Two Birds with One Stone

Two Birds with One Stone

The first new car that I bought was a Triumph TR 250. This car was such a pleasure to drive. It handled very well. It had wire wheels with knock off hubs. It had electric overdrive and got very good gas mileage. I bought this car in 1968.

The purchase of this car was made possible because the car I wanted became too costly. My original car was going to be a 1968 Dodge Charger four speed with 426 Hemi engine. This car was around $3600 and this was in the range that I could afford. The average car was about $2500 but this was no average car. I had never even ridden in one but I wanted it. I went to a dealer and got a test drive and I was sold. That is until I found out that my insurance was going to be over $2000 per year. I was stopped in my tracks.

I was driving a Triumph TR 4 at this time and so I continued to drive it. I had just got a teaching position in Indianapolis and so I was preoccupied with my new job. I was starting in the middle of the year replacing a teacher who had become pregnant. My salary was $5800 so the insurance on that Charger would be almost 1/3 of my income.

I was satisfied with my TR 4 until spring. I had met a new girl and I wanted a new car to show her off. Since I couldn’t have my Charger I thought I would consider a new Triumph. I looked at the new Triumph and was completely won over. This was really a driver’s car. In fact I was so anxious to get this car that I signed a blank contract for the purchase of the car. That’s right. I was told that the car would be either $3600 or $3800 (I don’t remember which) and I said fine. Before I could have the car the purchase would have to be approved by the sales manager and he was gone. This was on a Friday and I was ready to get going. We worked out a deal where I would sign a blank contract and he would let me have the car. WOW!

I was from a small town where it was not even necessary to sign a contract. Your word was your signature so it was not of concern to me. He told me something and I said OK and that was my bond. As I think back on this I still laugh.

My girlfriend and I then took off for the country. We went out highway 136 to Jamestown and then took State Road 234 which was a winding road that would be sooooo fun to drive. We stopped at a place where a spring fed into a make shift drinking fountain and got a drink. I took a picture of my girlfriend while we were stopped. We then continued on to Kingman. I wanted to show off my new car and my new girlfriend.