Reminiscing — All My Cars

Photographs supplied by the author.

[Editor’s note: This “Reminiscing” story, edited by Richard Lentinello, comes to us from Hemmings Classic Car reader Art Hall, Cicero, Indiana.]

Over the years, I have owned a number of interesting cars, along with a number of basic transportation cars; most of my cars in the early years were used. I was an engineer with the Allison Transmission Division of General Motors for 35 years, but it wasn’t until I qualified for the GM discount program in 1975 that I began buying new cars.

My first car in high school was a 1958 Chevrolet Impala convertible. It was green with a black vinyl interior. That car taught me how hot black vinyl can get when I jumped into it after a couple of hours at the Jersey Shore with nothing but a bathing suit on.

Finishing high school and entering college, I had a couple of nondescript rides for a while. In my junior year of engineering school, I bought a 1964 Dodge Dart slant six with the Scat Pack option, four-barrel carb, and four-speed manual transmission. I’m proud to say that the only other six-cylinder car of the day that could beat me was the new Pontiac OHC six.

My first new car, bought without benefit of the GM discount, was a 1970½ Camaro Rally Sport with a two-barrel 350-cu.in. V-8 and a four-speed. As I remember, I paid about $2,900 for that one, and sold it five years later for $1,500. Probably the best return on investment of any car I ever bought.

Shortly after that, I added a 1958 Mercedes 190SL to my stable. In retrospect it was really a rust bucket, but this one gave me the taste for sports cars that traded comfort for performance. I bought it for the grand sum of $500 in 1970 and later sold at a profit — $550!

A couple of years after that, my wife and I had saved up a down payment on our first house; in those days you had to have 20-percent down. However, we went to the Indianapolis Auto Show and saw the Lotus Europa S2 for the first time. Well, within a month, we decided against the house and instead bought a one-year-old Europa with only 3,800 miles on the odometer. That is a car that established me as a dedicated auto-maniac.

Since we were expecting our first child in the mid-’70s and my wife could no longer manage the Europa, I sold it. We then bought our first new car using the GM discount — 1976 Pontiac Grand Prix. I was prouder of that Pontiac than anything I had ever had until the birth of my son.

In 1980, I purchased a 1976 red Corvette from a co-worker. I thought I had reached a new pinnacle in car ownership — until I got in and drove it. It was an automatic with a 350 engine, and a grand total of 150 horsepower. As they say in Texas, “it was all hat and no cattle.” Not long after that I sold it and bought a 1978 MG Midget. That has to be one of the most fun cars I ever owned. Not very fast and certainly not a great handling car, but in about 60 seconds I could jump into it, throw the top down and take off. It turned out to be one of my most favorite cars.

During 1984, I was the first person in our area to take delivery of a new Pontiac Fiero. In the beginning, I loved that car, especially the stereo speakers in the headrests. But Pontiac had had a problem with a pattern mismatch on the block castings for Iron Duke engine; within 15 months the block cracked. Taking it back to the dealer under warranty, they soon fixed it, but it did not perform well. Within two months it had a blown head gasket, so we traded it in for our first pickup truck. That Fiero was without a doubt my biggest disappointment in a car.

Next on the list was a 1980 Triumph TR8 with the aluminum V-8 derived from the early 1960’s Buick engine. That was fun for a while, but like most British cars, the maintenance issues began to overwhelm me. So, back on the market for my next car. By that time, I was doing well enough that I could afford a new Corvette, a red automatic (since my wife was to be the primary driver). It also helped that I had graduated to the GM PEP vehicle program and the associated discounts. When I took ownership of my 2000 C-5, I went back to the Vehicle Center to pick up my next PEP vehicle. By the luck of the draw, it was a black six-speed Corvette. For three months, I was the envy of every kid in the neighborhood (and their dads).

A few years after I sold that Corvette, I bought a 1987 Pontiac Solstice GXP. I figured it would be my last sports car, so I decided to go all out. Six months after taking delivery, I took it to The Custom Shop in Flanagan, Illinois, for an extensive makeover. The highlights of that work were full side pipes, an Austin Healey 3000 hood scoop, and many other custom touches. It was finished with the paint scheme duplicating that which I had on my 1971 Lotus Europa.

These days I am in the process of restoring a 1953 Ford F100 pickup truck. This is the 50th anniversary edition of Ford products and is the last year with the 239-cu.in. flathead V-8. It’s the first vehicle that I have had in 40 years where I totally understand every system and component. No electronics, no fuel injection, nothing fancy at all. I’m having a blast wrenching on this old Ford truck, reliving my early teen years when we always did our own work.

I can’t say that I have had more special or exotic vehicles than anyone else, but I have had an assortment that almost spans the industry. All in all, I feel that I have been a lucky guy in the things automotive that I have experienced. I guess you could say that with my 1953 Ford truck I have now come full circle back to my passions of the early ’60s. What a great journey!