To introduce myself: I learned to drive on a 1964 Ford Galaxie Country Squire station wagon (390 cu. in V8, 4 bbl carburetor, dual exhaust) and a 1972 Ford LTD Country Squire (400 cu. in. V8). As you can see, we were a Ford family at the time. After the oil embargo of 1974 I convinced my dad to buy a smaller station wagon, in this case a 1976 Toyota Corona. I may have had other motives. The ’64 Ford Galaxie was passed on to me. The ’64 had some rust issues, most notably the tops of the front fenders at the chrome fin and the rear quarter panels. I did some body work on it to repair all the rust holes and drove the car to university during my last year at university. I had many good times with that car. As soon as I got my first job I bought another car, this one being a 1965 Ford Mustang (289 cu. in. V8, automatic). This was in 1980 and, believe it or not, old Mustangs were just beginning to become popular as collector cars. Hard to believe now, but true. I went back to university and bought a new car with money I saved from working a summer job, this time a 1982 4-door Honda Civic hatchback (you could say that it was sort of like a station wagon). I needed a car that was suitable for the three hour drive to the city where I attended university. By this time I had three cars, the two Fords in my parent’s garage and the Civic which I used at school. Sad to say, my parents wanted their garage back so I agreed that they could sell the Mustang. I kept the ’64 Country Squire there until 1992 but didn’t drive it. It was slowly becoming a barn find. By this time I had acquired another car (a 1988 Mazda RX-7 hatchback, again, sort of station-wagon like if you really stretch your imagination) and I still had the ’82 Honda Civic for use in the winter. By 1992 the Honda Civic was on its last legs and so I convinced my dad that he needed to buy a new car (a Plymouth Voyageur, the ‘90s version of the station wagon) and that he should pass on his current car to me, for use as a winter car (I realize, I see a pattern of self-serving behavior here). The car that got passed on to me was an ’84 Toyota Tercel station wagon with 4-wheel drive. I drove that car as my winter car for two more years. All in all, a good car for use in the snow belt. Many years later, and only one more car later, I now have an ’04 Mazda 3 Sport GS (sort of station wagon-like, being a hatchback), the ’88 Mazda RX-7, a ’93 Mazda RX-7 and a ’96 Chevy K1500. But guess which car from my past I would most like to have? The ’64 Ford Galaxie Country Squire station wagon that I first learned to drive on and sold in 1992. I’m currently searching for it since I’ve heard that it is in the hands of a Ford collector somewhere in Ontario. I’d be happy just to see the car again, to relive some old memories, or even to buy it back from the collector if he’s willing to sell. If I find the ’64 Ford, I’ll post an update here.
