Have you ever come to school and seen the awesome probe sitting in the front row? It belongs to Federal Hocking High School teacher, Eric Tabler. Tabler has been teaching Spanish at FHHS for 32 years, 31 of which he has been driving the car to school. The car is a Ford Probe GT. When the car was originally made it was given a Mazda engine because it was supposed to replace the Mustang, but it never ended up happening.
“It is a Ford Probe GT, you have to get the GT in there. Everybody has always called it ‘The Probe’.”
Tabler got the car from Don Wood in Athens, Ohio in 1994 with a payment of only $339 per month for five years. The probe is still completely original, the AC still works, and it even has a cassette player in it. The only bad part is that it is rusting out on the passenger side.
“If the body was in better shape, I would probably have it restored.”
When Tabler first got the probe he enjoyed driving it, now he still enjoys driving it but he is mainly just seeing how long it will last. He only drives it from home to school because he does not trust it enough to drive it to other places. When he goes to other places he uses his other vehicles, a Toyota Tundra truck and a Hyundai Santa Fe. Tabler is working to get a 2500 HD GMC Silverado.
“Now it’s just a game to see how long that thing will last, I just go home and to school that’s it. I don’t trust that thing.”
Tabler does the regular maintenance by himself such as oil changes and tires, for repairs he takes the probe to Jack Gould in Stewart, Ohio. He changes the oil every 5,000 miles, which ends up usually being on Christmas break each year due to not driving it much. After Tabler retires, he will not drive it much anymore so make sure you enjoy looking at it while it’s still on the road.
“He has the oldest car in the school and he has been driving it for years, he even drove it when my parents were in school.”
Students have recognized and remembered the car for years. Tabler has been driving the probe in style for many years and he isn’t stopping until he has to.
Junior Hannah Tabler has some thoughts about the Probe.
“It’s a hot rod for sure.”
