Some people may know the story of my first car, I wrote a thing about it and Jalopnik graciously picked it up and ran with it. It wasn’t the first car that I drove regularly (1986 Camry), but it was the first car I bought with my money for my dedicated use.
Only that’s not entirely true. The first vehicle I purchased with my own money ($150 off my cousins who won it from a radio contest) was a race truck...of sorts.
(pictured, my grandpa pull starting my ride. He later had a heart attack and died pull starting a 3 wheeler...I guess it’s an okay way to go). Okay, so mine wasn’t really like Glenn Harris’ actual stadium truck, but it was pretty close...to me
(FYI - it wasn’t 87 when I bought mine. I don’t know when it was...I don’t look that old, maybe 10?)
Here is the real #5 truck in action. Rod Millen and Jeff Huber also drove them.
And here it is as a #721
Fun fact, these B-series trucks were Rotary powered (what I can only assume is a NA version of the 13B). Mine was powered by a 5.5 HP tecumseh thumper with a 2 stage torque converter clutch. it had big ATV float tires and a fiberglass body. It wasn’t fast, but it went just about everywhere. Snow, sand...whatever. It was probably good that it was geared slow as it had a solid axle (no differential) and no suspension. Steering was also something of an effort. I did get it air born more than once though...and bent the crap out of the front axle in the process, but that was easy enough to fix.
Eventually I outgrew it and sold it to my Uncle out in California for his 2 young boys to tear apart and rebuild. If I remember they stripped the motor, bored out the intake and exhaust and ran it on methanol. I have reached out to see if I can get the rest of the story. Both of his boys followed in dad’s footsteps and became automotive engineers it turns out.
That was a good little truck. I delivered newspapers in it (that didn’t last long...I don’t into mornings and never have), I used it for trick or treating, my older brother even used it for a school dance by putting a wagon behind it and, along with his friends, creating a date parade around the neighborhood with each guy creating a sort of float for their dates to ride on.
Good times.