What was your dream car?
by Jim Stamp on January 30, 2022.
When I was growing up, the United States was still embroiled
in World War II. Cars in the United States were usually large
solid vehicles (some examples at the bottom) A lot of the Pre-
war cars, in my opinion were actual works of art and today I
still love to go to car shows where they bring automobiles
dating back to the first days of Henry Ford. One of the largest
car shows in our area is held at the Stan Hywet Estate which
is the perfect setting for classic cars.
This beauty belongs to a 91 year old retired Minister…
In June of 1960 I moved to Kansas City, Missouri where I would
go to night school called Railroad Communications School. I
met a another 17 year old with some of the same life experiences,
and Mike would become a lifelong friend and eventually the
Best Man at my wedding in June, 1966. We didn’t have a lot of
money and we learned that there were Rod and Custom Auto
Shows indoors at the auditorium. So, we went. And we drooled.
We saw cars that had been chopped, blocked and customized that were gorgeous.
In the summer of 1959 I was 16 years old. I was on the
Columbiana County Junior Fair Board. I had several duties.
One was to make sure we had security in the pony barns.
Town kids got some kind of perverted thrill out of throwing
stones at the ponies, in their stalls, to watch the ponies jump,
sometimes crashing into the side of the stall. One of my
other duties was to line up the 4-H parades on Monday. I
needed to find a convertible to carry the 4-H Queen at the
head of the parade. My Mom’s cousin, LeRoy Baker, had
a brand new red Chevy Impala convertible. He let me
pick up the car at his farm and drive it to fairgrounds. I
guarded that car all day to make sure no one put finger
prints on it. Then I drove the 4-H Queen at the head of
the parade. Later that evening, I drove the Head Majorette
home in the convertible and returned it to LeRoy in exactly
the same condition as I picked it up…except for a few more miles.
1959 Chevy Impala convertible
When I was 18 I got a job on the CB&Q Railroad in Aurora,
Illinois. The job required that I be able to get from town to
town. So, I purchased my first car. A 1958 black Plymouth
Belevedere 2 door hardtop. I loved that car and should have kept it.
I returned to Ohio in the fall of 1962 to attend Mount Union
College. I commuted from Winona to Alliance in my Plymouth.
I reluctantly sold my Plymouth to Dean Stoffer and for decades
we both regretted not keeping that car. In the summer of 1963
I bought a red Corvair Monza Convertible. It was really
something to look at. Another car I should have kept.
1963 Corvair Monza Convertible
1968 Chrysler Newport…. gold with a black top
We then had a 1970 Chrysler 300 Hemi the same color as one – burgandy with black top
In 1976 we got a dodge Charger – another classic car that we should have kept
We had 6 cars in the 80s and 90s but in 2000 we added a Dodge Durango SLT
2000 Dodge Durango SLT –
By the mid 2000s cars started looking the same. In 2021
manufacturers were convincing people that they needed
to buy small SUVs. Now they look the same. Boring.
Give me the pre 1980 cars for character. Except for Jeeps.
Jeeps have a distinctive look
In 2018 I got a Jeep Grand Cherokee – Red with tan interior
In 2004 Chrysler came out with a new sports car – the Chrysler
Crossfire. We loved the look of that car and since there were
just the 2 of us, it would have been great. The problem was, it
didn’t fit our budget. In 2016 I was able to purchase a 2005
Red Crossfire (below) and then in 2021 I added a Blue 2005
Crossfire. Both of them combined cost me less than half of the
original price tag for a new one in 2005. Did I mention that I LOVE red convertibles??
2005 Chrysler Crossfire
2005 Chrysler Crossfire – blue
The pictures of the Crossfires were taken by my friend Chad Coots.