My First Car

By Dan Pudelek

Let’s go back a bit: it's 1962 and I'm working at Walgreens on 22nd and Austin in Cicero.  This was one of my many first full time jobs.  If I remember right I was making right around $1.15 or $1.20 an hour.  Now you have to realize, I'm trying to save money; having a social life and a girlfriend is not easy on that kind of money.  So after walking to work for almost one year I have what I think is enough money to start looking for a car.  Well, one of my problems was my father had this idea that to have enough money for a car you also need to have enough money for insurance and that was not on my schedule.  I didn't have the money for a car and the insurance so back to walking to work.  At $45 a week it looked like I would never get a car.  After another 6 months, give or take, I have enough money to start looking.  I wasn't looking for any one car just one I could afford.  You see, my father didn't drive so I had no first- hand advice on what to buy.  I had a talk with my uncles, one who was a Chevy man the other uncle was a Ford man. My one uncle had a sweet black 1952 Ford coupe with straight pipes - sounded sweet.   My other uncle had a more conservative Chevy 6-banger stick, 4 doors, great on gas, perfect for a family man.  I didn't get much help from either one on what to buy.  It seems what I thought was a goodly amount of money to buy a car sadly was not so I had to lower my sights a bit! 

My next stop, the newspaper to see what I could get for the money.  After looking at a lot of rusty junk I was getting depressed.  One day before going to work I needed a haircut so off to the barber.  I had been going to the same barber for years and like all barbers he knew everything that was going on in the neighborhood.  I was telling him my problem about looking for a car I could afford.  He said “This is your lucky day Dan.”   He just bought a new car that week and was going to put his old car up for sale.  He only had a one car garage and didn't have any place to put the old one.  I thought I hit the mother lode.  After talking about the car for a bit the Big Question was how much will he be willing to take.  He wanted $260 - not what I wanted to hear.  It was a bit more then I wanted to pay for a car that was 8 years old.  I didn't have enough money for the car and insurance, so back to walking.  Well, the barber put the car in front of his shop with a for sale sign on it; after a few weeks the car was still there so I figured I'd walk over and have another talk.

I'm hoping he'll come down on the price and give me a break and I'd take it off his hands.  After what seemed like a long, long conversation he said he would like to talk to my father before he gives me an answer.  Let me say I was mad.  I told Bill, listen I’m buying the car with my money and not my father’s so you have to deal with me.  I guess Bill was a little shocked with my comeback.  He added he only wanted to make sure that I wasn't doing something behind my father back.  I assured him my father knew exactly what was going on, but (there’s always a but), he would still like to see my father first seeing I wasn't 18.  So, long story short my father and I walked over and had a talk with the barber and I bought a car.  It wasn't a Ford or a Chevy, it was a flathead 6 - a 1954 Plymouth Belvedere 3-speed, 4 door.  I thought it was the best looking car in the world - baby blue with a black top and the radio worked great.  So now I was a car owner with insurance, one happy young man.  I couldn't wait to tell my girlfriend what I bought.  So now you know how my love affair with the automobile started.  That first car is long gone, along with many others, but the same girl is still by my side as copilot.