My cars over the years

[Old Coyote]

Per the request of some of the members here, I will post pictures of some of the 1:1 vehicles I have owned in my 55 years of driving (and I didn't start driving until I was 16).

The first car I owned was a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air 2-door hardtop. It was originally Robin's Egg Blue and White and was powered by a 162 horsepower 265 with a Powerglide transmission. My Grandfather found it for me when I was 15, and I spent the first year fixing it up before I could get my license and drive it. When I started driving it to high school the car had been repainted Roman Red, the engine was a 220 horsepower 283 and the transmission was a Borg Warner T-4 3-speed with a Hurst shifter.

 

The car went through a second transformation when I went to college (the first time) ........... painted Corvette Silver, interior done in black rolled and pleated naugahyde, engine was now a 300 horsepower 327 and the transmission was changed to a Borg Warner T-10 4-speed.

Edited July 11, 2022 by Old Coyote

[Old Coyote]

Also during high school, I sometimes drove and raced my mother's 1962 Buick LeSabre 2-door hardtop. My dad got the car from a Buick factory representative, and it was a rather unusual configuration for a LeSabre. It had a 325 horsepower 401 and a Dynaflow automatic transmission. Although it weighed over 4,090 pounds, it ran in D/SA and would turn the 14.10's at 99 mph at Amarillo Dragway's 3,700 ft. altitude.

Edited February 8, 2018 by Old Coyote

[Renegade]

Very nice. Wish I still had some of the cars from my past. Only been driving legally for 46 years but lost track of the number of cars I've owned.

[espo]

You had the good fortune to own some very nice cars. Most people would "Kill" to have a red '55 Bel Air in High School. I'll have to look around for some pictures of my old Jalopies.   

[Old Coyote]

..... while I was in the Air Force stationed at SAC Headquarters in Bellevue, Nebraska, we bought a 1969 Chevelle SS396 from Plains Chevrolet in Amarillo, Texas ....... again the car was a somewhat strange configuration ...... 350 horsepower 396 with a TurboHydro 400 transmission, bench seat, column shifter, no A/C but it did have power steering and brakes ..... and as you can see the Air Force allowed you to register your cars in your home state, rather than the state you were stationed in

Edited February 8, 2018 by Old Coyote

[Old Coyote]

..... when I got out of the Air Force and went back to college, I got my wife (and me) a 1973 Firebird SD455 Trans Am ....... 310 (net) horsepower 455 with a Muncie M-22 "Rock Crusher" 4-speed and a 3.73 rear end

 

Edited February 8, 2018 by Old Coyote

[Old Coyote]

.... however, the SD455 was a little bit too radical for my first wife to drive ....... so in 1974 I traded it for a '74 Trans Am ..... 400 cubic inch, still with a Muncie M-22 4-speed, but a 3.42 rear end ...... custom ordered this one with no "bird" on the hood ..... she had an easier time with this one

Edited February 8, 2018 by Old Coyote

[Old Coyote]

..... when I graduated from college I sold the little SS396 Chevelle and got me a '72 LT1 Corvette ........ Elkhart Green with dark saddle leather interior

[Old Coyote]

..... in the mid 1970's I got the drag racing bug again and bought a race car and trailer ........... and I needed something to pull the trailer .............. so I bought a white '69 El Camino ..... the consignment dealer I bought the '72 Corvette from was opening a body and paint shop and offered to paint the El Camino for the cost of materials if I would let him sign the car and would advertise his new shop for him ............. I hadn't even received the permanent plates for the tow rig when this picture was taken in the pits at Amarillo Dragway

[Old Coyote]

..... in 1978, we moved to Midland, Texas and at the time my wife was driving a Chocolate Brown special edition '77 Trans Am with the gold striping and I was driving a '78 El Camino Super Sport ....... here are the only two shots I have of these two cars in front of our house in Midland

[Old Coyote]

..... in late 1979 my first wife and I divorced, and she took the '77 Trans Am ........ I got the "bug" again ...... sold the '78 El Camino and bought a '77 L-48 Corvette ..... Ermine white with the dark blue leather ........ small 350 with a Muncie M-21 4-speed ....... and that's my 19' Vaquero mini motor home behind the Corvette

[Old Coyote]

In December 1981 I married my current wife (36+ years and still going) ...... and she turned out to be a car enthusiast also ....... but with two kids by her previous marriage and one by me we went into a "domestic" car period for about 21 years. However, after the kids were grown and gone we got a pair of 35th Anniversary 2002 Camaro Super Sports ......... a Sebring Silver Metallic one for me and a Navy Blue Metallic one for her ....... both were 335 horsepower LS1's with Borg Warner/Tremec 6-speed manual transmissions and 3.42:1 rear ends ..... they both had SLP center mount exhausts, chrome 10 spoke SLP wheels, and SS grilles. The only difference was that hers had the Bilstein suspension option.

Edited February 8, 2018 by Old Coyote

[Old Coyote]

The race cars I have owned over the years 

1960 Chevy Impala, 335 horsepower 348, Borg Warner T-10 4-speed, 4.56:1 rear end ....... legal NHRA C/S

 

1963 Chevy Impala, 409 horsepower 409, Borg Warner T-10 4-speed, 4.56:1 rear end ..... legal NHRA B/MP

1932 Austin Bantam Roadster, Hilborn injected Stage II Chrysler Hemi ..... legal NHRA A/A

Edited February 8, 2018 by Old Coyote

[Old Coyote]

.... and of course ....... "Timmy" ......... my 1948 English Ford Thames street rod ............ he sits on a custom chassis built by Fat Man Fabrications in Charlotte ....... steel body, glass nose by Fiberglas Trends, and stock aluminum rear doors ...... powered by a 377 horsepower 327 Corvette engine ...... Comp cam & kit,  MSD ignition,  Pete Jackson gear drive, custom shroud built by Alan Shadwick covering a 600 cfm Edelbrock carb, and Hedman headers ....... TurboHydro 350 transmission with B&M clutches and converter ..... 9" Ford rear end with 3.50:1 gears ....... Chevrolet Aqua Blue Metallic paint and all body and fabrication work by Josh Richardson, and custom leather interior by Tim Scarlett ...... ET mags, Michelin front tires and Pro-Trac rears

Edited February 10, 2018 by Old Coyote

[Old Coyote]

But, on the every day driver front, my wife and I are now showing our age ........ she's 10 years younger than I and still "sports" around in a Chevrolet Sonic RS Turbo ..... six speed manual ..... the little scooter gets over 30 mpg in town and a tick over 40 mpg on the highway.

And I am now officially old ..... as I drive a Buick ..... a Buick Encore with the same turbo engine as in the Sonic ........ but with the added weight, the 6-speed automatic transmission, and all the other bells & whistles on the Buick, it only gets 25 mpg in town and about 33 mpg on the road ......... but hey, I'm old, and enjoy the creature comforts of a Buick

Edited February 11, 2018 by Old Coyote

[High octane]

Here's a photo of my first car many years ago.............................................

[Tom Geiger]

Thanks for sharing John!  My favorite is Timmy!  I always wanted to build a street version from the Simple Simon Thames kit!   

[Xingu]

I'll bet that Bantam Roadster was a lot of fun to race.

[Old Coyote]

There were others that I don't have pictures of , or I didn't think were special enough to make the first list ( the domestic vehicles) ......, a 1966 Olds Cutlass 4-4-2 W-30 ram air,  a 1978 Olds Cutlass Calais, a 1984 Ford Bronco II Eddie Bauer Edition (yes I know it's a Ford, but the car came from my second father-in-law .... he wanted my wife to have it), a 1978 K-5 Blazer, a 1989 Chevrolet Astro van, a 1992 Pontiac Sunbird convertible for my wife, a 1993 Chevrolet Z-71 pickup, a 1999 Firebird again for my wife, a 2001 S-10 Blazer, a 2005 Pontiac Vibe, a 2007 Pontiac Solstice, a 2009 Chevy Colorado V-8, a 2010 Chevrolet Traverse, a 2009 Chrysler PT Cruiser (my wife just had to have one), and 2010 Chevrolet HHR.

 

The 1966 W-30 4-4-2 (please excuse the babies in the picture, we were home on leave from the Air Force and this is only picture I have of this car)

The 1978 K-5 Blazer that pulled our matching pop-up trailer all over the southwest when we lived in Phoenix

My wife's 1992 Sunbird convertible (which my daughter drove to high school)

My 1993 Z-71 stepside pickup

\

My wife's 1999 Firebird 

My wife transported her invalid parents and their wheelchairs in this 2001 S-10 Blazer

My wife's 2005 Pontiac Vibe (never liked the feel of this car, found out later that it was just a cute Pontiac body sitting on a Toyota Corolla chassis and running gear

We got rid of it right after that discovery)

My wife's 2007 Pontiac Solstice (really fun, but so impractical)

My 2009 Colorado V-8 pickup (loved this truck, but it had to go when gasoline got to nearly $5.00 a gallon here)

The 2010 Traverse for my wife (it was also a victim of the ridiculously high gasoline prices)

... and the three Honda motorcycles we pulled behind my 1978 El Camino when we went tent camping (that's my nephew on the CL-175)

Edited February 19, 2018 by Old Coyote

[Erik Smith]

Awesome old photos. 

[johnwitzke]

John, I noticed the license plate on the 1966 W30 Olds is that 59 county Nebraska, Offutt AFB?   I believe that O'daniel Olds in Omaha, NE had a dealer tag like the one on the trunk  

Edited February 19, 2018 by johnwitzke

[Old Coyote]

1 hour ago, johnwitzke said:

John, I noticed the license plate on the 1966 W30 Olds is that 59 county Nebraska, Offutt AFB?   I believe that O'daniel Olds in Omaha, NE had a dealer tag like the one on the trunk  

Yes sir, the "59" county designation on the license plate is for Sarpy county, and the county seat was Papillion. That's where we went to get those plates. The car was purchased from a used car dealer in South Omaha, but I have long since forgotten his name. Offutt AFB was in Sarpy county, as was the town of Bellevue where we lived.

Edited February 19, 2018 by Old Coyote

[johnwitzke]

Yes I have lived in Council Bluffs, IA all my life and know the area very well.  Was that a factory W30?  If it was, only 16 were made in that body style.  Would be a nice car to have today   

Edited February 19, 2018 by johnwitzke

[High octane]

Another one of my cars from the 60's that I owned. The Corvair was a Corsa with the 140 h.p. engine with a 4-spd., 4 carbs, and posi.

[W-409]

Wow John you've had some fantastic cars during the years! Needless to say that my favorites are the '60 and '63 Impalas, do you have more pictures of them? Especially that 1960 looks just right as it is.

Here is a picture of my '60 Impala.