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I added this little page as I realized that perhaps an area with some of the rides I've had over the years (and the stories about them) might be good for a laugh. I don't have pictures of all the rides, as there were too many that I've lost over the years (pre-digital). I've owned tons of cars from various manufacturers over the years, but the majority were MOPAR.
This is where my repair/mechanic skills started -- with my dad's 1976 Honda Civic. These three shots are in '78 as I repaired the front end after hitting my friend, Dean, in the parking lot of the High School. Clearly, at least from a looks perspective, I nailed it and it turned out fine. There was HUGE rust in there for only 3 years or so on the road. Just an amazing rust bucket. But then, this was the '70s and we were in Ohio, where they love road salt. My old man was a customer engineer for IBM at the time, so he wanted something with good gas mileage to cover his territory with. Up to this point he had always lived with crappy used cars. He bought this one new. And I creamed it. So, I took ownership and fixed it up. Honestly better than before the accident since I fixed all that rust too. Was my first car paint job done right there in the garage.
My Grandmother and Father surprised me with this '76 Buick Special (my first car) after we moved to Florida. I think they knew I hated Florida, and the move especially, and I suppose getting me transportation helped. My brother and I are adding a pair of 6x9s back there 'cause that's what you do...The car was a boat but I actually liked it a lot -- still do and wish I still had it. My second car was my brother's '72 Chevelle I got after I crashed and burned on my motorcycle.
Here is a shot of the 86 Doge Colt DL. The pic here is from our trip to New York where we met up with Rick, "The Messy Man", standing next to the car. That car was my wife's first stick shift. I think I paid $6,300 new with air conditioning, FM radio, and roll up windows -- That's it, brother. Another story. I flew up to Minnesota, from Florida to start my job ahead of the family due to school and what not. Our adopted dog, Jake (abandoned and found tied to a piece of chain link fence after a hurricane!) Jake big. One day Jake got under Cita's legs and she dropped to the floor, breaking her right wrist. So how do you drive (US left hand drive) with a cast on your right arm? You have your 10-year-old do it. I understand they got pretty good at it. So my kids learned to drive stick before they started Jr. High. OK, so for clarification. Cita driving and pushing the clutch. Kid moves gear shift. I mean the kids weren't driving, driving...
Front shot of our '91 Dodge Caravan looking out of our Florida car port. Cita is giving it a wash. So that's what I started with -- a carport. No garage at all. Just the basic hand tools were with me at the time which I kept in the laundry room of the house. We got the van since the kids were getting bigger and I kept having to fix cars in the driveway all the time. Cita got sick of it. I think we traded a '77 Olds 98 for it -- a pewter colored (It was formerly Dad's car and he painted it with Imron paint) GM boat with fluffy light blue seats. Chrysler nailed the design with their new mini-van concept. Our 91 here was the first year of the gen 2 model. By the way, Cita doesn't wash cars anymore. Just sayin'.
Another pic of the Colt showed up (that's our dog, Jake in front of it). Also pictured is the '91 Dodge Caravan. You can't see so well but I'm working on the radio controlled (RC) Piper Cherokee plane in the garage. Behind me is my RC Eagle "trainer" airplane. I put a bunch of different motors in there including a 4-stroke. I never crashed it either. That van was just amazing -- and back in the day it was the thing to have -- not like the SUV craze of today, despite how flexible the van really is. We also pulled a pop-up camper with the that vehicle. The van was our first car with power windows. White with blue interior. Heaven. The '91 model year was the second generation of their mini-van. We really liked it a lot. And I finally have a garage here (circa 1995) -- a nice 2 car that we ultimately added a heater and another 3/4 spot for parking the pop-up camper and storing our little CJ/5 (sideways). I started using/collecting larger tools at this point.
Here is the '96 Dodge Stratus I bought new. Grey leather interior, A/C, power seats and windows with a tilt wheel -- Man I thought I had it all. I really liked that car and thought is was the nicest looking sedan around. Both shots here with my daughter. And the car was the summer fastpitch mobile. We went all over the place with traveling fastpitch in that thing.
1996 must have been a good year for us. We purchased both the Dodge Stratus and Cita's new '96 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which took the place of the Caravan. Now, the van was more versatile, but the Jeep towed the camper better and was much better in the winter, with 4WD and all. Cita used this as the baseball machine for years -- going all over the country with our son for traveling ball while I toured the country with my daughter to the fastpitch tournaments in the Dodge. Here, Cita is drifting the Jeep at the elementary school -- easy does it, Cita.
<sigh> Yes, I admit. I owned a Ford for something like 2 months. I bought it for $500 or something from a guy I saw at a stop sign, but I had to install new front radius arms and get some electrics to work before I could unload it quick. The body was sound, but the thing leaked everywhere. A low rust truck in Minnesota must have been why I pursued this purchase. Anyway it was my first and last Ford.
My son and I went on a Jeep 4x4 trip and we drove through the Bonneville Salt Flats on the way over to Nevada where we stopped at a casino for lunch. That's my 2003 Dodge Ram -- the first year with the reemergent 5.7l Hemi motor. It's a standard cab, short box that I don't think you can get any more -- a real truck.
Above was my 2011 328i -- as my first BMW purchase. You can see the autocross number I had made on the side. I traded this for the 2013 335i in black (which had a similar themed M-sport autocross number of 335) -- Second picture in the carousel. Behind you can see my wife's Subaru Impreza, my daughter's 2003 Ford Focus, and my 2003 Ram. We used the Impreza to supplement the 2007 Jeep SRT as my wife had a really long commute. Owning this additional car was actually just slightly cheaper than not owning it and driving the SRT for the long commute. I admire the quality that goes into the design and build of the BMWs. It was a very tight car with nothing out of place, no rattles, no bad behaviors. I just can't stand the nose treatment on the current coupes.
Above was my 2017 328 Touring I picked up after unloading the 335i. At the time I felt it wise to get something a bit more practical than the 335 as I was commuting weekly from the Twin Cities to Morris and wanted to carry more things -- kind of like the weekly station wagon/grocery getter. I really liked the car, but it was a bit under powered, at least compared to 335. But a stellar vehicle non-the-less. After we moved to Morris, the nearest dealer became a 3 hour road trip -- assuming the car would make it. I can repair a lot of things but just felt it would be prudent to get something I could get repaired locally, should the repair be over my head. If you asked me today I'd say I made a mistake unloading the car. I really like it's replacement (see below) but I should have kept it. I am BMW-less now. :(
The 328 Touring (wagon) was replaced with this 2018 Challenger in white knuckle paint. Now this is the 305HP V6 version and not the mighty Hemi, but it scoots OK for around town. Plus it has all wheel drive, heated seats and steering wheel, so it's toasty in the winter. It is, in my opinion, a real GT car -- an over-the-road machine that you can really eat up the miles in. I have 3M clear film protecting the paint, added a set of winter wheels/tires, and I tinted the windows. I don't want to part with it, but again, I wish I still had the BMW wagon as well. But that's being a bit greedy too, I suppose. I really want a wagon. Maybe I'll get one some day. I'll need a bigger garage!
OK, so I don't actually own a bus, but drive one on occasion for our local school. A couple of shots with the kiddos inside serve as a nice memory. Before long, they will be all grown with families of their own. Let's hope they stay near Morris.
Below is my recent acquisition as of 2/2025. A really nice numbers matching 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme convertible. It has a numbers matching 350/automatic with factory air, power windows and a power convertible top in Sienna (paint code 67) with Sienna Brown interior (989). It's a nice example that should only need some minor work to get to show quality. I didn't wan't a full project car so I got this one to tinker with. Also, a great cruiser for rides into the cities and taking Cita with me.
1971 Olds Cutlass Supreme Convertible
Not pictured -- Let's see. 1977 Olds 98, 1975 & 76 Cutlass, '72 Chevelle, 1980's Honda CB350 (which put me in the hospital) -- all while we were in Florida. A 2004 Toyota Camry, , probably others.
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