My name is M'Lisa and I am Big M's wife.
My "first" car was a 1974 Rice Quarter Midget (built by Ken Rice of Hayward, Ca). I was 8 years old when we bought it and 9 when I started racing it. Not only do I still have it, but I just pulled it out of storage and brought it home with me. Here are some pictures of it as it sits today.
Last edited by oldsmochic; 06-30-2010 at 05:14 AM.
Just an Oldsfashioned girl with a 69 Hurst Olds, a 59 Desoto Firesweep Convertible and a 2008 Desoto Adventurer.
My first car that I drove on the streets was a 1969 H/O that belonged to my mom. I started driving it (with a parent with me) at 11.
No reason I couldn't drive, I'd been racing for two years. DUH! When I turned eighteen my parents gave me the car, well, they put my name on it. Neither one of them had seen it since I turned 16 and was finally legal.
This is the car that I was driving when I first met John. If you look close on the passenger side, you can see him!
Here are the pictures that I took as we were leaving Reno with it. You guys think Christine was possessed, My baby truly is. Just ask John.
I had a mechanic who swore that she hated him. I would take it in for an easy repair and she would quit running right. He would call me that she was only running on seven (if I was lucky) cyclinders. I would show up and she would run as smooth as she could. The last ime I took it in to him to get a Smog check,(yes you have to smog in Reno) he couldn't get her to run at all. Told me the carb was junk, running on 6 cylinders and wouldn't pass smog. One of his techs was an autobody student of mine and had driven her before. I asked Burt if his tech could try. He called me back 30 minutes later and said when Joe started her she ran great and passed with flying colors.
When John loaded her up on the trailer to leave Reno she didn't want to roll on to the trailer (John was coming back to Williams and I was staying another week to work). We decided to go have lunch at Gold Ranch before he headed over the pass. We get there and the winch had shorted out and was no longer holding her in the front. We took my Expedition to go look for any thing to tye her down. After an hour and 4 strores we bought some tie downs and secured her. John left and made it Highway 20, which is a 2 lane mountain road, and BAMM! flat tire on the trailer. He ended up finding a wide spot, then had to unload the items in the bed of the truck to find the jack and spare tire. Then change the tire and load everything back into the truck. Oh yeah, it started raining when he pulled over and didn't stop until he started rolling again. Then she was a good girl for the rest of the trip!
M'Lisa
Last edited by oldsmochic; 06-30-2010 at 05:43 AM.
Just an Oldsfashioned girl with a 69 Hurst Olds, a 59 Desoto Firesweep Convertible and a 2008 Desoto Adventurer.
Ahh I love your Hurst Olds. Pulling her outa storage was like waking her up from hibernation. Under all the dust you can see her bright H/O paint job. Too cool! Thanks for postin!
-Allan
Desert Gold and Sand Dune White...what a delight!
Does the Midget still roll and run? Thats awesome that you still have your first vehicles, I wish I'd stored a couple that I've had.(dont we all)
The full story of that Hurst is prolly one of the greatest car stories of all time.
Pete
Someone............do tell
One of my favorite cars of all time. Update and tell the stories, dammit!! How did I miss this thread?
I could see John's shadow in the pass seat. Unless Jody had a hair did like John did!!
great pics! Thank you for sharing them! Luv da Olds...and the qtr race car is a neat lil race car! Never seen one.
That Olds is a cool and rare bird now.
Love the Midget racer, makes me wish I had kept my first few cars as well
Just a side note. In 1991 I was side swiped while driving her. Guy hit me wheel for wheel on the right hand side (his left). He said he didn't see me and then proceeded to tell me he was a professional truck driver. Me, being a little angry said,"Jesus Christ Man, why don't you get back in your car and ht me again, you missed the door a*******!"
I cooled off when I realized I had left my driver's license at home. Thank god my dad beat the cops there! The guy who hit me then comes up to my dad and tells him that this was a nice car. My dad told him to go back to his car immediately because he could only hold me back for so long. I mean after all, I did get out of my car immediately to go talk to him and saw a baby seat with a blanket over it in the passenger seat of his Toyota Pick-up. I asked if the baby was ok and he said that the baby was with his wife. I said "Good then your child won't see me kill you for hitting me!" Good thing I knew one of the officers who showed up at the scene and got my dad to take me home.
I then got the fun job of fighting with the insurance company to repair it. That is a different story. It took me over a year to get my money to repair the car and then I couldn't find a shop that would repair her because she was an just old car to them. My only option to get her fixed was to do it my self. I found Autobody Repair classes at the loca college and signed up for them. Everything except the rear decklid, rt quarter panel and rear bumper are original. I did my best to get the quarter repaired, but I had to replace her after 50 hours of pulling, hammering, dollying etc... I got almost all of the lines right, but it was getting too thin.
After working on her for a short time, I took her out and backed her into a cement barrier around a lamp in a parking lot. That is why she had to have the decklid and rear bumper replaced.
I did a complete strip done to bare metal and then back up. I even fixed all of the Hail damage from when we got chased by a tornado in Kentucky (1970 we bought the car and then drove it to Indiana and home). We were chased by tornados all the way home.
After doing the body work I painted the car. I painted it Cameo White and then had to tape off all the different size stripes. I made templates before I stripped the car. It was a B---- getting those laid out and taped off. I then painted the Firefrost Gold. The gold was not a factory color so I had to color map it using a Sikkens color map from some paint on the decklid that was under the rear spoiler and unfaded. Then match it to a gold in Dupont, and then add and take away different colors. It is a Cadillac gold using large gold metal flake and no black. I painted that then had to wait for it to dry so I could spray the clear coat.
A little side story, my Dad bought the car for my mother for a birthday present in 1970. She passed away from brain cancer 17 days before her birthday in 1985. I painted the car on her birthday May 25, 1995. Ten years after she died. I remeber seeing my fathers face and the tears flowing when he saw the H/O with paint on it. He was so proud of me! Unfortunately we lost in November 1, 1996, before I could get her finished and put all back together.
Little did I know when I took those classes (and then started teaching beginning body and paint) that I would find my career.
M'Lisa
Just an Oldsfashioned girl with a 69 Hurst Olds, a 59 Desoto Firesweep Convertible and a 2008 Desoto Adventurer.
Great story and thanks for sharing. Wow what a history with the car and great that it got you into what you love to do. Do you have some more pics of it after your body work? Would love to see them.
M'Lisa, you were very fortunate to have such great parents and an awesome car too!! Most people would have sold that car years ago, when it was worth nothing. I know that 455 will tear up the asphalt.
Do the motors in the H/O's have 455 Rocket on the aircleaner?
Crazy Story M'lissa! Sorry to hear about your parents.
Where's that Desoto at?
"It was red and white--Chrysler never offered the 1958 Plymouth Fury in those colors; Rollie had gotten it custom-painted."
"I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth."
Wow, insane story, I would have put that guy's head under my tire and done a burn out till hiswas all over the road.
Last edited by JUDGEMENT; 07-05-2010 at 03:01 AM.
My asshole brother bought her back in September '57. That's when you got your new model year, in September. Brand-new, she was. She had the smell of a brand-new car. That's just about the finest smell in the world, 'cept maybe for pussy.
~Steph
The 4 door is for sale and the convertible is still "modelling" for John's Sport Fury. He is using it to make parts that are missing from "Toothless". M'Lisa
Just an Oldsfashioned girl with a 69 Hurst Olds, a 59 Desoto Firesweep Convertible and a 2008 Desoto Adventurer.
Thought I would add a little to this story. Shortly after writing this I found out the the Oldsmobile Nationals were going to be held in Reno, Nv. Our home town and stomping grounds. I told John I wanted to put her back together, but we needed to find an engine for her. My dad had the oil pump go out twice on the original engine so the second time they replaced the engine with a new one. After that the numbers don't match, but who cares? It not like I am going to sell it. In April of 1990 I was driving thru Pumpernickel Valley, Nv (moving back to Reno from Elko) and bang! I threw two rods, only one went threw the block. John (told you we've known each other forever) found a short block and we put that POS is. Nothing but problems. Ate push pins like candy (64), overheated at the drop of a hat. I would drive the 5 blocks to A&W and she would be puking as I pulled in.
In October of 2010, I found a short block and we drove up to Oregon to buy it. It sat in our barn for a long time, before John had all the new pieces for it. We finally pulled it out of the garage and put her in the barn because John had the engine ready to exchange heads. John did all my engine work and the day he got it running was the first day I had cried for happiness in a long time.
We started working on reassembly of her and had her finished the night we had to leave to go to Reno. This is the only vehicle that we have trailered to a show.
Next day at the show we parked next to another 1969 Hurst Olds and finished putting on the nameplates and stickers. They came by and judged all the classes and I ended up winning a third place trophy. I was exstatic (?) because we had forgotten to detail the engine compartment, and the interior was worn (original). I did get mentioned by one of the judges of the specialty awards. She said that my car was the correct gold and was beautiful, and would have won the award if my engine compartment had been cleaner. I was just happy to be mentioned!
On Sunday before heading home, we went to a park in northern Reno for my Uncle's 80th birthday. I drove up in the olds and all my cousins and uncle came out to look her over. All were saying how good she looked, but my Uncle turned to me and told me that I did a wonderful job on her and "your parents would be so proud of you." GREATEST DAY!
Oh yeah and we drove over 15 miles and she never overheated!
Just an Oldsfashioned girl with a 69 Hurst Olds, a 59 Desoto Firesweep Convertible and a 2008 Desoto Adventurer.
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