The Car

Below is the license plate formerly attached to my 'just out of hi school'... '70 Chevelle SS 396, 400 hp, 3 speed Turbo-hydro-matic center console transmission, black vinyl roof over red, black interior with chrome accents, leather bucket seats, cowl hood, mag wheels, over size tires, dual exhaust, power steering-windows and brakes, air shocks on the back, SS 396 emblems on both front quarter panels-front grill-and on each center wheel hub....MUSCLE CAR!

The car is long gone, but in an effort to try and preserve fond memories I kept it's plate stored away in hopes of maybe putting it up on a game room wall or something someday. Years later while fumbling around in my memorabilia box, I found the plate, sanded it down to remove the rust, straightened out the bent corners, and painted it white to seal it, in hopes of someday restoring it to its former glory. I think it originally had green lettering on a white background. I have a funny story about buying this license plate, it involved Richard La_'s girl friend, what was her name. I'll put that story on this site some day.

Marty Kee_'s dad (Herb) sold me that car from Plains Chev. Herb and my dad convinced me that this Chevelle was better than a solid red, white racing stripped Chevelle with a manual Hurst 4 speed stick shift that I was looking at. The down payment on the car came from paper route money I had been saving for years. I threw papers at Richard Sno_'s, Cindy Boy_'s and Larry Gibs_'s house near Gene Howe park close to Martin Rd lake. If I remember right, I rolled that brand new car off the lot for $3,600. To this day, that has been my only totally brand new car I've ever had.

I only had one race, and it wasn't against Bobby Ta__. The other guy had a tach, so he knew when to shift gears. I relied on engine torque noise to manually shift the automatic through three gears to high. I started off in low gear, and actually got him off the line. The other guy's car (another Chevelle) was so loud (he definitely had headers), I couldn't hear to shift properly, so I lost. I audio recorded the race on my under dash Kraco cassette player and played it back many many times, it was awesome sounding.

After graduating college, while living in San Antonio, I traded my Chevelle for a '75 Oldsmobile Toronado, which was a great big grandpas' car, but it had electric windows and comfy electric adjustable seats which fitted my new salaried swinging single 'comeuppance' lifestyle better. One year later, during a gas crisis, and after gotten married, I traded that Old's for a gas saving family Toyota Corolla.

Can you believe it. I was nuts. Whenever I think of those car deals, I get so mad I could spit. Boy I wish I had my Muscle Car back. I'd be a hundred grand richer.

This is the only picture I have of my old Chevelle. Pic shows me and Rick Smi__ with his navy draft orders. This was taken right before his bus ride to San Diego, enroute to the oceans of the world during the Vietnam War. I believe either Johnny Par__r or Rick's girl friend took the picture. Click on the picture to enlarge it. You can even see the license plate's green numbers "396" between my legs.