Flaming Floorboards: and Other Joys of Driving Old Cars

Are you tired of cleaning spiders out of your gas gauge? Have you driven for miles wondering what that funny smell was, only to discover your seat was on fire? Did your tender first kiss leave your date needing medical attention? If you can answer "yes" to all three questions, you're probably the author of this book. "Flaming Floorboards" is a true account of these and many similar adventures which befell the author, a man who ambled through life adopting stray cars the way other people adopt stray cats. He came of automotive age during the 1960's, the golden age of muscle cars. Surrounded by Camaros, Mustangs, Super Birds, and their ilk, his dream car was a Stanley Steamer. (Looking back, the author admits it may not have been a coincidence that he didn't get many dates.) He never did get a Stanley, but over the years he drove thousands of miles in cars such as a Model A Ford, a Jaguar E-Type, a pair of mid-60’s Chevy Impalas, a handful of MG's, and other memorable automobiles. These were not shiny classics when he drove them. They were rusted hulks that he rescued from the salvage yard. In his struggles to keep these rolling wrecks on the road he encountered people like Fr. Dupree, a reporter/pool shark turned Episcopal priest; Luis Riccotto, the proprietor of Riccotto and Sons Imported motors; and Otis Swineheart, a man of few words and fewer teeth. "Flaming Floorboards" is a warm and funny story about an extraordinary cast of cars and characters.