Driving lessons in a '55 Ford convertible ( we should all have been so fortunate)

Dad owned a IH ( Harvester Dealership in the heart of Rockies Mountains, took this in trade- learned to drive a 1962 Crofton Bug.
We also had a 31' Essex ( supersix & 25' Buick 4 door convert, We sold the 25 Buick to the grandson of the original owner after much research ( 1971 research was a phone book of his city )

1962 CROFTON BUG
As per http://lanemotormuseum.org
Specifications:
Manufacturer: Crofton Marine Engine Co.
Country of Origin: U.S.
Drivetrain Configuration: Front engine, rear wheel drive
Engine: 4 cylinder, 750 cc, water cooled
Transmission: 3 speed manual
Top Speed: 50 miles per hour
Years of Production: 1959-61
Number Produced: _____
Original Cost: ____

WHEN CROSLEY CEASED PRODUCTION, THE RIGHTS TO THE CROSLEY ENGINE CHANGED HANDS SEVERAL TIMES. DURING THIS PERIOD, THE ENGINE WAS MANUFACTURED AND SOLD AS A STATIONARY ENGINE FOR USE BY THE MILITARY AND FOR BOAT MOTORS. IN 1959, CROFTON MARINE ENGINE CO. PURCHASED THE RIGHTS TO THE CROSLEY ENGINE AND THE INVENTORY. CROFTON USED THE ENGINE IN THE CROFTON BUG–A MINIATURE JEEP-LOOKING VEHICLE. THE BUG WAS BUILT FROM APPROXIMATELY 1959 TO THE EARLY 1960s. THE EXACT DATE IS HARD TO PLACE BECAUSE BUGS WERE ASSEMBLED AS ORDERS CAME IN EVEN AFTER OFFICIAL PRODUCTION ENDED. THE BUG WAS MODELED AFTER THE FARM O’ROAD AND IT USED A MODIFIED CROSLEY ENGINE. LIKE THE FARM O’ROAD, THE CROFTON BUG CAME WITH OPTIONS SUCH AS A SNOW PLOW OR TOW BAR.

 

Let's see first one I drove was a 64 Chevy Van in 65. I was 9 and figured out that with the old Chevy ignitions if Pop turned it off but not to lock you could start it with out the key, remember those ignition switches with the raised boss around where the key went? Mainly just drove up and down our long driveway when no one was home. Dad taught me to drive a stick in a hotted up Sunbeam Alpine when I was 14.
Went to driver ed in Newport Beach. They had 5 Lincoln Towncars and a 65 VW Bug. So while all the kids ran for the Lincoln's I went for the Bug. Had a blast, teacher was happy I actually wanted to drive the bug, and was surprised how well I drove a stick, having never driven one. I never did have the heart to tell him about the Sunbeam, he seemed so proud that his instruction worked so well.
Recently I took my 77 year old mom to a Car Show. As we're walking around she spies a 34 Chevy coupe and says "that's like the one your dad had, expect his was Hot Rodded." The she spies a 37 Ford and says "That's the car I learned to drive in" Thought that was pretty cool.
Took my drivers test in a 66 Mustang

 

Was the summer of 68,I was 15 and it was a 60 Chevy,3 on the tree.I actually did ok,much to the surprise of my dad.He told me that when he learned it was in a Model A that his uncle had out in a field.He laughed his ass off when he told me about it,said that none of the trees had any bark left on them when he was done.God,I miss him.

 

i was about 14 at the time..living in the SGV...,,my mom,dad & family were gone for the day...some how i slipped outta going with them that day...but anyways,,i was home alone and of course i wouldnt have even thought of taking off in my dads 56 nomad ,56 sedan or 68 chevelle,,..but he had a late 60's bug with a fiberglass front end and a hopped up mill in it that he had bought off a fellow church member who needed the cash for other things,,,,

well,,at that point,,,i hadn't really even drove a car on my own,much less a stick.......hahaha,,,anyways ,,i drove it up and down "parkway"(ave) several times,


...,i dont know how to describe it,,but i had several episodes of that thing were you arent giving it enough gas ,but yet the clutch is still wanting to work,which is actually making you do a eEERT,,eeERT..eeEERT ..eeeERT,,every few feet! hahaha

i finally figuered it out on my own,,,and it would have been great!,,if the neighbore hadent ratted me out!


thats also the same car i had to sleep in the first time i ever snuck out my bed room window to go party and then came home at like 3:00 am to find my bedroom window locked!

man,,a wonder my parents still even talk to me!

 

Speakin' of dads, mine told me about how he learned to drive. He was 10 or 11 (would've been 1924 or '25) he was with his pop in downtown Pontiac MI parked in their Model T. His dad in a store when a cop came & told dad to move the car. Pop said he didn't know how to drive, the cop told him "well now's a good time to learn". He said the cop told him "do this, then do that" and pop was moving. After that he would drive into town with his dad beside him, he didn't have a driver license till he had to get one in the 30s.

 

My first lesson was a quick zip around the block in a 71 Mustang Boss 351 4spd. car when I was 14. I took off as gently as I could and my dad started screamin bloody murder! "You better roast them rubbers, boy! We don't have this car for long!" He was doin some touchup work on for a friend!

 

My mom had a 67 Buick Special that she bought new. It was a sleeper to say the least. 300 cu. 3 on the tree, 4dr. What made it special is it had a high speed rear end. burn outs was impossible. I had seen this car do 55mph in first and 105mph in sec. I had 2 older brothers to learn from. You could punch it at fifty in 2nd gear and out run anything. When I got my license I owned a 68 mustang, 6cyl. 3spd. Them 200's was the toughest motors that I ever owned.

 

71 impala thing was like a boat

 

Driving lessons? What's that?? When I was 15 I saw an ad for a 66 Plymouth Belvedere convertible for $125. Mom and dad said hell no (like they did for everything) so I hitch hiked over with every dime I had ($97.50) and offered them that and they took $95 leaving me $2.50 for gas. Driving it home in Detroit traffic down 7 mile was my driving lesson! At least there was nobody there to yell at me!

 

Taught myself to drive in this Model A with Two trannies back to back. 10 speeds forward Three in reverse. Then I got this black '55 Ford Sunliner drop top from a sweet lil ol lady from Mayberry Drove that until it got nearly cut in half by a friend of mine in his fathers brand new '65 T-Bird.

 

Learned stick in a 55 MG, took test in my 1st car a 56 Chevy Belair 2dr hardtop I bought for $500 [that was 1962]