Let’s Talk Cars…Old Favorites, Your First, Dream, The One You Wish You Still Had, Car Stories Any Kind, How You Learned To Drive …and more

Capt MJ said:
Favorite cars at a school…when that first TR-7 of mine was falling to pieces, I replaced her with “Monte,” named after the DelMonte estate in Monterey, home of the Naval Postgraduate School. I loved this twin turbo, ice-blue metallic, T-top, Nissan ZX 1984. 5-speed, I think. I wish I had a photo with the 2 top panels out and me blowing down PCH. Easy to pop those glass panels out and slip them in their special bags and stow them in the back. Then you felt like you were in a convertible with just that T-bar overhead and open to the sun and wind over driver and front passenger. DH was in a school pipeline and then in San Diego, and I was in Monterey. I did need something comfy to drive to SD every weekend I could - this was fully fitted out with leather seats, nice HVAC and oh so reliable electrically starting-wise after the TR-7.

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Great Z31 300ZX! I think it was a single turbo, not a twin if if was factory. The next generation 300ZX (Z32) did come in a twin turbo version.
 
Thinking of names for cars…some I didn’t name. We had a perfectly nice Lexus SUV, nameless. Soulless beast. Ditto the BMW 3-Series wagon. Nice but no personality. The Honda Odyssey mini-van in a strong clear red metallic was MIDHAULR per the license plate. We had it for years as the dity sponsor mid van. Every stick car over the years had a name without fail.
 
NJROTC-CC said:
Great Z31 300ZX! I think it was a single turbo, not a twin if if was factory. The next generation 300ZX (Z32) did come in a twin turbo version.
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Sadly, I cannot recall, but as I think about it, it was probably just as you say. That was our last Z car. We had back-to-back Porsches after that for the mandatory stick car in the family. Monte was a sleek machine.
 
Capt MJ said:
Sadly, I cannot recall, but as I think about it, it was probably just as you say. That was our last Z car. We had back-to-back Porsches after that for the mandatory stick car in the family. Monte was a sleek machine.
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Sorry to be so nit-picky, but I am a “car guy” and a Z enthusiast and I work on these babies. Bye the way, the 300ZX turbos came with LSD rear ends that are much sought after and I am always looking for them at the U pull it junkyard.
 
NJROTC-CC said:
Sorry to be so nit-picky, but I am a “car guy” and a Z enthusiast and I work on these babies. Bye the way, the 300ZX turbos came with LSD rear ends that are much sought after and I am always looking for them at the U pull it junkyard.
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I appreciate that dedication!

Can you tell me that paint color? It was a favorite, that icy blue metallic.
 
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NJROTC-CC said:
Called “Blue Mist” Code 106

1984 Nissan Color Codes - 300ZX Paint Cross-Reference

1984 Paint 002 Mint White, 006 Platinum, 013 Regatta Red, 032 Wine, 106 Blue Mist, 210 Light Pewter, 218 Dark Pewter, 226 Gold Mist, 233 Purple Gray, 235 Dark Green, 505 Thunder Black
paintref.com paintref.com
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Yes!!!! That was it. There are some cars whose paint colors just stick in my mind, both for their beauty and the name. Thank you, O Nitpicker of the First Order.

Current stickmobile is something called Night Race Blue, a deep midnight blue black, metallic, truly stunning. The paint is my favorite cosmetic thing about cars, in addition to the mechanical delights.
 
Capt MJ said:
Favorite cars at a school…when that first TR-7 of mine was falling to pieces, I replaced her with “Monte,” named after the historic DelMonte Hotel in Monterey, home of the Naval Postgraduate School. I loved this twin turbo, ice-blue metallic, T-top, Nissan ZX 1984. 5-speed, I think. I wish I had a photo with the 2 top panels out and me blowing down PCH. Easy to pop those glass panels out and slip them in their special bags and stow them in the back. Then you felt like you were in a convertible with just that T-bar overhead and open to the sun and wind over driver and front passenger. DH was in a school pipeline and then in San Diego, and I was in Monterey. I did need something comfy to drive to SD every weekend I could - this was fully fitted out with leather seats, nice HVAC and oh so reliable electrically starting-wise after the TR-7.

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Another intersection! At the same time that you had this, I had a almost same color blue 82 Camaro, also with T Tops and loved nothing better than securing the tops in their bag and bopping through the backroads of Pungo Virginia and on down to the Outer Banks. Kept it for a while after we moved to Western Massachusetts but then needed a more kid-friendly mobile.
 
OldRetSWO said:
Another intersection! At the same time that you had this, I had a almost same color blue 82 Camaro, also with T Tops and loved nothing better than securing the tops in their bag and bopping through the backroads of Pungo Virginia and on down to the Outer Banks. Kept it for a while after we moved to Western Massachusetts but then needed a more kid-friendly mobile.
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Wooh, scary. T-tops, all the delight of a convertible but a matter of seconds to re-set to hardtop. That was certainly a “thing” in the 80’s.
 
Capt MJ said:
Red, of course! Very nice.

For the readership - have you had a red car? Do you feel you received more speeding tickets?
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I took my driving test on my 16th birthday in my dad’s, apple red, 1960 Oldsmobile station wagon.
olds.jpg

That day, I drove it fifteen miles home. Dad didn't say a word. It didn’t have seat belts, had glass windows, and long front seat with a big steering wheel. As a kid, he’d put his right arm out across my chest when braking as if that was going to stop me from slamming into the dash in an accident. He’d later replace the Olds with a Chrysler station wagon. I miss my Pops.

I have never received a ticket from civil authorities although I have been stopped on a few occasions. The military ID always worked. All my citations have come from shore patrol on Navy Bases. Rank and ID didn’t work. On one Sunday morning going to church, I got pulled over by the shore patrol. The kids got to witness the whole shebang. “Ooh, dad got a ti-cket, dad got a ti-cket…” This became a teaching moment when I told them that’s what happens when you break the law. I was going 30 in a 25mph zone. One or five mph over the limit, is over the limit on all bases. Be careful on military installations!
 
WT Door said:
I took my driving test on my 16th birthday in my dad’s, apple red, 1960 Oldsmobile station wagon.
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That day, I drove it fifteen miles home. Dad didn't say a word. It didn’t have seat belts, had glass windows, and long front seat with a big steering wheel. As a kid, he’d put his right arm out across my chest when braking as if that was going to stop me from slamming into the dash in an accident. He’d later replace the Olds with a Chrysler station wagon. I miss my Pops.

I have never received a ticket from civil authorities although I have been stopped on a few occasions. The military ID always worked. All my citations have come from shore patrol on Navy Bases. Rank and ID didn’t work. On one Sunday morning going to church, I got pulled over by the shore patrol. The kids got to witness the whole shebang. “Ooh, dad got a ti-cket, dad got a ti-cket…” This became a teaching moment when I told them that’s what happens when you break the law. I was going 30 in a 25mph zone. One or five mph over the limit, is over the limit on all bases. Be careful on military installations!
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Especially coming into USNA via Gate 8 over the bridge, and encountering the lurking DoD cars snugged up by the Worden Field houses. The speed limit is 25. Not 26.

Did any of your family wagons have the rear-facing seats in the back?
 
Skipper07 said:
This is why my buddies and I made friends with the MAs. A few nice words or an extra coffee/hot cocoa on a freezing cold February night have gone a long way.
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Smart. I do the same, always smile and am pleasant at the gate. Thankless job, and I appreciate what they do. You and I both know there are people who are rude to them.

There’s a related saying in the Fleet “who packs your parachute?” It costs nothing to to be appreciative and kind to all those who perform at all levels of an organization, recognizing they are doing their job. See them in that moment of interaction. Priceless.
 
Here's a driving story my mom tells about growing up in her sprawling, chaotic family.

My grandfather was in radio and tv ad sales in small towns all over the upper plains: MN, ND, SD, IA. They moved every year or two: Minot, Des Moines, where ever the next job was, so they got pretty good at setting up a household in short order. Her dad travelled a lot on top of moving a lot, so the women and children handled a lot of these things themselves. But there were eight kids, so before any were old enough to babysit grandma kind of had to take them along whenever she needed to go places. And when you're in a new state, one place you needed to go eventually was to get a drivers license. In a car. With a half dozen very young children. "Ma'am, did you drive down here?" "Yes, I had to." "What if you don't pass? How will you get home?" "I guess I'll have to pass."

She always did pass, but I don't know why she bothered getting a new license in each state. God knows they weren't a square corners, rule following lot. Maybe she just liked putting the examiner on the spot. Can you imagine being the one to fail her and leave that herd stuck in the waiting room? Your co-workers would kill you.
 
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1963 Dodge 440 was my first car (photo from the internet). It was my mom's. She got it when she was 16. It was her family's first car.
My dad installed lap belts from a u-pull-it parts place. It had a "push button" automatic transmission. There was no center support, so the windows rolled all the way down. 4-65 AC was the way the passengers kept cool on a hot summer day. When you opened the hood, you could see concrete. The engine was simple and FAST.

A complementary story...I learned on a stick, but this car was too neat to complain about the transmission.

Another...my mom had a bad date with a guy who drove a stick, but my mom did not know how...remember this was her family's first car (above). She vowed to learn that night. And she did, and drove a manual transmission until she was 70.

It is always good to have a variety of skills.

My dad and his sibs have many amazing car stories. They love automobiles. Unfortunately, I put an end to his coolest car (a 1960's Jaguar convertible). It wasn't really suitable for a family car and so it was sold.
 
Capt MJ said:
Did any of your family wagons have the rear-facing seats in the back?
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We installed one in our '99 Volvo V70. Our twins would sit back there and confuse the drivers behind us.

One time DH was driving down the road with the twins in the way-back. One of my coworkers was making hand signs with my boys and ebdy was laughing. Then she realized "I KNOW THOSE KIDS!"
 
StPaulDad said:
Here's a driving story my mom tells about growing up in her sprawling, chaotic family.

My grandfather was in radio and tv ad sales in small towns all over the upper plains: MN, ND, SD, IA. They moved every year or two: Minot, Des Moines, where ever the next job was, so they got pretty good at setting up a household in short order. Her dad travelled a lot on top of moving a lot, so the women and children handled a lot of these things themselves. But there were eight kids, so before any were old enough to babysit grandma kind of had to take them along whenever she needed to go places. And when you're in a new state, one place you needed to go eventually was to get a drivers license. In a car. With a half dozen very young children. "Ma'am, did you drive down here?" "Yes, I had to." "What if you don't pass? How will you get home?" "I guess I'll have to pass."

She always did pass, but I don't know why she bothered getting a new license in each state. God knows they weren't a square corners, rule following lot. Maybe she just liked putting the examiner on the spot. Can you imagine being the one to fail her and leave that herd stuck in the waiting room? Your co-workers would kill you.
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Yup - all those kids have to go with you. I had 5 under 5 at one point. I can probably relate to your mom. And, yes, we get pretty sassy and daring at times.
 
Capt MJ said:
There’s a related saying in the Fleet “who packs your parachute?” It costs nothing to to be appreciative and kind to all those who perform at all levels of an organization, recognizing they are doing their job. See them in that moment of interaction. Priceless.
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A former CO of mine, Capt Fritz Kass had a policy of "pay attention to folks in High Places and Low Places" When we'd go to Norfolk on Reserve Orders, he'd stop up at the Cinclant Reserve shop with flowers or other gift for the folks (usually ladies) who handled our travel orders/claims. I think they were GS5's or similar and they really appreciated being remembered. Somehow, we always got paid PROMPTLY and got fast turnaround on orders.
PS: Fritz was very good to me as he credited me with him having a SWO pin and introduced me as such.
 
Capt MJ said:
Did any of your family wagons have the rear-facing seats in the back?
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Oh yeah ..... our family had a whole string of Station wagons as I grew up ...that was before minivans ! Several had the rear facing , and even side by side facing seats. However, worse than that was the family routine of putting one of the kids in the "way back" when we traveled. I had 3 sisters, and for travel, including many long trips to visit Grandparents from the Chicago area, Dad would pack the suitcases so half of the cargo compartment was open, so we could lay (or more often scrunch up) in the back. We'd sit back there baking in the sun ..and every hour Mom would give us a lemon drop to shut us up.

PS -- if you think traveling in the back of a station wagon is bad, I had to sit in the 'way back' of an original VW Beetle (the old Bugs had a very small little "slot" behind the rear seat ...really cramped)for a three hour trip to visit grandparents in Ohio once. I don't recall the reason, something must have been broken on Mom's station wagon right before we left, so family of 6 (could have been 5 then) were traveling in Dad's Bug. I remember arriving at my grandparents and my grandmother was aghast at the idea anybody could drive , let alone pack a family in, such a small car. (Of course, her car was a '66 Lincoln Continental, suicide doors et all... That car was a tank !

PSS...I learned to drive in that '66 Lincoln....by then it was 12 years old, with about 10K miles (Grandma didn't drive much !). Dad didn't like the idea of his mom driving 10 year old car, so he bought her a '76 Lincoln in the heart of the 70's gas crunch ...he got a great deal ! That car was even bigger than the '66.
 
My brand-new neighbor that moved in two weeks ago has a "For Sale" sign on a '66 red Mustang in his driveway. It's a beauty. I wonder how long I can hide it in my garage until my wife notices?
 
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