Two sisters that lived in a 1966 Pontiac Tempest

Finding refuge. ​The front and rear bench seats of a 1966 Pontiac Tempest became beds for Louise and Verna Price. These sisters once lived in a small, wood-framed home that was damaged by age and neglect so severe that the roof gave up and the walls folded. Neighbors in Pinson, Alabama worried over the sisters' care as they continued to live without heat or electricity in the decaying home. Reluctant to receive assistance, the reclusive women found another housing option when the house became too dangerous and conditions unbearable. In 1996, Louise and Verna, now in their early 60s, moved their living quarters into the one-car, 10-foot-by-20-foot, wooden garage which sat behind the house. The garage roof and walls protected them from the elements and the green four-door Tempest became their place to rest. 

For 13 years the sisters lived in a house without electricity and parts of the home collapsing around them.
Photo by The Birmingham News/Mark Almond

Father knows best

The ever reclusive women, now beyond middle-age but holding fast to childlike sensibilities, continued to follow their father's lessons long after his death way back in December of 1963. The sisters refused to leave the property where they were raised unless it was to go to church or to the store. Their father, Addie Price, was stubborn and reluctant to trust outsiders. He was a stern man who was notably quiet but would argue with a fence post to prove he was right. He taught his only children, Louise and Verna, to stay close to the yard and not socialize unless it was at church. Addie did not allow his daughters the opportunity to learn to drive a car. If he couldn't take them, they had to walk or ride the bus. 

After father died

Verna, the younger of the two sisters by a year, took driving lessons after her father passed and became the primary driver of the 1966 Pontiac Tempest when she was 29 years old. The car was purchased at Doug Willey Pontiac in Birmingham, Alabama in late 1965. The Reef Turquoise four-door sedan also had Turquoise Morrokide seats on the interior. This budget-minded Pontiac was bare bones from the factory. No power steering, no power brakes, no air conditioning, and only rubber floor mats. No carpet. A column-shift automatic transmission, 326-cu. inch V8, and an AM radio were the only extra cost items on this Pontiac.

1966 Pontiac Tempest parked in garage since 1986 gets a new home.

Momma kept them going

The sisters’ mother, Lyda, was the complete opposite of Addie. Lyda was sweet to a fault. After Addie died, their mother was the glue that held the small family together for almost 16 years, until she too became ill. Lyda passed away in 1979. The sisters, then in their early 40s, survived on the generosity of a local church and neighbors who left food for them. Their future was uncertain and they fell back to what their daddy taught them. “Trust no one and stay close to the yard.”

Dangling trash?

The sisters tied the empty bread wrappers, pie tins, and just about all the trash discarded from the donated food items in the hedgerow and trees that separated their yard from the neighbors. Passersby thought it was odd but it was the Price sisters’ gesture of saying “thank you” for the food. As a neighborhood kid who grew up in Pinson in the 1980s, I encountered the mysterious trash dangling in the shrubs, never knowing the source. 

Unusual ways

The inseparable sisters continued to have tea parties with their childhood dolls under the shade just in front of the garage. Several decades of neighborhood children on Walnut Street grew up wary of the unusual sisters. Rumors created by children and adults are often unkind when they don't understand the circumstances. Some speculated that the sisters were suffering from hallucinations or schizophrenia. Whatever the reasons, the Price sisters closed themselves off from everyone. Their peculiar ways were known among the locals in Pinson, such as cutting the grass in their yard with scissors or wearing two heavy coats to the grocery store in the middle of summer. One heavy coat is an alarming sight during an Alabama summer. But two is unheard of!

For nearly two decades after their mother passed away the Price sisters survived without guidance on the upkeep and maintenance of a home. With little money to spend on anything but the primary necessity of food, everything else suffered. The last tag sticker bought for the Tempest was 1986. The women wore long outdated clothes from the late 1950s and 1960s, and walked to the store. By 1997, the meager check from the local church stopped coming. That’s when things changed because the sisters had no other choice. The house fell in. Their world had fallen apart.

Photo by The Birmingham News/Bernard Troncale

Help is on the way

Louise Price walked to the preacher’s house. He was the man in charge of the First Baptist Church of Pinson and would have an answer.

“Why did we stop getting our check?” Louise Price asked.

Brother Gary Fisher was surprised to see one of the Price sisters at his door. The sisters had not set foot in the church in many, many years. Never under his tenure, which was quite a while.

“We will straighten this out, and get you some help,” said Fisher.

It did not take long for Brother Fisher to understand the dire situation of the Price sisters. He was ready to do anything to help and knew he would have the full support from his congregation. The sisters, after a brief stay at Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa and a mental health evaluation, were moved to a rental house near their old home place. In 1999, the church built the Price sisters a new house to live in on the same property with the little white garage and the green Pontiac Tempest.

Louise and Verna Price lived together in their new house for many years. The Pontiac stayed in the garage. 

Parting thoughts

As I think back on the history of the car and the story behind it, I was most interested in preserving the story of how the Price sisters, two strong-willed women, survived using everything available including their 1966 Pontiac as a makeshift home. Their church, neighbors, and larger community stepped up to help them when they needed it most. 

Verna Price passed away in November of 2012 at 75. Ella Louise Price passed away 9 months later, in August of 2013 at 77. The property, including the home and Pontiac, were sold in 2014.

Jody Potter

– Junkyard Life

Inside and outside, the Reef Turquoise color is everywhere.

Bare bones engine bay with a 1966 Pontiac 326-cu inch V8.

At some point the trunk lock area was damaged with an axe. The sharp cuts and dents remain as proof that someone (one of the Price sisters?), improvised and unlocked the trunk without a key.

Back seat of the 1966 Pontiac Tempest.

The Pontiac spent more years inside this garage than outside. It was parked in 1986.

Call them mud dauber, dirt dauber, or potter wasps – they built homes all over the Tempest.

10x20 foot garage was home to the Price sisters and their Pontiac.

Rats nests were piled high under this part of the hood.

The Tempest's dash looks perfect.

You haven't seen a battery like this in a few years. Acid leaked out and damaged the core support.

Door panels, like everything else, are original.

The Pontiac was purchased at Doug Willey in Birmingham, Alabama.

Heater box, hoses, and a V8 engine under the hood. 

Pristine Pontiac floor mats.

The PRNDL on the column.

The 1966 Pontiac Tempest/LeMans/GTO grill design is a beauty.

Looks like barn find dust on the hood of the 1966 Tempest.

Hubcaps all the way around.

Driver's seat and the entire interior was once packed solid with blankets and used as makeshift beds for the Price sisters.

Odometer at 59,759 miles.

Turquoise paint is waiting to shine after all the dirt and grime is washed away.

Tag from Price's Drugs, a store on Main Street, remains on the Pontiac.

Back seat in the Tempest.

The old tires held air long enough to trailer the Tempest to its new home.

Body looks straight, solid, and original.

Original spare.

Tempest emblem and tail light trim detail.

Simple lines of 1966 design and a snug fit in the little garage.

The Price sister's Tempest found a new home two minutes away.

Do you have a car story? Send us details!  Send emails to Jody Potter at junkyardbull@gmail.com & Ron Kidd at Kidd403@bellsouth.net

 

Searching for junkyards, old cars in Puerto Rico

 

Island finds. Junkyard Life heads to Puerto Rico in search of vintage cars and junkyards. Rust never sleeps, especially around salt water. Would we find any old cars? I expected to see many small cars and trucks pockmarked with holes of decay and blistered paint. But would we find any classic cars on the roads or junking up yards? Our hopes were high that the salt air spared a few. What did we find?  

Sunset on the beach in pricey Puerto Rican rental van.

Getting around not cheap

Getting around without a car isn’t impossible but was deemed too expensive when having to rely on a taxi or Uber to cross the entire island more than once. Puerto Rico is only 100 miles wide and about 35 miles from north to south and our crew wanted to explore as much as possible. An insider tip said the online prices to rent a vehicle for a week were inflated and that we could find a better deal when we arrived. Sadly, that was not the case. Our vehicle rental costs totaled $1,440, including $279 for insurance for six days. We tried Uber for a few days but could readily see it would be impossible to find an inexpensive return ride from our remote excursions across the island. 

Load them up!

There were a total of five on our junkyard/vacation adventure, so we settled on a Ford 250 Transit van because it was the cheapest large vehicle. A traditional mini van rented for $400 per day. Wow! That is a lot of money. Our 2-seater Transit van, not our choice but all that was available, had a windowless cargo floor for three unlucky souls in our travel party. My son, Joe, and his friends, Seth and Ian, spent more than a dozen hours of travel in the dark cargo area. Their access to the cab area was limited by a metal screen. The trio spent hours sleeping or sliding atop the black plywood. Good times. Junkyard Life brother, Anthony Powell, and I filled the front seats. Let's hunt cars!

Junkyard Life travel crew in front of El Yunque rainforest.

Three teenagers locked in a cage in back of the rental van? Yes!

What we found

Foreign makes rule this land. Besides the ridiculous number of Burger King restaurants, one thing stood out to us through the windshield of the van. 20-year-old Mitsubishis were everywhere. We kept our eyeballs peeled in desperation searching out dozens of classic cars along the winding roads of this land in paradise. Our rental piled up over 1,000 miles during our 9-day stay. We saw lots of 1978-1987 Oldsmobile Cutlasses (G-Body), a pristine 1955 Chevy 2-door Bel Air, and a throng of VWs. The Volkswagens were mostly bay window buses (1968-1979 models), but also a good assortment of Beetles. 

We asked around for leads on old cars in yards. Rambierto Cobian, a charismatic, vocal, off-the-grid supporter of all things that make small beach towns great told us this. “Nobody has a car collection. One car, man. That’s what you find in Puerto Rico.”

We chewed on that bit of info as the evening melted away. We were standing outside the Nacho Libre restaurant/bar in Rincon as we bid farewell to Cobian as he sailed off into the night on his motorcycle. We hoped to discover some automotive island gems as we continued our journey.

We found a yard full of Oldsmobile Cutlasses from the 1978-1987 era.

Undeterred we pushed on.

Anyone who has driven in Puerto Rico will tell you it’s a different experience. I found it a test of my driving skills. Encountering a horse galloping down a country road, gruesome iguana roadkill (those things are huge!), traffic lanes that seemed too small for two small cars, let alone a full-size cargo van and a dump truck meeting head on in a turn.

A 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 was tucked away in a yard near San Juan.

Domes                                                           

No matter how far we traveled a beach was nearby. One of the more interesting was Domes Beach, located on the northwest shore of Puerto Rico. Domes is a haven for surfers, between October to February, when the waves are at peak height. The name comes from the giant blue dome, a decommissioned nuclear reactor site, that sits on a hillside adjacent to the beach. 

I pulled down into the sandy pseudo parking lot into a shady spot with the Ford Transit's sliding door opening facing the beach. Seemed perfect. After a quick swim the crew was ready to leave the desolate beach. A late model Chrysler 300 with a surfboard strapped to the roof was the only interesting thing we saw besides a couple of cheeky bikinis. It was July, not peak surfing season, time to move on.

A bunch of VW vans were spotted all across the island. Most of them were orange.

Playing it loud

Ragaeton music blaring from dozens of cruisers who filled their doors with huge speakers or built exterior-facing speaker boxes that anyone within earshot, could feel in the busy city of San Juan. This music was loud, pumping the volume from Suzuki Sidekicks, Samurais, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Hyundai, and Jeep Wranglers. When a rolling parade of cars converged in La Parguerra (on the island's southwest shore) we were inches away from their music blasts. The sidewalk turned into a concert stage as the amped up cars flowed through the streets sharing their music with the crowds who strolled through the shopping district near Bio Bay.

An early (1973-1977) Ford Bronco on a carport in downtown San Juan.

Old San Juan

Most common sights on four wheels were modern Mini Coopers, and Toyota FJ Cruisers on many of the bricked streets. Closer to the modern side of town, regular San Juan, luxury marques such as, Porsche, Ferrari, were revving around the luxury establishments. 

Expensive modern sports cars like this Porsche 911 Carrera S were all over San Juan. 

Nissan GT-R cruising the kiosks at Luquillo Beach.

Ponce? Lou Vega napping and his 1955 Chevy

Making a special effort to land on backroads and side streets was not necessary. The big white Ford Transit made plenty of wrong turns with me behind the wheel. My sense of direction has not failed to disappoint passengers in every state or island that I’ve traveled across. When those sidesteps happened, Anthony and I searched every driveway, carport, and yard for vintage automobiles. Our luckiest wrong turn involved catching a glimpse of a white and green 2-door 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air post.  Our crew unloaded in the street and approached the house to find and wake the car’s owner, Lou Vega, resting in his hammock on the porch. Vega was kind enough to show us his prized ‘55 Chevy. We struggled to overcome the language barriers but found out that Vega has spent many years as a mechanic. The ‘55 was in fantastic condition and a highlight of our journey. 

Beautiful green and white 1955 Chevy Bel Air 2-door post.

Lou Vega has owned the ’55 Chevy for more than 20 years.

Even though we woke him from a nap, Mr. Vega was happy to show us his classic car.

The $520 t-shirt

Our final stop resulted in us staying in a vintage (seedy, if we’re being honest) motel in Rincòn. A tequila bar, The Nacho Libre, an Hispanic wrestling-themed local watering hole fronted the ground floor of the operation. Cool artwork, wrestling masks, and memorabilia littered the walls. The bartender was wearing a “Nacho Libre” t-shirt and I asked if they could be bought. He said they were out of shirts but would have more in stock the following night. That proved to be a problem. We would be away from the Nacho Libre during their “open” hours with little time to spare. By the time we ended our last stop, on our last day, we would be in a city 30 miles away with only 30 minutes available to travel the narrow Puerto Rican roads at 10:30 pm at night.

Anthony, left, holds his camera in a plastic bag as we embark on kayaking trip. The camera did not survive after taking a plunge.

Thrills and Skills

I earned driving duties for the entire trip. Some legal restrictions and an expired license precluded another driver (over 21), Anthony, from having the thrill of Puerto Rico roadway encounters. I’ve never experienced anything like this. Imagine a place where everyone drives crazy but they all seem okay with getting cut-off in traffic or facing near death from hazardous maneuvers their fellow drivers commit. I never saw a road rage incident, just people all trying to get where they were going, and others understanding that, “sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.”

Back to the t-shirt.

Prepared to make a bullet run to the Nacho Libre for my t-shirt. We left the Bio Bay tour at LaParguera where we swam under the stars with microorganisms that sent sparkles and glowing light whenever the water was disrupted. An unreal surprise that should not be missed if you travel to Puerto Rico or one of the other places in the world where it occurs. I hot-footed it to the van with the crew, still wearing wet swim trunks. Things were going great until Mayaguez. The backroads turned into a four-lane highway with traffic lights. Not many cars on the road at nearly 11pm. After several days and logging more than 800 miles behind the wheel, I maneuvered the Transit van down a slight mountainous incline. A traffic light hung high across the road 500 feet ahead. It turned yellow. In a split-second I decided that my sleepy passengers on the floor in back of the van didn’t need a heavy braking experience on that slope of the road. The thoughts in my head sounded sensible. As I committed to not braking, the light jumped to red faster than I have ever seen. The light radiated red and I was 150 feet away. Both of my hands gripped tightly on the wheel, I turned to Anthony and said, “I had to do it.” The light was red as we sped through.

“You definitely did it,” Anthony replied.

I took a deep breath. All good. No traffic around. Just darkness. Twenty seconds must have passed. Then I saw the blue lights flash. Time to pull over and face the music in Puerto Rico.

Obey all traffic laws in Puerto Rico, even when no one else does.

Not from around here

"Quiet everyone! Here they come."
From the darkness beneath the blue lights, two female police officers approached on each side of the van. My first thought, "Please, don’t look in the back." Would I get a ticket for unbelted, unseated passengers? 

The officers stayed just behind the side glass of each door. My license in hand and stationed at top of steering wheel. The officer to my left shined her light onto my Alabama drivers license. She reached for it along with the rental agreement papers and walked away. It was a painful wait.  My son, Joe, thought I was going to be asked to step outta the van. She returned with my license and a ticket.

Failing to yield at stoplight, “rebasar luz roja sin detenerse” - penalidad: $500.

The Nacho Libre, a wrestling-themed watering hole, is quite a spectacle at night.

"Ouch!"

And I thought an Uber would have been too expensive. I guess I should have stopped at the light. A split-second decision can make a great trip, a great trip with a great story. I won’t say I am proud of my actions but I wanted the t-shirt. I hustled into The Nacho Libre with my ticket and my story. Two minutes after closing time. The friendly barkeep, not so friendly this time, heard my story, looked at my ticket and angrily said, “What do you want?”

“My $520 t-shirt,” I blurted with a bit of regret.

Vintage VWs on an island at sunset are hard to beat.

Lesson for travelers to Puerto Rico 

If you live a budget-minded life like me you will need to make transportation arrangements early. Also, don’t assume you can squeeze one more guest into a room. These were costly lessons which made our “vacation on the cheap” mantra a joke.

The island has plenty of hidden automotive gems and we came nowhere close to finding them all. How about another trip around Puerto Rico? This time no tickets!


Jody Potter
– Junkyard Life 

Another 1955 Chevrolet was spotted deep in a yard. This one was a bit rougher than Mr. Vega's.

Florist with an ambulance on a pole as their sign.

This early 1980s BMW 323i caught my attention. I guess nobody restores old BMWs here.

Some blunt force trauma was likely cause of death.

This mid-1990s BMW sedan has been transformed into a truck.

More G-Body action. This Buick Regal is still getting the job done in style.

The big-eyed Cadillac caught Anthony by surprise.

El Camino parked curbside in Mayaguez.

This island adventure was packed with fun food stops. Left to right, Jody, Anthony, Seth, Ian, and Joe.

Just to prove Junkyard Life was in Puerto Rico, I wore a JYL shirt everyday.

Four-wheeling fun in an XJ Jeep Cherokee.

Fox Body Mustangs representing in Puerto Rico.

Favorite big city stop - Old San Juan.

We toured the narrow, winding LaPerla neighborhood that borders El Morro Fort.

The far end of the street is where the tourists hop off the cruise ships to buy souvenirs made in China. Cool original P.R. souvenirs can be found if you look beyond the busy areas.

Favorite remote location – house just outside El Yunque National Rainforest.

The hungry ate at Popeye's when we were pressed for time. Live chickens walked around the parking lot.

Bay window VW bus that was not orange. Most were.

VW bus parked beside a Flamboyan tree.

A slick VW Westfalia bus with Porsche wheels at the beach.

Interior of the VW Westfalia bus. The friendly owner was camera shy.

Do you have a car story? Maybe you found one on a trip? Send us details!  Send emails to Jody Potter at junkyardbull@gmail.com & Ron Kidd at Kidd403@bellsouth.net

Junkyard 1999 Firebird: One White Hot Slice of Wonder Bird

 

The internet savvy Junkyard Life brother and Firebird enthusiast Jamie Lee alerted the troops to the one sole solitary Firebird in our local pull-it-yourself parts place. We did indeed find the Artic White 1999 Sport Coupe as he promised us. A few things occurred to us as we eye-topsied* this loaded-out V6 Coupe. Not minor things, but large ones.

Such as the leather interior. It occurs to us that even after years on end of attending The Trans Am Nationals and various Bird gatherings, we cannot in complete confidence recall seeing a Sport Coupe with leather interior. It also boasted a classy “split code” interior. Something we have only noticed in Trans Ams and a select few Formulas.

Turns Out You Could

So after a date night with the options catalog and an angry woman, we did learn that with certain colors such as Artic White, you could have it! Prado Leather is the Pontiac nerd word for the exotic seat cover. Maybe we should not say “you could have it” because it was really expensive. You could not just have it. At the time, a vehicle equipped with leather usually stickered for a grand more than cloth.

The other option this car rolled out with is generally not a favorite of all Firebird enthusiast… the W68** appearance package. It's what we describe as ground effects. These were starting to make appearances in the after market, so Pontiac thought they would offer it to you from the get go. I would be interested to know how that went over. We don’t necessarily care for them, and it seems this example did not hold up. The rocker moldings were supposed to give the car a wind tunnel ready look. We prefer the smooth and sexy lines that the Bird already had.

I Could Have Had a V8!

This car was already like a space ship with its remote entry locks. Click-click. Like James Bond. It has the ever fun and always in demand T-tops. You know what goes well with T-tops? An awesome stereo. The top shelf sounds from the Monsoon sound system with steering wheel controls made that happen. Cruise control and seemingly power everything rounded this Bird up to Rockefeller. The only thing left to get was a V8. The 200-horsepower V6 was a smooth machine. This Bird has a 3:08 rear gear without a posi unit. 

Still, the options it does have far outweigh the things it does not. This would have been one expensive Firebird. Could this be a bargaining point for a crafty salesman? To paint the picture of the bottom number on the sticker for this Bird, and then a less optioned Trans Am or Formula for same money… Most of us would lean toward the LS1. You have to admit, that is one packed-out Firebird

You're Grounded!

How did it wind up here? It didn’t seem wrecked. I would not be surprised to learn it ran up until a year or so ago until it got pushed out for something else. The car presented well overall and had not been in the wrong hands very long. Then it was here. The pull-it-yourself yard where it will be relegated to the next “over the scales” deal. 

They were kind enough not to do it but image a combined Pontiac and recycling advertising campaign…“Firebird… coming soon to a soda can near you!”

I shudder.

Ron Kidd
– Junkyard Life

Editors Note:
*Eye-topsy: A new word Ron came up with meaning to look over the remains of a cool car. We don’t know if we will let him keep it.

**W68 RPO code also made an appearance in 1979 as the appearance package for the Firebird Esprit Redbird. Odd that it went from representing a package level we loved to one that we didn’t care for in the 4th generation Firebirds.

Do you have a car story?
Send us details and we’re on the way!  
Send emails to Jody Potter at junkyardbull@gmail.com
and Ron Kidd at kidd403.rk@gmail.com