[middletown]

My dad was a Chevy guy, his first car was a 1960 Corvette that he purchased in 1963. He sold the Vette months later when he was drafted. We had a Black 58 Bel Air and an Olds when I was very young but Dad really was not and is not a car guy. He would work on them when he had to but not because he wanted to and other than the Vette he has never had another "fun" car. I am not sure were I get my lust for automobiles but I been that way my whole life. I consider myself a Ford guy but given the financial ability my collection would be much more eclectic; think Jay Leno type collection with more muscle cars. That said when I was 16 (1983) my neighbor was selling a 1957 Chevy Bel Air hot rod that had a 283, a Saginaw 4 spd and Cragars all jacked up on air shocks to clear the fat white letter bias plys and I wanted it badly. Though I had multiple jobs I had no $'s saved and dad was not going to lend me the 1500.00 it would take to buy the car; if I wanted a car I had to pay for it and all the other expenses related to it. Several months later my BMX bike, where I had always dumped my money, got stolen and I received a $300.00 check from our homeowners insurance. Within a week I noticed a car in the teacher’s parking lot for sale for $300.00. It was a Colgate green, think pastel, 1968 Mercury Montego MX. After a brief negotiation I got it for $100.00 and all of a sudden I was a ford guy. I had many cars over the next few years but I always kept the Merc. As a kid on the cruising seen your car was your identity and in a sea of Chevelles and Mustangs the Montego stood out as different. I helped a buddy in ROP body shop do some minor body work and we stripped off some trim and them I had it sprayed Black. I drag raced the car in the late eighties and went though several small blocks. I did eventually sell the car when I went back to college in my late 20’s. By that time I had built my first 64 Galaxie so the Merc had been sitting and I had no safe place to store it. Some day I would like to build another Montego or Cyclone but I will have to wait. Now we have a Model A and I have my 64 Galaxie Convertible and I am working on a 1970 Crew Cab F-250 4x4 to use as our horse hauler. Kids and house payments make progress slow but I’ll keep at it.

Thanks,

Joe