That car cracked open the door to independence

Madly pedaling in our early teens. Cousin Marco and I raced our bicycles down into the middle of a street, leaning into the right turn that marked the beginning of the sloop downhill toward the center of the city called Goes. Suddenly cresting the sloop and coming head on we seen a Sportscar, we both swerved to avoid a collision with that sportscar and as we raced past, I realized I never seen anything like that. I kicked back on the pedals, standing on the coaster brake and with a locked up rear wheel and a big slide I came to a stop. What I’ve seen was the most beautiful sportscar ever! Couldn’t stop looking at it. I searched over the beautiful curves of this sportscar to discover the name. Stingray I read circling around that car and at the back there was displayed Corvette. On our way back home a 5-kilometer bike trip I kept thinking about that Stingray and the way it looked so incredibly perfect. 

My visits to the local garage just around the corner from my home in after school hours and on Saturday’s landed me a job at age 13. The paid job was only for the hours I had off time from school, no way I was able to skip school as the owner of the local garage knew exactly if there was school or not. That owner of the local garage became a mentor and a very personal one. The experience the knowledge his professionalism in his work and life was a fantastic way to learn new things and further myself in my professional career. One day my neighbor a young guy but way older than me who lived 2 houses further north from us purchased a 1974 Camaro. I noticed this Camaro on his driveway on my way to school. That gorgeous car attracted my attention the first time I walked by my eyes roamed over the curves of this model and noticed side pipes hooked up to his exhaust system. Never seen anything like that, it had that astonishing Cool factor. A car like a Camaro is a very unusual sight in the Netherlands so it doesn’t go unnoticed for many people. Much to my surprise that afternoon the Camaro drove up to our shop when I was at the garage. I found out my boss didn’t like working on American cars and I approached my boss to tell him I could tackle the job. I saw this as a lifetime opportunity to learn an interest in American cars. That Stingray as seen earlier in life came back into my memory and history was made towards my adventure of the unusual (seen in my country) cars made by American Manufacturers. I remember my neighbor taking me on trips in the Camaro. He drove that car around in the province with me in the passenger seat. It was his daily driver for years in the mid-seventies till he sold it and bought a 1979 Pontiac Trans Am. 

When I was old enough to get my license, it cracked open the door to independence. Pedal Bikes, Mopeds and Riding Trains broadened that circle for a long time. But life changed when I bought my own ride for 2000 Gilders in 1978, a 1974 Toyota Celica LT. For me the so much-loved American cars were out of reach financially and the lack of support from my parents and mentor in this American car adventure led to a more affordable but still sportive solution. The world changed. Not only did I have my own set of wheels to take me anywhere anytime I wanted, but also had my first automotive lump of coal to begin polishing into a thing of beauty and pride, a joy that has stayed with me till this day of writing and far behind that. To this day and in the past, every Gilder (dollar) not spend on beer & girls went into my car hobby. Every spare moment I didn’t spend earning money or to go to the bar and hanging out with friends & girls went into the car hobby. I never forgot that day that my 1974 Toyota Celica came back from the paint shop and after I build up my fresh painted car from bumper to bumper the fuel cap was leaking gas over my newly fresh paint and bubbled the paint just underneath the fuel cap. Not sure what I’m trying to say here but it was a devastating sight, but repairable, nonetheless. Although the Celica had a 1600 CI engine a 4-speed manual transmission and it was the LT model and not the more desired ST model, for mw it was a pretty automobile with a loud Pioneer stereo (purchased tax free when I served my time in the army) playing in there, it looked sharp, and I felt pretty cool cruising around in it. Hot Rodding wasn’t much of a thing in the Netherlands (forbidden by law). Like most of the 60s and 70s kids we knew Hot Rods from watching American Movie’s or from reading it for us well known Chroom & Vlammen, the Dutch version of Hotrod Magazine. Boyd Coddington and Chip Foose ruled the roost, but not everyone followed suit with copious amounts of chrome, billet, and teal accents. My interest in American cars and Hotrods just starting to develop and how much I loved it, at the age of 18 I didn’t know where to purchase all the accessories and performance products for my wheels, let alone to have or find the funding to finance a project seen in the magazines. Internet and/or social media didn’t exist so if you weren’t familiar with the Car or Hotrod Culture you became inventive and created your own Drag racer looked Hotrod. A spoiler was added to the trunk lid and my work at the local garage gives me the opportunity to collect a pair of used 15-inch Camaro Tires, not the newest ones but still some threads left to enjoy the ride I was looking to create, without any safety issues. They were 15 inches, but my Celica came of the factory with 13-inch tires, 15-Inch tires at the rear axle would give me the drag racer look I was trying to create, and I got all excited when I was holding the tire beside the rear wheel of the Celica and looked at it from a distance. I found 15-inch rims from a Datsun at a local wrecker yard what would fit the bolt pattern and through a friend I found a company who were be able to widen the rims so they would give the Camaro Tires the wide Drag Car look seen from the back. Also, the Camaro noticed above had changed his side pipes for an OEM exhaust system and my neighbor didn’t want the side pipes anymore, he gives them to me. No need to explain how happy and exiting I was and in no time, I had adorned my ride with those shiny chrome side pipes. Firing up the engine, the roar out of the side pipes and feeling the warm air out of the Celica’s heater on cold winter days or riding with the windows open in summer, no B-Pillar, the cool look of the hardtop, loud disco, soul, and funky music coming out of that Pioneer radio cassette recorder, life was good. That the 15-inch wheels and the side pipes where in violation with the law I found that out when I was pulled over by the police. My Celica was impounded, and the 15-inch wheels and the side pipes taken of and forfeited. This car took me and my friends on many adventures from holidays on the beaches in Spain to car shows all around in almost every country in Europe. If I think back, we’ve definitely got a few thinks to laugh about.  

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