My 65+ Years Of Motoring
By Glenn L. Flock
This is where it all started in the summer of 1950 at the age of 16.
Behind the wheel of my father's 1940 Buick Super 4-door sedan.
[Photo: Interior of a 1940 Buick Super. Depressing the clutch to the floor activated the starter.]
My father and I drove from Los Angeles back to Palmyra, NE in June 1950 just as soon as I was out of the 11th grade for the summer.
He was a millwright with the Fluor Corp. and had been contracted to lead a team of others to install Worthington natural gas pump engines at a pump station near Palmyra.
Even though a teenager, I was hired as a general all-around GoFer and parts cleaner.
During the summer dad taught me how to drive in our robin-egg blue 1940 Buick Super similar to the one on the left.
My dad even let me live after I backed over a hidden piece of equipment which left both rear wheels high in the air without "purchase".
We both survived and returned home to L.A. in late September. By then, I was well and truly smitten with an indestructible love for the art of driving.
More Than Just Cars
Way more. Interspersed expeditions into aviation, motorcycles and boats are sprinkled about the landscape. Interesting and exciting stories related to the ways we humans move about planet Earth.
Above all, stories of people, places and events experienced along the way. Great Drives, interesting characters and how Goddess Serendipity led me into many wonderful encounters and friendships along the way.
"Motoring" is an ongoing FutureBook Project. This means new stories and content will be added as they are finished. To be notified of new content, simply provide your email address below.
Owned by Glenn Flock on the North Mojave Desert at the Naval Ordinance Test Station (NOTS) at China Lake, CA. circa 1958 A place the size of Rhode Island where the Sidewinder missile and several anti-submarine weapons were developed during the 1950's. An amazing world of aircraft, car and motorcycle enthusiasts coming together in bursts of activity and notoriety.
The Flock's factory-delivered E-Type at the border of Scotland and England in July 1966. From 1961 - 1967 we lived in Germany and Belgium. Dreams coming true as we traveled and lived in Europe for six years. Many cars, many stories and many interesting people met. Even a Grand Drive or two.
Flock's Westy in a campground near MaryHill, WA. circa 2004. The Subaru engine made this camper into the ideal motoring machine. After a 1972 - 1976 Pennsylvania interlude we moved to the Great Northwest. RV Grand Trips, cross-country drives and a motoring life well spent and enjoyed.
Owned by Glenn Flock on the North Mojave Desert at the Naval Ordinance Test Station (NOTS) at China Lake, CA. circa 1958 A place the size of Rhode Island where the Sidewinder missile and several anti-submarine weapons were developed during the 1950's. An amazing world of aircraft, car and motorcycle enthusiasts coming together in bursts of activity and notoriety.
A Little Excitement This Way Comes
A Near-Oxymoronic Tale
Right before being married in June 1963, my fiance, Dee Dee, and her father, Lt. Col. Malcolm Flickinger, were highly focused passengers as I "motored" them around the Nurburgring.
My soon to be father-in-law was a brave war hero having survived North Africa, Sicily and commanding an artillery company on an island just off of Naples, Italy. At the time he was G4 for the 3rd Armored Division, US Army, at their Frankfurt, Germany HQ.
A lap around the Nurburgring was intended to build trust in his mind that I would never do any harm to his precious daughter.
Maybe be a little scary, but never hurtful.
The following video is "sort of", "almost" and "nearly" what he experienced. You'll notice in the video a sharply banked left turn paved with concrete instead of blacktop. [5 min 10 sec in.]
It's the famous Carousel. Now, Jaguar MK VII Saloons are not ordinarily called upon to pull a 4-G turn. Spitfire fighters could do it but not big lumbering bombers. The Jag felt so heavily-put-upon that it let fly the right-front hubcap right in the middle of the curve.
Sailing high into the air, it bounced a few times and disappeared over a hedge on the right. It may still be there. A war casualty.
Having survived the ride, said father-in-law regained his composure after a few swigs of dunkles bier and graciously gave his permission to marry his daughter. After my wife, it was my finest sale ever.
The Nurburgring in 6 minutes and 57 seconds