A friend and I were reminiscing the other day about the
first cars we ever owned. I doubt if
there is any guy who can’t fondly recall in detail his first “heap” and I am no
exception.
Mine was a 1954 Ford “Mainline” two door business
coupe. I loved that car; it was a “stick
shift” with a 6 cylinder engine and because it was a business coupe, it had no
bells and whistles. It was designed to
get salesmen from A to B with no frills.
I was 16 and the thought of luxuries like whitewall tires, a
radio, or an automatic transmission were unheard of on the Mainline model. The driver was the only one who got an
armrest, an outside rear view mirror, and a sun visor. As far as a radio, I had to get a cheap AM
from Sears after I saved the few bucks to afford it. Those were the days before
cars had FM radio so it was only AM and didn’t even have push buttons to find
the stations. I had to dial them in. As far as air conditioning, Cadillacs were
about the only cars that had it then. I
used the 260 form: 2 windows open and
going 60 miles an hour.
Electric windshield wipers were unheard of then also. They were vacuum operated which meant that
every time you pressed on the gas pedal, they would stop! If nothing else they forced you to drive VERY
carefully when it was raining!
My heap looked like this only without the side chrome strip
There were 50,000 miles on that Ford in an era when cars
were pretty much used up if they made it to 80 or 90 thousand miles. But, with only $600 saved up and borrowed
from my parents, I wasn’t expecting the world.
Besides, I now had wheels, which was a lot nicer than hitch hiking or
walking.
My parents made it clear that they wanted their loan paid
back ASAP. It was the 1950’s and the
term “work ethic” meant something. If
you borrowed money under the terms of an agreement you were expected to pay off
that loan per the agreement. There were
no special dispensations for family members in most cases as integrity meant
something then. Hence, I got a summer
job doing delivery work throughout my hometown Cincinnati area. It paid $60 a week and gave me the
opportunity to learn my way around the metro area. When school resumed, I worked part time in a
grocery store. I still remember my last
payment on that Ford and my receiving the title free and clear. I felt like a big shot!
The 1950’s seem like a million years ago now. In most homes, dad was the bread winner and
mom ran the house. When kids came home
from school mom was there to greet them while dad usually rode the bus to and
from his job. Many vacations involved
family trips to the seashore or the mountains in the family car for a brief
respite from the typical workdays.
