My Chevrolet Citation
The first car I owned was a 1980 Chevrolet Citation, with a
V6 engine.
Chapter 0: Cheap
My father sold me this vehicle for $1. Although it was great, it was not as
great as the greatest vehicle I will ever have owned.
But it had some major pros:
- Front wheel drive - one of the first models with this
- Large hatchback with fold-down seats - holds most of a college kid's
possesions
and it had some cons:
- Curious fuel pump design prone to failure in which
a gasket wears out and causes
fuel to be pumped in great quantities directly into the crankcase
- Tragically insufficient electrical connectors which seem to be designed to
be snapped together at the factory only; if disconnected they break and cannot
be re-connected
Chapter 1: Burned
It wasn't a great night to begin with. My wife and I had argued, one of
those arguments you have in the first few years of marriage when you
are both realizing how unimportant you are to each other. The summer
heat in Iowa was tiresome, and it was beginning to feel like our life
together was going to have too many bridge tournaments
in it. I was alone in the car, angry with myself and
not paying attention, and so I missed a turn. I turned into a random driveway
to turn around. The car then burst into flames because the engine sag had
caused the driveshaft to eat through an unfused high amperage line I
had installed to a dash-mounted ammeter. I jumped out, and put out the
fire as best I could. Looking around I noticed that the driveway was
to a junkyard. So I left the car there and called the next morning.
I asked if they would pay me anything for the car and they just laughed.
On then, to greatness.
