...And I saw the world go by from the backward facing seat in 1969 Ford Fairlaine station wagon with my two brothers and a German Sheppard. We had to occassionally take Hwy 41 because I-75 wasn't completed yet.
Mother had a Bonneville with a big block. Till I was a teenager I would crawl onto the deck behind the back seat to take a nap. That big 4 door car could pull a 14 second quarter mile. Dad did put headers and tuned the carb which increased the fuel mileage. Dad also traded it for a much slower 76 Grand Ville with the same 6.6 that was in the Trans Am. It was a dog performance wise.
bought aa 62 bonnie rag top in high school for 200 bucks. replacing the top cost me almost 125. BUT, it had a leather interior to die for. spent a weekend cleaning it. had a 421 super duty engine and 4 speed auto tranny. not sure of 1/4 mile time, but it was great for running the highway. the back seat was better than most couches I sat on. almost as good as any motel room ! but filling that 27 gallon tank was killer back then.
Or sitting behind your dad while he is driving the station wagon and takes a right turn sharp, your door flies open and you lunge forward and wrap your arms around his neck in a death grip because you didn't put your seat belt on when it was legal to not wear it...
No, that wasn't me. I didn't have a sister..... ;-)
We did however lay on the package shelf under the rear window. Every time Mom hit the brakes we would fly off and land on the floor. With the Vista Cruiser we used to wrestle in the way-back on the way to town. Going on a short trip in the back of the truck wasn't uncommon, either.
I caught that too. given the vintage of the cars in the background, the kid would've had to have visited the future to end up with one of those juice boxes in the pic!
Miles and miles of riding in the back of dads pickup on dusty back country roads fighting with the dog over who got to sit right up tight against the front of the box to stay out of his spitting tobacco juice out the window. Tussling with my siblings riding in the extreme rear of mom's Olds Vista Cruiser and waving the old brown bottles of root beer at any officer we passed to imply we were drinking beer and laughing like maniacs at mom getting upset at the idea of being pulled over. There's more to that story considering the local cops nicknamed her leadfoot.
We were headed east on I-70 in the middle of Missouri back in the days when their speed limit was 80mph. A hundred yards or so ahead a farmer had a couple bales of hay bounce out of his old farm truck and land on the roadway. Dad slammed on the brakes of the Chevy station wagon and threw his arm in front of me (was sitting in the middle of the front seat). Barely missed the bales and avoided a sure-fire bad situation. Came to realize the Old Guy actually did know how to drive.
I spent lots of time standing on the transmission hump while holding onto the front seat looking forward down the road. When that got tiring, there were naps on the rear window deck.
I was standing the front seat, when some clown cut in front of my mother, which forced her to slam on the brakes. My head hit the dashboard, and the goose egg was one to admire. Those steel dashboards were substantial, and probably around 12 gauge steel.
Four or five family members rode in a camper shell in the back of my uncle’s truck from NW Alabama to south central Florida once with a dog that thought he had to bark at every car we met. I remember wanting to dismember him starting with his head. We made it through. Good days as they say.
Cruising down the Highway, with the 4-70 air conditioner going (4 windows down, 70mph) sitting behind Dad was always a fight to NOT sit there. He loved his cigars, smoking half and chewing the other half. Spitting out the window was a dodge game in that seat behind him... good times... GB
However many of us there were at the time (nine kids, but I think my sister and I were both out before my youngest brother was born) in a Ford Falcon wagon, cruising down the Thruway. Are we there yet? Count the cows, kids. My parents have to be in heaven because they didn't kill any of us.
Remember those days well. US66 on the way to Adair AFS near Corvallis, OR as the way through WY in Feb was not a good idea. USAF started putting seat belts in every vehicle about '62 or '63. My father had belts installed at the Downtown Sears in Nashville in '64 along with an AC while he was on leave from the USAF to visit family. The summer temps on the great plains could be rather oppressive and he got tired of them.
Ancient Hudson two door sedan that my 20-somthing father painted flat black in the driveway 'cause what man with 5 mouths to feed could afford a house with a garage for a car? Hard stop, and children bounced off the solid metal dashboard and back to the back seat where they belonged, because this was before seatbelts had been invented, and American children were were conceived and born of substantial stuff. And we'd better not bitch about it too loudly because our parents and grandparents had endured much greater inconvenience on the way to the blessing of our own magnificence.
The delight we share remembering when! These comments all have short stories attached to them waiting to be written.
My old man had a black 2-door '49 Chevy "Torpedo Style" as our family heap when I was just a spot on the mattress. I can still smell the burned oil and brake fluid from the floorboard. He was a skinny 18 year-old from North Georgia when him and mom married and he traded a '41 Ford coupe for it as they started their married life in Asheville. Big Sister was two years ahead of me so she got to watch the gear changes as I sat on mom's lap.
...And I saw the world go by from the backward facing seat in 1969 Ford Fairlaine station wagon with my two brothers and a German Sheppard. We had to occassionally take Hwy 41 because I-75 wasn't completed yet.
ReplyDeleteMother had a Bonneville with a big block. Till I was a teenager I would crawl onto the deck behind the back seat to take a nap. That big 4 door car could pull a 14 second quarter mile. Dad did put headers and tuned the carb which increased the fuel mileage. Dad also traded it for a much slower 76 Grand Ville with the same 6.6 that was in the Trans Am. It was a dog performance wise.
ReplyDeletebought aa 62 bonnie rag top in high school for 200 bucks. replacing the top cost me almost 125. BUT, it had a leather interior to die for. spent a weekend cleaning it. had a 421 super duty engine and 4 speed auto tranny.
Deletenot sure of 1/4 mile time, but it was great for running the highway. the back seat was better than most couches I sat on. almost as good as any motel room ! but filling that 27 gallon tank was killer back then.
I didn't have a convertible but I did have a 67 Grand Prix with a big block 400, when Pontiac said "wide trac" they meant it...
DeleteOr sitting behind your dad while he is driving the station wagon and takes a right turn sharp, your door flies open and you lunge forward and wrap your arms around his neck in a death grip because you didn't put your seat belt on when it was legal to not wear it...
ReplyDeleteNo, that wasn't me.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have a sister..... ;-)
We did however lay on the package shelf under the rear window.
Every time Mom hit the brakes we would fly off and land on the floor.
With the Vista Cruiser we used to wrestle in the way-back on the way to town.
Going on a short trip in the back of the truck wasn't uncommon, either.
Leigh
Whitehall, NY
Yeah, but Hi-C came in great big cans, no juice boxes. I’d love to get a can of the citrus quencher again, but I’d probably hate it now.
ReplyDeleteand what is Hi-C without Hi-Cecil or his Toys-R--Us cousin, Geoffrey.
DeleteI caught that too. given the vintage of the cars in the background, the kid would've had to have visited the future to end up with one of those juice boxes in the pic!
DeleteMiles and miles of riding in the back of dads pickup on dusty back country roads fighting with the dog over who got to sit right up tight against the front of the box to stay out of his spitting tobacco juice out the window. Tussling with my siblings riding in the extreme rear of mom's Olds Vista Cruiser and waving the old brown bottles of root beer at any officer we passed to imply we were drinking beer and laughing like maniacs at mom getting upset at the idea of being pulled over. There's more to that story considering the local cops nicknamed her leadfoot.
ReplyDeletewes
wtdb
Yep, Cept Dad would throw his arm in front of us if he had to stop suddenly as if that would work in a wreck.
ReplyDeleteWe were headed east on I-70 in the middle of Missouri back in the days when their speed limit was 80mph. A hundred yards or so ahead a farmer had a couple bales of hay bounce out of his old farm truck and land on the roadway. Dad slammed on the brakes of the Chevy station wagon and threw his arm in front of me (was sitting in the middle of the front seat). Barely missed the bales and avoided a sure-fire bad situation. Came to realize the Old Guy actually did know how to drive.
DeleteI spent lots of time standing on the transmission hump while holding onto the front seat looking forward down the road. When that got tiring, there were naps on the rear window deck.
ReplyDeleteI was standing the front seat, when some clown cut in front of my mother, which forced her to slam on the brakes. My head hit the dashboard, and the goose egg was one to admire. Those steel dashboards were substantial, and probably around 12 gauge steel.
ReplyDeleteFour or five family members rode in a camper shell in the back of my uncle’s truck from NW Alabama to south central Florida once with a dog that thought he had to bark at every car we met. I remember wanting to dismember him starting with his head. We made it through. Good days as they say.
ReplyDeleteCruising down the Highway, with the 4-70 air conditioner going (4 windows down, 70mph) sitting behind Dad was always a fight to NOT sit there. He loved his cigars, smoking half and chewing the other half. Spitting out the window was a dodge game in that seat behind him... good times...
ReplyDeleteGB
However many of us there were at the time (nine kids, but I think my sister and I were both out before my youngest brother was born) in a Ford Falcon wagon, cruising down the Thruway. Are we there yet? Count the cows, kids. My parents have to be in heaven because they didn't kill any of us.
ReplyDeleteRemember those days well. US66 on the way to Adair AFS near Corvallis, OR as the way through WY in Feb was not a good idea. USAF started putting seat belts in every vehicle about '62 or '63. My father had belts installed at the Downtown Sears in Nashville in '64 along with an AC while he was on leave from the USAF to visit family. The summer temps on the great plains could be rather oppressive and he got tired of them.
ReplyDeleteFor a second car my father would get cheap phone company cars that were used for distributing phone books. No back seat. Wood floor only.
ReplyDeleteAncient Hudson two door sedan that my 20-somthing father painted flat black in the driveway 'cause what man with 5 mouths to feed could afford a house with a garage for a car? Hard stop, and children bounced off the solid metal dashboard and back to the back seat where they belonged, because this was before seatbelts had been invented, and American children were were conceived and born of substantial stuff. And we'd better not bitch about it too loudly because our parents and grandparents had endured much greater inconvenience on the way to the blessing of our own magnificence.
ReplyDeleteThe delight we share remembering when! These comments all have short stories attached to them waiting to be written.
ReplyDeleteMy old man had a black 2-door '49 Chevy "Torpedo Style" as our family heap when I was just a spot on the mattress. I can still smell the burned oil and brake fluid from the floorboard. He was a skinny 18 year-old from North Georgia when him and mom married and he traded a '41 Ford coupe for it as they started their married life in Asheville. Big Sister was two years ahead of me so she got to watch the gear changes as I sat on mom's lap.
Blessings to all y'all for the sweet memories.