Cars I Enjoyed (Loved) Owning
My first car was a 1969 Mustang fastback, similar to what you see on the left. 302-2bbl with 3-speed manual trans. Power nothing – manual steering, manual brakes, manual windows, AM radio. It did have a hood scoop (that I made functional by cutting a hole in the hood) with the turn signals in it. I still think that was so cool!
By the time I sold the car, I added chrome headers, Boss 302 exhaust (2″ dia tubes), 4-bbl cast iron intake, Holley carb and the ubiquitous Sun tach. My dad got me a factory AM-8 track (he worked for Ford) that I happily added, and installed 6×9 speakers in the back shelf. Upgraded the standard hubcaps (unlike the GT/Mach 1 style wheels in the photo) with mag wheels. I liked the car so much I bought it back from the friend I sold it to, while I also owned the Mach 1.
Not counting parts cars, my second car was a ’69 Torino GT with a 390 & 4-speed. My best friend got a ticket for “excessive noise of the tires” when drag racing on Woodward Ave. With cheater slicks. Those things grabbed and didn’t let go. What noise?
My third car, that was a winner. ’69 Mach 1, green with black interior. 351-4V & 4-speed. I added a bigger cam and Holley carb and could chirp the tires going into 4th. What sets this car apart was the paint job I did. I was restoring cars at the time and went wild. Flared out the rear wheel arches, filled in the side scoops to be flush with the body, stripped it all down to primer and started from scratch. Bright red base coat, including in the door openings, inside the doors, under the hood and deck lid. It was red. Then murals everyone. Modified Boss 302 stripes with 351CJ, all painted, turning into flames after the rear wheels. Laser stripes above the body crease line. Mountain mural on the trunk. Cobra with piercing lines from the eyes on the hood. Flying pegasus behind each rear window. Covered in gold pearl with many coats of clear on top. Sweet ride.
It came without the in-dash tach. I bought a wrecked ’69 with the factory tach and took the entire wiring harness out and transplanted it, along with the instrument cluster and fold-down rear seat. AM/FM factory stereo added, then modified the console to fit an 8-track tape player. My nickname for the car was “Rainbow Demon,” based on the Uriah Heep song of the same name. “Here rides the Rainbow Demon, on his horse of Crimson Fire.”
Dodging through rush hour traffic one day I glanced right to change lanes, and in that moment traffic stopped in front of me, leaving me not enough room to stop or change lanes. Crunch. I had another hood with shaker hood scoop that replaced it. And of course I custom-painted the shaker, with gloss black and metal flakes lightly added, followed by a couple of clear coats. Watching the scoop shake at the traffic light was so cool…
Only one picture remains, shot through a fence. It gives an idea… I still have the hood scoop. It hangs on the wall in my office.
I bought this 1984 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE brand new. A beautiful car. The SE has the upgraded 13B rotary, adding 35hp to the base 100hp. It took some getting used to the high-revving ability of that rotary, and how fast the tach would climb! Very ergonomic layout, loved the heat/ac controls where I could choose where the air would come out – foot, center or defrost, or any combination. Great handling as well, with bigger wheels and tires and upgraded suspension over the standard models. Fun to drive but it ran out of oomph around 95mph. After being a garage queen for a couple of years and driven on Sundays and fun days, I sold it for $5 less than I owed on the loan. I learned my lesson – the only other new car I’ve bought was my ’98 SVT Cobra, which I got on my dad’s Ford employee A-plan discount.
A few years after the RX-7, in the early 90s the car bug hit once again. A ’66 Mustang GT fit the bill – A code engine, GT package will disc brakes and fog lights, pony interior with the cool steering wheel, Rally Pac, console. The engine had a few mods, including my favorite valve covers, aluminum intake and Holley carb. Alas, the more I dug into it, the more rust I found and I wasn’t in the mood to replace the rear frame rails, floor pans and a few other underbody parts that I missed when I inspected it prior to purchase. Certainly the exterior rust was obvious, as were a few other metal cancer flaws. It was a fun driver and had all the goodies one could ask for. But I didn’t own a torch or an arc welder, plus I was traveling a lot for my job, so I sold it. It was a fun car and added to the ever-growing list of Mustangs I owned.
After selling the ’66 GT, the car bug didn’t go away. After selling a piece of real estate, I bought a really nice ’69 Shelby GT350. Green with a white interior. This car was serious fun! Owning the Mach 1 was a joy, but I always wanted to own a Shelby. I found mine and bought it for $8,500. The previous owner rebuilt the engine and put in a solid-lifter cam, aluminum intake and Holley carb. The solid-lift cam gave it a little extra engine noise, that performance sizzle. The performance for the time was really nice. With a base of 290hp for a stock 351 Windsor, the upgrades probably added conservatively another 25-30hp. I loved the seat belt with the shoulder harness coming out of the roll bar and the white interior was really sharp. A longer hood and a slightly different visual than my Mach 1, although performance was similar. I enjoyed the heck out of it but sold it after a couple of years to buy another piece of real estate. It’s the only car I bought for myself that I made a profit on.
When I was traveling a lot for work, which included a number of trips from Detroit to Toronto, a BMW 733i with a manual transmission caught my eye. My brother had owned a few BMWs and I found them to be true driver cars. The 733i led me to joining the BMW CCA and a foray into track events. While the 733i was no barn burner, it did have surprisingly nimble handling and a weekend at MIS had me hooked. It also convinced me I needed a real sports car.
What followed was the 635CSi. The inline 6 with 182 hp was underpowered for the weight of the car, but the manual trans made it quite fun. Another track weekend at MIS was a blast. It took some work to get it to sing, but when I got the corners right (ie, faster) and had the rpm in range, it would pull nicely out of the corners down the straights and handled like a champ.
My brand new Hawk pads were devoured in one weekend, convincing me that if I wanted to get serious about track events, a better car was in order.
The 635 led me to my next car search. I compared a number of different cars and whittled the list down to two: an E36 M3 and a 98 Mustang SVT Cobra. I drove both. I scared the crap out of the sales gal at the Ford dealer when I accelerated hard down a side street, mashed the brakes, apexed the corner and hard on the gas up to the stop sign. While she was ready to strangle me, I was mightily impressed. A used M3 and the SVT Cobra (using my dad’s A-plan discount) were about the same price. But the Mustang came with a factory warranty and had 65 more hp and 64 more torques. I bought one in my favorite shade of red.
I was not disappointed. Track events followed and the car was more than willing. A trifle heavy, however a dedicated set of rotors and Hawk pads, coupled with Hoosier tires while belted in with a Schroth 4-point harness attached to a harness bar made it quick. Upgrading to front coil-overs, caster-camber plates, rear springs and after-market shifter made it fast. I can’t forget the Cobra R front brake duct kit. That was a serious contender for fun track car, and was the car I was hoping the 635 would be. Alas, one son plus a newborn, coupled with a wife and sometimes mother-in-law while selling real estate made the car completely impractical and I reluctantly sold it. I hope she’s had a good life after me. I still dream of owning another.
I love the interior of this car. The double-binnacle dash is reminiscent of the C2 Corvette, one of my favorite dash layouts of all time. The Mach 460 stereo was just fine for me and the seats were spectacularly comfortable. I later bought a ’98 white convertible for my fun car that was a little rough but had to sell it when finances were tight. I still look on Craig’s List and eBay for blue ’98 Cobras. Perhaps after my Route 66 trip…
My current car, the E39 M5 (model year 2000, in my case) has got to be one of the greatest sports sedans of all time. 3.9 liters, 395hp, 369 torques. Dual overhead cam, individual throttle bodies for each cylinder. Dual air intakes to feed enough air to let ‘er rip up to the 6500rpm redline. 6-speed trans. Two driving modes: regular and sport to make it simple. Sport mode kicks in the throttle response and makes it fly, while also turning off traction control. Fred Flintstone tires (ie, really wide), upgraded shocks/struts and swaybars, bigger brakes and suspension tuning second to none.
I have yet to get it on the track, but this is one serious performance sedan. While the newer models have more power, they lose the manual trans and I think the pure essence of a grand touring car. Balance, power, handling, that tactile connection with the road that rewards the skilled driver with a driving experience like no other.
Sadly, the seats are rocks. I drove from Tamps to Jacksonville on business, then driving back the next day my derriere was so dang sore I had to stop and take a break. Mine has a Dinan exhaust that makes the bass rumble a little throatier. It lets you and other enthusiasts know a serious car is on hand.
So there you have it – favorite cars I’ve owned. The cars don’t define me as a car fanatic; I’d like to think the car fanatic in me defines the cars I drive. It’s by no means a complete list. I’d love to own and drive a C3 Corvette, ideally a ’70 LT1. A C5 Z06 is high on my list as well. A Pantera has been on my bucket list since I was in high school. I wouldn’t throw away a 911, although I think I prefer the mid-engine Cayman. Who wouldn’t love to own a Ferrari? At least until it’s time for the maintenance bill.
Performance and handling, coupled with styling and great interiors, are what define my vision of a great Grand Touring car. I want the car I own ready to take me on the road to wherever, should the mood or the need require it. Do it in style, using one hand to steer, one to shift, a left foot for the clutch and the right to go and stop. Become one with the car and road.
