That strip on El Camino Real was absolutely packed. If you were there, you’d remember those days before the “No Cruising” law. I could start naming people but I’m sure I’d miss someone. We met in the back parking lot of Palo Alto High School and just about everyone showed up who had the car fever, including the blue Torino Wagon with the yellow dome light pulling unsuspecting motorists over (you know who you are, my friend). The absolute best cruising night was in 1979 when a huge group of us got together to go cruising on a Saturday Night in San Mateo, California. Worthy of MoPar note was the quickest car at school owned by Dale Mosher, a hemi-orange 1969 Dart with a 440 six-pack with a black vinyl top and 4.10s in the back. We were raising hell on the highways and byways and, fortunately, survived the experience and didn’t hurt others. The Challenger was a reliable partner through my high school days: having a really great time cruising with all the motorheads at school, wild burnouts in the back parking lot, road trips, and general partying. This Challenger turned into my high school ride and also my ride into adulthood. It was all about whatever you can afford and whatever seems like a cool idea gets the nod of approval.
I will not go into extensive details here, but suffice it to say that as a young street machine freak, you just do as you feel and that is okay. Photo taken about 1978.Īs with many of the younger persuasion, I slowly began modifying and personalizing my Challenger. Thanks to my brother Nick Yee, he uncovered this photo with highlights the original condition the 1971 was in before I started tampering with it with my teenage hands. At the time I had $1250, so my Dad helped me with the rest. The price was $1700, or $1900 out the door.
#NOSTALGIA AIR CONDITIONING SERIES#
It had a floor shift automatic and a 383 two barrel (which still had some awesome torque), single exhaust, no sway bars, dark metallic blue paint with a black vinyl top, power steering with a 5.2 turn box, a salt and pepper interior with a cigarette burn hole in the back seat, air conditioning, and wire rim hubcaps with 70 series “Mohawk” Tires, and a unique trim package I’ve rarely seen since. And as far as what you think Challengers are normally, it was a bit of an old lady’s car. We found the Blue Flash in some obscure used car lot in San Jose with about 42,000 miles, previously owned by an old lady. Buying a Challenger, my first car, becomes a bit of a family affair. Funny how mom’s suddenly get involved when that critical moment materializes, as if she’s going to drive it. By this point, my mom was involved and I think she wasn’t interested in me getting a radical fire breathing monster. My dad and I checked out a lot of Challengers of all years, but in January of 1978, when I was 15, I finally found a Challenger with a combination I could live with that was under $2000.
Then Scott got his 1967 Mustang fastback, which he kept in his driveway as it went straight into customization mode, which over those early years became a local legend, a wimbledon white GT-350 styled ground pounder with gold stripes. Then I found my 1971 Challenger, which, by the way, was the first one that was able to be driven.Ī summary of the High School Days with my first Challenger Rick was the first one to get his car, a 1955 Chevy Bel-Air Wagon which he wanted to restore, so it sat in his backyard for what seemed like years. I had two close car buddies, Scott Douglas (The Ford Expert) and Rick Elliott (The Chevy Expert) who together through junior high school and the early days of high school, would spend more time than we should have day-dreaming about life cruising the streets, roads and highways. It was a fun and fascinating time, those days searching for my first car. So it’s with you all of you guys in mind that I post this article, hope it helps bring back some pleasant memories. I recently was contacted by a few of my old high school streetmachiner friends who discovered this blog and it was a pleasant surprise to hear about some of their car experiences over the last decades.
#NOSTALGIA AIR CONDITIONING UPDATE#
If I find them I’ll update this story’s photos (which I have with some old photos). I’ve been looking for the rare photos I had of the car but I haven’t been able to find the few I remember having. Note: This is a continuation of previous posts about experiences during my teenage years in the late 1970’s.
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