Vehicles We Have Known and Loved

Posted by Ed Davis

Not too long ago, I was driving down a street in Dallas and a restored 1957 Chevy rolled up beside me.  Wow, did that bring back memories – mostly regret that I never did own one of those classic autos when they were new.  It set me to thinking about some of the cars I did manage to own and drive in my early years of high school and a little beyond.

Pretty girls in high school vied to capture the hearts of the high school lads back in the '50’s as they still do today. But the competition was fierce back then since many of us had a running “love affair” with our cars – or a longing for the ones we did not or could not have. And I plead guilty to this strange romance. I was one of those who received a driver’s license at the tender age of 14. Since we lived quite a distance from my school and I was involved in a number of activities, my parents decided to buy me a car at the end of my 9th grade year. I was the proud owner of a 1955 Chevrolet in the summer of ’56. However, it was the sedan version of this classic car, was a 6-cylinder and single tailpipe variety, and was a not-so-cool chocolate brown color. But it was mine and I drove it proudly for a couple of years.

In my junior year, my dad decided to buy himself a truck and trade in their 1955 Mercury coupe – a hardtop convertible with a V-8 engine complete with dual tailpipes. I convinced him to let me have the Merc and trade in the Chevy instead. Fortunately, he agreed and I now had a much cooler ride for the rest of my high school days. However, the car was chartreuse (remember that color?) and white which was quite unacceptable. So, I saved up some money and modified the ride: removed the hood ornament and all  other chrome fixtures on the hood and trunk and “leaded” it in; replaced the stock mufflers with glass-packs; lowered the rear end; and then had the whole car painted a gleaming black. You’ll have to imagine how it looked when transformed.

After that, college came and I was introduced to the world outside of League City and my high school. Then marriage brought its own decisions about cars as we struggled to make ends meet for a number of years. My wife of 46 years, Karla, will comment on the role a car played in our courtship when I turn the keyboard to her later in this post.

There were a few more memorable vehicles when Karla and I pulled up roots for a couple of years and moved to Benghazi, Libya (North Africa) in 1965 to teach school. Our first car was a very interesting Fiat 500 that was extremely small and only had a 2-cylinder engine. But it did have a roll-back roof liner and got great gas mileage – and it was cheap as well. We affectionately called it our ‘sardine can’. Here you see my brother, sister-in-law, and Karla viewing the Mediterranean sights through the roof opening.  By the way, many of you reading this may remember my brother and sister-in-law, Dave and Tula Davis, since they taught for a few years in the Clear Creek school district.

Later, we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to purchase an older model Triumph TR-3 convertible (pictured outside our school building in Benghazi) with overdrive, racing shift, and a very powerful engine. We should have shipped this one back to the U.S. but could not afford it at the time.

Then there was the Land Rover that was a necessary vehicle type for excursions out into the Sahara Desert. It was extremely hot, no shade anywhere, and water was scarce. Even though this was the only road into the Sahara in Libya, we rarely saw another vehicle or human being. We managed to take turns sitting in the shade of the Land Rover and a friend and I kept fiddling around with the engine until we got it going again late in the day. It was scary and I guess it was fortunate that we escaped what could have been an unpleasant situation.

We have probably owned far too many cars since then, but these were the ones that produced some really great memories.

Now for some comments from Karla:  “When Ed asked me for our first date at Baylor in 1961, I was excited in part because, at the time he asked me, he was driving a baby blue and white 1959 Ford convertible - a VERY classy car to the mostly “vehicle-less” girls at Baylor. Of course, that was not the only reason I was excited to have a date with Ed and it’s a good thing, because when he arrived at the dorm to pick me up he had traded that baby blue ’59 Ford convertible in for a maroon Pontiac Tempest. [Ed notes – the first one with the engine turned sideways.] No matter – I loved him for who he was, not for the car he drove!!!

How about the VEHICLES YOU HAVE KNOWN AND LOVED? Let’s hear about the VARIOUS VINTAGE VEHICLES that have filled your life and your memories with wonder and joy. Do you have a photo? Send it to me by e-mail attachment at [email protected] and I will post it here. And please, add your comments below.

Comments

[Dan Jensen]

While wondering how Ed could get a driver's license at age 14 since he was not a farm boy, I also wonder how things changed so much from my day to his in such a short time.

Hardly anyone had a car when I was in high school. Zack Cartwright was one and I think one other.

Even in college, cars were scarce for the students in those days.

I wonder if Ed is making all this up and getting Milby Karla to help him.

I wonder about such things. I don't know if Frank McKinney (who did have a car at Sam Houston) and Jim Pell do or not.

[Ed Davis]

Actually, I think 14 was the legal age to get a driver's license because all of us in the 9th grade at Webster High School (we moved to the CCHS new building the next year) took driver's ed. And I remember going right over to the DPS office and taking my driver's test. Dub Kelly was our driver's ed teacher and I am sure we gave him plenty of scary moments.

There were a number of people who drove to CCHS, probably not as many as I think, however. I do remember the Herbeck brothers and their blue and white '55 Ford v-8 station wagon on which they had put dual glass pack mufflers. Pretty cool when they would "rack them off" in the parking lot when they arrived or left.

At Baylor, not many had cars but a lot more than at CCHS. The '59 Ford convertible I had during my freshman year was the envy of many, for sure, and a lot of the guys wanted to borrow it all the time for dates. But, I would not let them due to insurance problems. Did not win many friends but did save my car probably in the long run.

It would be great if some more of the Wildcat faithful would join in this post and let us know what they drove around in in the days of yore.