Last week I told you about the my escapade with the 1953 snow storm. That was not the only bit of foolishness connected with my 1948 Ford. There came a time when the muffler needed to be replaced. I didn't have much money and besides I always wanted to install a Hollywood muffler. Well, I got a brand new Hollywood muffler for less than $5.00. A regular muffler would have cost me about $19.00. I decided to try and install it myself. I blocked up the rear end and began the process of removing the old muffler. I never realized it would be that difficult. With a hammer and cold chisel, and many bruised knuckles, I finally got it off.
Installing the new muffler was much easier. I got it all togethern and everything in place. Now it was time to try it out. Wow! It really growled. This was heaven. All my buddies had much more powerful cars, but mine was the loudest. I had that Hollywood muffler until I traded in the car on a '50 Ford just before I got married, but that's another story.
Now the muffler and the snow incident were not the dumbest thing I ever did with my '48 Ford. As I said earler, all my buddies had much more powerful cars. They could all lay rubber whenever they wanted. One Sunday afternoon, I decided to lay some rubber. I stopped the car on a back road and tramped on the gas. Then I slipped my foot off the clutch. I never saw so much action. No, I didn't lay rubber. In fact, the car never moved off the spot, but the gearshift lever jumped up and down between low and reverse several times and ripped out all the gears on those two speeds. I got the car home by driving in second and third gears. The repairs cost me $60.00, a lot of money for a college boy in the 1950's. That was a real lesson. From that time on I always treated my cars with respect.
