The car below, a 1951 Cadillac Hearse, was the second car I ever owned and was my favorite. (The first was a 1961 Ford Falcon I inherited from my grandfather. Loved that car. Rebuilt the engine with a friend). I bought the Hearse in 1974 for $150 in upstate NY where it was used an an auxillary ambulance for a fire department. It had 18,000 original miles, a Rolls Royce transmission, and was guaranteed to drop the jaws of hitch hikers and hippies who sat in the back on the built-in casket rollers and got high. I replaced the brake lines (easy) but in the summer of '74 however, the windshield wipers, which operated via a rudimentary cable system, stopped working due to rust. I spend the entire summer replacing the cable system. I had no choice but to keep that car parked in front of my house as the street was my garage. My parents were not thrilled. The repair required taking apart the entire dashboard. I cursed everyday during the mammoth repair, not knowing what lay ahead as everyday was a surprise. Taking it apart was one thing; putting it back together was another and there was no manual! I finally got the new wipers operational, re-assembled the dashboard and did a celebratory test drive. Sadly, I forgot to securely close the rear reverse-opening passenger side door after I put my tools back in there when I was finally finished. I drove down the street with a huge smile for about 100 feet until I passed the first parked car and ....crunch. I failed to notice that the rear passenger door was flung wide open and it swung back hard as it hit the parked car. .I ended up bending my car's frame and it was not repairable. I ended up selling the thing for $250. But man, I loved that white whale, a true beast. It was definitely a big hit on campus!
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