The talk of the Monte Carlo brought back memories of some other classic McGhie cars. When I was very young I remember we had a "Baha Beetle Bug"... the VW Bug with the Baha look, I think Dad got it from Carl Murdock. Of course the Monte Carlo, and the Blue Datsun that ended up with one white door, courtesy of Geebs sliding it into a field coming down Keller's driveway. And that blue car would get hot in the summer, so you had to turn the heater on full blast. Driving around in August with no air and the heater on full blast. Classic McGhie vehicle!!
We would take it out rabbit hunting on the West desert and pound the crap out of it. I remember we had some white station wagon that would just choose random times and places to not start. Didn't mom attack this car one day with a hammer or big wrench or something in a fit of rage? LOL
Michael had some vintage cars as well, the little green Avocado station wagon... and then Geebs had the biggest hunk of junk Kyle Terry claims he's ever seen... some little green VW wagon, Cabriolet or something, I forget what they called them. Kyle told me one day he could put $100K into that car and still not fix everything.
The blue Ford with the "three in the tree" shifter was a babe magnet and I knew it was officially a clunker the day Brian Davies asked me to see if Dad would sell it to him.
My favorite Monte Carlo memory was jumping it out on the Highland backroad to Lehi... there was a canal, a dip and a bump and if you got going 70 or more you would catch major air off that jump. After a school dance, me, Tom Patterson, and maybe Todd Murdock and our dates all went off that jump and we caught serious air... bottomed out twice on the landing.
It started making a noise shortly after, and when the car got to the Muffler Man over in PG he climbed under it and said, "Holy ****, somebody has been jumping this car or something. The whole underside of this thing is destroyed." It was some huge bill and Dad was so furious I don't think I ever told that story until many years later. But that car could grow wings and fly if you hit that dip with enough speed!!
Fun Times!!
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I remember riding with Michael and Andy Sparks in the Green Avocado to watch fireworks at the Freedom Festival. The streets were packed with cars--policemen directing traffic. The Avocado threw a rod and blue smoke started pouring out of it. It was burning oil like crazy and people were staring at us as we drove around Provo. About every mile we would stop and needed to add oil. Then some guy had the guts to yell "why don't you put some oil in that thing?!" I don't remember exactly what Michael yelled back at him, but I think it added to Andy's vocabulary.
Oh wow. I'm laughing really really hard right now. Whew...
I attacked the white station wagon with a baseball bat once but I smashed the windshield with a heavy Mug a guy that rode to work with Dad left on the floor. Every time I was in a hurry to go somewhere it wouldn't start and I had to lift the hood and find some wire and shake it or screw something together. I hated that car worse than snakes.
Remeber the Big Blue Buick -Kris, Marty and Mikes Era...we went up to Tibble Fork for FHE and Dad tried to cross the stream on the East end and we hit a pot hole and got stuck and the water was running thru the car. We had to open the doors to let it run out. I think Jeff Bullock was with us.
Speaking of car attacks, Dad was driving me and Doug Fox home from IPP one night to a rock concert we needed to attend in SLC. And the blue Datsun gave out at the top of the hill in Eureka. Doug was freaking out thinking he would miss the show. Dad was working under the hood and then just went nuts and started beating the crap out of the thing... I was cranking away and as he was beating the car it just started. Doug Fox still talks about that all the time and how Dad just scared that car into starting. Drove it the rest of the way home with no problems... I guess we saw who the boss was that day!! :)
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