Okay, so I co-opted the old "Remember The Alamo" saying for this blog, what can I say, it's been a long Texas Day!
Got back on the road yesterday morning after spending the week in Scottsdale AZ at the World Aquatic Health Conference. Had a really good time doing a CPO Instructor School, moderating some interesting sessions at the Conference, and spending time with my amazing co-instructors, who are also my friends. Long busy days, followed by evenings spent consuming large amounts of liquids. Well hey, we WERE in a desert after all!
Friday was spent making my way through AZ, New Mexico, and the very west portion of Texas along I-10, which runs right past Los Cruces NM, and through El Paso TX. What a large city El Paso turned out to be! And boy, what a scarcity of places to stay there was after I blew through El Paso! Ended up in some place called Van Horn for the night. Odd little town, six or seven motels, and yet very few places to eat. Settled for a chicken sandwich at one of the "Love's" Travel Plazas that was in town.
Saturday, up and out early, more time on I-10, as I make my way towards Spring TX, to visit my cousin Rick and his family. Really in "Texas Hill Country" today, as the road keeps heading up into the mountains. Early on, lots of morning fog, but the strong sunshine finally wins out and the day turns sunny and warm, with some high clouds giving me a break from the eastern sun hitting my eyes. Oh, yes, talk about making time, well, the speed limit on I-80 in TX is 80 mph! Rolled into San Antonio around 2:30, found a nice clean hotel near the city center, checked in, and realized, gee, I'm hungry. A quick check found a Texas tradition a few blocks away; Whataburger!
Hard to miss them, with that huge orange and white 'A' shaped roof most of them sport. Family owned since the first one opened in 1950, I really think Whataburger is a great example of how a privately held, family run business can not just survive, but thrive. The recipe seems pretty simple, keep the restaurants clean, hire friendly people, keep the menu simple, and COOK TO ORDER! No warmed over, sitting in beef broth patties here, all the burgers are grilled up when you order them. Makes quite a difference. So, here we go, today's meal was a #1 combo, a Whataburger with cheese, and sliced jalapenos (yeah, I know, here goes my stomach again).
Now, that's a single Whataburger, and the thing is easily the size of a 'Whopper', and is even a bit thicker than that. Loads of fries came with the burger, and the young lady who dropped it off at my table offered me the famous two ketchups - regular and spicy.
The spicy is really good on the fries, which are the typical fast food 'shoestring' style. Probably as close as you can get to McDonald's fries without actually going into McD's. Fresh, hot, properly salted, they're quite good, although, as usual, I would prefer if they were cooked just a touch more. Still, they are damn tasty! And the burger?
They don't skimp on the toppings here! Three slices of tomatoes, a good amount of chopped lettuce (but not too much, like you'd find on a Whopper), pickles, chopped onions, and mustard. That's the standard topping that comes on a Whataburger. Like most of the country outside of the NY area, mustard is always found on the burger, and interestingly, ketchup is not. I added sliced jalapenos (.50c), and put a bit of ketchup on top. All in all, a good combination, and the right ratio of beef to toppings and roll, the meat wasn't lost in the salad. The jalapenos were hot, but not over the top, and went well with the cheese. All in all, for a 'fast food' place, a good meal. Cost of the meal was $7 and change, which included a 'medium' soda, which, as you can see, was pretty large.
I've reviewed Whataburger previously, so I apologize to those of you who may feel you're seeing a rerun, but since I don't get here that often, this is one place I try to hit at least once whenever I'm in Texas. Tomorrow, looking forward to a nice visit with Rick and Elizabeth, and sure hope David, Chrystie and the girls will be able to join us. Food? Hmmmm, could be Mexican, BBQ, or who knows? But you know if it's good, I'll be writing about it!
Today was pretty much all new territory for me, when I left Elk City, I ventured into areas that I've not driven through before. The Northern portion of Texas is much different than the southern portion. It's flatter, and parts of it reminded me of driving through Iowa, large fields of corn, mile after mile. Then you cross into New Mexico, and it's similar, at least for a while. You notice the color change, from greens to light tan and brown, spotted with clumpy green trees that stand out from the pale colored grass and hay that covers the ground. Move closer to Albuqurque, and here are the mountains, deep dark brown, striking deep red, rising high, but with flat tops, not the typical peaked mountains you see elsewhere. Past Alburqurque and we're up and down the mountains, the road winding along the side of the inclines. A great ride on a slightly overcast day, with a few quick sprinkles along the way. Finally, here's the destination, Gallup NM. One of the legendary towns that dot The Mother Road, Route 66. Heck, it's even mentioned in the Bobby Troup song "Get Your Kicks On Route 66"! Off the interstate we go, and suddenly, it's 1950 again. The road narrows, and the pavement changes from asphalt to concrete. Horizontal traffic signals stick out over the road, with big "HISTORIC ROUTE 66" signs fastened to them. Make the left onto 66 and here it is, America's original road trip route live and in person. Art deco signs, loaded with neon, many with a southwestern motif and font identify the many small businesses that dot the side of the road. And there's the motel, a real 1950's survivor, the El Capitan.
Clean, comfortable, but definitely old; green and white ceramic tile in the bathroom, stucco ceiling and walls, and the old chrome tissue dispenser over the vanity. Fine for a night's rest, I probably wouldn't stay here long term.
After checking the emails and chatting with Karen for a bit, it's time for an early dinner. There were lots of good local places to choose from, and I have to admit, it was hard to pass up a particular fast food chain. Turns out that in New Mexico, there's a burger chain with 75 or so locations, called Blake's Lotaburgers. Not tonight. Maybe on the return trip I'll find one around lunch time and check it out.
No, tonight it's gotta be a local spot, one in the downtown area, and it's got to have a good version of one of New Mexico's most famous food, the Green Chile Cheesburger. New Mexico is famous for their chiles, and some years back, local chefs began topping their burgers with home made green chiles. It's almost the official state food, and if you check out "Eater.com" or "Yelp", you can find literally hundreds of cafes and restaurants that serve them. My choice was Jerry's Cafe, which is one of the highest rated places on Yelp and Trip Advisor.
The sign is typical of what you see in Gallup, old style, multi colored, and of course, at night, nicely illuminated with the glow of neon. Small place, tiny actually, with a capacity of 60.
Place was pretty busy when I got in, but there were one or two small booths open, so I got seated right away. Hostess hands me a menu, and takes my drink order. In a minute she's back with the soda and a bottle of ketchup and hot sauce; my waitress will be right over. So, even though I know what I want, I check out the menu.
Plenty of choices, including about 10 different burgers, and a similar number of Mexican dishes, burritos, tacos, empanadas, and the like. Waitress asks what I'd like, I order, and she asks, "red or green chile"? Hmmm a quandry. I really want the green, but I've seen a plate of the red at the next booth and it looks amazing. Sensing my indecision, she offers the suggestion of the night: "we can do half and half". Brilliant! Order's in, and I wait, but just for a few minutes - service is quick, they have to be fast with only 60 seats, and by my count, 11 or 12 people working in the place. And then, here it is:
Jerry's serves their version open faced, which sure makes sense, given as how it's really smothered with the chili, and all that melted cheese - shredded cheddar, not sliced 'American'. This is a real knife and fork meal! The burger itself is pretty thin, but large, almost like a Whopper patty, but one that's been cooked correctly and hasn't been laying around in a drawer full of 'beef broth'. Tender, good flavor; the bottom of the roll is still pretty intact, and I can easily get a piece of roll with each piece of meat. The green chile sauce is amazing, with a bit of heat, but not a tongue scorching heat, more of a 'sneaks up from the back of your mouth' heat. Good flavor, almost like roasted green bell peppers, with a little onion, maybe a hint of garlic, just a solid tasty sauce that compliments the cheese and the meat.
On to the red chile sauce. Now, here's the heat - still not over the top, but more than the green, and a deeper flavor, there's some tomato base in here, maybe paste; and onion and garlic. Damn tasty! And it's great for dipping the fries in!
Ahhh yes, the fries. Okay, gotta admit, nothing special here. Frozen crinkle cut (my favorite cut), cooked properly, served hot, but bland - needed salt, and ketchup, or a dip in the red chile sauce!
The finale? Using the top of the bun to soak up the remnants of the chile sauces! I'm pretty sure that's the intended use, as even if you cut the burger carefully, there's no way you could eat this thing with your hands. Overall? Terrific meal, neat location, very friendly and helpful staff, I can highly recommend Jerry's Cafe if you're in Gallup.
After dinner, I took a cruise up and down 66 and soaked in the sights a bit. Ran the car through one of those automatic car wash (didn't do much), and gassed it up for the drive tomorrow.
I've been on portions of Route 66 in the past, in AZ, Oklahoma, and in Alburqurque many years back when I flew in and had a rental car. And I've always had the urge to do the whole Chicago to CA route, on as much of the old road as I can find. I've got the Route 66 maps and travel guide at home, and just from this short trip today, now i REALLY want to do that! Maybe even in an old car; old road, old car, right? Maybe something like this?
Well, we shall see. That might be asking a lot from the old girl, even though it's had a lot of work done on it this past year. All I know for sure is that on the way home from AZ, I'm going to hit 66 for at least a couple of half days, just to soak in a little more of it's flavor.
Another fun filled day on the road finds me in Elk City, Oklahoma tonight. Nice little spot, more than the usual interstate exit, including a pretty sizeable portion of old Route 66. There's even a Route 66 museum here, which I'll think about checking out on the return trip. In the meantime, a nice easy night, decent, clean motel, and as a bonus, a Mexican restaurant attached to the motel! Now with that sort of temptation, how could I resist? So, I checked in, stretched out my back a bit, then wandered down to Mama Tona's for dinner. Now to be honest, I did check out "Yelp", and the reviews were good, so I wasn't flying as blind as I could have been.
Big place, Mama Tona's. Clean, very clean. Stainless steel half walls separate tables into different sections. Kitchen partially open to diners to view, and it is also very clean. Hey, look, a tortilla press, sort of like at "On The Border"; nice touch, home made flour and corn tortillas! Hostess leads me to a table, asks what I'd like to drink; Dos Equis Amber, and served with a tall, very frosty mug, and also brings a tall glass of ice water. So far so good.
Waitress brings over chips, salsa, AND queso dip, along with a tortilla holder filled with fresh, soft, warm corn tortillas.
Sorry for the somewhat fuzzy photo; apparently the phone camera lens was a little dirty. Didn't discover that until after dinner. Anyway, good chips, good salsa, although a bit too mild. The queso, home made, but not great. Someone didn't cook the roux long enough before they added in the cheese, it had a pretty strong taste like raw flour. Not awful, but not what you'd want to eat a lot of. The beer? Cold, and perfect.
Pretty diverse menu, lots of familiar items, but missing some of the usuals. No Pollo Con Arrozo, and no 'chicken, shrimp, steak' special. Almost got the shredded beef Chimichanga, but last minute went for shrimp rancheros. Put the order in, and sat back. After a few minutes, first up was this:
Big plate of refried beans and Mexican rice. And very good Mexican rice, nicely seasoned, and with corn, peas, and diced carrot in with the rice. Refried beans, nice and creamy, not at all pasty, topped with just a touch of cheese. And both served nice and hot. And then, out came the main.
Served sizzling on a fajita platter, ten nice sized shrimp, sautee'd with green bell peppers, onions, tomatos, and fresh jalapeno slices. On the side, fresh warm flour tortillas. Very generous portion, add in the rice and beans and it was a very filling meal, and quite tasty as well! The shrimp were perfectly cooked, the onions were done well, some were quite soft and carmelized, some still had a bit of crunch; bell peppers were fine, as were the tomato pieces. The fresh jalapeno had quite a kick, it's always hotter than the pickled ones you find in a lot of places. I packed all of the ingredients into flour tortillas and ate them fajita style, and was very happy. Added a touch of salt and pepper, as the only thing missing was a little bit of seasoning, which seems to be missing from most places when they do fajita style food. Sizzling the ingredients and getting a little browning is a good idea, but you HAVE to give them a little help - salt, pepper, garlic powder, like I'd use on my fajitas.
Finished all the shrimp and a good amount of the veggies, and that was it, full.
So I had a really nice meal, in a clean, friendly place, all for a final price of $14.30. Talk about a bargain!
Complaints? Just one. The place was too darn cold! Turn down (or up) the A/C!
And tomorrow night, it'll be something cool in Gallup NM, possibly a popular 'burger joint on old Route 66.
As they used to say, 'stay tuned for more'!
Back out on the Interstates, heading from Long Island to Scottsdale Arizona, for a CPO Instructor School, and the World Aquatic Health Conference. Got a nice early start on Wednesday, as I cranked up the Bluecuda and pulled away from the curb right at 5 am. If you're going to make any time in the NY area, you've got to beat the majority of the rush hour traffic. Which, by the way, is a hell of a lot longer than 'an hour'! Especially since it was raining on Wednesday, which always slows things to somewhat less than a crawl.
Over the GW Bridge and onto I-80 I went, nice light traffic, and good tunes on the XM 60's channel. Had spotty rain most of the way until I stopped for the night, which is no fun to drive in, but what can you do?
I wanted to get to Columbus Ohio for the night, that's a decent run of about 575 miles. But I was doing so well, I pushed right on and made it to Springfield, just outside of Dayton. Found a nice clean motel, and settled in for the night. Nothing exciting to report on the food front, I skipped lunch, and had a frozen dinner in my room.
Thursday dawned much nicer, sunny and bright. Got on the road at 7, with a goal of getting to the Rolla/St. Cloud MO region; I had a hotel reservation in St. Cloud, so that was an easy drive.
Stopped for gas in western Illinois, and lo and behold, right next door to the gas station was a Jack In The Box; it must have been fate! Grabbed a couple of tacos and a drink, and back on the road I went. Fought a very strong urge to stop off (again) at Meramec Caverns, one of the great Roadside Attractions that we stopped at 50 years ago on our trip to Dallas. As I'd been there 3 years ago, I passed it up and kept going.
When I got to the hotel, I was done for the day at around 3 pm. Answered a few emails, took a couple of calls, then just relaxed a while. Realized that 3 pm was really 2 pm, as I passed into Central Time at some point late this morning. Nice big room, a suite, this is near Ft. Leonard Wood, and I think a lot of military families stay here when they are relocated to Ft. Wood, at least until they can arrange for more permanent housing.
It's been more than a bit chilly the last two days, and, of course, I didn't take a jacket of any sort with me - I'm going to AZ, and it's always warm there, right? Right. But it isn't always warm in Ohio, or Missouri. So off to the local Wal-Mart I went, to pick up a couple of things, and a light jacket. On the way there, I considered my choices for dinner; Ruby Tuesday; Chili's; McDonald's; Cracker Barrel; the usual suspects. And then, off in the distance, I spotted this:
The "Route 66" Diner. A real chrome and vinyl "Gulfstream" diner, the kind we used to have all over the place on LI until they all started expanding them into huge 'restaurants'. Decided that I had to stop in and eat here. A little closer up:
On the front door, this sign; "We proudly serve those who serve". And there were more than a few military types inside, usually a good sign, sort of like the old line about truck drivers eating at good places.
Good menu, lots of dinner specials, from salads and soups, to comfort food, such as meat loaf, roast chicken, chicken noodle soup - good diner food. I opted for the "Route 66 Burger", which, my waitress explained, was the special of the day. I saved .50c because of that! And here's the meal:
Nice burger, big, juicy, and cooked exactly right, as I ordered it. Topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion and 'garlic mayo', which, of course, I had them hold. Didn't put the tomato on, as it just wasn't ripe looking. Squirt of ketchup, dollop of cheap yellow mustard, and dig in. Good burger! The roll was toasted, but soft, and had a hint of garlic, sort of like the ones that we used to get at Dempsey's in East Meadow (which, sadly, closed).
The fries appear to be hand cut, the skin is still on, and they came out properly hot. But.....they were 'once cooked', and ended up soft and squishy instead of crispy, and the larger ones were not quite cooked through. If you're going to go to the trouble of hand cutting the fries, you need to double cook them. Blanch them at 300 or so, take 'em out, let them rest a few minutes, then finish them off at 350. That way you get fluffy insides and crispy outsides. Still with ketchup on them, they were pretty good.
The Diner was built in 2001, and it's obvious that the owners care about the place. It's spotless inside, and a real reflection of the 50's. Black and white tile floor, red and white vinyl booths, a counter with stools, and chrome everywhere you look. The table tops had that nice formica with the flying triangles on it, and the sound system was playing really good 50's and 60's music. Definitely worth the stop, and recommended to anyone who's passing through this area of Missouri!
And for those who are interested, yes, the old Route 66 does run right through here. I'm on a pretty tight time schedule on the westward trip, as I must be in AZ on Sunday. But on the way back, I just might take a day and wander along the Mother Road for a while.
Back to the hotel, and time to do a little editing on tomorrow's drive. I was aiming for Elk City OK, but if I can get out early, I may hold out and try for Amarillo TX. We'll see how the weather, traffic, and back do.
Stay tuned for more!
It's been a while since I've been on any sort of road trip, but now that summer is rapidly coming to a close, I have a few trips on the way that should be fun. In early October, I'm off to Scottsdale AZ for a CPO Instructor School and the World Aquatic Health Conference. In early December, it'll be Kansas City for another CPO Instructor School. Both of those are going to be actual 'road' trips, as I'll be driving to each of them.
But up first, starting tomorrow, will be a trip to the entertainment capital of the desert, beautiful (?) Las Vegas. Unfortunately, due to time restrictions, I am flying to this one. And yes, for those who know me, I'm already annoyed at that fact, and dreading the entire air travel experience.
Okay, 'Fabulous' Las Vegas, as the iconic sign says. It's time for the annual National Recreation and Park Association Congress for Parks. Since it's the 50th anniversary of the foundation of NRPA, I guess they decided to really glitz it up for us. Of course, for many Park and Recreation Professionals, telling their bosses that the annual conference is in Las Vegas made for a quick 'no way you're going there!' attitude.
And, you know, I get it. Vegas certainly has the reputation for being a place where you go to goof off, not to get serious education and information about your profession. On top of that, an awful lot of administrators look at our various Recreation Conferences with a skeptical attitude. After all, what is so hard about operating a Park? What is it that you need to learn? What kind of crap sessions could they possibly be presenting?
On and on it goes, year after year, as we try to persuade our superiors that there is real value to be had from attending these conferences. And to their credit, NRPA does a great job of identifying the benefits that attendees get from the various seminars and sessions which are presented each year. If one looks at the published schedule of seminars for this year, they will find subjects that range from the simple to the very complex, with presenters who are experts in their areas. Of course, there is the occasional oddball session, such as the one I am presenting, called "How To Survive In A Toxic Workplace". I presented this one at the last LILSA/Saint Joseph's Conference, and it was very well received, so I figured I'd inflict it on a large group of people that I don't know. Should be fun!
So many of us are looking forward to this conference as a way to increase our operating knowledge, expand our network of contacts, and yes, celebrate the 50th anniversary of NRPA.
Many of us from New York will be staying at this place, the Excalibur. Lisa Morahan, Executive Director of the state's Recreation and Park Society, got us an amazing deal at this spot. I know the Excalibur from a visit many years ago when we were on a family vacation to the Grand Canyon and Los Angeles, and we stopped over in Vegas for a couple of days. It's right on the strip, and just a couple of tram stops away from the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, where the NRPA show is going to be. I'm sure that for the three days of the Conference, I'll find a few good spots to report back on, as I will have to find places for lunch and dinner. All of us from NY are getting together on Tuesday night for a welcome social at, of course, New York, NY. I'll try to get a few photos at that gathering and post them later this week.
On Friday, Karen is flying out to meet me, and we'll have the weekend to poke around and relax a bit. We aren't staying at the Excalibur, we will be at a lovely place that's sort of off the strip called the Alexis Park Resort.
We've stayed here before, when we were in Vegas for a CPO Instructor School, and it's a lovely place. It's right across the street from the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel, so we'll be able to wander around there and take advantage of what they offer. And I'm sure we'll be doing some sightseeing, perhaps taking a ride over to the "World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop", which is seen on the tv show "Pawn Stars". Might get over to 'old' Vegas and see Freemont Street and the rest of the remaining heritage casinos and restaurants. Might even stop in to Binion's, one of the oldest and still best food value spots in Vegas.
So keep your eyes peeled for new posts here in the coming weeks. Should be a few fun trips, and hopefully some good, fun road trip news!
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird; it's a plane; No, it's a piece of junk!
Well, the little 850 showed up here last Friday, after completing the long trip from Oregon riding on the top rack of the car carrier. Had to laugh as the driver rolled the car off the ramp, the silly thing is so narrow that it barely spanned the space between the two sides of the ramp on the truck; one mis-steer and it would have been *splat*!
Once off the truck, the driver said 'you can start it and move it'. Uhhhh, okay, well, let's see, I haven't driven one of these things in well over 40 years, and with my recently balky back, getting into the thing seemed to be problematic.
Open the door, sit down on the seat (my God this thing is low to the ground!), and drag my legs in. Jeez, forgot how small the pedals on this car are; the brake and clutch pedals are about the size of a Fig Newton; the gas pedal is the size of a Milky Way bar. Pull out the choke, crank it up, it fires and dies; repeat, it fires and dies again. Crank it 3 or 4 more times, finally get it to run! Found reverse on the first shot, unusual on this car, back it up, put it in first, gas it, and up the driveway it goes. Pull up to the fence, set the brake, shut it down, it's home.
You really need to see this thing up close and personal to realize exactly what a tiny little car it is. The top is just 4' high; side to side is less than five feet (59.5 inches), and front bumper to back bumper is just 12 feet. The side view gives you an idea of the size, and also how low the car is to the ground.
I was surprised that the hard top which came with the car is actually a genuine 'Fiat' branded top. It was manufactured by an aftermarket company, but has the Fiat emblem on it; in the world of Fiat 850's, that's a really rare thing.
For those of you who don't remember these little beasts, it is a rear engine car, similar to the old VW Bug, but with a water cooled engine that's only about half the size of the VW. It makes a huge 52 horsepower, a low amount even for back in 1969 (my '65 Barracuda makes 150+). Here's a shot of the power plant:
And, of course, nothing says 'old car' like the interior of a '69 850! Lap belts only, no shoulder belt, and they don't retract; when you unbuckle them, they just lie there on the floor. No radio in this car, it was an extra cost option in '69. No a/c, of course, no cruise control, no power steering or power brakes. No electric windows (and, of course, as noted in my last post, the cheap cable in the passenger door is busted), no 'frills' of any kind. But, it does have a good clutch and gearshift combination, a very tight turning radius, and due to the small wheelbase and light weight, it is very nimble on the road.
You can just see the tiny clutch pedal underneath the steering wheel in this photo. The floors are covered not with carpet, but with rubber mats - better in case you got caught in the rain with the top down. The steering wheel and dashboard are real wood, not wood look plastic.
So there it sits, the 'Itsy Bitsy' spider. I cleaned it up a bit over the weekend, and found all sorts of little issues with it - no big surprise - that are going to take some work. The electrical system, I fear, has serious issues; none of the lights on the driver side of the car work, and the instrument panel fuse keeps blowing. As noted, the passenger side window needs a new cable, the seats are shot, and the engine needs a major tune up at the very least.
That's the downside to picking up a car like this. The upside? Well, much of the work is stuff that I can do, and have done on my past 850's. I've ordered all the parts to tune it up, and Tommy is coming over on Saturday to help with that. I'll poke around the wiring a bit and see if I can't find what's wrong. If I can't, there are a couple of good electrical shops that can track that down for me. And overall, the body is solid, the chassis is pretty much rust free, and it shouldn't take too much to put it into decent 'weekend shape', which is all I really want to do at this point.
I've already sourced a good parts company, and Rock Auto carries a lot of typical wear and tear parts like brake pads, shocks, etc. And I've joined the Fiat Club of America. What the hell, if you're going to dive into a crappy old car, you may as well go in up to your neck!
This post is pretty much all about cars; one car model in particular, so if you're looking for a food post, or a music post, you'll have to wait a bit for the next one in those areas.
Today, it's a look back at my first car, and a look ahead, to 'part two' of the story.
Many of you know of my strange addiction to Fiat cars. Over the years, I've had four of the little beasts, two 850 spiders, and two 124 spiders. Of those cars, I actually drove three of them; the fourth was one I had planned to 'restore' and use as a weekend cruiser. That plan came to an end after the engine went on fire one evening when I was trying to fit it with a new carburetor.
So the cars I owned, all three of the daily drivers, were somewhat less than reliable. Probably due partly to my having bought them used, for not a lot of money, and partly because, well, back in the day, they just weren't particularly well made cars. The 124 spiders were definitely a better design than the 850 was. The 124 had a strong four cylinder dual overhead cam engine, and a nice slick five speed gearbox. Great balance and handling, plenty of power, and four wheel disc brakes made the car a blast on the road.
The first 124 I owned was green with a tan interior, and had great power; I could 'chirp' the tires right up to third gear. Unfortunately, after owning it for about six months, the engine went all off kilter, a small part failed, and the pistons hit the valves, causing much damage, and resulting in a major repair. The mechanic I was using at the time fixed everything, EXCEPT the small part which had caused the problem. The result? Same damn thing happened about three weeks later, requiring that the major repair be done for a second time (and of course, I was charged a second time). That sort of put me off Fiats for a while, but, like any good addict, I came back for more, a second 124 spider that I bought just as we were moving into our first house, out in Selden. Bought the car from a guy who had it in a shop in Lindenhurst, where he'd had it painted. Bright red, it looked great. Picked it up on a Friday night, drove it home and buzzed around in it over the weekend, it ran well, and all was fine.
Monday morning rolls around, and I hop in the car and head off to work in Garden City (a 40 mile ride). Got about halfway there, and don't you know, the damn car stalls out in heavy traffic on the Northern State Parkway. The first day I needed the thing to get me to work! NOT a good sign. As I stood by the car off to the side of the road with the hood up, my brother in law Bob pulled up - he was also on his way to work - and between us, we got the thing running, although it was a real rough idle. Got to work, dropped the car off at my 'regular' mechanic, who said the thing needed new points, and while he'd be happy to fix it, this model used two duplicate sets of points, and he 'wasn't sure' just how to get them set correctly. He got it running though, and eventually I figured out the trick to setting the points. But that first day pretty much describes the experience of owning that thing.
But the Fiat that started it all was my little 1968 850 Spider. Those of you who are old enough to remember back to the late 60's know that they sold a ton of these things, they were sporty looking, fun to drive, and cheap as hell; I think they sold for under $2,300 brand new!
Cute car, right? And a real oddball too, in lots of ways. It was rear engined, with the trunk in the front of the car, and the engine well behind the seats in the back. Very few options were available, there was only one engine, and one transmission, a four speed manual. The convertible top folded down and was hidden by a flip up body panel, so when the top was down, the car really looked slick.
At 45 horsepower, the car was no speed demon; but the short wheelbase, rack and pinion steering, and good brakes made the car fun to drive, especially on curvy roads. Since I bought the car in 1972, I owned it during the first gas crisis - when the price of gas went from around .29c per gallon to over .50c, and people were freaking out. Many cars of the time got lousy mileage, due to the first really strict emission controls they had, and because the cars were big and heavy. But this little thing, weighing only 1,600 lbs, got GREAT mileage - about 36 mpg - which was outstanding for those days. With it's six gallon tank, I could fill the car for under $3.00, and drive it almost 200 miles. All good features, things you'd want in a car, even today.
But, of course, there was the down side. As noted by the title of this post, Fiat pretty much stood for 'Fix It Again Tony', or 'Fix It All'a Time'. The damn car always seemed to have something wrong with it. And really odd stuff would go bad on it, not the usual engine problems. In fact, as I thought back on this car over the past few days, I couldn't remember a single time that I got 'stranded' or had to be towed when I owned this car. No, the problems were all really dumb.
For example, in the two years or so that I owned the car, I think I had to replace the starter motor 4 times. You'd turn the key, and the damn thing wouldn't make a sound; dead silence, and the engine wouldn't turn over. So you'd get out, give the car a shove, hop in, pop the clutch, causing the engine to start, and off you'd go.
Every once in a while, I'd get in the car, start driving, and suddenly the gear shift lever would be about three inches to the left of where it should have been. Broke yet another engine mount, which caused the whole drive train,engine and transmission, to get out of line. That happened at least three or four times, as the 'engine mount' was just a cheap bolt that ran through a fat rubber washer. The bolt would break, and that was that.
Start the car up, put it in gear, punch the gas, and suddenly it sounded like a mack truck - part of the muffler had blown off. That happened three times; yes, that's right, three muffler replacements in about two years. I finally bought a set of headers and a one piece muffler from J.C. Whitney, and that cured that problem.
Cranking up the window, and you'd hear 'boing!' like a piece of wire cable snapping. Which is just what happened; the windows went up and down on a cheap piece of cable that ran around four pulleys in the door. About once every 3 or 4 months, the cable would snap, and the window wouldn't go up, or down. Must have changed 4 or 5 of those things, and that was a nasty, knuckle scraping job.
Want to drive the car in the cold weather? Well, the car did have the best heater I ever saw, it would roast you if you ran it full out. But getting the car started? Good luck. Under about 35 degrees, the engine just did not want to crank. Can't recall how many times I ran the battery down trying to get the cold engine to turn over fast enough to start. Finally solved that problem by getting a heated dipstick. Had to back the car up to the garage, and plug this thing in to the wall. It kept the engine oil warm (and thus thin) overnight, so that the car would actually start in the morning.
What a nightmare. But, it was my first car. And my first taste of independence. If I wanted to go somewhere, I could. It was MY choice. If I wanted to drive out to Montauk one summer day, I could (and did). If I wanted to run down to Virginia to pick up fireworks for the 4th of July I could (and did). I had plenty of really fun times in that little car, from going to LI Ducks hockey games out in Commack just about every week in the winter, to running back and forth to multiple softball games each week in the summer, to just cruising around with my buddies. That little Fiat was a great, if unreliable car, which I'm sure I remember with much too much fondness. I only have this one photo of it just now, sorry it's so small; it was taken with an old Kodak brownie star-mite camera.
So why post this today? Well, I guess I've prattled on about this car a little too often, especially around the boys. Tommy has been looking at Fiats on various web sites for some time now, and good instigator that he is, he sends over photos and listings from places like Craigslist, and eBay. I pretty much ignored them, as I really figured my Fiat days were done. But then, last week, in a moment of weakness, I put a bid in on a car on eBay. Not a 124 or 850, but the replacement for the 850, a car I always wanted, but never owned, a Fiat X-19. Mid-engined, great balance, and actually a well built and somewhat reliable car.
I didn't win that car, as the price went over and above what I would have been comfortable with. Then, last Wednesday, I weakened and gave in to what can only be described as a sentimental nostalgic whim; I bid on a 1969 850 spider. I knew it was a stupid thing to do, but, as I'm a typical male, I did it anyway. It was a very low ball bid, way under what the car should have sold for given the condition it was in. And for the next two days, I watched the auction, figuring that there was no way I was going to win it, as I was about $500 - $800 below the value of the car.
I won it. A bright red 850 spider, happily living in Lake Oswego Oregon, in really good running condition, being used as a daily driver by the guy selling it (who sold it because he has, by my count, at least 7 or 8 cars). And here it is:
Much to my shock and dismay, the car sold for well under what it should have; in fact, it sold for less than my top bid was!
So down the road I go, adding another silly car to the stable. I've gotten past the disbelief I felt when I won the car, and am actually looking forward to getting the damn thing here. Tommy and Billy are both excited about the car, and I'm feeling good that they'll be able to share in a little bit of my past, with what was a pretty special car to me. Tommy has already been poking around the internet, looking for places that sell parts and accessories, as the car does need a few things. I've arranged to have the car shipped here (I'm not quite crazy enough to push a tiny 46 year old car 2,900 miles over the Interstates), and am looking forward to cleaning it up a bit, and bringing it to one of the many cruise nights we go to. There aren't many 850's left, especially here in the east. They either rusted out, or were discarded and crushed, as they weren't considered to be collectible cars. They were cheap when they were new, and were cheap when they got old. The only person who'd put value on them would be someone with an attachment to them. Someone who maybe wished that he hadn't gotten rid of it. Someone who's always had an affection and attachment to cars they've owned. Someone, I guess, like me.
And so, some 41 years after I sold my little 850 to a friend of a friend (who ran it into a telephone pole less than a month after he bought it), I'm getting a second one. And I know the boys and I will have plenty of fun times with it, and maybe they'll get a glimpse of what it was like to be young and carefree as I was when I had my original 850. I know that our little Barracuda has been a real blast for all of us, and I'm sure that this will be as well.
Now, if only I can remember how those damn window cables get installed!
