My
cars over the yearsÉ
When
I was a resident in St. Louis in 1970, I drove my first sports car, an
MGA. I was concerned about safety,
and went to a local welder, whom I asked to fabricate a
roll bar. He built one which protected my head
just fine, but it was so tall that I had to remove and re-install it each time
I needed to raise or lower the convertible roof. I also remember being very proud of
installing new interior panels on the doors. I had some material left over, and used
it to line my tool box, and it is there to this day, a little the worse for
wear, but still cushioning my wrenches.

This
is my 1960Õs-vintage Morgan Plus 4, which I owned while I lived in Capitol Hill
in Washington in 1971. The Morgan is the oldest sports car
still in production. Starting in
1910, they made 3-wheel cars (the single wheel was in the rear), until 1936,
when they made their first 4-wheeler.
The Plus 4 was produced from 1950-1968. Beneath its styling reminiscent of the
1930Õs, it had sliding pillar front suspension and a Triumph TR3 engine. The body is primarily ash and other
woods, with a veneer of metal. Its
signature feature is a leather strap across the hood, to keep it closed. Mine was pretty much rotted away when I
bought it, and I remember going to a shoemaker to have one custom made. It was made using bolts that were neither
SAE nor metric, known as ÔWentworthÕ.
The fellow who sold me the car, knowing I would need them to tinker on
the Morgan, gave me his Wentworth wrenches Ôon indefinite loanÕ, and I still
have them 30+ years later.
It didnÕt have much in the way of
suspension, so many owners wear a Ôkidney beltÕ while driving. It wasnÕt always comfortable, but it
sure was fun!
Alfa Romeo, Bethesda, 1981: I had a couple of AlfaÕs, first in
Washington and St. Louis in the Ô70s, and later the one pictured
here, in the early Ô80s. They were
a lot of fun, but had a way of breaking down at inopportune times (usually the
electrical system). Once in a
snowstorm in St. Louis I slid into the back of another car, and
gave poor Alfa a nose job.


MCB-GT, Bethesda,
1982: The MGB-GT was a hard top
sedan version of the MGB sports car.
I put a lot of miles on this fellow, going back and forth from Bethesda
to visit a friend in Pittsburgh,
and later driving it to my condo in the Shenandoah
Valley.
It tended to overheat, so IÕd turn the engine off or put it in neutral
when going down the mountainsides, to let it cool off.
Jeep,
Cleveland, 1994: ItÕs pictured here
in the boatyard where the Hatteras was stored for the winter.

This
is my 1964 VW Beetle, Chicago 2000.
You can see from the picture why I was happy to move to GalvestonÉ

I spend a lot of time keeping these cars
going, and sometimes this is how I feelÉ
The
1964 Olds shown below wasnÕt mine, but has a special place in my memories. It was my grandfatherÕs. He drove it all over the Midwest, and as far as Colorado, making the rounds of his customers for his
dry goods store in Missouri.
He took me on any number of adventures in it. He eventually sold it; it is
photographed here in 1979.

IÕve also had a few motorcyclesÉ

In
the hills near Austin, 1965
In Bethesda, 1981
These
days, I run around Galveston on a scooter. Here is my first one (2003):

And
here is my current one, a Bajaj 150 cc:

This
is as far as the saga goes to date, but who knows whatÕs next?
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