Up Next - Denton

Sometime during the summer of 1971 we moved from Argyle to Denton, Texas... I'm still not quite sure why... I think mom figured the rent was too high - which implies that Karina was around quite a bit at that point. And I guess that requires some explanation:

When mom was on the road (which was most of the time) she would deposit her commission checks at whatever bank branch was close by and Karina and I were supposed to use that account to cover the household expenses while mom was gone. The problem was that Karina had a very simple philosophy when it came to money: If she wanted something and there was money in the account she would buy it. Then when we needed to buy food or pay the bills we just had to "figure something out". Of course, when mom found out she would have a conniption because she was earning quite a bit at the time and could not believe it was all gone.

Aside: That is why I am so freaking anal about money. I spent all those years dealing with my sister blowing every penny we had on whatever stupid crap she felt she needed at the moment. (Like: "I've never tried this brand of eyeliner before... I'll buy a bunch of different colors and just throw away the ones I don't like!") Yeah, it usually wasn't big stuff - just lots of little things like that - the financial equivalent of a "death of a thousand cuts"... Of course, mom had her moments too - but nothing like Karina... And I'm done (for now).

So we moved to a nice little rental house at 1819 Mohican St in Denton, out on the east end of town (near the bowling alley) - only a 10 or 15 minute drive from Argyle (which was still the center of my life at that point).

And that was about the time I got my 1966 Charger. The old Fairlane was starting to have serious issues (burnt valves and the like) and I needed something a bit more reliable. Mom talked to one of the salesmen at the local Toyota dealership and he told her that had some inexpensive used cars that a teenage "motorhead" would appreciate.
Now - back in those days Toyota was a very minor player in the U.S. auto market, so the dealership was a little "hole in the wall" place near the intersection of Elm and Maple (just south of downtown). They had some pretty rough used cars, the kind you would never find on a self-respecting dealer's lot these days.

BTW: I'm always surprised at how many "original" musclecars are floating around now. I spent a lot of time looking at used ones back in the day and they were all hacked up and beat to crap. Yeah - those cars were owned by young guys who modified the hell out of them and drove them like they stole them. I don't recall ever seeing a completely original example back then... Well, except ones that were only a few days old :-)

So I headed up to the dealership and test drove 2 cars:
The first was a burgundy 1964/65 GTO. Yes - the car itself was a 1965 but the front end had been wrecked and replaced with 1964 parts (apparently they bolted right up)...
And the second car was a gold 1966 Charger (383 4-bbl) with a couple of bald tires and some minor body damage on the left rear.

Now - I no longer recall exactly why I chose the Charger, because I've always had a "soft spot" for GTOs (and Firebirds... A 1975 TransAm is the only GM vehicle I've ever owned). But then, I still had fond memories of dad's 1963 Fury convertible, and the Charger (also a Mopar) seemed to be in better mechanical condition. Plus, the air conditioning was amazing - it would literally frost the vents :-) So mom bought it for me for $600 (took out a bank loan). That translates to roughly $3000 adjusted for inflation to 2011 - not bad considering the car was only 5 years old at the time.

Sigh... I loved that car... I can't believe I don't have a single picture of it.
But it did have a number of issues: The doors were hard to close (they were massive and prone to sagging). The "concealed" headlights no longer worked and had been locked open. The vinyl upholstery was cracked (and taped) along the seams. There was a piece of red plastic taped over the broken left taillight. And the steering box always seemed to work itself loose...
But it also had an Edelbrock intake, aggressive cam, a Holley 780 4-bbl carb, headers, loud exhaust, and highway gears - the engine turned 4500 RPM (right at the torque peak) at 130 MPH... Don't ask how I know :-) You could "light up" the tires at will (which explains the lack of tread on the back).

But the coolest thing about it was the electroluminescent instrument panel. Those are pretty common now - that's where the numbers and other markings literally glow instead of being indirectly illuminated. But, back then very few cars had them and almost nobody had ever seen one. Here's a picture I found online and it really doesn't do it justice - the thing is way brighter and more "vibrant" than the picture shows:


I still remember that first time I turned the headlights on. I was at the church in Argyle and totally freaked out when I saw the instruments light up. The guys were all hanging around the car (checking it out) and they were as amazed as I was :-)

One final story:
As I mentioned before, the back tires on the Charger were totally bald when I got it. As a matter of fact, the polyester cord was starting to show through the rubber on one of them. So, I went out and bought 2 new tires - total cost $35 (about $100 a piece in 2011 dollars)... Karina was absolutely furious. It didn't matter that I chauffeured her around in that car and it was completely unsafe with those bald tires. As far as she was concerned I had simply blown a bunch of money and that gave her the right to spend even more... So, she had me drive her to the local health club where she blew $50 on an annual membership ($300 in 2011 dollars) that she never used...

Yeah - as brilliant as she was, she simply couldn't see the difference... Sigh - I hope that whoever reads these posts will get some inkling of what it was like going through childhood surrounded by people who were brilliant, gifted, and hopelessly narcissistic. I often wonder how I managed to stay sane... Yeah - don't answer that :-)