Bud's Beer Spot

We spotted the 56 while we were cruising around Rock Rapids, just siting in the car lot, pretty as you please, two door hardtop, turquoise and white. We fell all over it my buddys and I, had a Hurst three speed mystery shifter, 265 V8. Dave rushed home got the 125 bucks from some where and laid claim to it. We were all a bit envious.

Between the three of us, Dave, Bill and myself I was the painter my Dad having a shop with a air compressor and a old spray gun. It was pretty big stuff painting cars and I already had a couple under my belt. We chewed on it some and settled on hugger Orange, it was a new color and it was loud. All a couple 16 year olds could hope for. We always painted Dupont Dulux, no spray booth, no respirator, no lights worth a tiddle. I would hold a trouble light in one hand, the gun in the other, bugs were always a problem, that and over spray, I would get a panel looking really good only to come back and find it fuzzy.

The 56 was the best I ever did. No over spray, no big moth tracks, as close to perfect as we would ever get..I coughed up orange phlegm for a week We pulled the bumpers, built some pipe push bars for the rear, painted them black, already had dual Smitty's. You rolled into town in the 56 and heads turned, seriously, it would turn heads today.

Bill, AKA ,Billy Smoke, was a little older then Dave and I and looked a lot older, by now we all shaved but Smoke was the only one had anything to shave.

We made the driver switch a block away from the Beer Spot, Dave road shotgun while I sat in the back, Smoke looked cool as a cucumber as we rolled up to the drive thru window.

About the Beer Spot, it was a small bar, two tables, a row of stools and a drive thru window, sat right next to Pete's 76 on east tenth street. I should add it was Bud”s Beer Spot, and Bud hated kids and never sold to kids, and we all knew it, just like we all knew Gramps ran the place on weekends, and Gramps loved kids and loved to sell beer to them. It was Sunday afternoon and Gramps 59 Chevy was sitting outside. Looked like a slam dunk.

We ordered a case of long necks, Gramps was all smiles and small talk, sure boys, no problem he says, as he bends over to grab our beer we see Buds car pulling into the parking lot. We are whispering to each other under our breathe as we make small talk to Gramps, he is sliding our beer out and then fiddling with our change, thru the drive-thru window we can see Bud entering the bar then stooping over to peer at us. Bud starts to yell,we yell at Gramps to keep the change the same time we are yelling at Smoke to drop the hammer, he dumps the clutch only to have the engine stall. Damn.

It should be noted at this time that between the three of us we never had a car would start with a hot engine, the 56 was no exception, it just grunted. In total panic Dave and I jumped out and started to push while yelling at Smoke to throw it into second and dump the clutch, by now Bud and half the bar are running out the side door after us. The tires squawked as Smoke dropped the clutch and the motor roared to life, Dave and I vaulted through the open side windows screaming at Bill to nail it. We left Bud standing there cursing and waving his arms. We got about a block and half down the side street before the rear tire went flat.

We were sure they would be following us, sweating bullets we quickly threw the beer in some bushes while we changed the tire, then throwing the long necks in the trunk we rolled out of town, as quietly as you could in a hugger orange 56 with dual Smitty's.