Ladies and gentlemen, I present my first car - A 1965 Cadillac Deville Convertible. Now, at this point, you're probably thinking, "that's quite a first car," and you would be right, (something I am very thankful for). The common trend for first cars, at least among parents I know, seems to focus on something of modest size, something cheap to own and operate, something that doesn't draw a lot of attention. My first car incorporated exactly NONE of these qualities.

From a very young age, I have had a love for all things automotive, especially old cars. As I got closer and closer to getting my license, I started to think beyond just "driving," and jumped ahead to "ownership," with this love of old cars being the dominant search criteria. While other kids were debating "Camaro or Mustang," "Toyota or Honda," or "Ford F150 or Chevy K1500," I was talking about Lincoln convertibles, Hurst Oldsmobiles, and other hard to find specialty cars like a Stutz Blackhawk, (neither my parents nor any of my friends had ever heard of a Stutz Blackhawk, let alone ever seen one). Knowing that all but the most challenging "basket case" examples of any of those cars were out of my league, I set my sights to a more reasonable level.

I would comb the back roads of Altoona, PA and surrounding areas on my bicycle, looking in driveways and behind garages to see what was out there. Then in July of 1984, I found this 1965 Cadillac Convertible parked along Reservoir Road in Hollidaysburg PA. The owner had purchased it as a parts car for his 1965 Coupe de Ville, but found it too nice to part out. After showing it to Dad, who just looked at me with a confused blank stare, I acquired my first car on July 21, 1984.

I was able to fire it up and drive it home that day, but only after I removed all the bees from the doors and trunk. However, I couldn't go much further than home due to the stream of coolant spraying from the radiator. The windows didn't work, the exhaust leaked, the lights and signals were inop, and the front seats were stuck in one position, (I would later discover that the buckets and console were from a different year car). This was looking to be more "project" than actual "transportation."

Upon arrival at home, Mom greeted me with a pleasant "Oh my God ! ! !" (truth be told, I knew Dad was thinking this same thing, but Mom was never afraid to say it outloud). I give Mom credit for being able to point out in the midst of all the confusion that my left front tire was going flat.

But, the convertible top did work, which was all that mattered to me. I was the proud owner of a 4700 pound Cadillac Convertible, that had 91k original miles on the odometer. This was a non-A/C car, but did have power leather seats, a power top and power windows. Cadillac produced 19,200 Deville Convertibles, body style 68367, in 1965.

Over the next 15 years and 17k miles, this car would receive a lot of attention, but not a restoration by any means. Things would get fixed as time, my limited knowledge, and finances allowed. I went through the usual ups (the day it passed PA State Inspection), and downs (the day it spun # 8 bearing), of a project car. Once it actually became driveable with a good degree of reliability, I would use it on sunny days as a cruiser, and would take it to car shows when possible.

On September 11, 1999, "life" reared its ugly head, and forced me to make several changes, this being one of them. I waved goodbye to my first child as the new owner drove off to Washington DC. It was, indeed, a sad day for me. However, I look forward to the day when I own another one . . .