Thanks Fannie and Dewey for this great thread idea. --Hi, I go by Model T on the internet. Since that user name is often taken I chose CatmodelT since I was a truck driver for Caterpillar and Model T was my CB handle too. My real name is Dennis Sharp. I’ve always been called Denny. Born and almost raised in central Illinois. Now retired 19 years to NW Florida near the Suwannee River and Gulf of Mexico. I’ve been married to my high school sweetheart for over 56 years. She is my camping buddy, my girlfriend, and loves old cars, car shows, and swap meets as well as I do. We have three grown kids, four grand kids, and one great grand daughter. Not really many considering our ages. We also adopted our first grandson so have three boys and one daughter. Only the youngest son likes old cars. --Never could figure out why I like old cars and trucks. My dad didn’t drive and no one in our family seemed to care about cars, except as transportation. From early on I dreamed of having an old car. Started reading the “little pages” car magazines right from the beginning while in middle school on up until the present time when the magazines got larger. --Married young and soon had my first old car project, a Model A coupe in 1958. My first car was actually a 1949 Dodge Coronet coupe. But after buying the Model A, I’ve had several old car projects to play with including my namesake, a 1926 Model T touring car. Since I liked old cars and sporty looking 2-door sedans I didn’t even consider a station wagon until later. --For some reason I began buying economy cars like VW’s and an Austin Healey Sprite. Then there was my Renault Dauphin sedan and a VW station wagon. This was my first wagon. It proved to be a lemon but we liked station wagons by then. And yes, I kept draggin home other old cars to play with. --I bought my first real wagon, a new 1972 Gran Torino wagon to pull our RV trailer. Since we now had three children and went camping a lot I switched to pick up trucks when they came out with Super cabs then Crew cabs. My wagon ownership was a short one. --My love affair with 1955 Chevys and other old cars caused me to buy a 1955 Chevy 2-door wagon hotrod project that I bought only as a parts hauler around 1987. Since rebuilding it, I’ve fallen for almost all station wagons. --While on a motorcycle group I met another station wagon forums member who suggested I check it out. No way! I wasn’t about to join a bunch of old foggies interested in family trucksters. Well, I did join and found the greatest bunch of car guys and gals in the world. Found out it’s not all about station wagons. We are a family. And that’s the rest of the story.
It was a great little truck - probably the most reliable vehicle I ever owned. We bought the camper for $600, put the cab-over shocks on the front and Helwig overloads on underneath. That rig took us all over the western U.S. Many memories in that one, including a rainy weekend at Lake Cachuma near Santa Barbara, 4 of us in the tiny camper getting drunk on Yukon Jack.
I'm Jim68cuda both here and on several Mopar forums. I'm not into wagons. I just like old cars, including wagons. My interest has always been Mopars, but I like most cars built before the mid 70's. Growing up, my family had a few wagons. My parents traded in a blue 55 Ford Country Sedan for a new green 60 Country Sedan in time to make the 60 my first ride in a car after I was born. In 66, my dad strayed briefly from a wagon, as a special ordered 66 Ford Econoline camper replaced the 60 Ford wagon (thats me at age 6 sitting on the camper steps). The yellow Econoline camper was replaced with a new blue 71 Country Squire in 71 (the pic is from 1975 while visiting family friends who just finished building their home in Gettysburg, PA). It had a 429 under the hood (so it could tow a camping trailer), and that was the car (along with my mom's 69 LTD hardtop) that I learned to drive on. In 1970, my older brother's first car was a white 64 Falcon Squire with a 289 under the hood. My dad made a big mistake trading in the 71 Squire on a new gold 77 Country Squire with the 400. That car got 10 miles per gallon at best and had no power. Worse though was that the 77 spent more time in the shop than it did in the driveway (most of its first three months of its life with us as I recall). After my dad passed away, my mom traded in the 77 Squire for a green 82 Dodge Airies wagon which was a great car. 10 years later, the Airies became my neice's first car after my mom replaced it with a new blue 91 Ford Taurus LX wagon. My own first wagon was a rust free 1964 Ford Country Sedan that a buddy and I bought together for $300 to haul canoes on. Since I had a Barracuda convertible and my buddy had an MG, we needed something more practical for the canoes. I joined the forum in search of a 67 Belvedere wagon, and found my Belvedere wagon here. I also have a 02 Passatt wagon which I really don't like (No kid ever had a poster of a Passatt on his wall).
Obviously, my name is Steve, and amongst many other Steves, by middle and last initial, I am Steve E D (pronounced Stevie Dee). Most of my wagon story is in the link below. I'm 41, and unofficially retired from working in live concert sound. I have a BS degree in IT and I work in industrial quality control doing equipment and process validation. I'm an artist in many mediums and designed the Station Wagon Forums logo together with the input of many of the forum members. I've played bass in several local bands, and have a small project recording studio in my basement.
Scout..i darn near peed myself ok...a much as Im tempted to just copy and paste my original introduction Im the REV ...and Im a Wagoholic .. and im apparently 1 of the first 30 here...which is ironic...considering I got my 61/2dr falcon wagon 30 years ago last month !...and still have it ! And thats what started it all...so all these years later...I have too many wagons...not as much hair...not as good looking...but i have WAGONS!!!! Im President of a car club I started 20 years ago...and recent past president of another car club I started 30 years ago ! Im also CEO of a charity event that has the bragging rights of being the 'longest running automotive charity" in Canada (possibly N.America) (30 years) (we can never find any stats):confused: I sell Classic and Vintage car parts for a living... ....I have a CAR problem .....and also have a 'travel trailer'problem I dont get on here as much as I use too...but I dont go anywhere else ! this is my home...and these are my people
So...ah...your best years were 20-30 years age??? Irregardless, I'm glad your here and thanks for not copying and pasting. aboard again.
OOOPS! I've been shirking my Welcome Wagon duties... Krash Kadillak CatModelT Jim 68Cuda Steve-E-D Guys I'm enjoying the reintros.
Fannie, perhaps in a few years we can all do a re-reintroduction. At our ages we'll forget everything we've just read. And you will still be in charge.
