Vic,
My friends father was a dentist and obviously did pretty well. Other cars he
had included a DB2/4, 100/6, Jaguar Mark II 3.4, Porche 911T or E (the
tightest car I ever drove), 944 and NSX. I am amazed by the fact that he knew
that his son let me drive, too. It certainly was very generous of him.
I tried to get my Dad to trade in his '64 T-Bird convertible on a brand new
1966 E-Type 2+2 (he had to have four seats). He humored me so far as to take
us on a test drive, with me jammed in the back "seat". As we were driving
around Seattle in the E-Type the salesman asked my father what he would be
trading in. I piped up that my Dad had a T-Bird and that Ken Miles (my hero)
got one for free from Ford Motor Company, and that Miles had recently been
killed at Riverside in a J-Car test session. The salesman quietly said, "I
know, he was my brother." I could hardly believe what I had heard and sure as
hell, this man looked just like Ken Miles. His card confirmed the fact that
he was indeed his brother. At fourteen years old, I didn't know what to say
and it really cast a pall on the rest of the test. Dad never bought the
E-Type, and looking back, it just wasn't the car for him, nor me for that
matter, as he would have bought it with an automatic transmission, and the 2+2
just doesn't look quite right when compared with the 2-seaters.
My Dad did have his cool side as well, though. He bought a brand new red 1964
Jeep with F-head "Hurricane" engine, three-on-the-tree, non-synchro 1st gear,
4-nobby snow tires and a white steel top. It took finesse to drive smoothly
and he would tease me if I wasn't smooth. I was proud that I could
double-clutch quietly into first gear and it was good preparation for the
Healey I would soon buy. For two years before I got my driver's license I
drove that car on the gravel roads and muddy trails near our vacation
property, all the while pretending to be racing a sports car, drifting corners
on those rough roads. I'm very lucky I never roll it.
Gary
'73
---- Original Message -----
From: Vsnively@aol.com
To: res0s0t7@verizon.net
Cc: 6pack@autox.team.net
Sent: Sunday, December 08, 2002 6:32 AM
Subject: Re: Driving comfort
Gary,
You got to drive a Ferrari as a teenager ? Can I join your circle of
friends ?
Thanks,
Vic Snively (old teenager)
'75 TR6
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