posted 06-20-2002 06:37 AM         

KK

posted 06-24-2002 06:59 PM         

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posted 06-27-2002 03:24 PM         

Bob was not always a Mopar guy!! Bob had a '55 Chevy in high school. I knew him because he dated my best girlfriend (and we are not going there). At 16, I was very shy and very timid (hard to believe, huh?). I was out with my girlfriend and we ended up getting a ride with Bob in his '55. It was my first ride in a hot rod and I will tell you he scared the crap out of me!! A couple of years later, I ran into Bob again. He was working at a Chevrolet dealership as a parts guy. I had bought a 1966 Chevy Malibu and had it in for service. By that time, he had the 58 Chevy that he'd built. He used to take it to the drags (and Woodward) and I used to watch him race. I can remember sitting in the stands when I was pregnant with my first child. Do you suppose that's why our oldest likes cars like his Dad does? That was my introduction to the world of cars and hot rods!

Bob's car was a 1958 Chevrolet Biscayne 2-dr Sedan. It was an original 283 2bbl with powerglide and an H-stock automatic. He put in a 350 hp / 350 cid. He ran various intakes; everything from a 2bbl to 4bbl to three 2bbls. It was definitely a sleeper on the street. The car would go 105 in low gear with the powerglide.

Bob sold the car without telling me while we were engaged. When I asked him why, he said he did it so that we had money to buy furniture for our apartment. I was not happy with him..........I would rather he’d kept the car.

After we married, he moved to a different dealership and was a parts counterperson there, too. He took it upon himself to start selling GM’s high-performance parts and engines for the dealership and was very successful. He got to know the guys at GM really well. He worked on cars and built motors for other people in the garage at night for extra income. The only way I ever got to see him was if I spent my time in the garage with him. Which I did (after the kids were in bed). He generally put me to work!! He used to work on 67 Corvettes with a/c, and he always had me change the spark plugs, because I was the only one with small enough hands to get the plugs out without having to take the a/c unit out!! I will say that I learned a lot about cars.......and I learned a lot swear words!! Lol!!! During this time, he came home one day and informed me that he sold MY 66 Malibu (without consulting me) and ordered a new car. It was a 1969 Chevy Impala SS 427, Silver with a black vinyl roof and red line tires! He broke a piston in the motor and put in a 454 LS6 engine. He lost the rings in that motor and re-built the motor. It was then a 450/454 LS6 overbored to 462 cu. in. That was one heck of a car and it was actually our ONLY car. A few years later, he decided we needed a change and we moved to Colorado. That was in 1973. We sold the house and moved. Our sons were 2 1/2 years old and 3 months old. He found a job after we got there and was back to wrenching at a Mazda dealership. From there, he worked as a shop foreman at different dealership. Shortly after that, he started selling cars at a small Buick/AMC dealer in the town we lived in. A year later, he was Sales Manager. Several years later, he got tired of that and went back to wrenching. Soon after, he interviewed with an agency that did recruiting for auto manufacturers. The job he was interviewing for was with American Motors. He got the job and he was the District Manager in Salt Lake City. We moved and 14 mos. later he was promoted back to Denver. He did many jobs at AMC. One night, a group of about 5 guys were having pizza, trying to figure out how they could sell another 30,000 vehicles. They came up with the Cherokee Limited (with all the gold trim, etc.) They never dreamed it would be as big a seller as it turned out to be!!! We survived the buyout to Renault (a move back to MI), the buyout to Chrysler (we got moved to Cincy and back) and so far, the takeover of Daimler! Bob still likes the old GM muscle cars and he likes the MOPAR muscle cars............he appreciates most any hot rod / muscle car. He still wants his dream car........which is a 55 Chevy post car, but he has always been loyal to the company he works for, too! He is still working on his ‘69 Hurst SC/Rambler!

And that’s the story about that!

posted 06-27-2002 04:16 PM         

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Originally posted by CJ:
...It was my first ride in a hot rod and I will tell you he scared the crap out of me!! ...

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Glad to hear it isn't just my driving...

quote:

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Originally posted by CJ:
Cliff gave me a ride in his cat when we were out in CA, but I was hangin' on for dear life hoping we'd miss all those cars and the trees, that I had a hard time concentrating on what Jay's exhausts sounded like!!

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posted 06-27-2002 10:29 PM         

quote:

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Glad to hear it isn't just my driving

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