Am lucky enough to have a Garage connected to my actual house with an automated door-opener! Watch the animation?
What’s usually found in a Garage? Mostly cars, bikes, hanging stuff, a tool-board, trash cans & shelving that’s usually overloaded with all sorts of “stuff”… an Online House, however, wouldn’t quite be the same!
Here are just a few of my very own historical garage loves…
My very 1st automobile was an estate car, a Hillman Husky which was built from the Hillman Imp. I had found this for sale in Soltau by a fellow-signalman in the summer of 1975, paying him around DM1,000 (£250)… a small-ish car but with great capacity!
The motor is at the rear, tucked under the storage area with additional room in the boot (trunk!) at the front.
A pretty zippy 850cc tilted aluminium-head 4-cylinder motor drove us around, about which I learned far more that I ever needed to as I managed to blow the rear crankshaft seal at ~90 MPH on the motorway up to Catterick, Yorkshire in 1977… yellow dashboard light & clack, clack, clack!
My MQ in Balham, London had a garage with a service-pit, where I was able to rebuild the motor over perhaps a week, replacing the piston big-end bearings on the crankshaft. I do recall having a couple left-over “extras” when done… weren’t too critical, I guess — I had this until 1980!
My first driving experiences were an Army Jeep (where I learned to drive and how to use a clutch to change gear) and hauling myself around in an Armoured Personnel Carrier as the driver — you can see the commander & driver in the image. Would point out that this one has been all gussied up for the show!
As I came out of the Army, I hung on to the Husky until I moved to the US in 1980. Several cars then came and went, but will only share a couple…
My most memorable vehicle was an ’89 RamCharger which I had purchased in ’94 with a trade-in of the ’88 Tracer… a great ride, and looked very similar to the image.
Why so memorable? I got tattooed with a head-on hit by a drunk around 2am, wrecking the truck… Was out in Milwaukee on a Friday night in late January, ’96, enjoying the evening w/2 friends who were riding with me when this happened.
The insurance write-off check arrived 2 months later & was infuriatingly held by my divorcee-in-progress, literally stealing $7,400 from me…
Such memories 🙁
A ’99 Chevy Tahoe, 2-door, 4-wheel drive, rear flap door… my very own mobile armchair!
I put a lot of miles into this truck in the 20 years I owned it, selling (as it was starting to age) to a grandfather who wanted one for his grandson!
As an interesting thread, my favourite car came home from the nearby Chevy dealer for a net-zero cost…
At $36,000 and change, it was paid in full by cashing out some of the many GE Options that I’d earned in prior years!
Looking back, our “summer fun” car arrived in April of 2001, a really neat toy! Turbo-charged, 2-door ragtop 900 SE made by Saab.
I loved to drive it around when the weather was nice 😉
Closing these Garage threads, will share today’s car: a 2018 Toyota Highlander Limited Edition–details…
Key highlights: a near-silent 3.5-liter V6/295hp engine @ ~28MPH with a front-wheel drive system, matched to an automatic transmission, sport-tuned suspension, leather upholstery with (my favourite!) heated/cooled front seats.
With an 8-passenger capacity (6-way power front seats, 2nd row Captain’s chairs that slide & recline and 3rd-row seats for kids), it’s a relaxing ride… a large dashboard touchscreen allows access to all features, including a GPS navigation system; a keyless ignition & entry, with a tri-zone climate control, a sunroof and a tailgate with a flip-up rear window are a delight — yeah, I just love it!!
