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The Lord Taketh and the Lord Maketh Available to Buy |
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In 1995 I received my very own driver's license. I learned to drive mainly on mom's Cavalier, and even took my road test in it with the top down as my instructor suggested. I was able to drive the car more and more as time went on, and eventually started to fix the car up. I tuned the 2.0 OHV up and had it running smooth, the front bumper and nosepiece was replaced after they cracked, and overall I was happy with it. I drove it way too fast and way too hard...but I was 16. I didn't know any better.
And then, one fateful autumn day, it happened. I was goofing around in the high school parking lot and a girl drove right into my driver's side door. The door caved in, the window shattered into pieces, and so did my pride. I messed up, and messed up big. The police were called and an accident report was filed but no tickets were given. The girl's car was FINE. Not a scratch! My mom's poor Cavalier was devistated. The driver's side door, which already had some rust on it at that time, was scrap metal. With the rest of the car showing 118,000 miles my parents decided to trade her in. The car vanished for 6 years while I finished high school & then college at Western Illinois University. We rarely talked about the fate of our poor Cavalier. |
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The Cavalier was traded in, and my folks bought a 1989 Oldsmobile 98 Regency. This was a very nice car, but no folding top. I often thought about offering to buy the car back from the guy, but working part-time and dating seemed to vaporize all of my funds. The Cav was purchased by the dealership's body shop manager who collected a ton of parts for the car in hopes of restoring it for his daughter. He did so over the next few years, replacing the tired 2.0 liter 4 cylinder with a GM crate motor with zero miles on it. He replaced the top, the radiator, and heater core. He also replaced all the panels on the car including fenders, hood, trunk and doors with rust-free California steel. The car was stripped and painted its original coat of Medium Blue Metallic. It was brought back to life by a craftsman who had the tools to do it. The only trouble was the body shop's daughter didn't like the car. So it sat in his garage for 6 years. A garage that sat just a few blocks from our home. I would see the poor car sitting under a tarp once in a while when I'd walk past the family's house but I never said anything to them. I figured he was still working on it. No more was said, and the thought of me owning the car one day faded away like old GM paint. |
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Fast forward to 2001. My dad was in the Chevy dealer one day getting the oil changed in the family van when one of his former students and service manager was talking about the Cavalier.
"John's looking to sell your old car." he said to my father. |
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Yes, there's another page... |
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