1951 Pit Car

[mark heathman]

I sold my TD in 1963. It was red at the time. On the glove compartment door was an aluminum octagon shaped dash plaque. It said "1951 WATKINS GLEN PIT CAR". I was very proud of that plaque knowing that this was an important race somewhere and my TD had some how was race bread making me a race car driver. Where has this old girl gone? Does any one know? If so I would like to apologize for the screen door locks I screwed the inside of the doors so that they would not come open again a speed. I was a college student with no money so .39 cents was ideal. I can also explain the existence of battery acid in the rear compartment. See that is where the backup battery lived, connected to the car battery by a household extension cord running out the door along the fender and under the bonnet stripped and ready to wrap around the poles. It would get hot very quickly so I had to be quick. The old blanket stuffed under the dash in and out of the wiring was there to try and stop the drafts of cold air on my feet. Driving home for Christmas in minus ten degree weather was as significant effort as any Arctic adventure. If it were not for the raccoon coat.... well. I developed great right hand dexterity driving. The right hand shifted the gears, honked the horn, dimmed the lights, ran the wipers (as the motor was not working) and scraped the frost from the inside of the windshield. You quickly learned to exhale downward, not toward the windshield. When there was a break in the action then one attended to the various rags stuffed in numerous cracks. The tire chains were kept in the rear compartment next to the backup battery. The front valance was not suitable to large snow drifts as it scooped snow up against the radiator. Amazing traction however. Snow blown into the car was simply scooped up and pitched out as it never got warm enough for it to melt. Was it worth the effort? It was... as I was a race car driver you know. I was also very young. Today as I look out over the bonnet of my pampered TC I do remember.......... remember....it was a good car and friend and I am terribly sorry for the indignities that I put her through. I thought she was just an old car and I was the important one. I didn't know how important the memories were going to be. So if any one knows where she is tell her I said kind words and I now understand! I know if she still lives she is still making wonderful memories for some one else. Oh and tell her the girl in the other seat, Nancy, I married her and we are still very happy. Mark

[LuckyFloridaLin@aol.com]

DELIGHTFUL STORY! Thanks Thom [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Gene Gillam]

Thom wrote:

>DELIGHTFUL STORY!

Thanks