I had never seen ‘Mike and Molly’ until it advertised an episode that featured a story line where Mike purchased a 1957 Chevy 2-door post.
The show is a half hour comedy that contains a laugh track in case you can’t figure out the funny parts. Mike and Molly are a generously-sized couple who met at an eating disorder meeting.
Most of the plot was a series of food jokes but this episode also included a ’57 Chevy purchase that unleashed big problems for Mike.
He had done the deal after he had convinced a very reluctant Molly that the old car made sense from an investment point of view. He managed to buy the car for 7800 bucks, which is an un-researched and inaccurate Hollywood price for a 2-door post Tri-Five with a rust free body.
The car would be worth a lot more than 7800, even in a slow market. It had a 283 that was a period correct motor, so that would not bring the price into a nose- dive.
Mike claimed the car got around 6 mpg-which, if true, meant that it had some serious mechanical issues. It still would be a bargain at that price.
Eventually Mike got Molly onside with the Chevy–until he made a fatal car guy mistake and bought it without her permission. He had managed to persuade Molly that the car was a good investment (actually a smoking investment at 7800) even though it flew in the face of future bride logic and their investment in their upcoming wedding.
Hollywood sorts out guys who dare to purchase collector cars without their bride’s involvement in the process. The car had overheating, transmission, brake and muffler problems that plagued Mike early in the game.
Mike took the car back to the previous owner and badgered him into buying the car back from him-albeit at a reduced price. The moral of this story was that old cars are an expensive pain in the wallet and always talk to your bride before a purchase of same.
Hollywood got it half right because no sane man would buy a vintage car without a discussion with his spouse.
On the other hand, a solid 1957 Chevy Bel Air purchased for a mere 7800 bucks is definitely a Hollywood fantasy price.
Jim Sutherland
More car stories about real people and their cars at-https://www.mystarcollectorcar.com/
