ACtion Magazine - July 2012 - (Page 10)

Technically RELAY-ted Paul & Pat DeGuiseppi If I Could…Part Deux car, because Paul managed to put mine on its roof (more on that in a moment). Despite the fact that I’d never driven a stick before, I ordered a manual transmission because Paul thought I should, and I was in love (what can I say?). We picked up the car after work, and Paul taught me to drive it that night. I drove to work the next day, all by myself. There was a hairy moment when the light turned green and I sat on a hill, but all was well. I soon learned to chirp second, and the fun began. 1976 Monte Carlo. My father worked for GM, and managed to hook me up with a demo car. So I stepped up to a lovely Firethorn Red Monte Carlo with just about every option known to man as my brother stepped up to my stripper Rambler. The Monte came with a black interior, swing-out bucket seats (remember them?), and a hood that stretched into the next county. And it was pretty fast, which is how we got into trouble. Paul was cruising down “the windy path” at a speed which obviously exceeded his ability, hit a wall, and we found ourselves sitting on the headliner with the car overhead. Luckily, we had only scratches, but you might guess that my father was pretty unhappy. He didn’t get any happier when I ordered the Civic to replace it. MG TC or TD. Must be British racing green. These little two-seaters make my heart go pitter patter. You can’t get much closer to the ground without having your butt scraping the macadam. I’d wear a Black Watch plaid racing cap on my way to a proper cream tea. ’57 T-bird. Speaking of pitter-patter, this Thunderbird and its siblings (even the short-lived T-birds sold in the first decade of the 21st century) will always have a special place in my heart. It would be very difficult to decide on color – that salmon is just too pretty. Or maybe the soft blue. No, no, the minty green. Two-tone seats, removable hard top…yum yum. Model A or T pickup. Here’s the only place I overlap Paul’s list, for all the same reasons. We’ve seen some beautifully restored Fords at car shows and they’re reasonable priced for the middle-class car enthusiast. They look like they’d be fun to drive, and you can’t deny the nostalgia factor. We had a short cruise in one at Greenfield Village in Michigan, and even that was a hoot. Hmmmm…number ten? Sorry, I just can’t close the door on that selection. I’d like to keep my options; just in case I could… ❆ Paul cedes this column to his wife who has some ideas of her own. He picked twelve, she’s got ten. If they could, they’ll surely need a bigger garage. aul’s column in the last issue took you into his fantasy world of cars he would own “if he could.” Is there anyone out there who believed that the Nash Metropolitan is for me? Probably not. Either way, you’ll see that it doesn’t appear on my list of ten. Don’t be confused – Paul is the car enthusiast in this house. But, as your partner will attest it’s impossible to avoid automotive osmosis as we stroll car shows and flea markets, or as Paul drools on that Porsche 911 GT3 outside Bertucci’s, or as we determine whether that really is a Lotus passing us on the highway. For good or for naught, here’s my list: A street rod. I don’t know which make or model would suit my needs, but I can tell you that it would be dark navy blue with jazzy coral pinstriping and interior accents. It would have big swoopy fenders and running boards, teardrop headlights, and very comfortable bucket seats. I love crisp chrome accents on the dash, a neverbefore-seen steering wheel, and a plush headliner to complement the rest of the interior. Aaaaahhh…what a nice place to begin. A box Nova. Here, I align with Paul’s preference for vanilla in cars. A simple, stripper, stock Chevy Nova. Perhaps it appeals to my practical streak. More likely it harkens back to my first car, a stripper white Rambler that my father picked up for me for $600 just before I started classes at a local community college. It soon had a brown fender to replace the one crunched in the mall parking lot. It happens to the best of us, doesn’t it? That was mild compared to the pain inflicted by my brother, who inherited the car when I got a full-time job and moved up. Gangsta car. I don’t mean Gangsta rap. I mean a “Bang, bang, you’re dead, you dirty rat” gangsta car. Which is the phrase I would need to utter every time I got in the car. Something from the ‘40s with the little rear windows, gigantic hood, and tapered rear end. Black, of course (as if…). An SLK. Now we’re talking some serious drool. I’ve loved this Mercedes for decades. Just when you think they can’t get any better, they get even sexier. Retractable hard top? Sign me up. 1977 Honda Civic 1200. This was the first year that Honda popped up in our local area. The dealership had barely moved in when I bought one. I was desperate for a 10 ACTION • July/August 2012 P

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ACtion Magazine - July 2012

ACtion Magazine - July 2012
Contents
Outlook
Expansion Valve
Technically RELAY-ted
Under the Southern Cross
Leonard’s Law
Cooling Corner
Virtual View
News & Updates
KME: Where Custom Is the Norm
Five-Alarm Maintenance
ACtion Magazine Staff Win IAMC Awards
Association News
Quick Check
New Products & Services
Last Watch

ACtion Magazine - July 2012