

3.- ?? Ford Falcon (blue....hit a parked car with it & that was the end of that!!)

4.- 62 Mini-minor (red & the starter button was under the drivers seat)

5.- 59 Triumph TR3 2 seater sports car (burgundy with racing stripes) Picture at top.

6.- 61 Mini-minor (red)

7.- 64 VW Beetle (white & bought it in Halifax)

8.- 59 Vauxhall (creamy beige & was owned by a quiet little old Mennonite lady)

9.- ?? VW Carman Ghia (red & white but a friend run into a telephone post with it...no injuries)

10.- 58 Jaguar sedan (dark blue & what a wreck)

11.- 62 VW Beetle (no first gear & red)

12.- 59 VW Camper Van (pink & white & had the word, "VanGo" painted on it)

13.- 64 MGB (red with big paste-on hippy flowers covering all the rust holes in it)

14.- 62 Ford Falcon (gray & primer) Yup, I sprayed the whole bottom half with cans of primer!!

15.- 56 Austin Healy 2 seater sports car (red) Because of alcohol I foolishly wrecked this car too.

16.- 60 Pontiac Parisian (robins egg blue & what a tank)

17.- 59 Volvo Coupe (black) Nice car but could never get it running right.

18.- 61 Chevy Biscayne (brown/tan)

19.- 63 VW Beetle (beige) Rolled this one down an embankment because of black ice in Vernon, British Columbia.

20.- 73 Mazda 808 (new & lime green) Nice car but Al's drinking shortened it's life too:((

21.-85 Pontiac Fiero (new & red) Took this car back to the dealer after 6 months!!

22.-62 Volkswagon Camper Van (orange) Toured Canada's east coast in 86 with this wonderful old blister:))

23.- ?? Mazda pick up truck (brown & a hard to steer vehicle)

24.- 73 Oldsmobile Cutlass (super sharp car & burgundy)

25.- 74 Ford Econoline Van (beige & brown with a big bed in the back)

26.- 84 Pontiac Firebird complete with T-bar sunroof (sharp car & white)

27.- ?? Chevy Malibu (maroon) Just had it painted, sold it to a neighbor & she rolled it over:((

28.- 82 Honda Civic (gray & one of the best running little cars I ever had)

29.-89-? Mazda pick up truck (white) Took this one to Arizona to have a look at the Grand Canyon in 1992)

30.- 79 Dodge Converted Camper Van (brown & not one of my better deals)

31.- 74 Mazda Rotary Engine....Wagon (gray & a total bust...never did get it running)

32.- 85 Honda Civic (gray & another great Honda product)

33.- 92 Dodge Caravan (burgundy. nice van but it had some issues)

34.-97 Dodge Ram pick up (really nice truck & burgundy) Bought for us by my Uncle Harry:))

35.- 93 Ford Ranger pick up (silver gray, bit of a beater but I liked it)

36.- 79 Dodge Centurion Class C RV (white & old but it was our first RV)

37.- 95 Ford Gulf Stream Class C RV (white & took this to Big Bend in Texas but it had some problems)

38.- ?? Dodge Dynasty (maroon & my Mother's car)

39.- 2000 Chevy Silverado p/u truck (really sharp white truck but only owned it for about 2 months)

40.- 2004 GMC Sierra p/u truck (tan colored & loaded with way too many options)

41 - 03 Damon Challenger Motor Home 33' & present RV

42.- 03 Hyundai Santa Fe (present vehicle & silver gray)

43.- 99 Dodge Caravan (present vehicle & blue)


MOTORCYCLES
?? Suzuki 650cc motorcycle (black, but totalled it in an accident)
84 Yamaha Virago 750 motorcycle (red) Traded it in the following Honda
02 Honda Shadow Aero 1100 motorcycle (present bike - purple & gray)

RV TRAILERS
96 Prowler travel trailer... 24' Nice clean unit
05 Rockwood 5th wheel.... 28' Nice clean unit

Wished I had the Austin Healy back :((