Jump to content
Model Cars Magazine Forum

Recommended Posts

Per the request of some of the members here, I will post pictures of some of the 1:1 vehicles I have owned in my 55 years of driving (and I didn't start driving until I was 16).

The first car I owned was a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air 2-door hardtop. It was originally Robin's Egg Blue and White and was powered by a 162 horsepower 265 with a Powerglide transmission. My Grandfather found it for me when I was 15, and I spent the first year fixing it up before I could get my license and drive it. When I started driving it to high school the car had been repainted Roman Red, the engine was a 220 horsepower 283 and the transmission was a Borg Warner T-4 3-speed with a Hurst shifter.

 

55Chev1-900.jpg

The car went through a second transformation when I went to college (the first time) ........... painted Corvette Silver, interior done in black rolled and pleated naugahyde, engine was now a 300 horsepower 327 and the transmission was changed to a Borg Warner T-10 4-speed.

55Chev2-900 (1).jpg

Edited by Old Coyote
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also during high school, I sometimes drove and raced my mother's 1962 Buick LeSabre 2-door hardtop. My dad got the car from a Buick factory representative, and it was a rather unusual configuration for a LeSabre. It had a 325 horsepower 401 and a Dynaflow automatic transmission. Although it weighed over 4,090 pounds, it ran in D/SA and would turn the 14.10's at 99 mph at Amarillo Dragway's 3,700 ft. altitude.

62 Buick.jpg

Edited by Old Coyote
Link to comment
Share on other sites

..... while I was in the Air Force stationed at SAC Headquarters in Bellevue, Nebraska, we bought a 1969 Chevelle SS396 from Plains Chevrolet in Amarillo, Texas ....... again the car was a somewhat strange configuration ...... 350 horsepower 396 with a TurboHydro 400 transmission, bench seat, column shifter, no A/C but it did have power steering and brakes ..... and as you can see the Air Force allowed you to register your cars in your home state, rather than the state you were stationed in

69 Chevelle 1.jpg

69 Chevelle 2.jpg

69 Chevelle 3.jpg

Edited by Old Coyote
Link to comment
Share on other sites

.... however, the SD455 was a little bit too radical for my first wife to drive ....... so in 1974 I traded it for a '74 Trans Am ..... 400 cubic inch, still with a Muncie M-22 4-speed, but a 3.42 rear end ...... custom ordered this one with no "bird" on the hood ..... she had an easier time with this one

74TA.jpg

74TA1.jpg

Edited by Old Coyote
Link to comment
Share on other sites

..... in the mid 1970's I got the drag racing bug again and bought a race car and trailer ........... and I needed something to pull the trailer .............. so I bought a white '69 El Camino ..... the consignment dealer I bought the '72 Corvette from was opening a body and paint shop and offered to paint the El Camino for the cost of materials if I would let him sign the car and would advertise his new shop for him ............. I hadn't even received the permanent plates for the tow rig when this picture was taken in the pits at Amarillo Dragway

69ElCamino.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

..... in 1978, we moved to Midland, Texas and at the time my wife was driving a Chocolate Brown special edition '77 Trans Am with the gold striping and I was driving a '78 El Camino Super Sport ....... here are the only two shots I have of these two cars in front of our house in Midland

DSCN0008 (3).jpg

DSCN0009 (2).jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

..... in late 1979 my first wife and I divorced, and she took the '77 Trans Am ........ I got the "bug" again ...... sold the '78 El Camino and bought a '77 L-48 Corvette ..... Ermine white with the dark blue leather ........ small 350 with a Muncie M-21 4-speed ....... and that's my 19' Vaquero mini motor home behind the Corvette

Pic06 (1).jpg

Pic07 (1).jpg

Pic08 (1).jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In December 1981 I married my current wife (36+ years and still going) ...... and she turned out to be a car enthusiast also ....... but with two kids by her previous marriage and one by me we went into a "domestic" car period for about 21 years. However, after the kids were grown and gone we got a pair of 35th Anniversary 2002 Camaro Super Sports ......... a Sebring Silver Metallic one for me and a Navy Blue Metallic one for her ....... both were 335 horsepower LS1's with Borg Warner/Tremec 6-speed manual transmissions and 3.42:1 rear ends ..... they both had SLP center mount exhausts, chrome 10 spoke SLP wheels, and SS grilles. The only difference was that hers had the Bilstein suspension option.

Boys2.jpg

Boys1.jpg

Brutus1.jpg

bowie.jpg

Edited by Old Coyote
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The race cars I have owned over the years 

1960 Chevy Impala, 335 horsepower 348, Borg Warner T-10 4-speed, 4.56:1 rear end ....... legal NHRA C/S

60Chevy.jpg

 

1963 Chevy Impala, 409 horsepower 409, Borg Warner T-10 4-speed, 4.56:1 rear end ..... legal NHRA B/MP

63-chev-impala.jpg

1932 Austin Bantam Roadster, Hilborn injected Stage II Chrysler Hemi ..... legal NHRA A/A

ABQ1.jpg

Edited by Old Coyote
Link to comment
Share on other sites

.... and of course ....... "Timmy" ......... my 1948 English Ford Thames street rod ............ he sits on a custom chassis built by Fat Man Fabrications in Charlotte ....... steel body, glass nose by Fiberglas Trends, and stock aluminum rear doors ...... powered by a 377 horsepower 327 Corvette engine ...... Comp cam & kit,  MSD ignition,  Pete Jackson gear drive, custom shroud built by Alan Shadwick covering a 600 cfm Edelbrock carb, and Hedman headers ....... TurboHydro 350 transmission with B&M clutches and converter ..... 9" Ford rear end with 3.50:1 gears ....... Chevrolet Aqua Blue Metallic paint and all body and fabrication work by Josh Richardson, and custom leather interior by Tim Scarlett ...... ET mags, Michelin front tires and Pro-Trac rears

BB06 (1).jpg

%0A (2).jpg

%0A (3).jpg

%0A (19).jpg

%0A (1).jpg

BB07.jpg

Edited by Old Coyote
Link to comment
Share on other sites

But, on the every day driver front, my wife and I are now showing our age ........ she's 10 years younger than I and still "sports" around in a Chevrolet Sonic RS Turbo ..... six speed manual ..... the little scooter gets over 30 mpg in town and a tick over 40 mpg on the highway.

%0A (7).jpg

%0A (2).jpg

And I am now officially old ..... as I drive a Buick ..... a Buick Encore with the same turbo engine as in the Sonic ........ but with the added weight, the 6-speed automatic transmission, and all the other bells & whistles on the Buick, it only gets 25 mpg in town and about 33 mpg on the road ......... but hey, I'm old, and enjoy the creature comforts of a Buick

Abby1.jpg

Abby2.jpg

Edited by Old Coyote
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There were others that I don't have pictures of , or I didn't think were special enough to make the first list ( the domestic vehicles) ......, a 1966 Olds Cutlass 4-4-2 W-30 ram air,  a 1978 Olds Cutlass Calais, a 1984 Ford Bronco II Eddie Bauer Edition (yes I know it's a Ford, but the car came from my second father-in-law .... he wanted my wife to have it), a 1978 K-5 Blazer, a 1989 Chevrolet Astro van, a 1992 Pontiac Sunbird convertible for my wife, a 1993 Chevrolet Z-71 pickup, a 1999 Firebird again for my wife, a 2001 S-10 Blazer, a 2005 Pontiac Vibe, a 2007 Pontiac Solstice, a 2009 Chevy Colorado V-8, a 2010 Chevrolet Traverse, a 2009 Chrysler PT Cruiser (my wife just had to have one), and 2010 Chevrolet HHR.

 

The 1966 W-30 4-4-2 (please excuse the babies in the picture, we were home on leave from the Air Force and this is only picture I have of this car)

66-442-2.jpg

The 1978 K-5 Blazer that pulled our matching pop-up trailer all over the southwest when we lived in Phoenix

DSCN0032 (1).jpg

My wife's 1992 Sunbird convertible (which my daughter drove to high school)

DSCN0022 (1).jpg

My 1993 Z-71 stepside pickup

PU1[1].jpg\

My wife's 1999 Firebird 

Firebird5.jpg

My wife transported her invalid parents and their wheelchairs in this 2001 S-10 Blazer

Blazer1[1].jpg

My wife's 2005 Pontiac Vibe (never liked the feel of this car, found out later that it was just a cute Pontiac body sitting on a Toyota Corolla chassis and running gear

We got rid of it right after that discovery)

IMG_1400.jpg.ef49b82c1e8beff4ccce93e332f090f9.jpg

My wife's 2007 Pontiac Solstice (really fun, but so impractical)

Solstice.jpg

My 2009 Colorado V-8 pickup (loved this truck, but it had to go when gasoline got to nearly $5.00 a gallon here)

Travis1.jpgTravis2.jpg

The 2010 Traverse for my wife (it was also a victim of the ridiculously high gasoline prices)

Tessa03.jpg

... and the three Honda motorcycles we pulled behind my 1978 El Camino when we went tent camping (that's my nephew on the CL-175)

Bikes.jpg

Edited by Old Coyote
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, johnwitzke said:

John, I noticed the license plate on the 1966 W30 Olds is that 59 county Nebraska, Offutt AFB?   I believe that O'daniel Olds in Omaha, NE had a dealer tag like the one on the trunk  

Yes sir, the "59" county designation on the license plate is for Sarpy county, and the county seat was Papillion. That's where we went to get those plates. The car was purchased from a used car dealer in South Omaha, but I have long since forgotten his name. Offutt AFB was in Sarpy county, as was the town of Bellevue where we lived.

Edited by Old Coyote
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...