Thoughts on this Hobby

[TomC750]

I was almost born into it. First car my folks had that I remember was a'39 Ford sedan That was followed by a '47 coupe, then a '49 and a 51 Mercury the first new car in the family. A year or two later dad bought a '36 coupe for a second car. That is the first one I drove when I was about 14. It was a real good runner. My brother and I drove it all over the back roads well before we had licenses. It got traded at a Chevvy dealer for a '47 Lincoln that used oil. The dealer sent a wrecker for the '36 and away it went to the junkyard. I was sick. It was not a junk by any means. I missed it.

No more flatheads until when in my last year of high school I bought a '41 Merc coupe for $45. It was a solid car with a tired engine. I built a new engine out of a '50 Merc, put in a mild cam and planed heads. Courted my future wife in it. Drove it from NY to Texas when in the service Where a buddy talked me out of it. It was a good runner.

Shortly after I got married I spotted a '37 1 1/2 ton sitting in a farmer's field. Bought it for $75. I used it a lot when I built a car wash. Hauled most of the materials with it. A ford factory rebuilt engine was under the hood. Ran perfect with really good power. Sold it when I auctioned off all my stuff, it did not bring a lot. Along the way I bought a '53 C750 for $500 and turned it into a highway tractor. Had it for over 40 years and sold it. It is in a V8 Times (May June issue) article. A friend in Maryland who was a former truck dealer offered me a '53 F350 for $300. A good solid truck with 42,000 miles. I kept it for 30 some years. I had a later pickup, so I put the '53 on Ebay. I figured it might bring $3500 on a good day. I went for an astounding $19,200. My last bit of luck was when I found another '41 Mercury at a farm auction. With no other serious bidders my wife bid on it and bought it very reasonable. It is a frame off restoration and will go to Springfield next week.