Some guys (and gals) have a sickness for old cars but I am beyond that. I have a disease!. My first kool car was a '52 Chevy Hardtop with two carbs and split exhaust I acquired in 1961 at age 17. After graduating from high school the next year my disease was full blown and I bought a '34 Ford coupe with a 392 Hemi and six deuces. I could not drive it on the street so I traded it for a '53 Studebaker Coupe with a 270 horse Corvette engine. Next was a '50 Chevy Coupe with a 425 horse 409. I sold it so I could buy a '57 Nomad, a '37 Chevy Coupe stocker and a Triumph Bonneville motorcycle, all by 1968. Then I bought one of America's oldest Hot Rods, a 1933 Essex Terraplane Convertible that had raced the streets of Charlotte since 1940. I still own it (41 years now) and the guy who raced it back in the 40s is still alive and well. His name is Jack Thompson and he still lives in Charlotte. My "disease" got so bad in 1973 that I had to go to therapy. My shrink told me my only hope was to buy and sell them as fast as I could. Specialty Car Sales has been a business for 36 years and I have bought and sold over 1000 neat cars. In my spare time I drag raced motorcycles for over 20 years, the last three on a Twin Engine T/F Harley. After retiring from racing in 1985 I took up organizing Drag Racing Reunions (Super Stock Reunions) and had the opportunity to personally get to know many of my heros. I will turn 65 in a few weeks and am almost cured of my disease. But you know what they say about diseases. You are never cured. You have to take it one day at a time. That's what I will do.
Almost seems a shame to call you "new" welcome from Wisconsin - hoping to be in Charlotte sometime soon for the long haul
The Jalopy Journal
