{"id":6978,"date":"2024-04-22T04:18:28","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T08:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tubridy.net\/newblog\/?page_id=6978"},"modified":"2026-02-28T08:26:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T13:26:55","slug":"rides","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.tubridy.net\/newblog\/rides\/","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\ude98 Rides \ud83d\ude97"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My Rides<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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First Rides<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gearheads<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trek 510<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BMw 318i<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BMW 325iS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ford Explorer<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BMW M3 Convertible<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Mercedes Benz ML 430<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Piaggio Fly 150<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Porsche Cayenne S Titanium Edition<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BMW M Coupe<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Serenity<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key West & Ford Ranger<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BMW X6 xDrive35i<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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First Rides<\/h2>\n\n\n
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It all began while growing up in the early 1960s. Dad had a fairly long commute to the Cape during the week. Always motivated by spending the least amount of money, he bought a 1964 Volkswagen Beatle as a second car. I was intrigued by the minimalist German design. I mean – why label the fuel gauge 1\/1 instead of F? How cool was that! Heaters that worked by opening a vent to allow air warmed by the engine to slowly and badly warm the cabin!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I remember our car being a darker green vintage Volkswagen Beetle from the early 1960s. Dad did his own maintenance and kept records of fill-ups. When he sold it, he proudly proclaimed that it had cost him 4 cents a mile to operate!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I was desperate to start driving by the time I was old enough. Dad took me to a driving course that the high school had and let me drive. I learned to use the clutch and fell in love with the idea of selecting my own gear. Before driving, I was a ten-speed bike enthusiast and loved shifting my gears! I later took a driving class on the same range as part of my high school curriculum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1966 Buick Special Thin Pillar Coupe. I remember the very distinctive styling on the rear window and how cool I thought it looked! The one shown is the same color as our car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After getting my license, I was able to drive the car. Mostly, I drove the bigger Buick Special, which we used as the family car. Dad was good about letting me do it, including using it for my paper route. The only stipulation was my brother Rick had to throw the papers. He also had a route, so it worked out. He never threw the papers – I always did. He would throw his route, which was two condominium towers, and then I would pick him up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around my final year of high school, Dad traded the Buick for a new Chevy Nova hatchback. Hatchbacks were a new thing. They drove that car to California and back later after I moved out west.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Before moving to California, I was in Mom and Dad’s front yard at Blakey. The car is a Plymouth Valiant that Holly owned. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I shacked up with Holly during Junior College, we had an old Plymouth Valient. It was cool because it had a push-button transmission. The engine was butt simple, and I could do my own repairs. I learned the joys of auto repair to help my Dad maintain the family cars as we grew up. A highlight was rebuilding the Buick’s engine (whilst in the car) because of a lousy diagnosis Dad made when the ‘Check Oil’ light came on.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Datsun 510 Wagon circa 1972. I seem to remember mine a bit brighter yellow (aka Canary Bird-Shit Yellow \ud83d\ude00)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Holly moved to California several months before I did and bought a used, yellow Datsun (not Nissian) 510 wagon. We did a bunch of diving and a road trip to Seattle via Crater Lake. After that, she dumped me and gave me some money to buy a portion of the car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25b3 Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gearheads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I was in college studying mechanical engineering. I was bitten hard by the car bug while watching the gearheads work on cars in the mechanical engineering building. Quite by chance, I came across a partially restored 1967 Sunbeam Alpine. It was the final version with a new five-bearing 1,725 cc (105.3 cu in) engine with twin Zenith-Stromberg semi-downdraught carburetors producing 93 bhp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sunbeam Alpine 1725. The ‘Tiger’ version of the car had a small block V8 and was featured on the 60s comedy show Get Smart<\/em>!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I had it painted blue and painted the wheels black. It had a tonneau cover in addition to the soft top. It was a hoot to drive but ultimately proved to be too much for a poor college student to own. I had to replace the differential and then the differential seal on the replacement. I found one in Arizona and had it shipped to me. Other parts were harder to find. It was damn near impossible to get the two Solex carburetors in sync. But it was a blast to drive, and I enjoyed it for the brief time I owned it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n