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In reply to the discussion: My first car [View all]SeattleVet
(5,625 posts)Bought it for $100 when I was stationed in Denver for Tech School in 1972-1973. Engine was pretty noisy, gearbox had a cracked 3rd gear and leaked oil. I could drive for about an hour before I'd have to pull over to let things cool down so I could shift.
Got a fix-it ticket for air pollution and pissed off the cop somehow - when he pulled me over and asked if I knew my car was smoking, I replied, "Well, isn't it old enough to smoke?". A few weeks later the engine finally went totally to crap when I was off base coming back from a shopping trip. I pulled into a gas station and called a friend to come out. He brought 2 other guys, and when I started it up it sounded like a washing machine full of tools. While one guy was yelling for me to shut it off I said, "And if you give it some gas, it really ..." and floored it. One loud bang and it started to run quieter than it ever had! After we saw the spreading pool of oil caused by a rod coming out through the oil pan we pushed it into an empty lot across the street. It was there 2 weeks later when I flew out of Stapleton to my next assignment.
A few months later I got a letter from Colorado asking about the ticket, and whether I had fixed it. I told them where the car was and never heard anything else.