Twenty-plus years into my insurance career, I’m accustomed to dressing the part when needed for face-to-face interactions with my business colleagues, both internal and external. This wasn’t always the case. Fresh out of college in my early twenties, I was still working at the local golf course as both a greenskeeper and landscaper. What had started out as a source of income as I set out to finish my degree after a yearlong hiatus had morphed into a full-time job, which seemed completely okay in some respects, as I really enjoyed the work even if the pay wasn’t that great.
My main post-graduation question to myself, though, was that now that I had this degree, shouldn’t I have been actively looking for a job (or career) in my field of studies? Or, at least something in an office? A bachelor’s degree in psychology, by itself, was pretty useless then (it still is, over twenty years later), and it was all I could do just to focus and graduate at all in that stage of my life. All this is to say that I had a substantial amount of trepidation when I started my first office job (which ultimately led to my career), as my head was still solidly in a slightly anti-bourgeois, blue collar mentality that also reveled in getting dirty and doing actual work with my hands.
It’s not like I had never worn a suit or a sportcoat with nice trousers before. As a teenager, I had been used to dressing in what could be considered “preppy” attire, which included nice clothes to church, funerals, weddings, and other formal and semi-formal events. After I left for college and in terms of what I was wearing, a whole lot of… let’s call it “alternative angst” had replaced most of my previous attempts to dress in a current style. There was one point at which the only item of clothing I owned that didn’t come from a thrift or vintage store was my leather bomber jacket I had saved from high school. Needless to say, entering the white collar work force (through a temp agency, I’m not ashamed to say) took a lot of adjustment. One of the first lessons I learned was that shoes require attention.
My parents had gifted me with a new suit from Men’s Wearhouse upon my commencement in December of 1997. They were typically frugal people, but were probably so relieved that their chances of my returning home to live with them were much, much slimmer now that I had actually completed my four-year degree that they bought me that suit and also took my ’88 Mustang in trade to get me a newer used car in the ’94 Ford Probe I’ve written about here before. That suit was a nice one that lasted me for a long time. However, it took a friend’s brutal honesty to bring my attention to one minor detail: the pair of “dress shoes” I was initially wearing with that suit looked fifty kinds of busted.
Think back to a time when you had purchased a really nice or cool pair of shoes that seemed much better than the kind of thing you would normally buy for yourself. Remember the way that wearing those shoes had made you feel. Remember the pains you took not to accidentally bump them into doors, scuff them on stairs, carelessly cross your feet while seated, or risk getting other wear-marks on them. That was me with one particular pair of favorite shoes, except for that they had probably stopped looking nice for months prior to my graduation. Those Kiwi shoe-polish kits found at neighborhood drug stores can restore a raggedly, old pair of shoes only so much, even if those shoes were rugged and of good leather.
When dressed up in my new suit and with my ’90s-style goatee and Duke hair pomade up top for extra shine and control, I cleaned up very nicely and looked the part of a young business professional… but only down to my ankles, with those ratty shoes I was nursing through their ninth lives probably killing the illusion. I realize I’ve already written over four paragraphs about the way I used to dress more than half my life ago (more than members of my own nuclear family would probably have the patience to read) without any mention of our featured car. I will now address that.
It has been beaten into my head, both here at Curbside and by other sources, that the Sloanian ladder of brand hierarchy at General Motors had mostly become extinct by the 1960s. I needed to acknowledge this, if only in anticipation of a salty rebuttal or two of what I’m about to say. I was born in the mid-’70s, and to me, the Buick brand always seemed to have a considerable amount of prestige compared to other GM divisions, excepting Cadillac (and sometimes Oldsmobile – I’m sorry, but some Cutlass Supremes easily outclassed comparable Regals in my mind). Even the blatantly badge-engineered or platform-sharing models, like the first front-wheel-drive Skylark X-cars or even the little J-Body Skyhawk, seemed much nicer than their Chevrolet or Pontiac counterparts.
1966 Buick LeSabre brochure photo is courtesy of www.oldcarbrochures.com. Either of these wheel options would have been worth the extra money to me.
This ’66 LeSabre was a four-door hardtop, which was a desirable, fashionable body style for a sedan. It wasn’t even the cheapest LeSabre available that year. With a price starting at $3,081 ($24,600 in 2020), the four-door hardtop was $139 ($1,100) more than the pillared four-door sedan, which was the entry level model. Sitting on its 123″ wheelbase, the V-8 LeSabre cost $229 ($1,800 / 7.4%) more than its 119″-wheelbase Impala V8 counterpart over at Chevrolet. For a couple of rough, crosstown comparisons, prices for the ’66 Mercury Monterey hardtop sedan started at $2,990, and Dodge was asking $2,948 for its Polara in the same bodystyle.
My question is still this, though: Who let this LeSabre out of the house wearing these dog-dishes on steelies, looking like the automotive equivalent of orthopedic oxfords?? I know that Buick seems to be synonymous with sensibility and conservatism, but these truly underwhelming hubcaps take these concepts almost to the point of asceticism. What, then, was the point of the tri-shield hood ornament, or any of the other chrome trim? This skinflint from Flint is probably the closest thing to a Buick “Bel Air” I have ever seen. I also fully believe that the wheels on this car were not a latter-day swap-in. I think someone ordered this car, new, this way because why would someone otherwise do this on purpose?
1970 Chevrolet Caprice brochure photo is courtesy of www.oldcarbrochures.com. Does anyone else besides me see more than a passing resemblance shared with the ’66 Buick LeSabre?
Underhood, its 340-cubic inch V8 with 220 horsepower moved its two tons smoothly and adequately enough, and there was certainly enough room inside for a family of five plus Grandma. The exterior styling is pleasing enough, in a dignified and restrained sort of way. Especially appealing to me were the hamburger-shaped taillamp clusters, and if I squint just a little bit, I can see how perhaps the frontal styling of the full-size Chevrolets for 1970 (see above) may have been inspired by what we see here. I’m still stuck on the wheels, though, and try as I have, I’m having a hard time imagining what kind of first owner would have ordered this LeSabre. Maybe all the extra-cost goodies are on the inside. I got these pictures while trying to beat the clock to board an approaching bus, so I didn’t have time to press my camera against the window glass and get a few shots of the cabin.
Circling back to manner of dress, I’m not sure if my attention to shoes would be less acute if my friend hadn’t (admittedly justifiably) brought my attention to my own, beat-up kicks. At that point in my life, however, I considered it a triumph to need to be wearing a suit at all. I suppose the same basic sense of having made it applies to this LeSabre hardtop sedan, which is still rocking its clean, unbent, original lines and roaming the streets of salty Chicago in overall shape that could be much, much worse.
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Sunday, February 9, 2020.
The thing that strikes me as odd is the dogdish/whitewall combo.
My Grandfather bought a ’66 like this. It was the first of a series of 6 LeSabres, all of them pretty sparsely optioned. Looking at some photos at least several of them had full wheel covers but blackwall tires.
I don’t recall it ever being discussed, but I suspect he bought Buicks not for the “luxury” but for the perceived quality.
Dan, it wasn’t until I read your comment that it even occurred to me that this car also had whitewalls. As you pointed out, that does make for a very interesting combination with the hubcaps.
I worked at Miller Buick-Olds as a teen in the 60’s. A small percentage of Buick’s and Oldsmobiles were delivered with small hubcaps, more often than not, with whitewalls. Electra’s had their own, premium wheel covers, but on lesser optioned 98’s up through ’64 the small caps were standard. I opened my auto restoration shop in 1969, but saw Olds and Buick’s up through 1974 come through the detail section of my shop with small hub caps. Pontiac, Mercury and many Mopar’s had small hub caps standard on lower lines
I feel bad saying this after you spent so much time setting it up, but I like the wheels, Joe! 🙂
Although I prefer the ’65 front end, the side profile of the LeSabre just looks so right as a 4-door. Other than cracking exhaust manifolds, the drivetrain is solid…just a nice, big cruiser.
I’m in my early 60’s, and still have shoes I bought 25 years ago – re-soled a few times of course. My father told me never to skimp on 2 things – shoes, and your bed. As he explained, if you’re not in one, you’re in the other.
Wise words as it turned out, reminds me of the saying (possibly Rolls Royce) “the best is always cheapest in the long run”
For me, it’s jackets. I have a few jackets that I’ve had for 25 or so years. The one in the picture below dates from about 1990, when I was in my late teens. It’s one of those ubiquitous mid-weight Eddie Bauer jackets that were seemingly everywhere back then, and it’s well-made. It was my “daily-wearer” for many years; now I use it for doing yardwork, etc., since I don’t mind getting it dirty.
The Ford/UAW “Buy American” pin is something I picked up at the 2001 Chicago Auto Show. I was wearing this jacket then (ridiculously light-weight for a Chicago February), got the pin from the Ford stand, and put it on my jacket. It’s been on there ever since.
I know that I look hopelessly outdated when wearing this jacket, but I don’t mind, and in fact I like it. I suspect this Buick owner feels similarly. It all reminds me of Mary-Chapin Carpenter’s song “This Shirt” — about a shirt she’s had for many years. The lyrics go “It’s so old I should replace it, but I’m not about to try.”
“The best is always cheapest in the long run” – valuable words. My budget allows for only some nice things, but the mattress I currently have was good money well spent. The shoes will probably need replacement when stores reopen.
Nice article! One possibility is that this Buick had nicer “shoes” originally but at some point theft of wheel covers was a problem so the owner decided to put hubcaps on – but at least Buick hubcaps to keep it in the family.
I do recall seeing the odd wheel cover/hubcap place in Detroit years ago – made me wonder if those places sourced their product from the neighborhood and then resold them!
Flashback! The only Buick I ever remember seeing with these hubcaps was when I was in grade school. We were going on a field trip in maybe 3rd or 4th grade (so 1968-70-ish) and I got assigned to the car being driven by Fritz Krueger’s mother. (There were a lot of people of German ancestry in Fort Wayne). We walked up to a metallic beige 1964 Buick LeSabre station wagon with these hubcaps (and blackwall tires) on it.
I probably stood there with my mouth open. I may have seen a big Buick with these things since but don’t remember it. But for the tri-shield, they looked like something that belonged on a Buick from around 1950.
Count me as a fan of the 66 Buick. In fact, it’s hard to think of an unattractive big US car from 1966. I think the Dodge is the only one that leaves me less than in love.
The windshield wipers are what bother me on this car. That wiper arm on the drivers side looks to be the wrong shape. Those overlapping opposing wipers ought to snuggle right down to the base of the windshield when they park. That one on the drivers side can’t because the blade is at the wrong angle. It looks like someone grabbed a wiper arm off some other car (or a genuine Buick piece from the passenger side) to replace the original.
JP, you’re right! It looks not unlike glasses out of adjustment.
Haha, between the shoes and the glasses, this Buick could be wearing a “Kick Me” sign on its back. 🙂
Joe, thank you for the reminder about having contemporaries who have to dress up for their professional job. As one who has a professional office job (well, mostly office), the dress code is ultra-casual – I routinely wear jeans and, yesterday, tennis shoes. And, not to brag but add perspective, I’m a department head. What you saw me wearing in Detroit is likely something I wore to work a few days prior.
A cohort at work has a psychology degree, also. She was the Human Resources Manager (since promoted to even better things). Joe, I offer this should you ever decide to try something different. She and I dealt with personnel issues and we long ago reached the point where we could talk about any unsavory subject without the least bit of embarrassment. Never thought I could have ever said that.
About the Buick? A delightful find, especially with the dog-dishes. Unlike some of the other commenters, I believe those were installed at the factory. If the car has been in Chicago its entire life, the original owner likely knew what he was doing as those dog-dishes stay were they are supposed to much better than full wheel covers.
Thanks, Jason! And I might have oversimplified regarding the usefulness of my psych degree. I think that any of us who studied psychology or social studies may be at a (minimally slight) advantage when it comes to working with people in general. It’s just that I had no plans on going for a higher degree which would have been necessary in order to practice.
I also think you’re right, that the dog dishes probably were less prone to flying off (or getting ripped off) than optional full wheel covers would have been.
You are correct. I had twice flying a full size wheel cover of my front wheels (could be due to the age and maybe not the right fit) but after hitting almost another car on the Autobahn while driving +100 mph is not a pleasent thing. Beside the shock when the cover is spinning away, if somebody is getting hit or injured it is not going to be pleasant. Since I wanted some sort of cover, I decided to put on a nice set of dog dishes.
Joe: I lived through the ’60s as an obsessed observer of all things “car”.
I believe a LeSabre with dog dish & white walls was not uncommon; I clearly remember a neighbor owning a ’65 or ’66 with this set up (though it was a four door sedan).
The Oldsmobile Dynamic 88s that were “fleet cars” at my father’s employer in the early ’60s were also dog dish/white walls but these were always four door sedans.
I also remember that during the ’60s & ’70s fleet cars at Hertz, Avis & the like often had dog dish/white walls. This included then current four door hardtops of Ford LTD and Mercury Monterey in the Hertz fleet at Denver in the early ’70s.
As another obsesses observer of all things “car” in the 60s, I concur: dog dishes on LeSabres were not uncommon. My scoutmaster had a pristine ’63 or ’64 with dog dishes and whitewalls. And they were not uncommon on other low-trim versions of mid-range brands, and of course quite common on the lower price brands, even the top trim versions (Impala, Galaxie, etc.)
Full wheel covers were a dress-up option, and many buyers didn’t by LeSabres and such to show them off, but because they were traditional buyers of the brand.
Having said that, I’m a bit suspicious of this particular car because of the dual exhausts, which don’t look stock to me. Cars like this in this condition are in with a certain type of owner, and dog dishes are much cooler than full wheel covers with this crowd. And the patina, of course too.
“and of course quite common on the lower price brands, even the top trim versions (Impala, Galaxie, etc.) ”
Yes, our ’65 Impala wagon was not factory ordered, but was in dealer stock with dog dishes and whitewalls. I thought it was lame at the time as the Impala wheel covers looked sharp. Later, when I was driving and had to deal with snow chains, did I appreciate the dog dishes. The car later got cheaper blackwalls, but it was less of a family truckster and more surf wagon by then.
The word “miser” in the brochure really threw me at first, but after reading everyone’s comments, it fit the target LeSabre sedan customer.
I suspect that the function of those particular hubcaps was to lure potential buyers onto the options page of the order sheet where the real money was to be made. Even if the car was already on the lot, the dealer could help you out for a few dollars more.
I also think I know who the (figuratively speaking) original buyer of this car was. My great aunt. She believed in Buick. It mattered what you drove to Church, and Buick, to her ‘Sloan-fed’ generation, still suggested gentility. Extra cost hubcaps would have offended her “no-bling” Protestant roots. There would have been no guilt involved in that big engine though as she would have had no idea that there were 220 horsepower under the hood.
Lokki, its great that you referenced Protestant roots in describing the target market a car outfitted like this LeSabre would have appealed to. I was raised Lutheran (referred to by some as “Catholic-lite”).
While I do not mean any disrespect to Protestants (Lutherans or otherwise) or Catholics, I am well-versed in having been raised in a household where “denying thyself” was seen as the only pleasing way to live.
It looks like the original owner of this LeSabre might have denied themselves deluxe wheelcovers out of fear of the appearance of frivolity.
Love this car! A true curbside classic! That is quite a patina it has acquired, without a large amount of rust from what I can see. I wonder if it is originally a Chicago car? It kind of looks like a rat rod style, repainted in primer black, but that seems unlikely. Does the presence of dual exhausts indicate the optional engine? I don’t know offhand, maybe somebody else here does.
I agree with you Joe, the odds are excellent the dog dishes are original. Most every scenario I can think of that they replaced original full covers would not have resulted in the car presently having correct Buick dog dishes. About the only person who would go to the trouble of acquiring the correct dog dishes is an OCD collector type with a thing for the sleeper look, but that doesn’t really jibe with the overall condition or the number of doors. JB’s early hubcap theft theory does sound plausible, though.
Personally, I would consider it worth the risk of missing the train to find out if this was an actual manual transmission car. That would be a wonderful thing to document. But I don’t ride trains much, so I’m not judging!
This car being a hardtop, I can’t help comparing it to the 1974 LeSabre that Aaron65 posted yesterday. The original buyers for both must have had a eye somewhat towards style, otherwise why pay for the hardtop over the sedan? Most here would say that the 66’s generation was superior to the 74’s. I would generally agree, but looking at the cars side by side and adjusting for condition, it’s hard not to say that the 74 made for about as nice looking and comfortable of a vintage 4-door as you could ask for.
I’ve said it before, but it is amazing to me how many classic cars are lurking around Chicago.
Jon, it’s funny that you mentioned Aaron’s LeSabre. When I had finished the final draft of this essay, I double-checked the calendar and saw that Aaron had scheduled a LeSabre post for just yesterday. This was purely coincidental.
The cars, though, couldn’t be more different – not only in condition, but in styling, apparent features, and overall expression of what a LeSabre was in each respective decade. Aaron’s blue ’74 from that Kijiji listing seemed excessive in every way – styling, dimensions, and in decoration – and yet I loved it for all of those reasons.
That car seemed fun and whimsical in a way this ’66 seemed a bit on the serious, frugal side.
Checked out ‘Insane jump by Buick LeSabre’ on You Tube last night, now have a better idea what some of my cars looked like.
This car typifies why cars up through the 70’s are so interesting. The possibilities were seemingly endless by using the option sheet. I remember seeing a fair number of these with the small hubcaps but they typically were four door sedans. Whitewalls with small caps were pretty common too. Chevrolet even had a few years where they had special sales where if you ordered a v8, you got whitewalls, and bumper guards, but still had to order full wheel covers. I know in 68 it was called the Impala v8 sale, in 70 it was the Impala 400 sale as you had to order the 400 v8. The last oddball optioned car I’ve seen was my mother in law’s last car. It was a base model 2010 Cobalt sedan that she bought well after the Cruze was in production so it was a leftover on the lot. It had no interior options, manual windows and locks, but the exterior had everything. It had the low profile spoiler, chrome tipped exhaust, chrome door handles, chrome body side molding, chrome grille surround and polished aluminum wheels. I always suspected it was a case of GM using up parts before production ended. Even the 07 SS coupe I owned didn’t have all those trim bits (it did have the spoiler, wheels and tailpipe chrome though) and it was the top of the line. Here’s a picture of another oddball, a 68 Impala Custom Coupe with vinyl roof, whitewalls, skirts and… dog dish hubcaps!
I have a funny shoe story to ad. I sold life insurance for a brief while from 1982-1984, and then Lincoln/Mercurys from 1984-1987. I bought a pair of Florsheim leather oxfords back in 1983. I even got married in them in 1984. I had new soles put on them twice. They still look like new. I don’t get dressed up too much anymore, but finally broke down and bought a new pair of Cole Haan dress shoes.
I used to own a 1970 Chevy Impala. I always thought it looked like a 1966 Buick. As far as the dog dish hub caps, I knew many people who had them. A lot of them liked them over slotted full wheel covers just for the simple reason that they kept the lugs clean and dry.
Hubcaps – Pontiac did the same w/ it’s entry offering – the Catalina – but the Catalina was a much better buy than the Buick or the Chevy – for about the same money you got a much better looking car w/ a bigger engine and usually a better transmission
There’s a reason Pontiac became the 3rd best-selling brand in the 1960’s – it was w/o question the leader
Those full wheel covers pictured on that “miser” LeSabre sedan were used on a wide range of models. I’ve got a set that came with one of my ’66 Rivs. It had red Wildcat emblems on three of them, one Riv emblem on one. I later found another red Wildcat emblem to complete the set. The other available emblem was the Buick tri-shield. These covers snapped to the inside of the wheel like a trim ring. This left the edge of the rim exposed. If the wheels were painted body color it provided a nice accent.
I also graduated with a B.A. in psychology forty years ago. I worked full time all through college so it took a while to finish. I knew that my best option was to continue to grad school but after seven years I was tired of school. Really a B.A. is just like a general ed. degree and won’t allow you do any specialized work. It took the next generation, my niece, who finally got her Masters in counseling Psych. Anyway, I found another field and spent the next forty years having some fun on the job. Still working, and by the way, I’ve still got those wheel covers!
Hi Joe – Thanks as always for a good read. I work in acquisitions for the Army, so still very conservative even as we pursue super high tech. I nearly feel weird if I’m not in a shirt and tie, often a suit at work. Good training though: my first section chief in the Air Force 20+ years ago taught us as young kids to always remember the acronym B-U-G: you may be the smartest guy/gal on the block, but the commander is going to remember your Boots, Uniform, and Grooming. Obviously no one shines boots anymore but I do remember the lesson and still shine my shoes every morning before I go into the office. Similarly, when does a good Soldier / Airman need a haircut? Never, that’s when. 😁
Also, even with the bargain basement wheel covers, I’d rock any 1966 Buick. 😎
Adam, thank you for this. I think that, in general, we all could use some extra attention to B-U-G (great acronym) in 2020.
My Dad’s company car was a ’67 Fury III 4 dr hardtop in beige with black interior. It was a PHH leased car for Bethlehem Steel but I remember he got to go to Sherwood Plymouth on York Rd to order the car himself, and I went with him. Usually a Ford driver he went withe the Fury at my urging and he liked it’s looks better.
Oddly it came with blackwall 7.75 Goodyear Power Cushion tires (I noticed such things) and dog dish hubcaps. That looked kind of weird on a fairly upper line car, and to this day I don’t recall if that was dictated by PHH or Dad was just being his usual conservative/thrifty self. He never liked the gear whine typical of the TF trans behind the recently introduced LA 318, and he went back to a Ford Galaxie for his ’69 company car, a real sloppy mush-mobile compared to the Fury, which was the first car I drove when I got my license in Spring of ’67, and would lay rubber pretty efficiently!
Ah, memories of first office job and dressing up for it. I did have an engineering degree and job at a big aerospace firm. The older guys were mostly the short sleeve white shirt and pocket protector types you have seen in pictures of the space program. This was 1977 and I showed up in a powder blue three piece suit and dressy cowboy boots.
Now that’s funny 😆😅🤣
Outstanding. I’d ask for “receipts”, but I also realize that I wasn’t going to include a picture of myself from the ’90s for this essay, so I’ll let sleeping dogs lie. LOL
Dad ordered a brand new ’73 Mercury Monterey the way he wanted it. The L-M dealer said he thought it was the only Mercury he’d sold that year with hub caps on it rather than wheel covers.
Joseph love your reads. As a son of a Lutheran Pastor I know the thought process. Dad while working usually bought the basic Plymouth Savoy or in 67 went up to a Fury II. In 73 he bought an Impala Sport Sedan that originally had dog dishes. He did have it upgraded at the dealer to the Full Wheel cover. While I was in college my roommates dad who was a sales manager at a big Olds dealer in Dallas came up with a set of wires caps off a chevy of that vintage. Boy that set that car off. Unfortunately they only lasted about 6 months and Dad had the insurance replace with the regular covers.
Below is a link to 1966 Buick Brochure. Note everything shown with standard wheel cover or dog dish and tire on full model line up. Notice the LeSabre Hardtop is show with the dog dishes.
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Buick/1966_Buick/1966_Buick_Prestige_Brochure/1966%20Buick%20Prestige-56-57.html
Thank you so much – both for the good words, and also for that link. I guess I didn’t look hard enough on http://www.oldcarbrochures.com for an illustration of the dog-dishes, which is what I had been looking for prior to my completion of this essay. Have a great day.
Rare, but not unheard of, to see dog dishes on full size cars of this era. Often the result of a factory order where a clueless customer just overlooked it or just didn’t care. The featured LeSabre does have tinted glass, which might indicate the presence of A/C, so it may not be a total stripper.
As for shoes, if you need a pair of good dress shoes,save up and get a pair of Allen Edmonds. Comfortable and will last 10 plus years.
I used to own a ’65 LeSabre 400 (Super Turbine 400 and 4-barrel carburetor) with factory air, PS, PB, and (drum roll, please) radio delete. Originally came with dog dish hubcaps, too. Purchased late in MY 1965 (August, as I recall) at Schwind-Boeker, Davenport, Iowa. Currently, that unicorn is somewhere in northeastern North Dakota, to the best o my knowledge.
My folks bought a new ’66 LeSabre (base) 4 door hardtop when I was 10, and that’s the car I cut my ‘teeth’ on (washing, waxing, scrubbing whitewalls with an SOS pad, teaching myself to change oil and spark plugs and wires. There were a few LeSabres (and 88’s and Catalina’s) with dog dish hubcaps, but I’d say no more than 5-10% when new. Ours was Seafoam Green, PS, full wheel covers, remote mirror (wow!), whitewalls, tinted windshield, SuperTurbine 300, and AM radio. It was a good family car in the day. The neighbor across the street had a son who owned a ’66 sedan, dog dish hub caps, and 3 on the tree! THAT was rare!
A LeSabre with the 400 powertrain option was a really nice combo, as that did get you the 4 barrel, and Buick’s excellent Switch-Pitch Super Turbine 400. Popular Science’s 1966 Auto Issue said “The LeSabre handles better than the Special.” I never got to find out, as I wasn’t old enough to drive while I groomed and cared for that car! Good find! Good memories! (Also a Lutheran pastor’s kid….my Dad really wanted an Electra, like the lawyers and bankers in town drove…but he showed some restraint!)
I really like the idea of washing, cleaning and detailing a car as a youngster as the start of an interest in cars in general. This was probably also part of my experience, though I was always “helping” versus responsible for doing it on my own, outside of vacuuming the interior being one of my semi-regular chores.
That seafoam green of your family’s LeSabre is a striking color. Also, while I drove stick-shift cars (two five-speeds) for a decade, I have never once driven a manual-shift car with “three on the tree”. I’m thinking I would probably shred the transmission if I tried in 2020. I did really love shifting gears in my Mustang and Probe, though. Those cars weren’t fast, but they were fun to drive and economical.
Driving a 3 on the tree is not bad, except when third brings the lever down so far it can hit your knee!
How about a 4 on the tree? Mercedes used that until maybe 1970? I know we had a customer at the Sunoco I worked at that had one of those!
I think my most proud moment as a budding shadetree mechanic, was when our ’66, on two occasions (probably in 1970), would crank but not start, in the damp garage at home in springtime or fall (and when rainy). Twice, the Buick dealer towed it in. Dried it out. It started. Dealer even moved the coil position from front of engine to top of engine. Then, I, at 13, read “Gus Wilson’s Model Garage” in Popular Science, and Smokey Yunick, and Popular Mechanics’ car-talk, and figured out the plug wires were bad or the distributor cap was cracked.
I ordered both items from the Montgomery Wards catalog, bicycled there to pick them up. Cut and crimped the wires to fit (not custom made!) Installed them against my Dad’s wishes, and the car never had a starting problem again! Dad never doubted my mechanical abilities after that!
A lovely, and dare I say, ever-so-slightly melancholic piece, Mr D.
Let it be known, you’re not the first to equate shoes and wheels. And I doubt greatly that I’m the first.
Can I be cheeky enough to ask how a four-year degree in psychology develops into an insurance career? I ask that as one whose life has been largely determined by happenstance, but having an idea of the sheer cost of degrees in America, I admit to genuine curiosity as to why you’re not employing that degree professionally.
And I’ll add that if your answer is “not here”” or “I’d rather not”, I of course completely understand. (In fact, on one view, the less one knows about really good writers – as you most definitely are – the better!)
Justy, thank you for the good words!
And regarding my insurance career, it started as mentioned by placement though a temporary employment agency. And the rest is history.
One of the beautiful things about what I do for work is that it allows a decent work-life balance, also enabling me to pursue other things like writing and photography.
I wish we had camera phones back in the day I showed you pictures in my very first car my mother gifted to me when I turn 16 and got my license prior to giving it to me she had gotten an accident and she didn’t know where to take it what body shop iher friend said her son worked at a body shop in San Jose called downtown Dotson for those who remember that one anyway he was a younger guy when she got it back she was mad I was looking at it and happy as can be it came back with a padded vinyl top that was cool with sparkle in the paint oh that was even better hey my mom gave it to me I put Rivera rims on it lake pipes and shotguns out the back with rabbit ears cuz it wasn’t no race car it was a cruiser but anyway I had lots of fun with that car put a interior from a 66 riv and bucket seats console tilt wheel everything in that car and my heart and soul into it come to be 12th grade come around I’m going to school trans went out parked it on the side of the road busy street came back after school and it was stripped to the Bone and miss that car