This was my Dad's hobby - I've spent hours doing what is called 'detailing' around here, but we just used to call it 'washing the car.'

It's probably a generational thing that kind of faded out in the '70's when the cars stopped changing so much from one year to the next.
Those of us who were kids in the '50's and '60's spent a lot of time around cars. We cleaned them. We tinkered with them. And quite often we raced them.

I learned an awful lot - most of which I still use. I also learned a lot about what not to do. I'm still pretty good at timing a car by ear. I've street raced against a future NASCAR driver [and lost]. I was one of the few females driving at the time - and guys don't like to get beat by a girl.

My street car was a '61 Buick Invicta [convertible] w/ a 401 WildCat Engine and a hydromatic tranny - the rear must have been 411 - car was totally stock except for the muffler. On a drag strip I would have been at the bottom of " 'A' Stock - Automatic"

Anybody else have memories?

My first job outta highschool was car detailing. I worked at a carwash but didn't do the washing and drying. I had my own little section of the building where I would wax, polish, and buff. Even get in the wheels with Q-tips and get brake dust off the aluminum. I loved it. I still do it to my friends and family's cars. My first car was a 78' Chevy Caprice Classic that I got for $700. It was brown with gold mags and purple tint. It had a 350 engine in it, so of course I'ld race everyday after school if I could find anyone else willing. I only lost twice, and it was to the same mustang. (Mach) How I miss that car.
Then I got a 94 chevy cavalier. Black. I bought $2000 worht of wheels and $1500 worht of music system. After my car was all said and done, I started a car club of my very own that I would drive downtown every friday and saturday night and pick up recruits. What an immature thing I was.