James L. (Jim) Beasley (1967)
OMG, a memory matching mine. You must be sick, too. Maybe we can get a group discount for help.
How the Cordovan brown '63 Impala SS, 327/300, four-on-the-floor came about.
Step one: A bunch of guys had Honda 90's . . . First gear, feels right, second gear, lean right, third gear, hang on tight. Fasterrrrrrr. It ain't a big motorcyle, just a groovy little motorbike. Yeah, that motorcyle. So, I got a Yamaha 80 . . .go figure. I picked Rich Custer up on it half-way to school, even all winter, except for the days it wouldn't start, and I bummed a ride with Bob Lemon. Dunno what Rich did those days, walk I guess. He was a tough little dude. About 100# soaking wet, and played center three years on the FB team. #49.
Step Two: 1966: My brother was two years older and had an ugly '58 chevy with no discernible floorboards, so Dad decided it was time for me to get a car. The first one we looked at was an Austin Healey 3000 that was in a second floor garage at Dave Ostrem's downtown. It was disassembled, ready for a ground-up rebuild. Dad didn't much care for it. I thought it was just what I needed.
The second car was the '63 Impala SS Convertible. It was a one-owner, and a lady at that, and was spotless. $1600, and Charlie Killam (RIP) was looking at it at the same time. Dad said we'd take it. It was in the apartment complex by the Ice Arena, so 5 minutes later we were pulling into the driveway at home. My step-mother had almost as big a hissy-fit as the Sunday after Prom when they came back from St. Louis.
I paid for it, and paid all the expense on it. gas, insurance, chromies, clutches, rear ends, tires, tickets
I worked at Shakey's after school, or after practice, or after a baseball game, and in the Summers in college drove a truck for an asphalt company during the day and worked at Shakey's at night.
Rumor has it it topped out at 140 on the interstate, with the top down. Dunno, unless the neighbor kid Paul was looking at the speedo or tach, since the speedo only went to 120. I don't believe he had his eyes open, though.
I drove it until the end of college, pretty much close to the end of that car, but while I was out-of-town one week, Dad sold it. I could not have because I'm way-too-honest. My dad was honest, but not "way-too".
I did wind up with a '59 Jag XK-150 for awhile. When my first wife, Plaintiff, handed me a piece of paper, she said, "There's only one thing . . . " and I said, "Yeah, you want the Jag."
No hard feelings . . . I love everyone. almost
PS: Steve Burrell had a burgundy '63 impala (plus he was in a band, so how cool was he?), and Chris McLean (RIP) had the coolest car, a '63 Avanti.
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