TOYS AND STUFF

Here is a post of when I aquired a passion for fast cars and racing machines.....

I was 12 years old when a friend of my father had given me a ride in a Triumph TR-3. This car was very small and light and close to the ground.

We were in Long Island just about 10 miles away from Bridge Hampton where they had a race track which hosted some early Trans Am races but finally shut down around 1970. The guy drove me in this car so fast that he slid around the corners and opened it up in the straightaways. What a thrill this was for a 12 year old kid.  

In 1966 this was my 1st car my dad bought me when I turned 16. A 1957 PLYMOUTH SAVOY..The trunk was huge... you could smuggle 4 people into the drive in theater. I know because we did it several times. It was a rust bucket..The front bench seat frame was falling thru the floor on both sides. It was like having a low rider way before everyone thought it was cool. I spray painted the name of our band (The Outcast Set) on the side of the car with Silver paint. It had a Mopar 318 CI and was a gas hog. It was OK when gas was 45 cents a gallon.

In 1967 my parents were divorces and my mom lived in St Louis Missouri. She would take me to weekend autocrosses where you would see most any new performance cars race thru a small course in shopping center parking lots.. There were alot of Mustangs there and my neighbor Mike Holper who was also a drummer had a 1966 Mustang GT Fastback. My mom needed a new car so we went looking for mustangs and they let me pick it out...see the picture below... it was a 1967 Mustang 289 Fastback Red with red interior. She let me put white GT stripes on the recker panels. She also let me take it to School there during my senior year. What a cool car to have when you are growing up and only 17. We would cruise for girls and burgers every night at the local Steak and Shake drive inns. The car made me very popular in 1968. Thanks MOM..

In 1968 after I graduated from High School in St Louis, I came back to Maryland. My dad co signed for this new 1968 Triumph TR-250. It had a straight 6 cylinder. The car in 1969 became the TR-6. Very fast for a little car. It would keep up with 260/289 Mustangs. The pic below is me visiting my Mom in St Louis in her driveway when I was 18. I went on 3 trips with that car. Washington DC to St Louis alone... Washington DC to Key West with a high School buddie Bob Desmond, and To Sag Harbor Long Island to visit my grandmother. It was a fun car..until I got hit from behind and the frame was bent so my dad and I want shopping for a new car...

1969 was a great year for cars... lots to choose from but I was partial to Mustangs. The Mach 1 came out in 1969 so I special ordered from the factory a 1969 Black Jade 351 Shaker Scoop Mustang Mach 1. List price was $3999// we talked them down to $3000 at Handley Ford in Washington DC....

I had this car about 1 year and then I had it Custom Painted by Georges Corvette Shop to simulate their 1968 Corvette Funny Car "Long and Lean"  Paint job was $350 and blended from Orange to Yellow to Red and had Spider Web and Lacing details on it. Here are some of the Pic's.

In 1971 I was looking at another sporty car so The Shelby Mustangs were out and being sold in the Ford dealers. Still they were $5,000. A lot of money for a 20 year old kid just playing music in bands. The Lincoln Mercury had a 2 seater Detomaso Pantera with the same Mach 1 engine in the back seat.

Cool looking Itialian cars but again over $5,000. So I started looking at Jaguar XKE 2+2's and roadsters. The local dealer took me from Washington DC to Baltimore ship yards where there was a section that had abot 100 Jags in all colors and models. I drove up there in a British Racing Green XKE convertible. Fantastic car but over $5,000 again. here are a few pics of that car...

The hood tilted forward displaying that incredible inline 6 cylinder with chrome everywhere.

I was also into boats from when my dad and were boating.. he sold his 16 ft Doral Dorsett runabout with 100 HP Johnson so I was without one for a few years. I went to the boat show at the DC Armory and that had this cool semi deep V hull in any color metal flake finish you wanted.. The had a Purple Sidewinder Super 16 with Silver Stripe and it was only $860 plus trailer and whatever outboard motor you wanted to put on it. So instead of a new car  I had a sharp speedboat with a used 75 Johnson on the back until I could afford a bigger motor. My dad co-signed and we got a brand new Mercury Marine 150 HP the larges out board they made back then. That boat could fly..65+ MPH  on the water that was flying

 The boat was fantastic and I never had any issues with it but I wanted a little more boat. A V8 engine and a little longer would handle the rougher water alot better. As you can see with the pics in the gallery, I always had a passion for a Donzi. Our band was playing in Williamsberg Virginia and I brought the Sidewinder down with me for the summer. One day at the Jamestown Marina I was fueling up and I saw they had this Donzi 18 FT 2+3 1967 model with a Ford Holman Moody (Nascar) prepared 351.New hull paint, New exhaust heads and a deal that I couldn't refuse.. I bought it before I was able to sell my Sidewinder but I finally worked out a deal with someone. The got the deal and I got some cash. Anyway I only had 1 picture of my original Donzi but the 18 ft Classic stayed the same and is still made. I am on my 2nd right now and they look the same from a distance.

After 3 years of the Mustang, I had over 120,000 miles on it so it was time foranother ride.  The band was playing full time and traveling so it was time for a van. I bought a 1973 GMC 3/4 ton long wheelbase with 350 CID V-8 3 speed manual. Bright Royal Blue with just 1 window in the side sliding door and two in the back doors. I built a bed in the back and also some storage areas. 

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