Remember the Burma Shave signs? Usually five or six red signs on sticks with a part of the joke on each and the last saying Burma Shave. Saw those signs in the darndest places. Open highway 50 miles from anywhere.
How about "Grape Juice" The old Royal Triton motor
oil that literally looked like grape juice.
Remember standing by the railroad tracks and getting the engineer to blow the whistle for you? Or, walking through the steam to board the train?
I remember buying a carton of cigarettes for $1.10 when civilians paid $1.89.
I remember going to the local wrecking yard, which was full of pre-war cars and jumping from one to the other until I went through the roof of one. Found out later that Harrah's went in and retrieved 16 pre-war Packards. Some with wooden spoke wheels.
The other wrecker in town used to sell parts for next to nothing. Model A's were plentiful at $75 complete or not. Extra fenders were $20 each.
Heck, when I was a kid, very few cars on the road weren't pre-war.
Now the Cobra part. My first ride in a Cobra was in 1966. It was a BRG '64 289. Met the guy just because of the car while cruising in Portland, OR. He was by himself (can you believe that with a Cobra?!) and so was I. Nearly ruined his paint job drooling on the car. He offered a ride and I nearly broke the rawhide thong getting the door open!
Sorry to say, no high speed runs but gad that car was quick in traffic! No girls but what a kick!
Tom still has it and it's never been restored. I hadn't seen him for 30 years and bumped into him at a Cobra run in 1994. Get this....he paid $3,800 for it in 1965! By 1994 he had a wife and two boys in their teens. Couldn't all fit in the Cobra, so his wife and one boy followed in a 308 Ferrari, with the boys getting to alternate riding with their dad. The "run" was from Portland International to Shaniko in Eastern Oregon, via scenic routes along the Columbia River.
Last time I saw Tom or the car was at the Portland Historic Races in 1997. Rest assured I reminded him of the"Ride of Rides".
Al