The noted below, Austin Healy did not race, but every time we were in the low slung bucket seats, it felt like we were in a LeMans style race in a European race course. Hello, I had just moved into an old apartment just a few blocks from the college campus in San Jose. It was a funky apartment and as a newcomer, it took a while to get to know the other residents. Then as the days wore on, saying hi to others up and down the staircase, the inside walkways and to school made it easier for me to get to know them. Then, of course one of those apartments always had a weekend party or a holiday party or for that matter, any reason to have a party type of place. So, life was looking up… ha! In the spring of 1965, one of the residents of an upstairs apartment was a girl who was into cars, but knew virtually nothing except for putting the key in the ignition. She asked me if I could recommend a car for her go buy as her transportation. She did not have a car in high school and walked to school. Now, after 4 years of walking to school, she was within a block or two for the next 4 years of college classes. But, she wanted to experience a little freedom of moving around the S.F. Bay Area not with her parents or getting rides to locations with friends. She was from a city north of Oakland and never needed a car growing up. Now, she saw college as a way to learn and explore the area where she wanted to go and see. As a college student, she could have asked a thousand guys to take her to the local spots, Santa Cruz, Golden Gate, Berkeley Mountain ridgeline, etc. But did not want to ask, as if wanting to go on a date. So, she had saved up to go to college and in the future, but her own car. But, what to buy? She was one of those girls that most of would see driving a convertible with the top down and her long blond hair flowing in the wind. She did not want a stogy family car. She had plenty of those over the years getting rides from family members and friends. She liked my red 65 El Camino and how nice it looked. I was able to get a space in the car port area and kept the El Camino shiny and clean. The few times we drove to the market to go shopping, she liked the open back area for camping and carrying a bunch of stuff. For now, it was several bags of groceries for her and her roommates. I had my own bags of groceries. Jnaki Then one day out of the blue, she asked me if I could go with her to see a sporty car for sale in a neighboring city nearby. So, we drove over there. It was a white Austin Healy sporty car. Shiny wire wheels and a low slung stance as usual in the foreign sporty car style. It was several years old and had a lot of miles, but she said it was the car for her. I doubted it, as I could imagine the sporty car on a winding forested road leading to Santa Cruz driving at speed… yikes! Similar in looks It had a black top, but our test drive was one with the top down for the full effect of open-air convertible driving… a little scary if I may say so… She barely knew how to drive, let alone drive a stick shift car. So, she was determined to get the car as her first car purchase. She was 21, so no parental co-signing was necessary. I doubt it that she told her parents about the purchase. She had barely enough skills and knowledge to drive. So, we spent our off hours driving around the fairly empty areas of the outskirts of San Jose, near the open country side of the old “Bonneville drags location.” The roads were empty and no large amount of homes or businesses were around at the time. These days, it is packed and not the best place to learn to drive. NOTE: I did go with her to buy an Austin Healy sporty car. We did and she drove like a banshee and scared the “crapola” out of both of us. But, she bought it. She was so happy that she wanted to do something nice for me. Crazy college kids… She suggested that we go to Santa Cruz about 33 miles of mountain driving to the West, for a day of surfing and just hanging around. It was meant as a day for her to pick up the tab for my kindness in “stuff, automobile.” A full tank of gas, surfing, lunch, more surfing, then some dinner and who knows… It has been a very long time, but a scary car memory and great day of surfing overhead waves at Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz was a memory that one does not easily forget. She was talking to some local folks and they all agreed that my style of surfing was excellent and from So Cal to boot. YES! I hope she is still alive and kicking, but in a safer car for her daily drives, these days long past… YRMV
Yes, So Cal and was built in the late 30s. That's the L.A. river before it was cemented over. Bridge is still there. When I joined the Long Beach Model T Club back in the late 80/early 90s some of the older members were born and raised in Long Beach. They were in their 80s-90s at the time and told me stories of riding horse back to the river, going up stream above the brackish water and go trout fishing.
I'm Not sure if this was popular across the country but in Brooklyn in the 50s we would go to the local food stores and look for the shallow wooden fruit boxes that were approx. 20"long by maybe 12" wide by 6/8" deep and mount them vertically on a 2x4 maybe 3' long or whatever we could find then mount a split old steel wheeled skate to the 2x4 and nail a hand grip to the top of the box usually 1"x2"x2'. as handle bars. We called them scooters. It was Great fun.
The Jalopy Journal
