CARS AND TRUCK WE ONCE HAD
I WISH WE WOULD OF KEPT THEM
The above pictures are not of the same cars that Arnold and his brother Mel owned before they went to the service, but they are like them. The T was a light blue (as you know Henry Ford said "You can have any color you want as long as it's black" Well, this one was blue.) and not in as good condition as it could be, but it was solid and could of easily been restored. The A was in better condition and would of required little restoration to put it into mint condition. When Arnold and Mel went to the service they left the cars behind and their father really didn't want them setting around in the yard. He asked the boys what to do with them and they told him to call the junk yard which he did. I'm sure the cars never ended up as junk, somebody got a very good deal.
Like the pictures of the A and the T, the above are not Arnold cars. However, they are as close to being pictures of cars like the ones he owned as could be found.
Arnold's 53 Olds Convertible was green with a green top made of material that had a real short nap to make it fuzzy like and the interior was also green. It was bought within a year before Arnold was drafted and like the A and the T was left behind when he went in the service. However, this one he planed to take with him once he was out of Boot camp. But that didn't work out and his Dad sold it for him, but this time not to the junk yard.
The 1958 Corvette was the only one like it in the Cedar Rapids area. The exterior was turquoise and it had a black interior. Arnold bought it new shortly after he was discharged from the Navy for just over $3,000.00 and when he was offered $300.00 more then he paid for it he let it go, thinking he got a great deal. If he had only kept it, it would be worth much more today. a couple of years ago one just like it, if it wasn't his went for $68,000.00 on eBay. Yeah, I know there's a sucker born every day and Arnold is one.
The 1959 Chevrolet convertible was another prize
possession of Arnold's that he never appreciated until it was gone. It might not of had quite the value that the T, A, and Vette would have today, but it was a beauty. White exterior with a white rag top and turquoise interior. This little gem was traded in on the 1962 Chevrolet convertible which was the last new car that Arnold bought for quite a while. It was a Black beauty. Black exterior with a black rag top and black interior. Hard to keep clean and looking good, You bet, but it looked like a million dollars when you did.
Arnold's 53 Olds Convertible was green with a green top made of material that had a real short nap to make it fuzzy like and the interior was also green. It was bought within a year before Arnold was drafted and like the A and the T was left behind when he went in the service. However, this one he planed to take with him once he was out of Boot camp. But that didn't work out and his Dad sold it for him, but this time not to the junk yard.
The 1958 Corvette was the only one like it in the Cedar Rapids area. The exterior was turquoise and it had a black interior. Arnold bought it new shortly after he was discharged from the Navy for just over $3,000.00 and when he was offered $300.00 more then he paid for it he let it go, thinking he got a great deal. If he had only kept it, it would be worth much more today. a couple of years ago one just like it, if it wasn't his went for $68,000.00 on eBay. Yeah, I know there's a sucker born every day and Arnold is one.
The 1959 Chevrolet convertible was another prize
possession of Arnold's that he never appreciated until it was gone. It might not of had quite the value that the T, A, and Vette would have today, but it was a beauty. White exterior with a white rag top and turquoise interior. This little gem was traded in on the 1962 Chevrolet convertible which was the last new car that Arnold bought for quite a while. It was a Black beauty. Black exterior with a black rag top and black interior. Hard to keep clean and looking good, You bet, but it looked like a million dollars when you did.
Unlike the pictures of the cars in the first two groups above the last group are actual pictures of cars and trucks that Arnold and Laura either have owned in the past or do own now.
After Laurie and Arnold were married for quite some time and kind of got their feet back on the ground they saw fit to start buying new cars again. Laurie was always partial to the 2000 Buick LeSabre. It was all black inside and out with gold trim and had a black mock top and Laurie ordered a luggage carrier for it. Hard to keep clean, you bet! But when it was all shined up, it caught every body’s eye.
Thay also had several like the 2004 Buick LeSabre pictured above; in fact their first new car was much like that only an earlier model. Laurie was out shopping for a car after the car that we had been driving got totaled in an accident, and she spotted it setting in a lot. She came home and told Arnold that she saw the most beautiful car and he had to see it. When he did he had to agree but didn’t think they could afford it. And anyway he never liked Buicks and told Laurie not to shop for one. Oh well! Shewasn’t really shopping she just saw it. They checked with the sales person and found that it would fit in their budget and the car was their’s. They also had a Tan LeSabre with a dark brown mock top and gold trim.
Buick stopped making the LeSabre in 2006 so when it was time to buy the 2007 they settled on the Lucerne. It is a dark metallic red out side and tan inside. Shine this baby up and it looks like a million dollars.
Although these cars are driven mostly by Laura, Arnold does take the wheel at times. However, he has vans or pickups to drive. One of them was a GMC conversion Van. Arnold fitted with a TV and put on air horns and a musical horn on it. They took it with them when they went to Florida and took Arnold’s brother and his wife and their grandson and they also used it to go to Branson when Arnold’s brother Orville went with them. Another trip was to Tennessee, when one of their friends and their family went along. But then the price of gas made the trips fewer and far between and Arnold was using it more around town then any thing else so they sold it and got the sweetest little 2000 GMC Sonoma. It was a beauty. Everyone that saw it liked it. But then it developed lots of mechanical problems and when the warranty ran out they sold it and got a Ford Ranger 4/4. Arnold never was much of a Ford man but when he saw the 4/4 on its side he forgot about the F-O-R-D that was also there. Oh Well, that’s the way it go’s sometimes. Anyway it was another good looking vehicle.
As you might of guessed by now, both Arnold and Laura
like their cars.
After Laurie and Arnold were married for quite some time and kind of got their feet back on the ground they saw fit to start buying new cars again. Laurie was always partial to the 2000 Buick LeSabre. It was all black inside and out with gold trim and had a black mock top and Laurie ordered a luggage carrier for it. Hard to keep clean, you bet! But when it was all shined up, it caught every body’s eye.
Thay also had several like the 2004 Buick LeSabre pictured above; in fact their first new car was much like that only an earlier model. Laurie was out shopping for a car after the car that we had been driving got totaled in an accident, and she spotted it setting in a lot. She came home and told Arnold that she saw the most beautiful car and he had to see it. When he did he had to agree but didn’t think they could afford it. And anyway he never liked Buicks and told Laurie not to shop for one. Oh well! Shewasn’t really shopping she just saw it. They checked with the sales person and found that it would fit in their budget and the car was their’s. They also had a Tan LeSabre with a dark brown mock top and gold trim.
Buick stopped making the LeSabre in 2006 so when it was time to buy the 2007 they settled on the Lucerne. It is a dark metallic red out side and tan inside. Shine this baby up and it looks like a million dollars.
Although these cars are driven mostly by Laura, Arnold does take the wheel at times. However, he has vans or pickups to drive. One of them was a GMC conversion Van. Arnold fitted with a TV and put on air horns and a musical horn on it. They took it with them when they went to Florida and took Arnold’s brother and his wife and their grandson and they also used it to go to Branson when Arnold’s brother Orville went with them. Another trip was to Tennessee, when one of their friends and their family went along. But then the price of gas made the trips fewer and far between and Arnold was using it more around town then any thing else so they sold it and got the sweetest little 2000 GMC Sonoma. It was a beauty. Everyone that saw it liked it. But then it developed lots of mechanical problems and when the warranty ran out they sold it and got a Ford Ranger 4/4. Arnold never was much of a Ford man but when he saw the 4/4 on its side he forgot about the F-O-R-D that was also there. Oh Well, that’s the way it go’s sometimes. Anyway it was another good looking vehicle.
As you might of guessed by now, both Arnold and Laura
like their cars.