Porsche, Mustang or Camaro?

In 1968 since my cousin as a lawyer (who was 5 years older than I) (I was 20) drove an XKE Jaguar, I decided I wanted to own a Porsche. However, even though I was a 20 year old computer Programmer and making more than 3 times the minimum wage then as a 20 year old when I tried out Porsches that I could afford they were mostly going to be old and a lot of work (This was 1968). So, my father said (who was with me looking at Porsches, "You know, son, these Porsches you are looking at are really pieces of crap and close to falling apart and needing a lot of work. Why don't you buy a Mustang or Camaro. So, my first thought was to get a Mustang Fastback Hard top because of the way they looked and they had been made since 1964 with a 289 engine that was pretty good. But, when I got into one I found I was too tall so it wasn't comfortable trying to drive with my head against the ceiling pushed down. So, the next car I tried to sit in at almost 6 foot 5 inches tall was a Camaro. It was a 6 cylinder Gold 1967 Camaro. However, I wanted a V8. I didn't want a 6 cylinder. My Dad wanted me to get a 6 cylinder because many of my friends like to race on the streets and he didn't want me to do that too.

However, I had seen people drop their parents transmissions by trying to do things you can't do with a stock car in a race. I knew you had to build up whatever you had with at the very least a specially built transmission if you were going to street race at all and you needed racing slicks for better traction too that were wide especially if you planned to win any races. Then you needed a Hurst Shifter for power shifting. Without at the very least these three things you were going to completely destroy your cars drive train and then you might as well just junk it.

So, I finally settled on a 327 Camaro that was metallic blue. I put special wheels on it with very wide tires but I really was more into driving fast and cornering on mountain roads fast than anything else. I wasn't really interested in putting enough money into my new Camaro for street racing. I was able to buy my new 1968 Camaro for $3500 and I could still afford the monthly payments myself and insurance as long as I didn't move out of my parents house then. So, at 20 I looked pretty sharp in my new 1968 Camaro. Pretty soon I had had it up to 100 mph to see what it could do. It likely was the fastest car I ever owned from 20 to 70 mph. In other words if I floored it at 20 I was instantly at 70 within a second or two which would paste me back into my seat pretty strong along with anyone else in the car with me. I used to like to do this to impress my girlfriends at the time.

I was still living in Glendale then. I kept my Camaro in the family for about 10 years. Even then it was hard to part with but I knew I had to move on. At that time I was a single father and I needed something more practical so I bought a truck, a Toyota Long Bed that I put a 6 Pac cabover camper on that had sidejacks.

I once had my Camaro up to over 140 miles per hour. It was even happy at that speed. Amazing Car!

However, I remember once driving up towards Chilao and Mt. Waterman(Angeles National Forest) where it snows and there is/was? a ski lift there and I wasn't paying attention to the rain as it slowly changed over into snow because I lived in Southern California then. All of a sudden I was spinning on a two lane highway with thousands of feet drop offs on one side. Only because I was a really good driver with really fast reflexes then did I survive at all. Somehow because no one else was on the road after a couple of 360s and barely missing going over the edge I stopped with the car skidding backwards. I was so shaken up I just turned right around and went down. Luckily, I was by myself driving that day because if I had had a girlfriend screaming I wouldn't have survived that without my full concentration then.

So, the point of this is a fast car with wide tires might be great on a dry road but when it gets wet or snowy watch out.

This is what convinced me ever since to get Michelin Rain/ All Weather tires on most vehicles (all vehicles now that I own) when I could afford paying for a better and more expensive tire on all my vehicles. I even have a set on my truck that work great for 4 wheeling. In some conditions you might want a real wild looking off road tire. But, I find an all weather tire can go almost anywhere 90% to 95% of the time. You just have to choose where you are going to off road more with an all weather tire. For example, you don't want to be driving through some muds and really slushy snows where your tires spin a lot unless you are going to chain up for more 4 wheel drive traction.