deckm00

It wasa balmy summer eveningin 1966 and our family had just completed dinner. My father, who's nickname was Hickory, announced to me that we were going back to the station for something he had to do. So Hickory and I, his 13 yr. old son Mark, hopped into his '54 Chevy and drove back to his Chevron gas station in Summit, NJ. It was a real nice setup, with two pump islands and three repair bays. My dad was something of an electrical genius and also something of an entrepreneur, and he enjoyed running his own business. A business which included not only gas and oil sales and car repair, but such things as one of the first coin-op car washes in the area, aftermarket A/C installations and Lear 8-track tape player sales and installs. It also included a Hertz franchise which I was particularly fond of, because whenever he felt like it he'd disconnect the speedometer cable of some rental car or another and take it home for the night or weekend. Once in awhile that included a Shelby GT350H. So instead of driving up to Aunt Mary's in the LTD, we'd get there in record time in the Shelby, and with plenty of turned heads along the way! Anyway, instead of pulling into the station that evening we parked down the side street in the dark. He said to be patient and wait, that he wanted to see something. Seems he had gotten a phone call before dinner from Hertz stating that they wanted to know if the Shelby he'd picked up a couple weeks ago had been turned in. Back then if a customer wanted a particular model or if they were just short on cars to rent he'd grab a few guys and pick up what he needed from Hertz at Newark Airport, which was relatively close by. Seems that one of his main mechanics, Red (so-called for his long red hair, which even then was longer than the Beatles' hair was) had requested a Shelby for a non-existent customer. Turns out he had been using it for all that time for his own personal enjoyment, such as racing at Englishtown, picking up girls etc. Sure enough as we were waiting in the dark Red pulls up in the Mustang and proceeds to get a bucket and hose to wash it. My father pulls into the station, tells me to wait in the car, and next thing I knewRed was gone and we were closing the station ourselves. Hick could have delivered his *** to the cops, but he had a heart and also wanted to teach him a lesson. Withina coupleweeks Redcame back, paid off the cost of the rental, cut his hair as per Hick's conditions and had his old job back (he was a great mechanic and could accurately complete a rental agreement in his head, and all the customers liked him).

Anyhow, I have fond memories of that car, whether it wasgoing with the guys into town to pick up parts or a pizza, or simply going with my 'rents to the supermarket. Back then it was such fun to be doing mundane things in a car that was anything but mundane!

Cubs17

good story, welcome to the forum!