A car story in it's own words....
Frazz and Donna Rae were married in 1971, they jumped in, fired me up and took me on their honeymoon—Chico to San Diego, down into Mexico and back up the Pacific Coast Highway. Later that summer I was a little upset when they took Donna’s MG north to Canada. In the fall of 1971 Frazz and Donna Rae settled into Ukiah, California. I earned my rightful place in a protected carport where everything from valve jobs to clutch changes and all maintenance in between occurred over the subsequent four decades. Donna Rae’s sweet MG was not so fortunate, and I feel bad about it. Even today when Donna brings up the sad fate of her MG, it is difficult for them to look back and accept they allowed it to slip away for a Toyota sedan.
Frazz did have his faults. Once he neglected to address a dead spot on my starter’s armature. Rather than fix it, he chose to teach Donna how poke with a stick and move the armature part of a revolution. That did work, but you can imagine how humiliating it is to be in front of the grocery store with your hood propped up while your owner pokes around with a stick. Consequences were deserved and they were delivered. One day Donna Rae employed the armature rotation process, then—without latching my hood down—she climbed back in, hit the starter, fired me up, and drove down the road. Of course my hood flew up, slammed against my windshield, severed its hinges, and finished with a slide down Sanford Ranch Road. As I heard Donna Rae recounting the day’s event regarding my hood, I knew Frazz was paying dearly for his mistake.
As the 1970s passed Donna and Frazz were blessed with a daughter, Gena—and in 1981 sweet Annie arrived. The family sedan became the preferred mode of transportation. Still, for many years I was Frazz’s main ride to work and back. But long road trips like the ones to Mexico, Washington State, and beyond were a thing of the past.
In recent years, the empty nesters have renewed their love affair with me and the rides we take. Many trips to the Mendocino Coast, north up the 101, and a special one in the summer of 2014 to Oregon’s Mount Hood have brought my youth back—though not without a little drama. Somewhere between Salem and Silverton, Oregon, Frazz pulls over to the side of the road and calls Moss Motors. My generator bearings were smoking and the DC stopped flowing. A phone conversation that began in desperation ends in relief. Our man at Moss assures us we will have a new generator by noon the next day. It arrived as promised, Frazz installs it, and a terrific 1,000-mile tour ended beautifully.
In the winter of 2014, Frazz’s friend Ken—who is now my trusted friend—offered repair time in his shop equipped with a rack and other fabulous tools and instruments. Ken performed major magic under my hood and beyond. In my wildest dreams, I could have never believed that at 57 years of age that I would still be enjoying the rush of road trips with Frazz and many golden years ahead.
