PeteZ

I've just finished watching "American Graffiti" again for the umpteenth time. It is a period coming of age movie that shows the adventures of a recently graduated group of teenagers during one night of cruising the streets around town listening to Wolfman Jack and experiencing the relative innocence of the summer of 1962.

I remember those days as if they happened yesterday. I was there, and, even though I don't remember everything, I'd love to go back and live through it again.

Where were you in 1962?? If you're up to it, tell your story.

Dick Horzen

Graduated High School in 1962. I would go back to those days in a minute.

67sunfireyellow

Love the movie too! It’s a classic. I was only 8 years old in ‘62, but I remember our family car was a blue 2-dr Ford Fairlane 500. My dad said it was a fast car.

waynec

I was in senior year of college.

Here's a bit of nostalgia for you... two of the actors from American Graffiti were at the 2004 National Roadster Show in Los Angeles, and I took these photos of them (click on a thumbnail to enlarge):

http://www.jagsnvettes.com/graffiti

And, I just checked Google and found that Candy Clark has a page on Myspace:
http://shrunklink.com/btek

67L36Driver

Junior in HS and driving my '52 Olds 3 on the tree w/'56 engine. I helped my dad resurect a salvage yard special. We never did fix those worn out front shocks. Kept the top speed down. Dad was a clever fellow.

Black primer w/red wheels and white walls. Nowadays it would be called a rat rod.

Gas was 19.9 cents at the Derby station.

vettefrenchee

I was a freshman in HS enjoying the simple life. In the fall of 62 I saw my first 63 SWC and it was love at first sight. I guess you could say this is when I started goal setting....Paul

Olustee bus

Me too. At about that time I got a ride in a 63 coupe (at a scary high speed) with a freinds father. I bought mine in 1969!

I did not have a stellar high school career but I did very well on the SAT so I got accepted by a college. In the back of my mind I knew if I wanted to be able to afford a nice car like that vette, I needed to further my education so I went to college.

Trophy Blue

I wasn't born yet.

BOB WINSKI

Hi Pete.I was 10 years old.And our big thing to do were slot cars.I had one that looked like the one Millner drove in the movie.A few years back i met Paul Lemat& Cindy Williams at the Wooster Nationals in Ma.Very nice guy talked about the movie and what a classic it was.I bought a replica model from one of the vendors there that weekend and he was nice guy and signed it for me. Never get tired watching it.Bob W

Chuck Gongloff

Sophmore in high school. 15 years old at the time, so I hadn't gotten my drivers license yet.

Man, that was a LONG time ago.

Chuck

MidYearRoadster

freshman in high school...remember the older kid next door taking me to a drag race between the top chevy guy and ford guy in town on a back road, there must have been 100 cars there watching...it was a 62 409 vs 63 ford galaxie bb...I will never forget that race...the sounds and smell of burning rubber....I was hooked after that.

jerrybramlett

In 1962 I ordered a new vett with FI and the L89 engine. Ran like crap, so I parked it until my new '63 FI vet was delivered. I've still got the '62 vettt somewhere, but I haven't ever bothered to get it running again.

Don't ask for pics. My dog ate my camera. Then he ran like crap.

65air_coupe

I love that movie! I identify with it pretty well although in '62 I was still in Jr High. I also listened to Wolfman Jack and Cousin Brucie and we had many cars just like in the movie on the streets when I started driving. And like many here, I saw my first Sting Ray while in high school and set my sights on owning one as soon as possible.

Brian VH McHale

Now that was funny, thanks Jerry.

ejboyd5

Summer of '62: Just finished my first year of college, had my '59 Corvette, life was good.

Black_Magic

Serving it the United States Air Force (USAF) and stationed @ Kadena AFB in Okinawa as an Air Trafffic Controller

George

Woodie

In 1962 I lived in Weimar, Texas. We could get our Driver's license at 14 with Driver's Ed. so I was just starting to cruise and bought a 1950 Ford Flathead 8 - 2 door coupe - sinister black. 3 on the tree. $50 I paid. It'd do 85 in second, maybe tweek out 92 in third.
I got to trying to drag race it and balded the right rear, plus power turns had really worn the fronts. So my mother made me go with her to Western Auto ( Big In Texas at that time - sold everything from tires, to dishes, to rifles and pistols)
She wanted me to have new tires. They had a sale $11 each mounted & balanced. I only had $23 dollars so she pitched in the rest, but I had to fix fence for the next two Sunday's. I worked as a soda jerk on Saturdays.
So That first Sat. night I went to do battle against all comers at the local Dairy Queen our hangout and meet up see who was out spot. We were freshman and had to check to make sure some of the Bully JR's & Seniors weren't grouped or as freshman there's no telling what they might do. ( Like tipping your tray right in your window, steeling your order as it was delivered etc.) I really never did that BS when I became a senior.
Anyway with those new tires my first run against a kids fathers 59 -348 auto wagon I reved the **** out of the old girl slid my foot off the clutch ( I knew I had this turkey) and CLUNK!!!!
Those stinking new tires and my load of friends in the car caused the right rear axle to snap. Sheeit! So Monday after school I got a buddy and after for or five brakes in the rope ( We had to go all the way around town so Jack's father who was postmaster wouldn't see him towing my car with their good family car)
So at the Ford dealer. Mechanic took it apart. Yup Snapped axle! He bent up a coat hanger and fished out the broken end, popped a new one in and Wala Holy sheeit $ 18.72 NO . I only had $11.20 Jack only had $.70 and I could not have the car without payment in full cause they told me , me or my Mom didn't buy our cars there ( they did that to encourage customers to buy from them, major business move back then)
So back in Jacks car and all around town until I could borrow enough from everyone to get the money. Wasted time going to the drug store to try to get and advance on my Sat wages from the drug store but that wasn't going to happen as it was almost two weeks Sat pay at $.77 cents and hour for a 6 hour shift - he was angry for me even asking. I later got fired by him for ( Steeling). Of course what Really happened was - he made me dump any milk from the creamers back into the jug after I cleared a table and he caught me dumping some cause I thought it was disgusting and he chewed me a couple of times for it. Then finally one Sat. he was especially mean that day and I saw an old lady dipping her little finger in the creamer and licking her finger then I saw her flick something out of her ear and dip again with the same finger so I threw out all the creamers at the table- well he saw me from his counter - Bam he was some kinda mad wouldn't listen to anything I had to say - just get out and wasn't paying me for steeling. Steeling? Steeling what? I had been dating a sophomore girl ( she had a little yellow and white metropolitan and she used to pick me up before i had my car - can't even rememeber her name. Anyway two weeks before all this he had kept me late on a Sat to clean out a bunch of the draws in the area by the back cash register. Well one draw was full of old samples ( he never gave out samples cause he was afraid some = one might not buy the real item if they got samples - this guy was cheap. So I had everything out of the draws on the counters, draws whiped down and waited for him to say what to throw away and what to put back. The were some tiny glass vials with old perfume in that he said among other stuff was no good and to throw out. So I grabbed 6 or 7 of the perfume ones and stuck them in my pocket on the way to the trash cans out back. That night I gave them to this girl. Well I guess she told some other girls and his daughter was a senior and heard about it and told her Dad. So that day of the creamer WASTE he waited until the end of the day and worked me two hours over again and then said he was firing me for steeling. i said but you told that they were no good and to throw all that stuff away? He said It was his property even in the trash and I was a thief and no telling what else I stole and to get out and he wasn't paying me for that day! (Nice guy)
Oh well all memories aren't perfect. But I did learn about changing right rear axles. and I did become a thief. I broke rear axles reguarely after that and when hunting around the country side for old Fords sitting around farms all about. I'd offer to do some work if I could take the axle out. No way could I afford $18.72 again. I could do it pretty fast after that even got an extra one to carry for awhile. But then the supply ran out Finally a friend Rudy Estrada ( He had a bother Eric who looked exactly like the actor) said that an old German farmer he worked for an Saturdays had a whole slew of old cars out behind his barn, hadn't been used in years and he was going to fill in a big hollow with them and cover them with dirt. He had 6 - 49 to 51 old Rords and Merc.s So bright and early I went with Rudy and asked the guy if I could take out an axle. Well he said they must be worth at least $20 each. Wow I said I could get one replaced at the garage for only $18.72. So he said if I picked rocks with Rudy I could take one. So I worked 10 hours that day with Rudy following the tractor picking and throwing rocks up on the wagon. he went fast and bitched all day saying hurry up. He only stopped once for lunch and NO water breaks or jug around. Man was I hot and thirsty, my hands were all dried and cracked. Rudy had gloves, what a difference those would have made. Anyway end of day I said I had to run home and get tools unless he had some I could borrow. Hold it Boy! he said. $.50 cents an hour was all he paid so I had only earned $5.00 I'd have to come back three more Saturdays before i could have that axle! So I got mad and said the heck with that just give me my $5.00 and forget the axle. Oh no he says You made a deal and not for cash. if I wanted the axle work for it or get the hell gone.
At midnight that night Rudy and I snuck out in the dark jacked up one of the cars ( That was going to be buried) and took the axle - left my broken stub in place and sitting on a couple of wooden blocks. In the next four months I got every axle he had out there. Funny I still don't feel bad about that. Rudy said later he drug all those cars to the hollow and never even paid any attention to the fact they were missing the axles.

Trophy Blue

Did you purchased the car from a Montana dealership?

Frankie the Fink

I was 12 and was just starting to lust after Marilyn Monroe and then she did herself in. Surprised nobody remembers the Cuban missile crisis ? We were "ducking and covering" in my public school. I lived next door to a guy that owned a Studebaker Hawk and I thought it was darn cool. I got to see John F. Kennedy in person twice and my Dad shook his hand - saw Khrushev once in a parade and it was pretty scary at the time.

MikeM