Sure would be nice to be able to drive something old/cool to work and not have it get stolen/vandalized/stripped/hit. I envy those who can!
By the way, any chance we'll get a tech article out of this on how to install a LATCH/top-tether system in a '39 Ford? Inquiring minds with young children want to know. -Dave
awesome story. it's true about slowing down a bit, it's a true commitment. now that i own my own business, i find myself more able to commit to take my old car. before, working in an environment where i HAD to be there at a certain time, or risk getting in trouble, it was more difficult to say "i'll take the old car today" as you said, it takes longer to get to where you're going, but-it's so much more fun. the only thing i worry about now is where i'm going to park once i get to my destination-downtown is a bitch to park in anyway, it gets even worse when you're in an 18 foot long car that you don't want to get scratched or dinged. oh well, it's still worth it... gorgeous car by the way, i love the black on black.
Glad the secret is out finally! The blackwalls and the '36 wide five looks pretty bitchin. Ever since you showed me the pics when you got it, I've been kinda wishing I had a tudor again for the family duty. But my wife loves our Bel Air wagon, and you have to admit the wagon is a bit easier with all the kid stuff. I casually mentioned a pre-war Ford tudor to her and she said don't you dare!! Plus it makes her happy that it is not black like all my other cars. Hahahaha!
Back about 81, I was working in a small shop just outside of Montreal. This fellow named Ozzie Virgil comes rolling in looking for the boss. At the time he was third base coach for the Expos, and when he had his car in town he would come by for service. He was driving a '39 Ford coupe, brown with skinny bias plies on black wheels, flathead powered, with an electric fuel pump. He said the original was all sorts of trouble, and the car ran great since he put the electric pump in. I asked him how many miles were on it and he said he didn't know, but it had lots. It was his only car. Not his only one at the time, but his only car, ever. He drove it everywhere he went, when time permitted, from the southern States during the winter, up to, at the time, Montreal in the summer. I could just imagine the road trips that old car had seen in it's time. Ozzie seemed like a pretty laid back guy, and the '39 seemed to fit his personality just right.
I love it. Driving is what it's all about. I drive mine almost every day and when I drive it to work (10 miles through the San Fernando Valley!!) my students go nuts for the car. I know what you mean about the wide whites...I can't stand it if they get a smudge or a fingerprint. They HAVE TO be clean...not just clean but pristine! Otherwise they make me nuts.
I've been driving the same old beater truck since I was 16. Thats not too long for me since I'm only 23. But every time I get behind the wheel it still excites me. It's just a beat up old '64 Ford 250 4x4. But it has been my one true love ever since I brought it home. Went through a couple of 223 6 cylindars in it and finally moved onto a 292 y block. I love that engine almost as much as the truck(I wish it was a 312)
This one hits home...we are soon to be relocating from the left coast to the right coast and I no longer will have the luxury of a 300 yard stroll down to my shop where I operate the majority of my screenprinting and embroidery biz...instead I will no have a 10-15 minute commute to my new digs and have decided to part with my 63 riviera and my daily will no be split between a bone stock blue flame powered 57 chevy and a 46 chevy pickup...definitely looking forward to the daily decompression/zen moments behind the wheel...lovin' the 39 and the black/black combo works for me
The Jalopy Journal
