Gratuitous Hockey Post. My First Car. Update.

[mmerriam]

Man, Vancouver is just mauling the Wild tonight.

There's been a first car meme going around. Here is mine:



This is a 1973 Mercury Monterey. Mine was a faded gold color. It was big old tank of a car that could take out small trees (or mailboxes) and came equipped with the 429 interceptor engine. The speedometer went up to 140mph, and after I replaced the points, I discovered it would indeed go that fast. I once lost control of it on a gravel road (yes, I was going too fast. Like 65mph or something dumb like that), skidded off the road and smashed into the ditch. It knocked me out for a second, and when I came to, my windshield was covered in Oklahoma red-dirt. My first thought was that I'd died and they'd just dumped me into a grave, car and all, because I was obviously too stupid for a real funeral. The only damage was a slightly crumpled quarter-panel. It was a helluva car, and I have fond memories of it.

The short story collection is coming along. I'm going to pick the final stories in the next day or two and start putting the pages together. It's been a lot of work, and there's still plenty of work to go, but I'm having fun doing the prep work.

Comments

[purdypiedad.livejournal.com]

Nothing like having an aircraft carrier for your first vehicle!

I miss watching hockey. It's the one sport I can really get into.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

On the one hand, that car had way too much horse-power for a sixteen-year old boy to be driving. On the other hand, the fact that was a huge, nearly indestructible tank likely saved my life when I did the dumb stuff behind the wheel that a sixteen-year old is prone to do.

One of the joys of moving to Minnesota for me was getting back into hockey. I grew up in house full of Detroit Red Wings fans, but we did have minor league hockey on Oklahoma. In fact, back in the 1970s, the old Oklahoma City Stars were the farm team for the old Minnesota North Stars.

[purdypiedad.livejournal.com]

I am grateful. My first car was a little V-6 Pontiac Grand Am with super wide tires. Actually, in order to get the right size, I had to get super expensive high performance tires. The result was a car that handled like it was on rails. It was a great first car... aside from the fact that it was a lemon. My poor older siblings got stuck with the Volari Station Wagon. Remember those lovely things with the formica paneling down the side? Way cool! lol...

When I lived in San Jose, I worked for a pretty big company who would periodically raffle off the CEO's Sharks stadium seats when he couldn't attend the games since he had season tickets. I got to watch the games from both a box and right behind the glass on several different occasions. I REALLY like sitting right behind the glass!

[j-cheney.livejournal.com]

Nice!

A 429 is pretty big, but that car has a lot of space in the engine compartment. I built the 428 police interceptor that my brother put in his 63 T-bird, and it was, well, tight. (I don't work on cars anymore...to dirty)

I'll forward the pic to husband, who's a mercury fan.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

The biggest engine I ever had in a car was a 464 in a Buick. It would pass everything except a gas station!

[j-cheney.livejournal.com]

Great...12 miles to the gallon? 11? (I drove a 64 t-bird that got 12)

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Between 10 and 12 mpg depending on how I was driving.

[j-cheney.livejournal.com]

::shudders::

[racingboo.livejournal.com]

Good memories, it seems (c: And also exciting to follow the progress of the book.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

It was a good old car!