1953 Chevrolet BelAire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Not long after high school I moved to Atlanta and took a job at a Gulf station near the entrance to Emory University. I hitch-hicked to Atlanta and did not have a car. Soon I earned enough money to buy a very nice 1953 Bel Aire 4 door sedan. It was a good solid car and I enjoyed it but was dissatisfied with the sluggish performance of the “hot water six” engine.

Those were the days of 327 c.i. powered Chevy’s, 390 c.i. Ford’s, and 383 c.i. powered Mo Par’s. I had the itch for a faster ride but little funds. I drove the ‘53 for a few months until I traded for the most unlikely car of my life a ‘55 Caddy.

The ‘53 only had one flaw as I remember it. The bumper guards on the front bumper had rust, a common thing for that year model. Other than that it was a good, dependable car, just too slow for a teen boy in 1965.

Royce

1956 Pontiac

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 My ‘56 was much more base than the one above. I couldn’t locate a picture of one with no chrome on the sides. It was the least adorned of the Pontiac’s in 1956, I’m talking really, really a base model.

I bought it in the spring of 1964. It was ugly to the bone, an ugly green. But, it was a good car. It had a small V8 engine and a very rare 3 speed manual shift transmission. A column shift was extremely rare for a Pontiac since by 1956 almost all Pontiac’s, Oldsmobile’s, and Buick’s had automatics as standard fare. Interestingly though, for several years later an automatic was listed on the window sticker as an “option” with a hefty price tag even though every car on the lot that year model had automatics and standard shifts were becoming very rare.

When the cold nights started in the winter of ‘64, likely a few nights in October, when I decided it was cool enough to turn the heater on, boy was I shocked! It didn’t have one! The next day as I inspected it closely in the light of day I found that it was sold originally in Key West, Florida and ordered with no heater, I suppose to save the frugal buyer a few bucks. So, my warm Navy p-coat was standard wear the remainder of that year.

I was in my last year of high school and the Pontiac was not fast, not pretty, but a good, quiet, dependable car which I always enjoyed driving. Thinking back, it was one of the best cars I have owned.

December of 1964 I was badly injured in an auto accident and the Pontiac was sold before I was able to drive once again. As I remember, at that age I was ready for a change anyway. I didn’t like to keep a car very long. Perhaps it was hereditary. My grandfather Ogle traded cars more often than anyone I ever knew, and almost always got tattooed. I have always been pretty fair and making  a good deal, but I have done it a lot.

Next time a 1953 Chevy Bel Air.

1954 Pontiac Cheiftan sedan

Reading this blog might lead you to believe I was a foolish young man. You would be correct! My next car was a 1954 Pontiac. It was as clean as a whistle and didn’t have a visible flaw. The straight 8 engine was silky quiet, the radio worked great, the the most impressive feature was that the Indian head hood ornament lit up at night when the lights were on. It’s amber lense really made it stand out! How cool was that?

I should have known better, it was at a local used car lot, and only $45. I am not sure of the price but I am very sure it was under $100. Problem? No title. No title? No problem. At least that’s what the used car guy said. I took the Pontiac and he took my money and told me to “check back in a couple of weeks” and the title would be there. After all it had to come from Utah or some other far off place. After hearing numerous stories about why he still did not have a title yet, I finally convinced him to give my money back and I was off the hook. ( My angry father wating in his truck outside the used car office could have swayed the guy in my favor..)

I only drove the car home and a few hundred yards near my parents house and then back to the used car lot but it was a nice car and I loved it. I have never considered repeating that mistake.

Royce

 

1950 Olds 98 sedan

Man, what a boat! I loved this car the moment I saw it. I had sold the ‘53 Ford and needed a car and for less than $200 I was back in business. My Olds was jet black. All the chrome was in excellent shape, the interior was perfect, had great tires, and everthing worked. It should have occured to me that something was amiss because the selling price was so very low…but nope, never a thought and I took it home.

Shortly after buying this fine automobile I asked a gal out for a ballgame at a high school across town and she accepted. I went to her house (perhaps 2 miles) to the game ( about 10 miles ) then to McDonalds ( 8 miles ) and then back to her home (2 miles ).  After a staggering  $3.00 of gasoline ( about $.40 per gal if that much ) and 3 quarts of oil I was back in front of my house. I’m guessing that the trusty ‘98 was clocking about 4 or 5 mpg and a quart of oil each 8 miles.

I kept this one only about a week and a sucker pal just had to have it and offered me what I had paid. Never mind that most of it I charged to him and never was paid. At least I no longer had that refinery on wheels.

They say you live and learn…but did I?

Royce

1951 Ford ragtop

One of my friends came to visit one summer day riding with a friend in a sky blue 1951 Ford convertible. It was a beauty. It had those pretty Olds, spinner hubcaps, two chrome exhaust tips, and I loved it.

I was shocked but very pleased when the fellow offered to trade the ‘51 for my ‘53 even up. In my youthful ignorance I did not have a clue that something must be amiss. After all I reasoned, my car is two years newer. Never mind it was an ugly pale green with primer on the right rear and now on the right front thanks to a rock that had leaped from the side of the road, dented my fender, and then managed to return to its place like magic. ( I just saw that rock two weeks ago and I’m still mad at it! )

I gave the boy my keys and my title and he gave me his. I thought I had made the trade of the century! I could hardly wait to drive the thing (It didn’t occur to me that I should have driven it before I traded ) and show it off to my buddies. Soon I learned that the only cloth on the convertable top was in fact the boot. Now I owned a car with no top in Western North Carolina and winter was just a few months away.

The final straw was when I started home after a few minute drive I discovered that the only way I could get the ‘51 back up the mountain where I lived was to back up the mountain. (The “Fordomatic” transmission had a lower grea ratio in reverse than in low going forward )This beautiful car had a sick flat head V-8 with an automatic transmission. It would not have pulled a sick hen off her nest.

After some frantic phone calls and threats the young boy returned with my trusty ‘53 Mainline hot water six and we traded back, shook hands, and I never saw him again. I learned some valuable lessons doing that car trade.

• If it sounds too good to be true it an’t
• drive it first stupid!
• check it over from bumper to bumper (a lesson not quite learned yet as my experience with a ‘56 Pontiac will clearly show )
• don’t let greed cloud your thinking.

Royce

 

My first car…1953 Ford

I was just over 16 years old and itchin’ to have my very own car. I found a 1946 Ford sedan at a local used car lot but before I could return with my dad to buy it, it was gone. I was so disappointed.

A few days later I spotted this green 1953 Ford on the back row of the used car lot at Parkland Chevrolet in Asheville, N.C. The rear bumper was in the back seat with the end sticking out of the left rear window. Someone had removed it to do some minor body work on the right rear under the deck lid and tail light. The reddish primer in that area stood out like a sore thumb up against the pale green paint of the car.

I really wanted this car for one huge reason. My freind’s older brother delivered dry cleaning in a 1953 Ford panel truck equipped with a 300 six cylinder and three speed standard transmission. That dry cleaning truck would do about 55 in 2nd gear and “get rubber” in all three gears, that is if the clutch was adjusted just right. I knew the Ford 300 six was already legendary for being fast and dependable.

My dad came back later that day with me and the moment I started up Cox Ave I knew this was the car for me. At the first opportunity and out of earshot of my dad and the salesman, I speed shifted from low to 2nd gear and it did not disappoint me, the screeching of burning rubber was music to my ears.

I drove the ‘53 for about 2 years. It was affectionately named “The green Mariah” by my friends. I abused that car about as much as any young boy can and it never used any oil, got great mileage, and was as dependable as they get. After trading it for a 1951 Ford convertible and then trading back again, I sold the car to a guy who worked for the legendary Banjo Matthews. The engine, just as it had been removed from the car, was installed into a dirt car which won the feature at Greenville Pickins Speedway the next Saturday night.

Of all the wheels I’ve owned the trusty 1953 Ford Mainline was one of the very best. If I could get my hands on a really good one I might just own another one.

Royce