My First Hot Rod

By Don Mayberry

The year was 1961, here I was a young man of 16 looking for a car (I had a Red 125cc motorcycle but could not date on a motorcycle) – so I had to have a car. There was a beautiful young thing living right next door to me and her older brother had a 1952 Ford, 2 door sedan with a flathead V8. He said it quit on him and wanted to sell it and he ONLY wanted $50!!   WOW, what a deal, so I paid him in CASH immediately before he changed his mind and before my dad could say no!

Thank goodness, my dad was one of the old school mechanics and since I had no time to rebuild it with school, wrestling practice, then off to work after school every night and weekends - - he offered to pull the engine and rebuild it for me, “IF” I bought the parts.  Again this was a “how can I go wrong deal” for me, life was good!!!

Well, my good ole pop pulled the engine and when I got home from work he told me to get all the over time I could get as I would need it, to rebuild the  “real deal” I bought for $50.  It appears that the “beautiful young thing’s” brother had run the car without a drop of oil in it. Dad had to take a hack saw and cut all the rods off as they had melted to the crankshaft. Well after several weeks of getting as much OT as I could get, we bought the parts and dad put it back together and it ran like a top. Cost me a whooping $100 for new rods, pistons, crank, cam, value job but man I thought it was one fast “hot rod”…  I roll on the floor laughing about it today as it was far from a “Fast Hot Rod” but it was mine, paid for in cash and started me on the journey of the forever pursuit of the “Fast Hot Rod” (which is another story for another time).

After we got the car running I met a young thing at school (NO, not the pretty young thing next door) and since her dad owned a body shop I figured it was a good move on my behalf to date her, since the 52 needed a lot of lead work and was in desperate need for a paint job. So I spent a lot of time at her house out in the garage with her dad - he and I worked out a deal where I traded him my motorcycle for the lead work and a paint job.  Several weeks later I was driving a way cool Green Mist Metallic 52 Ford V8.

Several weeks after it was painted, I converted all the radio knobs, heater knobs, etc. to the way too cool Bullet knobs, added rear speakers, I then added a steering wheel spinner knob, put in new seat covers and floor mats, reversed the rims in my HS welding shop and then put on new tires with baby moon hub caps, with the final touch being a hand made molded “hot rod” plaque made in metal shop that was mounted in the rear window.  Man was I Rockin and Rollin then…

Several weeks later I dated the “pretty young thing next door”. Well my friends I can tell you that the date went good and we went steady for 2 years on the “SLY”!  Her mother didn’t like me for some reason…  J

The “Hot Rod Ford flathead” was sold a couple years later for a whooping $550, as I had gone into the Air Force and needed money to get my young bride and self from Denver, Colo. to Travis Air Force base in Calif. as I had eloped with the “pretty young thing next door”!!!!

The car has been long gone but 43 years later the “pretty young thing” is still putting up with me… Oh, by the way   -  I “NEVER” let her brother live down the fact that he froze up the old flathead because he wasn’t  smart enough to check the oil level!

This story was written by a “1 time small block man”, who moved to Big Blocks and never went back….

As the saying goes “there is only one substitute for cubic inches and that is more cubic inches”.

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