Automobiles

Here are the cars, trucks and other motorized vehicles I have had since I learned to drive.

I did not take this picture, I found it on the web. My wagon was tan with no wood paneling.

1984 Ford Crown Victoria Station Wagon. The car was brown with no wood paneling, vinyl seats and the back had two small seats that opened up and faced each other side to side. It had a 5-liter V8 engine, TBI and 14 inch wheels. When I got the car the AC was broken and so was the gas gauge. The mileage had to be written on the back of the gas receipt and kept on the dash.

I got in two accidents in that car, one where an exterminator truck took the whole front end off and it was replaced with the grill of a 1983 car. Another where I bounced through the HOV lane (which in Houston had divider walls on each side of the lane) after hydroplaning.

The transmission went out twice in this car and the second time it was donated to charity.

The front grill was removed to repair a headlight after I hit a road barrel.

Here my buddy Chris Lee points out that I got the F150 stuck in the mud.

Anyone who owns a truck will tell you you get recruited to move all kinds of stuff, which means you also have to help lift the stuff. But the payoff is you get a nice high view of the road and plenty of room inside the cab.

Eventually the AC went out and the gas mileage was too much and I traded it in.

Here is the Dodge in Colorado. That first night of snow turned a small windshield crack into a big one. and check out that tint...it is illegal!

Observe the sticker and the gold cobras around the license plate.

1993 Dodge Spirit. They gave me cash and this car for my F150. I put some old freon in the truck right before I traded it in and the dealer thought the AC worked. My deception was paid back that afternoon as I observed the rear of the car and saw a large smiley face sticker. When I peeled it off I found it was covering a two inch hole in the back reflector. I put a new sticker on it (you can see this in the picture of the back end) but the rest of the time I owned the car I was bothered by that hole.

The spirit made some long trips, Houston to Colorado and Houston to Pennsylvania with no problems. My friend told me it was the ultimate drivers ed car because it was so simple. It was a great little car but things started to break on it and it had to go.

Be sure you check out that gold cobra license plate bracket down there. The car had gold pinstripes and gold lettering so the gold cobras were a nice touch, a gift from my friend John Sullivan. I also moved the air horn into this little car. The Dodge spirit had a 2.5 liter I4 engine.

1966 Pontiac Catalina Four Door Sedan. I bought this from a coworker for $500 and spent thousands more keeping it running. Finding parts for this was a task and a half and things really went wrong in inconvenient places. It overheated in Weimer, Texas and a guy at a rest stop pulled the radiator cap off and said that the cap was the problem, I got a new cap and was on my way after this guy spewed superheated engine coolant all over himself and the car. Another time the headlight switch burned up, with smoke and everything, while I was driving home at 11 p.m. Hazard lights guided me the final nine miles home. The brakes went out at a stoplight and I had to parking break the car home.

Driving this beast, which had the original 389 double barrel carburetor and the Turbo Hydromatic transmission was a blast. It kind of floated down the road and you did your best to “steer” it in the right direction. The steering wheel was metal and some kind of lacquer-plastic and there was no shoulder strap on the seat belt, just a lap belt. Lead additive had to be put in the tank with each fill-up but the AC worked, the big bench seat had a fabric with vinyl trim and the loop carpet was a nice touch.

This picture is from the Ranger of some other guys truck. That tailgate murel is airbrush art that belongs in a museum. It is deep on so many levels. The man in the picture is confident while an eagle outline attacks his head and steals his shirt. The five-building city behind him is slowly sliding down the hill. And the picture of the truck is the actual truck that it is painted on. I bet on the back of the mural truck is the same painting and on that tailgate is another painting and it goes on forever. Far out man. Look for this in the Guggenheim when the truck breaks down.

1995 Ford Ranger XLT Extended Cab. I ran around in this little truck for quite a few years. It had the 3 liter V6 engine. For a while I had a CD changer in the back but someone came along and stole it. They broke the window and for the rest of the time I had the truck I was finding those little pieces of glass in the carpet.

The Ranger served me for many years, I went on long trips and even did some bootlegging of Yuengling beer down to Houston. The Ranger honestly had none of the perks of the F150. It was small, not that high off the road, had nowhere near the power and speed and could really only seat two people. It was a decent ride, I had to replace the battery, thermostat, spark plug wires and a bolt in the seat. When the AC went out the Ranger had to go.

This is the Crown Victoria in Arizona. The color on the car was Arizona beige.

A front view of the car in the Smokey Mountians.

2003 Crown Victoria. I bought this car new and on my own, it was the first time I had a car payment. I liked the traditional layout of bench seat, column shifter, 4.6 liter V8 engine and rear wheel drive. I figured with this setup it would be able to either tow a decent load or go fast. I was wrong, The Crown Victoria could tow 1500 lbs, as much as a Honda CRV. It's top speed was 110 at which it could cruise confidently (I found this out on U.S. 95 in Nevada).

I drove all over the country in that car, East coast and West coast. The last three years were spent driving all over Houston for my job, probably 20,000 miles a year of heavy traffic. Until very near the end that car was problem free. It was comfortable and reliable.

When I lived in Washington state, the Crown Victoria was stolen. A couple of week later it was found, a little torn up inside but in exchange for the stereo they left a crack pipe in the back seat. Eventualy the car had some serious problems, the rear axle started smoking and after a week of expensive mechanic nonsense I decided it was time to start making car payments again.

2010 Subaru Forester X. The X makes it sound futuristic but really this is just the least fancy model. The car has a 2.5 liter horizontally opposed engine with all wheel drive. It is nice, I took it on a two hour tip and was comfortable the whole way. The roof is high and has lots of headroom and visibility for tall people. It is the first foreign car I have owned but I think I am going to enjoy it.

As of November 2012 this car has over 80,000 miles. I purchased it in November of 2009. NO PROBLEMS with the car yet.

These pictures were taken during the blizzard of December 2009.