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My Dad's dealership being built in the mid-60s on Military Highway in Norfolk. It was his dream and my nightmare....lots of working for free and driving 'crabs'; the 'cream puffs' were not be touched by me or my siblings. Lots of cars passed through there... Tri-power GTOs, a Dodge Daytona, a Batmobile clone, Barracudas, K-code, first gen Mustangs, you-name-it.
I got to drive Corvairs and that venerable chick-magnet, the Renault Dauphine
Frank, we had a Renault Dauphine in the early '60's. First time I ever heard my dad swear was when we were getting in the car and the door handle fell off. I was about 2 years old at the time, but remember the car well. Red paint faded to schoolyard dodgeball brick red, cheap grey cloth and plastic interior, anemic little rear mounted engine. He blew a head gasket pulling the HWY 24 grade up to the Caldecott Tunnel in '63, and got $75 for it on a trade in for a brand new VW bug at McPeak Volkswagen in Walnut Creek. The VW was everything the Renault was not: dependable, fun, and solid. (until dad wrecked it in '67!) Had a co-worker and Vietnam Vet who's had a Dauphine in the '60's, and he told me that the tool kit should have been a cyanide pill and a rusty can of Sheaffer Beer to wash it down with, as there was no fixing those cars!
Frank, we had a Renault Dauphine in the early '60's. First time I ever heard my dad swear was when we were getting in the car and the door handle fell off. I was about 2 years old at the time, but remember the car well. Red paint faded to schoolyard dodgeball brick red, cheap grey cloth and plastic interior, anemic little rear mounted engine. He blew a head gasket pulling the HWY 24 grade up to the Caldecott Tunnel in '63, and got $75 for it on a trade in for a brand new VW bug at McPeak Volkswagen in Walnut Creek. The VW was everything the Renault was not: dependable, fun, and solid. (until dad wrecked it in '67!) Had a co-worker and Vietnam Vet who's had a Dauphine in the '60's, and he told me that the tool kit should have been a cyanide pill and a rusty can of Sheaffer Beer to wash it down with, as there was no fixing those cars!
The gearshift in those was best described as, "....a paint stick in a box of oatmeal"..... Not even a fun car to drive. I got pretty good at swapping the engines out with a chainfall in the back of the building pictured above.
It is possible to have sex in a Dauphine; just not with another person......
Must have been the cute girls that sold the cars. They were almost as popular as VW's at one time around here.
A friend of mine had one. I remember he wasn't very happy with it but I don't remember why. I remember it sat at a gas station for several weeks and my buddy showed up with a new Buick Riviera and the Dauphine disappeared.
Must have been the cute girls that sold the cars. They were almost as popular as VW's at one time around here.
A friend of mine had one. I remember he wasn't very happy with it but I don't remember why. I remember it sat at a gas station for several weeks and my buddy showed up with a new Buick Riviera and the Dauphine disappeared.
I remember the funky sound of the horn on those things. Seems they were all red.
The mere mention of a Renault Dauphin should be cause for banning in a Corvette forum site, but for using it as an example of how a car should NOT be - in other words, the anti-Vette.
We had neighbors with one of those horrid contraptions. I'm not sure it ever ran, but I did bust out one headlight with a pop fly to left field. Their house was next to the empty lot where we played baseball as kids.
For all of you No VA guys, the iconic Bob Peck Chevrolet building Wilson Blvd in Arlington, and the tribute included in the new building that occupies the site today.
I'm still looking for a couple of die cast Bob Peck license frames if anyone out there has a set!
Must have been the cute girls that sold the cars. They were almost as popular as VW's at one time around here.
A friend of mine had one. I remember he wasn't very happy with it but I don't remember why. I remember it sat at a gas station for several weeks and my buddy showed up with a new Buick Riviera and the Dauphine disappeared.
What a loser! Poor guy's family drives to the airport in a Renault to watch him do a nose down-wheels up crash landing. The red,white and blue balloons made it better, though.
When I was in graduate school, I was working at a gas station to supplement my $240 a month scholarship. A Renault comes in for gas, and the filler neck is in the engine compartment, so the hood has to be opened. Squarely underneath the filler neck is the ignition coil, just waiting to be drenched with a hiccup of gas from an over zealous attendant.
Frame Chevrolet (Frame Motor Co.), Mineola, New York, dealer for my first Corvette (1959). Following Chevrolet employed as a baked goods outlet. I believe the structure has since been razed.
For all of you No VA guys, the iconic Bob Peck Chevrolet building Wilson Blvd in Arlington, and the tribute included in the new building that occupies the site today.
I'm still looking for a couple of die cast Bob Peck license frames if anyone out there has a set!
I like that they kept that horizontal band of blue/white diamonds along the front of the building as a tribute to the original structure. Some designer actually gave a crap...
You know I'm not sure. Ralph May was an interesting character, and I'm pretty sure he was actually from Corydon.
He was the brother of former major league Phillies third baseman Pinky May and uncle of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers catcher, Milt May. (I think Milt is still a hitting coach MLB). Ralph lived off Ewing Lane in Jeff.
When I was a kid, we'd drive to Detroit, stay at Milt's house and always try to watch a double header. Ralph was good at getting us awesome seats.
I like that they kept that horizontal band of blue/white diamonds along the front of the building as a tribute to the original structure. Some designer actually gave a crap...
I agree Frankie, they also light it up at night just like the original. Wow, memories of Parkington... blast from the past.
05-02-2018, 10:20 PM
I'm not sure it ever ran, but I did bust out one headlight with a pop fly to left field. Their house was next to the empty lot where we played baseball as kids.
