MY FIRST CAR - A 1933 CHEVROLET COUPE

1933 Chevy

For $40 on February 7, 1957, at the age of 14, my life changed! Dad allowed me to buy a car from neighbor Charlie Norcross! Buying this car gave me a boyhood of happiness.. owning my own car.

This particular car was the same that dad had owned in the Thirties. Together we delighted in owning such an antique. (25 years or more.)

It was a six-cylinder model with Free Wheeling.

 A large throttle on the dashboard would disengage the drive gear and you could coast. Today this would be illegal! A rubber-bladed vacuum fan was attached to the steering post and the car had only one wiper.. on the driver's side! It was a basic Chevrolet without any rumble seat. We even painted the car black by a paintbrush. We bought a radio from Maurice Lubin at his junkyard in Brookfield.

The Chevrolet served me well. Sister Jan drove us to NBHS. Mother Rita drove it to Brookfield Orchards where we worked for Hammy Lincoln.

One year later I would be turning 16. The old jalopy had served me well. I sold it for $50 to a man in Auburn. Years later I looked at a 1933 Chevrolet owner in Long Island.. an Eagle Roadster for $6,000! I opted not to buy it, but the fun was for dad and I and Stanley Roteth to inspect it.

Today's 2019 model cars are surreal. Having a sense of automotive history allows me to reflect on one moment of happiness.."when I was a boy!"

ROBERT LOUIS POTVIN