When we drove them everyday

[Dave Galassi]

Last weekend was a treat. My son wanted to go for a ride in one of our cars for his birthday (to a local show) and it was the motivation I needed to throw the engine back in that car and drive it!  When we got home, I was cleaning the house and came across an old box of car photos from the eighties.  We'll start with Schlep.  This was a '64 N Squareback I bought off Russ for $200 with a gob of JB weld on the top of the case to close a hole where a rod went through.  This car was just the best.........I drove it the entire time I was building my Notchback.  It went to Hades and beyond.  We rammed it with the forklift at the junkyard, jumped on the roof at parties, put a pegboard on the side and sprayed it with flourescent pink paint, Cut pieces out of it, won the Cal Poly coolest car contest, froze my %@! off driving to Intershows and back in the winter (what heater?), wedged a hand in the rear fender, and mounted a plastic Santa Claus on the top and wired a third brake light to it at Christmas.  Death wobble in the steering intermittently, starter button on the ebrake, and a gaping hole in the passenger side floor.  If you look closely, you can see the painted figures of bikes, dogs and people on the left front fender (stuff the car hit), Seablue paint on the right (clearing out the touch up gun from the Notch).  The only reason that steering wheel is on there is because when I came out from an Intershows one night, the guys at Bill and Steve's had stolen my steering wheel!  I drove home with vise grips.  Next day at the junkyard, Russ gave me that wheel.  Nobody wanted to buy that stuff at the yard.  Can't blame 'em, I never did like that wheel, but it steered the car!
When I finished the Notch, I sold it to a fraternity brother at Cal Poly.  He drove it to a party where it was destroyed by a Cadillac.  I cried. [ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]

[Dave Galassi]

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[Neil Davies]

Wow! Takes rat look to whole new heights! Dave, how did you get away with driving that?

[Dave Galassi]

Neil, I look back and wonder that myself.  I don't remember ever being pulled over....... You only needed it to run (no smog test), have working lights and turn signals (it was short a license light, but had the Santa third brake light to compensate), bumpers (loosely defined), registration and insurance.  Never had to lock it.  Never could lock it...........
One day at the junkyard Ed Economy and I just got bored and cut the D pillars out of it.  You can see the vice grips holding the remains of the hatch in place.  I still have the missing piece of the left front fender in my garage.

[Zach Gomulka]

Wow... and I thought my old Fastback was a pile!

[j-f]

Looks like it was a lot of fun. Should be hard to meet a father's girlfriend in such a ride though 

[56BLITZ]

Most of that would have buffed out! 

[Dave Galassi]

Yeah, it was a pile, but a GREAT pile!  There are so many stories to tell about this car............About a year into ownership, the sidedraft, patched hole in the case engine gave up the ghost. At just the same time, a friend in Monrovia had his '67 Squareback hit in the front while parked and totaled the car.  He called and asked if I was interested in buying the remains of the car, including a recently rebuilt dual carb engine.  $500!  Russ dropped me off at this guy's house, I pulled the front end out and the remainder of the broken windshield, drove it the several miles to the salvage yards, down the dirt road to the gate of Russ, turned in at about 20 miles per hour and aimed for the first junked car I saw.  Just plain rammed it!  The look on everyone's face (including the customers) was really funny!  They didn't catch that the car was previously wrecked.  I got out and just started laughing.............then pulled the engine, stuffed it in Schlep and drove it home that night, leaving the '67 to be parted out.  Good times!

[jamiep_jamiep]

Its funny sometimes the worst cars we own have some of the fondest memories attached! Great story

[axam48ida]

There are some of us that still drive them every day, rain or shine.  My 63 with a dual carb single port motor and berg 5.....life is good

[RichardinNZ]

...I like the idea of the Berg5 in a daily driver...given I've just fitted a new tunnel trans to my '58 (36hp, dual carbs etc) I guess it'd be hard to justify changing it already...

[Jim Ratto]

There are some of us that still drive them every day, rain or shine.  My 63 with a dual carb single port motor and berg 5.....life is good

I drive the one on the left at least 4 x a week, if not more often. If not it gets cranky and bitchy to deal with.

[RichardinNZ]

I tend to use mine 4 or 5 times per week, depending on the weather/temperature.  My alternative isn't as nice as yours though....

[Nico86]

Driven daily.

[RichardinNZ]

Really like your late cal look.  What engine do you have in it? Thanks

[Nico86]

Really like your late cal look.  What engine do you have in it? Thanks

Thanks (: I really did yours too!

Only a totally stock 1300 dual port engine.