[Pantera]

It was in the fall of 1957. I was with my mother downtown at Bill White Chev where she was buying a used dusty rose '57 Chev 210 post that my 2nd cousin had arranged for her to get from a woman that had bought it new and couldn't make the payments on it. He was the parts manager for the dealership so we got it at cost.

My Daddy was a ford man and he was pissed that she had bought this "Chev". I will never forget the new '57 Red/Red Fuel Injected Corvette that was setting in the showroom right in front of the parts dept. I remember setting in it and pretending that I was driving it. I was fasinated by the waffle iron looking seatcovers it had. I had never seen anything like that.

Daddy had drinking buddys that worked in the showroom of Donges ford a block or two away from the Chev place. He would take me with him on Saturdays as he went to see all of his buddys. I know now that it was just to get a drink with them. I thought the T-Bird was a neat car when it came out and daddy got me the AMT model cars each year off the wall that the salesmen used to show the different cars that they sold.

I was too young to be interested in cars in '55 when the Tbird came out but was almost 13 when Mother bought the '57 chev. So to make a long story shorter I think that was when I first became a fan of the "Muscle Car".

A Few years later daddy died in 1960 and mother started to drive his 59 Ford 4 dr. and left the '57 at home. I could get out early from school and I would blast home and get it out of the garage and drive via the backstreets back to school and pickup my friends. Boy that made a guy popular with the girls.

When I turned 16 mother gave me the '57. It was a 283 220 hp, Pglide with dual exaust. I took it to the drags and turned a best of 15:20 with it. Not too bad for a 60,000 car.

but I had aways wanted one of those Vette's. Got one finally in '66. Wish I had never let that one go. But that's another story for another day.