1957 MG on The Trail

A Trail Tale by Phyllis Martin

Long story about my first sports car...........  to start at the beginning ..... are you ready for this?   While I was in high school, I drove my dad's 1927 Model A Ford convertible!  It was fire engine red.  The rumble seat had been removed and replaced with a small truck bed.  Every morning I picked up four of my girlfriends and we piled into that racy little "jalopy" on our way to school.  One of my friends wouldn't ride with us because she didn't want to wrinkle her dress that her mother had ironed.  (We all wore full dresses over stiff crinoline slips in those days, so you can imagine how crowded that little car was!)  after graduation, I went to the UofA.

"The Jalopy"

Anyway, while I was at the UofA in Tucson, my dad gave the "jalopy" away.  Unbeknownst to me, my parents had decided to sell the drugstore and their home and move to Mesa.  When they came to pick me up at the end of the school year, we headed north out of Tucson.  I asked why we weren't going to Miami (thru Florence) and that's when they told me I wouldn't be going back to the UofA next year, but that I could go to ASU in Tempe.  I cried all the way to Mesa.  

I had already secured a summer job in Phoenix.  Not having a car of my own, I rode the bus from Mesa to 32nd Street and Washington in Phoenix to my new job at AiResearch.  That got old real quick, so I decided to buy a car.  Gee, I was making $80 a week and living at home!

I had always wanted an MG - you know, the old models from the late 30's.  Not many of them around, however, and my mechanic uncle convinced me to buy new rather than used.  So, here's the rest of the story (as you would say!)    My dad and I went to the MG dealership on north 7th Street in Phoenix, and I bought a brand new 1957 MGA.  Yes, it was a convertible, light blue in color with pop-out windows and roll back roof.  Yep, I was ready for my next adventure!  

Of course, I had to make a car payment.  It was $77.76 a month.  Now there was no way I could give up my job at AiResearch, and they gave it to me full time - with a raise!  Wow, I was really living.  The very first week I got stopped for speeding on the way home from work.  The patrolman was very nice....he told me all he really wanted was to ask me about my car.  He even wanted to look under the hood!  I did try to slow down after that.

Phyllis with her beloved 1959 MGA.

But now to my adventures.  Oh, there were so many, but my very favorite drive was on the Apache Trail.  I didn't even care that most of it was a dirt road.  It was narrow and it was curvy and perfect for me in my little sports car!  It was my favorite way to get from Mesa to Miami, and I did it often.  You know, in those days when two sports cars passed each other, it was the rule of the road that you had to wave to each other!  That was fun ... and it leads to another story that I will leave to another time!

Well, what color was it and did it look like this?

By the way, I did go to ASU at night school for a couple of years, but I've always been loyal to the UofA.

Once a Wildcat, ALWAYS a Wildcat!

YES, that's my MGA.  Mine was light blue with grey interior and top.

Wire wheels?

By the way, $77.76 in 1959 money is $843.40 in today's dollars.

Gosh, I didn't mean to give you my life history in that diatribe above!  But I have never been able to tell a story with just a few words.  I believe in complete details for sure!

Sure looks like mine, but lighter in color.  I'm pretty sure it had wire wheels.  I do remember that my dad taught me how to change a tire that first weekend, just in case, you know!

As for my $80 a week salary, what would that be in today's dollars?

867.70.  So basically, you were spending 25% of your income on your sports car!

Living at home until I got married was a big help!  I really thought I was rich!  I loved working, making new friends, and driving!  Then I got married.  He drove a black 1957 T-Bird convertible.  We always joked that my MG married his T-Bird. Later in life, I had a new Mazda RX7.  It was almost as much fun as my MGA.

How many times do you think you drove The Trail end-to-end?  ANd did you drive it coming back TO Mesa as well?

Do you have a photo of you with your MG?

I think it's incredible you drove The Trail in that car.  99.99999% of MG owners would NEVER do that.  They'd be too paranoid about rock chips on their paint job, a rock through the oil pan, knocking the front end out of alignment and smoking their brakes and or clutch.  BRAVO to you for doing that!!!

Oh my, over the years, I drove it many, many times because I always had to take new friends and out of state visitors for that drive.  And, yes, I've done it round trip!

Hey, the road wasn't that bad in those days!  The roadway was smooth and never any rocks to cause damage.  The scariest part was avoiding the side of the mountain.  It would have been disastrous to scrape the side.  

Another story....my husband's grandparents from Iowa spent their winters in Mesa.  On a drive on the Apache Trail one year ( in their big Pontiac sedan), they met another car going the opposite way.  Since there wasn't room for both cars in that particular area, the grandparents were pushed up against the side of the mountain in order for the other car to pass by.  It scratched up their car, and they said they would never drive it the Apache Trail again.

In the early years of my marriage, we would all leave work on Friday night and pull our boats out to Canyon Lake and Apache Lake to go water skiing.  Sometimes we camped out for the weekend.  I don't recall any of us being concerned about driving the Trail.  Yeah, we were young and unafraid.

Thanks, you're really helping me understand The Trail!!

As for your comment about wearing out the brakes and/or clutch......  I drove my little car like a race car.  I think my uncle taught me that, too.  He drove a car in the Miami and Globe Jalopy races back in the 50's.  

Most of the cars I owned over the years were standard shift.  Automatic transmissions were kind of boring.  LOL.

You were WILD!

Our conversation this morning has been fun!  Thanks for listening!

Haha, I could still be wild if I wasn't so darn old!

Well, Thank YOU for taking time to share you FUN adventures!  Yep, aging kinda knocks the stuffing out of wildness.