Alyn Edwards writes for the Vancouver Sun on automobiles and in particular about classic cars. Alyn asked me to find photos of my very first car, a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 red convertible.

In early 1957, at the age of 19, I decided to buy a car. Up to that  time I took taxis everywhere. But as my radio show grew in the ratings I knew I had to have access to wheels. I went to Fogg  Motors in New Westminster and ordered the car. I picked the colors and the engine (292 HP with Thunderbird rockers) and waited. In those days you had to wait for the car to be delivered from the factory.  A  month went by and finally I got a call from Fogg to go and pick up the car. My uncle Chuck took me out to the dealership in New Westminster. The salesman gave me the keys and said, “It is ready  to be driven away.”

I looked at him sheepishly and told him I didn’t know how to drive and obviously had no driver’s license. They all chuckled at the stupidity of the situation. My uncle Chuck, who was one of the original founders of the B.C. Custom Car Association, promised me he would give me lessons.  We found an alley in Burnaby and he spent an hour showing me how to drive (mostly backing up and moving forward over and over again) in preparation for my drivers test.

I took the test and passed, picked up my new gem and began to drive downtown. I took a drive down Boundary Road with my foot solidly on the gas and was pulled over by motorcycle cop Sandy Sanderson. He was kind and asked me where I got my lead foot from. He also told me, “Son, if you had pulled right when you pulled over you would have been in Burnaby and out of my jurisdiction.” I could tell it was my lucky day.

In the following weeks I had a Motorola radio telephone installed and used it to broadcast from all over town. The Motorola equipment took over most of the car’s trunk. The convertible came with dual exhausts and my uncle had  installed some great items under the hood. I also bumped into old school chum Jim Greenwood, who was gaining fame as James The Pinstriper. He added gold to the headlights and a subtle gold stripe down each side of the car.

When I look back now, I can see why most people remember that car and mention it to this day as an outstanding automobile. I wish I had never sold it when I  moved to the U.S. in 1959.  Oh the memories… Ritchie Valens rode in that car as did singer Robin Luke, Johnny Cash, members of the  Sensational Stripes and others.