First Car 1951 Chevy short-top Sport Coupe
Second car 1954 Olds Super 88 convertible
First British Car 1958 Morris Minor sedan
First new car 1967 Datsun 411SSS sedan (1600 alloy
head version of the BMC B series mill (under licence)
FIRST CAR STORY
My parents discovered that I was a serious motorhead around the time that I
learned to talk. I believe that my first three words were Mama, Dad and Buick.
By the age of three I could name all of the cars on the streets of San
Francisco, even the prewar models that were still pretty plentiful in the early
fifties. This was quite surprising to my folks, who didn9t even own a car until
1954. My father was so un-automotive that he would call the Auto Club to change
flat tyres, let alone anything more complicated.
By the age of thirteen, our family had moved to the suburbs and Mom decided
that, since I had been building model cars for over five years, it stood to
reason that I should graduate to a non-running full sized car to play with. Our
neighbor Mr. Brown had a lovely pale green 51 Chevy Deluxe Club Coupe that had
stopped running after a series of loud clanging noises from the engine bay.
For the sum of just $30 the old 3Stovebolt2 was towed to our driveway.
After removing the sump, my friend John and I discovered that the number three
piston had exploded and the rod had somehow become separated with its cap and
was now wrapped around the crank journal like a link of chain. We gave up any
hope of resurrecting the old 216 and concentrated on polishing and waxing the
near perfect exterior finish and painting things glossy black as was the style
du jour. My father9s yoy store sold spray paint, and I must have absconded with
cases of it to heavily coat the wheels, chassis and inside the wheel arches.
My big break came late one evening when another neighbor, Mr. Wise was driving
his 1954 Chevy wagon home from an evening at the tavern and stalled it on the
Southern Pacific track crossing a few minutes before the 11:00PM freight run to
LA was due. He got out but the 54 got 3T-boned2 and reshaped into a permanent
right hand turn. I purchased the remains for $15 and its sweet running 235
cube, hydraulic lifter six soon rested in the club coupe9s frame.
Yes, we did get it running, and pretty well at that. But with no registration,
insurance or drivers license the old Chevy was about as useful as a model car.
One night when my parents were out on the town, we took it for a late night
drive but I was so nervous about getting caught that I came home early and
didn9t enjoy it. OK, maybe a little.
It was at this point that I9d discovered girls and with older friends who were
legally driving, the Fifty-one started collecting dust in the garage. It
eventually was sold to a young man who drove it to college and I started saving
for my first 3real2 car. While I never got to use my little club coupe, I
learned alot about cars in general and developed an affection for old
Chevrolets that lasts to this day.
Rick Feibusch
British Car Network
Venice Beach, California
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