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Pat is standing before the Wailing Wall with a happy expression on his cherubic face. He is wistfully remembering the golden days of his senior year in High School in his 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 convertible, tearing up the streets of Grass Valley and Nevada City, his blonde mane streaming out behind him and Susie snuggled at his side. (Maybe it wasn't Susie, it might have been - oh there were so many lovelies who wanted to enjoy the companionship of the virile young man and his baby blue and white convertible.) Ah, to be back in 1964 behind the wheel, with the white top down, the 312 cubic inch motor growling through the twin Glasspacs, moving the three-on-the-floor, reversed pattern shifter, through its paces. (That reversed pattern almost cost him the '500' when his father took the family to Sac-a-tomatoes and he got the tranny stuck in gear between 2nd and 3rd. His dad swore that the car was too dangerous to drive.) With the narrow whitewalls, baby moons, a blue and white naugahyde interior and the continental kit, it was easy to attract companions (not even mentioning that Dad was the Budweiser distributor for the area).

Pat spent his summers working for the state fire crews and not having any time to do anything he managed to amass a small fortune ($500). So when Guy DeCordova (the captain of the football team) decided he needed some bucks, Pat was willing and able to take the 500 off his hands. ($500 for the 500 - it has a certain ring to it, doesn't it?) The beauty had a drag history in the hands of Jerry Purcell (yes, he of that Purcell family), but the drag engine had been recently replaced with the 312 and the car was in excellent condition.

But all good things must come to an end. In 1965, after only a brief 18 months of idyllic living, it became necessary for this strapping lad to move on to new things - the Marine Corps was calling. We won't speculate as to why - and Pat isn't talking. The fabulous Ford was put into the hands of Dad and sold. Pat has no knowledge of how much his dad got for the 500 for he never saw a penny of it. All Pat has, to this day, are wonderful memories of a truly great car. And it is with these memories and the speculation as to what might have happened - what adventures might have occurred - what young beauty may have succumbed to what ever - when Pat was driving that car, that we leave Pat at the Wailing Wall. Ah, yes! Yes, indeed!

Note: Car photos are not of Pat's but of a similar model.

‘at the Wailing Wall’ is a new column extolling the car memories of the hot rod enthusiast. This month’s story was written by George Paige. Contact George at 273-0415 to have him tell your tale or write your own story to share.

‘at the Wailing Wall’ is a new column written by George P. Contact George at 273-0415 to have him tell your tale.

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