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Being a true lover of the automobile ever since I was about 8 yrs old, I would always trek to Ashern with Mom or Dad on weekends just to go to the Drug Store so I could look at car and truck magazines. Never even daring to dream of ever having anything like what I was drooling over.
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When I turned 16, I got a job in Ashern as a labourer working on the construction of a new Fire Hall. This very fast '63 Ford Galaxie was FOR SALE by Luke Konzelmen at the local Ashern John Deere Dealership for $200.00. Even tho I was making $2.00 an hour, I negotiated purchasing this car with 4 monthly payments of $50.00! I drove this high powered machine (390-4V) to the maximum extremes every day. A monster was born.................I drove the @1#%^ out of this 747 every day. The stresses of being raised in Vogar where you had to fight every day to survive, add a cup full of fresh testosterone and sprinkle in a case or two of Molson Canadian.......a recipe for disaster was cooking at high heat. My poor parents (God Bless them) went thu hell when I waz loose with this car. It was at the point where the local RCMP would stop them on the highway and ask them where I was? |
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After blowing up the big 390, I fell in love with the '63 look so bought this four door. It had a much less powerful 352-2V, but it got me around....................I still love the '63 Galaxies..........if we ever sold the '59, I would look for a nice '63 1/2 Galaxie 500 XL. | |
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After getting sick of changing starters, generators and tranny's on the Fords, I jumped into this little car. This '66 Dodge Polara looked nice but the 318 2-V just couldn't handle my abuse. After two trannys, one engine rebuild and the sickening lifters pumping up at high rpm's, I got rid of her. |
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The site of this Monaco and the fact that I had a steady job at Hwys, I couldn't resist this elegant beauty. I bought her in '71 for $1,200.00................another car loan! This "looker" had the big block 383-2V. I'm not the bragging type, but nobody from around home could catch this car. I drove this car in excess of 100 mph on a daily basis. It would top end at 128 mph..........Me and my baby (my wife now) came very close to losing our lives one night when racing a new Dart Swinger. We were doing over 100mph on the topside of a curve against traffic in the wrong lane trying to pass the Dart when this large car lifted up on two wheels twice in a split second.........I managed to slow her down and come back to reality..........wheeeeew........in case u were wondering, the Dart won. |
In the late fall of '72 after a long hot summer working on the seal coat crew, I spotted this car at Penner Dodge in Steinbach. This rolling champion of the road was only two years old! The minute I opened the hood and saw the 440-4V, I wasn't going anywhere except for a test drive! The first set of lights did it for me..........this large car had no effort in
braking the tires loose at half-throttle. I had never experienced torque like this before.......The elderly mennonite salesman who came along was not nearly as impresses as I was. My keen sense of bargaining along with good credit rating, put me behind the wheel of the most powerful machine that I had everdriven in my life. This 1970 Chrysler 300 was unbelieveable. It would without hesitation bury the needle in very short notice, I rather insanley practissed this test every day. I had no idea what the top end was on this car, I would guess at close to 140mph. | |
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Starting to settle down now(?).........we bought this '74 Cheyenne Super brand spankin new. It had a 350-2V, but we changed all that. On the way home from Winnipeg with this brand new unit, I stopped in at "Softy's Speed Shop" and picked up a Holley streetmaster intake, 600cfm carb, dual point ign, GM 327-350hp cam, chrome valve covers/breather etc. Later came the wheels, tires and hooker headers. Whitesides Service Station in Eriksdale loved me with this truck. I would burnup about four sets of tires every summer with this fast package. In the summer of '75, five of us went to Nashville Tennessee with this truck! Another dream come true.................we saw Nashville when Nashville was "Country" . |
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Did I say "settling down?"..........................I guess I lied, sorry. I traded my pick-up for this piece of insanity. 1974 Z-28, M-21, 3:73's, 750 dp, offenhauser intake, angle plug 202 heads, Mallory ignition, dual point, LT-1 GM solid cam and more. I have no idea why I bought this "bullet" of the road. How did my dear wife put up w/me? | |
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The trucks on the left were all purchased new as I thought I was swimming in money. I was at the time making around $3-4 dollars an hour but working 60-70 hrs a week. I beefed up all of em except the lower 1986 Sierra Classic. The typical carb, cam, headers, ignition etc. Backroad burnouts and drag racing were the "weekend thing" to do besides partying, dancing, drinking beer, whiskey and anything else that would substitute when we ran out. Life was just too good........sex wouldn't kill you and I vainly tried to over-kill on that as much as possible. The RCMP only came to town when someone got shot or killed in a car accident. The per capita statistices of early deaths in Vogar would be staggering. I know of at least 20 school mates that died before they turned 20 as a result of the socio-economic frustrations that all these good people were faced with on a continual slide.
Top - 1977 GMC Sierra Classic
Middle - 1979 GMC Sierra Classic
Bottom - 1986 GMC Sierra Classic
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| Another speeding ticket from Lundar RCMP.
Socializing with my good friends, Henry Richard and Wallace Paul. | |
| Bad Boyz......... Bad Boyz |
Pictured above are a few other cars that I restored.
The '67 Impala was beautiful car......untill I hit the ditch at 90 mph on a gravel road and went through 200 ft of barbed wire fence sideways. If it wasn't for the fact that the grass was wet......I probably wouldn't be here chattin w/y'all right now.Thats what drinkin homebrew all day wil do to a guy.
The '63 Impala was another beauty. I installed a Corvette L-82 engine in this car. I bought it from a kid in Winnipeg that inherited it from his granparents. It had a cooked six in it w/ 64,000 original miles!
The '66 Parisienne................all stock but whatta beauty. I still love these cars.
The '56 Ford Fairlanne Victoria.......one of the sharpest cars ever made. It is gone to Seattle area now. I truly miss this little package of dynamite. |
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Definetly settling down now. My beaming Adeline so proud of our new (30yr old) home in 1982. This little home definetly changed my lifestyle. Joined A.A.'s in 1980, still abstaining after 25yrs........... We still live in our little shack...........have done a ton of improvements tho. |
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My career at Highways has been most enjoyable. I rode the road for 30 years starting as a laborer then graduating to the large equipment. My guardian angel was watching over me as I couldn't dream of having a better job. I worked with the finest people that God put on this planet. I worked for wonderful supervisors, my mentor was and still is the late George Gobelle. I travelled this province from end to end, many times over. I have met practically all of the highways staff in Manitoba. My hat still goes off to the maintenance crews that work so very hard for so very little gratitude. These good men deserve so much more. Every (well almost) day was a total blast. As a result of a truck accident for which I was not responsible, I now have permamnent back damage. I have torn ligaments in the T-3 area of my spine. I am in the precarious predicament of formerly being strong and active. I now can hardly carry a bag of groceries without a stabbing pain that renders me useless. My employer was kind enough to employ me in an office environment where I can survive and work quite well. I now cater to the trucking industry in the Manitoba Highways and Transportation Permit Office. Target for retirement is three years away. I must admit that I have mixed emotions about that............I will truly miss working with my cherished friends.
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