After several attempts, I just can't upload this video of Grandpa talking about his old cars. I think it's too long or something. So I went through and transcribed it instead. I thought it was enlightening and a fun conversation, so I wanted to share it with everyone.
Grandpa: Oh, if I could tell you one thing that I had plenty of,
it would be cars. I went from one car to
another. If I added up all the cars that
I had, I would say at least 35. And I
remember the very first car I got was a 1934 Ford coupe with a rumble seat. And I didn’t have a driver’s license. I would ride around and always had a friend
sitting next to me looking out for cops.
And if he spotted a cop, I would stop, turn around and go the other
way.
And I used to take my car to school; you weren’t allowed to
do that so I’d park it a block away.
Then I got a Wizzer motor bike, and that thing was the funnest thing I
ever had. It was like a regular Schwinn
bike with a motor inbetween…you could really take off. And I’d take them to school because I just enjoyed
it.
Adrienne: Where did you get all these cars from? Would they be in good working condition?
Grandpa: Well, I worked at a gas station when I was 15 yrs
old. And I knew all about cars, so, you
know, I would fix them. When I was 16
yrs old, I had an old ‘32 dodge and the motor was knocking on it. I remember taking that whole thing apart and
rebuilding it. In those days, the rod,
instead of putting little caps in for bearings, you’d take the rod and pore it
so the bearing is part of the radius.
And I remember the guy came and miked it up and took the rods and came
back and I put the pins together and it ran like a charm.
Adrienne: Were the parts very expensive? Because it seems like it’s so expensive to
build or redo a car nowadays.
Grandpa: No, everything was cheap in those days. Everything was cheap. That first car I bought I paid 50 bucks for
it. Then I bought the family car that
was a ‘35 plymouth and paid like 100-120 dollars for it. I could still remember a car that I brother
bought (I have 2 brothers: Isaac and Francis).
I remember he bought this beautiful model A Ford convertible sedan. And he only paid 25 dollars for it. And I can still remember in anticipation of
his coming, listening for the engine.
You could hear it from a mile away, the clattering of it. So whenever a model A came by, I thought it
was my brother. Yeah, everything was
cheap in those days. That’s why you see
a lot of old houses with the beautiful orante wood. They had carpenters then that were very
affordable. Everything was cheap. Things have changed something
unbelieveable. Everybody had to work,
and if you didn’t have any skills or anything like that, you’d work as a
domestic. There was always something to
do. You’d either wash clothes, or iron
people clothes. In those days, many
people ironed clothes. Now they have no-
press material… wash ‘n wear. That to me
is a wonderful thing. I’m all for wash ‘n
wear.
