Winter Beaters

Winter still has a way to go, and it got me thinking about vehicles that have gotten me through the snow and cold over the years. It really wasn't that long ago that 4 wheel drive was not that common. In 1966, the Olds Toronado and Cadillac El Dorado introduced front-wheel drive. Considered experimental by some, front-wheel drive was not really accepted by the motoring public until the early 80s. All-wheel drive? Unheard of!

Over the years, I've had a few winter beaters that I'd drive when storing nicer cars to protect them from the ravages of salt and sand. All rear-wheel drives clunkers. It seems hard to believe that there was a time you could buy a car for $50-$100 that would actually get you through the winter. But it was possible. In Ely, I paid 35 bucks to an old guy for a '59 Chevy station wagon. Yeah, it was dented, rusted and ugly. The "eyebrows" above the headlights were rusted through, but he patched 'em up. Did he use plastic body filler? Bondo? Nope. Cement! But it started every morning without benefit of garage or tank heater, and it made it up the hill to the radio station. It even got stolen once. In the middle of the night, I  heard it start up (rusted exhaust). I looked out the window just in time to see it fish-tailing down Camp Street in the snow. Couple of days later, I got a call from the nearby town of Winton. The car had been found.  I told the officer I'd pick it up later that day. There was a second of silence on the line..."Uh, you really want it back?" Heck Yeah! I drove it until April when it started to smoke bad. Ended up giving it to a guy who wanted to enter a demolition derby.

I've had a '65 Galaxie, '62 Fairlane, '66 VW, '55 Pontiac among others. All of them performed valiantly and never left me stranded. And they were fun. A new dent? So what. Parking lot door dings? Who'd notice. Rust? Already there. I never thought I'd have to worry about one getting stolen, but.....

Simpler cars that you could keep running with whatever you happened to have lying around. Try that today.