The 1956 caddy

I traded for the 1962 Pontiac Catalina while we lived in Akron Ohio. I felt the payments on the 67 Galaxy were too high. The Catalina was a four-door sedan, however it had a 389 engine with tri-power. The car would get up and go and was a lot of fun at the traffic lights. It was a real sleeper.

In 1967 we moved to Atlanta, Georgia. While in Georgia I traded for a 1963 or 64 Oldsmobile 88. In 1969 or 1970 I bought my second new car, which was a 1970 Plymouth Duster with the slant six engine with a standard transmission. My wife did not drive so the three on the column was not an issue. Overall the duster was a nice car although very basic.

In 1972, a new job brought me back to Ohio. Someone at the store I worked at gave me a 1955 Oldsmobile. It did not run, I was going to fix it and drive it as I liked old cars. It made a very nice yard ornament as I never had the time nor money to repair it. Another car I could not afford which I would love to have was a 1939 Lasalle sedan. The lady who owned it worked for Buckeye Mart and said the car once belonged to Gov. Bricker. I did not buy the car because I could not afford it.

In 1974 or so we moved to Jackson, Ohio. My wife had learned to drive and we bought a second car. It was a 1957 Plymouth four-door sedan. My wife loved the car, it had a push button automatic transmission. Another interesting fact with the exhaust manifold leak, giving it a unique sound. At some point the torsion bar broke making the car another junkyard candidate. Also while in Jackson I traded the duster for a 1965 two door Thunderbird. I really like that car. In 1975, we bought a new Pontiac Catalina. We sold the Thunderbird. We bought a car to replace the Plymouth because I was traveling, we bought a 19 something Vega. I think it was a 1971 station wagon. I drove that car round trip Jackson to Athens for about eight months. The engines in those cars were aluminum and were crap. I sold the car to a guy who needed a good body for his Vega.

While in Jackson, I bought one of my dream cars. I just liked the styling of the early 50's caddy's. A friend of the family had a 52 when I was younger and I always wanted a car like it.  It was in 1956 Cadillac sedan. It needed a lot of cosmetic work that never got done.  The car drove well and was a lot of fun. I owned this car from about 1977 to sometime in the 80s. I drove the car from Washington Courthouse,Ohio to Sandusky, Michigan. Eventually the car needed some engine work which I could not afford, so I sold it to a local car lot.

The next blog will continue the car saga.

The History of my Cars

In 1966, I took a job with a Woolworth company in Marietta Ohio. Since at that time I did not own a car, I went to Marietta on the Greyhound bus. I worked at the Woolworth store as a manager trainee and receiving manager. One of the employees found out that I did not have a car and sold me a 57 Rambler station wagon for the princely sum of $75. Looking back, it was really a good deal. I drove the car for a considerable amount of time. Being young and foolish I had no fear of taking it on the highway. I drove it from Marietta Ohio to Columbus Ohio and from Marietta to Sandusky Ohio.

Most of the trips were to Sandusky where my future wife resided. This was about 200 miles one way which I made usually two times a month. The other feature that I found useful, was a front seats folded flat. I do not remember how long I had the car, it was less than a year as I was only in Marietta about a year. The car gave up the ghost one weekend  trip in Sandusky. Again lacking the funds to have it repaired,  it went to the junkyard. I made the trip back to Marietta on the Greyhound bus. It took around 12 hours,  it seemed like forever. I got back to Marietta in time to go to work.

My next car with a 1951 Chevrolet two-door. I only had it for a couple weeks. I bought it for $75, drove it to Sandusky one weekend, where the muffler went out. When I got back to Marietta I sold it for 50 bucks, I should have had it repaired.

My next car was a 1967 Ford Galaxy 500. My dad pretty much picked it out and I was happy with it. It was a nice green, power steering, power brakes and of course the radio.After I had it about two weeks some clown pulled out front of me. I was okay, the car suffered a damaged front fender and hood on the driver side. I owned the car until about 1968 or 69 when I felt I could not afford to continue to make the payments. I was married and 67 we moved to Akron in 67 and then Atlanta,  Georgia in 68. We traded the car for lower payments on a 1962 Pontiac Catalina.