Since the subject of the equipment truck is beat to death I'm sure everyone has a story about their first car for transportation to practice and other outings. Nah, I'm not making reference to the car 'mommy' bought you. The direction is for the less than $200 beaters you could buy along Cicero Avenue and the rides alumni stretched
A few that come to mind is the engine Walter built with Lee Davis. A 283 bored and stroked to a 327 with injection.....nice ride. Sneaky Pete knew how to bang his '65 GTO-tri power 389 with a four banger. Then there's Patton owning(the bank did)a '65 Impala SS with four up and playing it out.

What other rides-good or bad did other alumni relish during their drum corps days??

Those who were around in 1978 1979 will remember my first two cars. The first was a 1967 AMC Rambler Rebel, red with a black vinyl top (well, mostly rust). I didn't have it for a real long time, though. We had just finished restoring it (paint job, wax, brakes, seat covers, new Craig tape deck, etc.), and then I was cut off on a rainy night after taking Jan Warren home from practice and slammed head first into a wall on the Dan Ryan (I think). George Roberts came to get me back to Northwestern and take the car (he was working at an auto place at the time). He later used it to go driving in the snow and smashing into things.

My second car was a 1963 Chevy Impala, blue with a cracked front windshield. It was a beast, but it never failed to start. In fact, I took a night class at NU on tuning up a car, and they couldn't even figure out what to do with it, because none of the gauges worked on it but it ran great!

The best story of that car, though, was the time it was towed away. I had parked in the wrong place at my Rogers Park apartment in 1979 the night of our AL State win (and subsequent party at the Lamesis house). I was a little "out of it", to put it politely. It was me, George, Brad Abbot, and maybe some others. We got up in the morning for the parade and had no car and no way to get to Skokie. So Jim Fiduccia had to come get us - needless to say, it wasn't a pleasant morning in ANY way for us!

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Gosh. First car? My first car was AFTER I was married! Got a maroon 1965 Ford Mustang! It was fun and we did OK with it until we had a few kids. Also, it was a piece of s*** as far as construction. After 3 years, it was inoperable.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958- 63

My first ride was a '56 Ford I purchased for $120.... it drank all kinds of liquids and didn't last very long(no driver mechanical skills).

The next form of transportation was a '62 Grand Prix I purchased in '66 for $900 and the car knew more than I did. That sucker was clean inside but your typical Chicago rust on the outside. Learning the hard way on mechanics I blew the engine in '68 and turned to a '67 GTO to show me the way. I semi knew what I was doing under the hood by then and thorougly enjoyed street racing. I only took it to the digs once and red lighted on the trophy race-a true NPI.

BOB, the 70's turned out some great rides in a different manner but as the pollution control BS hit the cars the performance dwindled. I was able to get 10-11 miles per gallon on the GTO but then Sunoco 260 was a mere .49 cents. A great time to semi grow up.

My first was my parents car they had given to me. At this point they were tired of driving me to practice. It was a 1966 Bisquane, white, no ac, am only. It lasted many years to reach 250,000 miles.

My first car was a '49 Olds that I bought for $50.
It came with 2 engines and 2 transmissions. I had put the 6 cylinder into it, thinking it would be good on gas. . . and it was. But was lousy on oil. At the time I was dating a girl from the Regiment in Rockford. I used to stop at a gas station that sold recycled oil and pick up a case of 12 quarts. The trip took 5 quarts out and 5 quarts back. Needless to say, it was along trip! MAN I LOVED THAT CAR!!!

What did you do in the Corps? Bass Drummer

What years were you a Corps member? '57-'62

My first car was a 1969 Cutlass 442, but that doesn't count. I had to sell that car because of toooo many speeding tickets and unreal insurance. My first junker was a 1971 Pinto. It was an ok car and got great gas mileage, need a new clutch about every 5000 miles, and I drove it until it just died. I had it when I was working with Scarlet Knights, Guardsmen, Fox Valley and Imperials. Then I bought for $100 a real piece of ^*@& Ford Fairlane. It was the worst car I even owned. I was always working on it. Must have put 6 sets of brakes on it and I thought the only way it was going to stop some times was to open the door and drag my foot. LOL Was a piece of &%$t! ROFL I then bought my trumpet teacher's Yellow Ford Fiesta which everyone in the groups I was teaching called it the Banana. I had it for the first year or so when I was teaching band in Michigan. I knew I needed a new car when the at a winter band camp up in the woods, the kids in the band picked the car up, carried it to the middle of the practice field and completely covered it with snow. I woke up the next day and asked the other director, who was laughing, "where's my car?" He just pointed out to the field and I could see a radio antenna sticking out of what looked like a mound of snow. From there on, it was new cars for me. LOL A cool subject. I am amazed that some of us are still alive from riding in cars that really weren't road worthy. We were young and stupid I guess. LOL

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

Mine was a 1967 Dodge Cornet Coupe that I traded for a 1971 Plymouth Fury Coupe. Both were ok but primarily commute cars and solid transportation. By today's standards the Fury was a Battleship but had good power.

When I got out of school I bought a 1976 Olds Cutlass Supreme Coupe that could fly. I still miss the rumble of the 4 barrel carborator. But the one I like best is the car I've been driving for the past 5 years--2003 Nissan 350Z. You need a very light foot to drive that car.

My first car was a black 1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport fastback. It was wrecked when a snow plow hit it. My second car was a 1971 Ford Torino GT that I had to sell when I lost my job. My third car, a 1973 Ford Gran Torino Sport fastback.....I STILL OWN!!!! I bought it in high school and I have never sold it. While it has never been restored, it is still show worthy and I do all those little car shows that dealers and burger joints put on.

I always laugh when folks describe their cars from the 60's and 70's as being a "piece of s#%&"....because they were built that way. I remember a time that if a car had 80k miles on it...it was close to being junk. While I don't know much about them, cars post war and up to about 1960 seem to have been be built a lot better...and in my opinion cars didn't really improve for 20 years...or so.

Anyway...I don't know how many times I hear parents tell their kids at the cars shows "I USED TO HAVE ONE JUST LIKE THAT". I don't have to say that...in that I drive my kids around in my high school car.....all summer long...

What did you do in the Corps? Sop

What years were you a Corps member? 1979

Mine was a 69 Mustang--ice blue. Wish I still had it!
Hey--is this Ralph Tomas?? If it is--get in touch.....

Jolyne-tiz me, hard to get in touch with you since I don't know where you're at! I can be reached at SunshinePT5210@aol.com-I'd love to talk with you.

KEITH-sounds like you found the car you liked and hung onto it. The restoration process is expensive but you'd be surprised what parts are available. I purchased a '78 TransAm as an engagement present in '79. I got rid of here and still have the car. I restored it about 8 years ago but the interior is original. Twas a great choice!

My ultimate dream car is a 1974 AMC Gremlin X. I never owned one, but I've never stopped wanting one. Don't know why, really. It just appealed to me at the time.

After my two clunkers described above, I had a 1976 GMC Vandura - lime green, with a bed in the back (it CAME that way, so be quiet!), and shag carpeting. It saved my life financially when I moved to Atlanta. Because Spirit didn't have a corps truck, I hauled the drums to rehearsals all winter, and the staff drove it on the rode during the summer. For that, they waived my dues, so I lived like a king all year! Luckily it wasn't involved in the crash that killed Jim Ott - I don't think I could have lived with that. But it was in the caravan.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare; Drum Major; Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Things must have really changed after the mid-60s. My recollection from 62 to 66 was most of the cars driven by Norwood members were Chevy Impala 2-doors with the big V-8s (427's I think) or Pontiacs. Blenski had a 63-T bird and a 1958 Impala convertible before that. Ted Orland had a Dodge Polara but usually drove his dad's 63 Pontiac Grand Prix--midnight blue two door sport coupe. That was a car.

I just don't see a Gremlin fitting into that crowd. It wasn't "cool." But that was the sixties. Gas was about 25 cents a gallon. The compact cars weren't in vogue yet and the Mustang, Camero and Firebird hadn't really developed their muscle car reputation. The only foreign cars were Volkswagen Beetles. Even my dad had a 1965 Dodge Polara Coupe with a 400 plus cubic inch Hemi-engine.

My first car WAS a Rambler - maybe that's the link!

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

I don't know if anyone remembers it, but AMC released a limited addition Levi's Gremlin. The car was painted kind of a "denim blue" with the Levi logo located on the front fender. The interior was the center piece of the car, with the seats being upholstered in denim, complete with the little Levi denim rivets!

This car along with the sporty(?) Gremlin X are becoming increasingly collectable and very cool. So Bob, you are not alone.....

What did you do in the Corps? Sop

What years were you a Corps member? 1979

I had forgotten about the Pacer. It was certainly DIFFERENT! Go to this website for some pictures"
www.american-motors.de/en/pacer/history/ - 13k

I remember the car also because Rick Maass also had one. You may remember that Rick was a large man .. so the wide body of the Pacer was great for him. I rode in it a few times too. It was actually quite comfortable.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer: later: Quartermaster, assistant drum instructor

What years were you a Corps member? 1958- 63

My first car was a 1977 Chevy Nova. I bought it off of my Uncle in the winter of 1983 - 1984.

I'll never forget driving down route 53 during the winter and pressing the washer fluid lever and nothing came out. So I had to pull off to the side of the road and throw snow on the windshield, until I got to a gas station to buy a bottle.

I bought a bottle at the gas station, opened the hood to fill it up and could not find the recepticle. Turns out it was optional on that car in 1977 and my Uncle living in Missouri at the time didn't need it.

So I got used to throwing snow on the winshield.


As far as a Pacer is concerned, I went to a demolition derby where a Pacer actually won. He got a standing ovation.

What did you do in the Corps? Cymbals, Bass Drum, Tenor

What years were you a Corps member? 1980 - 1983

I purchased my first car in 1986 - it was an 85 burgundy Chevy Camaro. It served me well for work, traveling to one of my 3 recreational softball teams I belonged to and back and forth from Chicago to Dekalb, where I went back to school for a 2nd degree.
In the 12 years I had that Camaro, not once did I receive a speeding ticket. My Camaro died in 1998 and I picked up a 1996 Mercury Sable that served me well for nine years except for my first 2 speeding tickets I received, in Barrington, IL of all places. Becoming a mom in 2004 and again in 2008 I have made the ever popular jump to being a Minivan mom. Our familiy's other car is a 2000 Mazada Protege and my biggest accomplishment with this car is that I learned how to drive stick-shift.

What did you do in the Corps? I played the bass drum, soprano & flugel horn

What years were you a Corps member? 1978-1981

I've own my pride and joy now for over 10 years, It is ticket me red color 4 on the floor 302 motor and very cherry, and it sounds great.
I have a 1967 Ford Mustang Holly carb and a great Hurst shifter. I too have never received a ticket in it yet.

What did you do in the Corps? Those things

What years were you a Corps member? 78 & 79