Far Guy's first Desoto was a nine passenger station wagon. At the Drive In Movie Theater you could back it in...get out and fold up the seat and get in the back to watch the movie.
I was along when the Highway Cop gave Far Guy a ticket for 92 mph...we were talking and driving along minding our own business...the local judge thought the car might have been doing 72.
I was also along the day her oil light came on and Far Guy was pretty bugged about that light being on...so I spit out my gum rolled it into a ball and stuck it in the round warning light...it did not make him feel much better but at least he laughed. I was just trying to be helpful!
Now for the Explorer part.
A question from a friend;
So this winter will you drive it or store it?
Far Guy's reply;
As I remember Desotos hate winter. If they start they may just drive off on their own .... do you remember that?
A friend does have a good recall;
Yep was winter time colder then shit. I was driving my brother's red dodge cornet.. Heading down hwy 34 and saw the sea foam aircraft carrier parked in front of the citizen national bank with the motor running. One could do that back in the old days.
I thought i would just pull in behind and wait for you to come out. As I started to pull in The Desoto slowly drove off. Thought shit I missed him then noted no one was in the car. I parked got out and ran after it thinking i would hop in and hit the brakes.
That thing went down to the alley way, made a left turn across the oncoming traffic lane and perfectly into the alley, went a few feet and stopped.
The part I don't remember is if I hopped in and hit the break or if it was locked and it stopped on it's own due to the deep snow and me hanging on to the door handle swearing.
Anyway ran back to the bank and you and your dad where sitting at a desk and I told you our car drove away. You mumbled something about it sometimes slips out of park or something and went out to get it. I would have been more freaked out but you seemed awful casual about it.
If that happened to me it would have run over a group of small school children or something on that order.
Far Guys reply was:
You have a good memory. One of the problems is there never was a "park" same with this one. Emergency brake was suppose to be the park brake and that only worked if it was adjusted right. Cold as hell which I think made the fluid thicker and so despite it being in neutral it had enough to move the car.
Fun for me to hear this story as it was one I had not heard before...it truly was an Explorer! .
1959 Desoto Explorer Station Wagon...Sea foam Green or Willow Green or Spring Green or Birdshit Green...photo taken about 1970. Far Guy sold it in 1972 for $100 We are not sure of the purchase price when Far Guy's Dad bought it from Bob and Mary Harris in about 1966.
Far Side
Love these great memories and fantastic stories, so much fun :))
ReplyDeleteOMG! I would have gotten rid of the car immediately or sold it to some high school for demolition. A car that moves itself....you're lucky it didn't drive forward into the bank! LOL! You are calm, Far Guy. That is an amazing story and I'm with the guy that told it...my luck too it would have run over someone!
ReplyDeleteI love the gum solution Farside! LOL! Good one! 9 passengers? You'd have to buy a mini bus to get that amount of seating nowadays....awesome!
Love it, what a funny story!
ReplyDeleteMy husband would love an old car! He doesn't drive anymore and rarely goes anywhere. One time we stopped on a whim where there was a bunch of old cars on display and he was in heaven walking around them and telling me stories! Men and their cars!
ReplyDeleteThat is a great story too! Thanks for sharing.
Good ol memories. Enjoyed the story.
ReplyDeleteWhoa! A car that drives itself! I think you were way ahead of the times. Sure makes for a good story, though. :-)
ReplyDeleteWow, I bet that was a heart stopper at the time.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm watching too many Twilight Zone episodes but that sounds a little freaky.Do you suppose Stephen King heard about your car?
ReplyDeleteOh - what a fabulous story to remember. I could just picture that car driving itself slowly across the street.
ReplyDeleteWow, that would have been a sight to see. Amazing that the car didn't run into something or someone. Great memories!
ReplyDeleteTake care and stay well!
I so enjoyed the stories today. The station wagon reminds me of a puke green one that we had when I was growing up. It was nine passenger too.
ReplyDeleteI was the worrier about the lights. The maintenance required light was always on in our mini-van that we had years ago. Dennis put electrical tape over it so I couldn't see it. It worked! Out of sight, out of mind.
Blessings,
Betsy
I'd be terrified of a car going off on its own! Lucky it didn't hit somebody or something. Whew! Old memories are fun, though. :)
ReplyDeleteGosh, those were the days!
ReplyDeleteI’m still laughing - a fun memory!
ReplyDeleteOh my! He does have some stories to tell about that car! I would lose it if my car drove away without me. Maybe when you park the Desoto you should put a brick in front on the wheel!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this post. Thanks so much for the memories and the great pic.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great story :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful car and even better stories!! Good memories are wonderful to bring out from their "storage box" from time to time, aren't they. Thank you for sharing yours! Love, Andrea xoxo
ReplyDeleteIf that story is actually true and not "embellished", that was a pretty smart car for its time. Great story anyway.
ReplyDeleteAnd now there can be more Desoto stories.
True story!
DeleteThat's quite the memory. Quite the car too!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember the station wagon form of Desota. It is an different than some of the wagons made back then.
ReplyDeleteI never trust Parking brakes. I should adjust Subie's Parking brake, after I "refurbished it"... all new parts, but now it doesn't work because I did not adjust it properly. My jeep used to roll across roads and parking lots because of the bad parking brake... I never trust any of them...
ReplyDeleteSuch great Desoto stories. Now you can make some new stories with your beautiful new/old car. I can't wait to hear them!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this post, it made me smile
ReplyDeleteSea Foam Green — sounds quite exotic for the day! When I lived in Baudette in the early 80s people still left their cars running outside businesses in the winter. Somewhere in there they got electrical outlets on the parking meters and then you could “plug your car in” to keep the engine warm and have a reasonable expectation that it would start when you came out of the movies on a Saturday night. That back seat on the Desoto must have made it real popular on date nights!
ReplyDeleteFun story!
ReplyDeleteI laughed about the gum on the light. The ammeter in Dave's '67 Bonneville doesn't read right, it shows that the battery is discharging but it's actually fine. It's not the original ammeter and a couple other electrical things have been upgraded, and I think that's causing it to read wrong. Dave is OCD though so it drives him crazy. He's had it to about 10 different mechanics/electronic specialists, and they all say the same thing - ignore it. But his OCD won't let him. I keep threatening to cover it with electrical tape.
What great stories! My bf in high school had a DeSoto at one point and the same parking brake problems. I had a Maverick in high school that just putting it in park did not guarantee it would stay put ... one day it decided to back up into a line of trees across the street from a friend's house where I was visiting lol. Cars can sure be fickle!
ReplyDelete