During my first and second years of attending the U of I (Navy Pier) in Chicago, (long before the U of I Circle Campus constructed), I used the CTA, (Chicago Transit Authority) from my parentâs home near Belmont Ave./Elston to Howard St. (elevated), to Grand Ave to the Navy Pier. It was really a drag, especially in winter. So, in 1958, my third year of college, I only had saved enough money from my summer jobs for my $104 for college semester tuition, so, I borrowed money from my Aunt, and especially from my parents, to purchase a 1949 Maroon Ford coup for $75. I bought it from my âso called friend.â It had 155,000 miles, but it was very familiar to the floor-shift autos used in my driving-course at Lane Tech High School.
The car had a worn-out differential, which made third gear sound like a meat grinder. I added oil about every 200 miles, only because it burned enough oil to arouse EPA. The shocks only bounced and squeaked as loud as the differential. The muffler had decayed metal that looked similar to a molten snake. The brake pads barely worked as metal rubbed against metal. It had a lime-green right replacement fender from a past accident, a passenger side door that was wired tight, as the handles didnât work, and had to be held tight by rope to keep one from falling out. I often had requested the passenger to keep the rope taught. The heater only worked 10 percent of the time, so I used heavy gloves and socks to keep warm. The non-working defroster and wipers were totally ineffective. During the winter, I often had stop to clear the windshield from snow and ice. Obviously carâs air-conditioning was yet inventedâŚany way for my car.
My route to school included Belmont to Lake Shore Drive, which gave me the experience of knowing how to maneuver a car to the roadside and mostly to how to change tires. The bald-tires had me fixing 10 of my 11 flat bald-tires on Lake Shore Drive in one year. Twice, while parking on the icy grass that sloped to the Chicago River near the U of Iâs Huffâs Gym, I nearly lost the car into the river while trying to accelerate to the street; however, as every foot forward, it slid the car 5 feet closer to the Chicago River. One time, it was within 2 feet of the river bank. It took 4 fellow students to gingerly push (or lift) the car to the street.
Whenever I drove my dates or friends, we were never sure of our arrivals, or if theyâd fall out, and they always needed to be thawed out in WinterâŚbut we had a lot of fun, as it was my car. My very first car. One could only attend 3 years at Navy Pier, so I attended the Champaign-Urbana campus for the next three years. I could not afford my car on the campus, so my parents, without telling me, who were so glad to get rid of the âuglyâ car, sold my âFirst carâ for junk ⌠for $10 dollar.
