RECENT
ARTICLE - TOP
HAT'S CORNER
December, 2002, Cruise News
STORY
LINE: CAR
PEOPLE & THEIR ‘STUPH’.
While out doing what it is that
I do, I feel that I am very fortunate to see the inside of what makes car
people … tick. That inside look at and about what people really are. Cars
are entertainment and that is what life in these great times that we are
living in, is all about. Entertainment.
I look at almost everything I do as entertainment, personal entertainment. I
love meeting people and the automobile is possibly one of the greatest venues
of entertainment and avenues to meet peoples of all types and interests. Who
would have ever thought, that this old car business would lead to recycling
relationships with old high school buddies.
Paul Abraham, an old Osborne
High School friend who would pick me up every morning for the ride to school
at maybe three bucks a week gas money … today Paul and wife Dot have a
beautiful ’63 409 SS. He’s retired now and goes fishin’ three days a
week. Joe Lopez, was a heavy duty line mechanic I met while employed at Shalla
Chevrolet in 1967/68. Back then Joe seriously raced a new 1967 Camaro SS with
the 375/396 engine, and a 1962 Tri-Powered Pontiac Catalina too.
Today Joe is with GM in an engineering capacity-and ‘re-found’ the
Camaro he once raced.
Certainly
one of my fondest is with Dr. Paul Miller of IBM … the computer whiz who
brought me out of using stone tablets and chisels for writing and caused me to
go electronic. The good ‘Dr.’ and I chummed around in our high school
years and ‘re-chummed’ after meeting up again about 8 years ago. In a
reciprocating manner … ‘Dr.’ Miller occasionally tools around in an all
original 400HP/500CID 1970
Cadillac Eldorado, his first old car exploit.
During the last few months I have met some very interesting car people …
Donn Colbrunn has a pretty much all as factory, 230HP Ermine White 1961
Corvette that he drove all through his college days, bought it in 1965 from
the original owner and after college, just … stored the car. When his
daughter was getting married she wanted it for the ceremony so they started
‘doing’ the drivetrain. It was never finished in time but years later his
son prodded dad enough to get the old Corvette drive-able.
Original paint, rebuilt engine … and even the starter is what came
with the car from the factory-every part original and date coded. Still even
has the original straps that limit rear axle travel.
Twelve years ago-that is last century-Ken Biegnowski built a Viper Red 1966
Plymouth Satellite for his brother who lives in Alaska, and delivered it to
him. Earlier this year while vacationing with his brother it was decided that,
his brother never really used the car, so Ken bought it back and drove it back
to Michigan. What a beautiful way to see our world and enjoy brotherly love.
The Plymouth has a mild 440 wedge with single 4-barrel, Torqueflite, all power
including custom air conditioning, and is of concour show quality appearance.
What really makes this Plymouth interesting
is it’s NASCAR type suspension-huge front/rear swaybars, special bushings
and the right tires. Looks like factory… cruises at 140.
Every once in awhile something really different comes along. Not so much the
car but the people that own the car. Bradley Smith, a real life computer
genius employed with GM, has owned his 1987 Grand National since new, drove it
through college and …. has been recently tweaking it. 100,000 plus miles,
capable of leaping tall buildings, restored and the proverbial sheep in wolfs
clothing. Now Bradley is a neat package, clean appearance, wears glasses and
of even keeled brilliance in demeanor. The door rug at the entrance to his
home says, “ A sane person and a pilot lives here”, which alone should
definitively tell you something. But what really caught my attention was the
one car attached garage-not the toy bin where the GN lived-but this one car
attached garage where a full pipe organ … IS!!!
And it’s totally computerized. Halloween is a real blast at this
house! I heard it and I
know. It’s beautiful.
Joe Ramsey retired from GM where he was a chassis design engineer. Uhhhm, his
garage and for that matter, his whole basement looks like someone who is still
a car person and maybe somewhat out of control. Joe has two ’32 Fords-one he’s
had for 22 years and the other for 27 years-both show pieces. Three other cars
hiding in the garage are a ’34 Ford sedan-18 years, a ’57 Chevrolet with
dual 4’s that a sawzall made topless-15 years, a ’76 Corvette
convertible(right, factory never built ‘em)-12 years … and two more Ford
cars of the ‘30s aboding in his basement. Retirement, don’t get no better.
Gene and Peggy Mohr have a Dodge ‘LIL Red Express truck, has a nice home on
a canal and enjoys taking the grand kids fishing in his boat. When Gene
retired from Chrysler Transportation, that Express truck was bought for his
‘toy’. How neat, he just enjoys having it and it’s something he always
wanted.
Ed
Kriewall-the big guy you will recognize that does parades and shows with the
BIG WHEEL. You know, the park bench with the 11-foot bicycle tires and lawn
mower engine with a tiller stick.
Mrs. Kriewall drives the new cars and Ed drives … old cars, every day. His
latest in a looooong string of old drivers is a beautifully restored 1959
Electra 225 six window sedan … with dual Flowmaster mufflers.
When your really good though, they name a school after you. Since 1955 Richard
J. Duncan of Jerome-Duncan Ford fame in Sterling Heights, took selling Ford
cars seriously, took education of kids in his community very seriously, and
now in his retirement takes his car museum, Memories, as a serious Ford Motor
Company education and historical museum.
Memories is open every Thursday.
Life is good.