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This is the 1950 Ford Victoria of Roger
Petschauer, and I show it only to visually show
you what a '50 Ford Victoria looks like. This is
a really nice remodel job, but it is NOT mine.
A couple of postings back I introduced you to
my first car,... a 1946 Ford Coupe that I had for
about a month.. My brother promised me a 1950
Ford Victoria if I would get rid of the '46. The 1950
was a car that he took in trade for some work he
had done on another car. The '50 was frozen up
and the windows were all cracked. If I would do all
the physical work, my brother would supervise and
also build me a Chevrolet V-8 engine for it.
I was only 16 years old and I would have the
neatest car in the world! Every day after school I
would arrive at his speedshop and he would give me
another task to perform on the '50. Since I would not
be using any parts from the engine or transmission,
I was junking them as I took it apart. The interior
was dismantled and completely re-upholstered in
cinnamon red and white naugahyde. My brother had just bought
a brand new 1960 Pontiac Bonneville and it was
Coronado Red (a deep cinnamon metallic). I wanted
my '50 to be the same color. All of the chrome of the
bumpers, grille, window frames was re-plated to
like-new condition. We installed a Ford 9-inch rear
end with 4:11 gears. The '50 came home from the
paint shop and glistened under the neon lights. I
was on cloud nine every day. While I labored on the
'50, my brother was assembling a Chevrolet V-8
engine and a close-ratio 4-speed transmission. We
were into a 6-7 month effort on the '50 and it was all
coming together.
It was about January of 1960 and there was a big car
show at the grounds of the State Fair in Dallas. All of
the big names and factory proto-types would be there.
Tony Nancy of Los Angeles was in town and he owed my
brother a lot of favors. My brother asked me if I wanted
Nancy to pin stripe my '50? I almost slobbered on myself
as I envisioned the '50 with accent lines around the
headlights and maybe down the side of the car. We hooked
up the '50 to a tow-bar and connected it to the back of
my brothers pick-up. On the way to the fairgrounds the
'50 came off the trailer hitch, went across the medium,
and was struck by a City of Dallas dump truck loaded with
sand. Since the '50 did not have an engine or transmission
in it, it fold up like an accordion. I was heartbroken! We
managed to salvage the rear end, the windows from the
driver's seat back to the rear window, and the upholstery
from the rear panels and package tray. The remainder was
totaled. I had now had two (2) cars and had never driven
any of them a single yard.
Okay!!.... This is unusual...even for Texas. A
second snow storm in less than a week. Tonight's
snowfall is a lot less than the one last Thursday
that dropped 3 inches on North Texas for the
first White Christmas since 1926. This storm
should be over by 9pm according to the TV
guru. It is suppose to be heavy fog for the
remainder of the night and into the early
morning hours of Wednesday. So far tonight
the streets and sidewalks are remaining wet
but no snow is sticking. With the temperature
expected to drop around freezing, the streets
and highways will be slick. As always, watch out
for the bridges and overpasses and DO NOT hit
the brakes while you are on the bridges or
overpasses. I have heard this since I was a
little boy but I am still amazed at how many
people do it. Drive safe and use your head,..and
you will be around next year (Friday).
Okay,... I admit it,... I picked the Dallas Cowboys
to win eight games and lose eight games this season.
Since they have already surpassed that total it looks
like I better give up my plans to be a sports bookmaker.
Dallas has won twice in the past two weeks, but
the victories were anything but similar. The first win
came against New Orleans, who looked to be the class
of the NFC at the time, unbeaten in 13 games this
year. The Cowboys defense shut down the Saints like
nobody else has been able to do this year, and the
offense just moved the ball at will all afternoon. The
game Sunday night was anything but similar. The
Redskins are a team about to internally explode.
The owner has just hired a new general manager
that already has his finger on the trigger, ready to
make wholesale changes at the end of the year.
Dallas beat Washington 17 to nothing, but it should
have been even worse. Twice Dallas was in the red
zone and went for it on fourth down, only to have the
Skins deny them. It goes into the win column, but it
definitely was not a work of art.
The final game of the regular season will have the
Philadelphia Eagles coming to Dallas (Arlington) to
play the Cowboys. With an Eagles win, Philadelphia
is the Eastern Division Champs with a first round
playoff game at home, while Dallas will be a Wildcard
entry in the playoffs, and have to play an extra game.
If Dallas wins this Sunday, the Cowboys are the
Eastern Division Champs and the Eagles will be the
Wildcard entry. Dallas owner Jerry Jones is on record
as saying only a home playoff victory will save the job
of current coach Wade Phillips. It will be the biggest
game yet at the new stadium that the Cowboys call
home. The network has moved kickoff from 12 noon
to 3:15 so the entire country will be able to see it.
Go Cowboys... Make me look even worse!!!
Momma and I went to the movies today to see
'Avatar'. Unlike the movie 2012 this one had a
storyline that was believable. It is a love story
with a futuristic setting. I won't spoil it for you,
but there were parts of the movie that made
me think I was looking at a different prospective
of 'Surrogates' (see earlier review).
The movie takes place on another planet and
there are good guys and bad guys on both sides.
It is two hours and forty minutes long so make
sure the bladder is empty when you go see it.
I would not suggest taking any children under
the age of 8-9. The violence and language are
not the problem, but they may not be able to
follow the story line.
A Kleenix or two might also be a good idea..
There are some moments that might require a
tissue to maintain that stoic image of yours.. It
is a good movie and the 3D effects are sure to
get your attention. The jungle setting had me
swatting bugs out of my way to see the film...
and lo and behold,..they were part of the film.
The film is out in two different formats...3D and
the regular way. Go see it in 3D!!! I thought I
would dread the glasses, but they are comfortable
and it gives the film a whole new look to make
it even more believable. Director James Cameron
(who also did 'Titanic') has another masterpiece
on his hands.
Enjoy!
