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Wow Bob! That's great that you still have it. When I got the big Tonka dump I also received a smaller blue dump truck. I can't remember what happened to it.
My Big Tonka dump met a sad fate. We lived a very steep street when I was about 6 years old. Back in those days if something had wheels we'd ride it. Well one day I hauled that Tonka up the hill, sat on the poor little thing and let gravity have its way with me (I didn't consider steering or brakes....LOL). A few high speed runs, a few crashing into curbs and parked cars, more than a fair share of scrapes and bruises and I think the wheels came apart and the axles were bent.
In 1985 I bought this 1983 F-150. It had 28,000 miles and was the newest and nicest thing I'd ever had. The truck was bare bones, it had nothing but a heater and radio. It was only 2wd and had a 351 Windsor and 4spd manual trans. The truck had one of those variable venturi carbs. When it worked, it worked well and the thing got pretty decent mileage (about 18MPG). Occasionally something in it would hang up and it would run extremely rich. You'd have to pull the air cleaner off and stick a screwdriver in the side o the carb near the choke linkage and jiggle it around and it would straighten up. This was probably the best truck I've ever owned. It took WAY too much abuse back in my wild days. I put about 100,000 miles on it. I replaced the short block at about 80,000 miles. I eventually sold it when my youngest was born in 1994. There was just no way to fit 5 people in the cab.
What a great thread- count me in. This '63 Galaxie 500 was my first car. It was powered by a strong 390 and Dad helped me upgrade the original Cruise-O-Matic transmission to a C6. MY second was the '66 Galaxie convertible. It only had a 352 but it was a fun cruiser and everyone wanted to ride in it! I worked every evening after school and weekends and I was probably the only kid in high school with two nice rides that were paid for. I bought that hood ornament for $5 from a salvage yard off another '63. I've only seen a handful of 63's with that rare item and I bet it couldn't be bought today for what I sold that Galaxie for in 1982.
Ok, since this thread started by saying the 'C' and 'P' words, I suppose it's safe to add mine. Remember, this was back in younger days.
The first picture is my first car - a 1975 Mustang II. Paid $800 for it since it leaked oil like a french fry basket. My father wouldn't let me park it in the driveway so out on the road it went. I would kick leaves under it to soak up the 90-weight I was pouring into it. I drove a Ford back then and drive one every day now. But in the middle I had a number of GM vehicles and re-did a '57 Chevy 210 post sedan.
I put in a crate 327 matched up with a Muncie M-21 4-speed. That car looked good but steered like a greyhound bus. The current owner of that car has my name/number and I get first refusal if he decides to sell it. Before anyone asks, no I was wasn't wearing turquoise socks in that picture - I scanned a photograph and it made everything sort of blue.
Also in the middle was my work vehicle.....a 1990's Zamboni. I drove that for 5 years. The rink that owned it bought a new one and kicked the old one to the curb. I have no idea where it went but I think that it would be a fun resto project - since that model Zamboni was the classic design. I drove a newer model that was a different brand (Olympia) and it was not as easy to operate or maneuverable on wet ice as the Zamboni. We have all done donuts in our cars when we were younger, but that Zamboni could do a drifting 360 with precision and grace when the studded tires were worn down enough to spin.
Tom
The real Zamboni ,is hydrostatic drive ,while the craptastic Olympia is just a repurposed Chevy Silverado ,you can just imagine how bad a pickup truck would do on wet ice .The difference is the Zamboni has a full functioning hydraulic system when you are slowing in the corners ,while the Olympia loses all hydraulics because you have to take your foot off the accelerator at the blue line or you will not make the corner .The only thing good about the Olympia ,is the blade change hooks work fairly well unlike the Zamboni ones they haven’t come up with yet while you lose a finger or two on the blade .
You have definitely driven both ice resurfacer types, I'd say. I preferred the Zamboni.
When the rink bought the Olympia, it just didn't have the character or ability of the classic one. And you are right about the cornering traction, it was bad. For a while I was doing some pretty brutal hip-checks into the boards with that rig. The crowd watching the game and skaters would cheer and applaud if I crashed into the wall hard enough. They wanted blood during the game and then a demolition derby between periods. The best show I ever gave them is when I burst an Olympia hydraulic hose while doing a cut during a playoff game. Red fluid all over the ice. Then I needed to deputize a referee to steer the disabled rig while I towed it off with the old Zamboni. For a week after that the girly figure skaters thought it was blood on the ice and somebody got hurt bad. I was telling people that someone stupid skated out on the ice when I was cutting so I ran them over to teach people a lesson.
I can tell a story or two about it at the Penn Truckstock later this year. Tom
Here is one of me loading my prom date and eventual wife into my first project car. Its a 1988 thunderbird turbo coupe that needed some work to get back on the road after sitting in my parents garage for 13 years.
Here is one of me loading my prom date and eventual wife into my first project car. Its a 1988 thunderbird turbo coupe that needed some work to get back on the road after sitting in my parents garage for 13 years.
Hmmmm, I thought I seen a blonde when you went by us in your old truck. Dennis
03-25-2019, 04:55 PM
