Rusty Bowtie

General Category => General Discussion - Intros => Topic started by: TFoch on February 07, 2016, 08:48:20 PM

Title: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
Post by: TFoch on February 07, 2016, 08:48:20 PM
Ever look back and say, why did I let that car go?  When I was a kid my Dad did some work for a guy and for payment got a 35 Ford 3 window coupe with a rumble seat.  Yeah we had to borrow his friends 33 Ford wrecker to go get it but it sat in our garage until I was 18.  I remember going out to the garage to sit and play in it.  When I graduated high school my Dad gave it to me.  I gave it back to him a few months later when I bought a 70 Chevy Nova.  Back then muscle cars ruled and I needed a car to cruse Elm street in Manchester.  Some old guy bought it from Dad and restored it so it didn't go to waste.  What is your story?
Title: Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
Post by: themoose on February 07, 2016, 10:01:16 PM
 Back in 69 when I got out of the army I a friend of mine told me about a 39 Chevy coupe that was for sale in the next town. At the  I decided to take some time off and was playing around with a 61 Corvette that I had bought with  some money I saved up from while serving in Vietnam. Just before I left the army one of the guys got a hot rod magazine from home that had an article about stuffing a 427 L88 in an early Vette and that was all it took to get me going. I was well into the project when  I found out about the 39 but I thought it would be worth a look at least. It was all stock with no rust or dents  but had a blown engine and the owner didn't want to spend the time or money to fix it. For the heck of it I told him I'd give him $125.00 and to my surprise he said OK. I really wasn't in the market for another car but I couldn't pass up such a good. I towed it home and parked in the field next the my house. It sat there for a couple of years and it seemed that I always had other things going on and never had time to do anything with it. At the time the town decided they were going to get on a beautification kick and pass an ordinance that said that any unregistered vehicles had to be concealed  either in a build or behind a fence. I didn't  feel like dealing with the town  and decided to "unload" the car. I took $500.00 for it from a guy that was out of town who took it away on a flat bed never to be seen or heard from again...What a dummy I was. At least I got the Vette on the road and was able to terrorize the locals for a good number of years. 
 
Title: Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
Post by: sammons on February 07, 2016, 10:12:04 PM
Haha, I was just thinking about that a few days ago.  First and foremost would be letting my black '57 Chevy go.
 My dad and uncle bought a fenderless '33 ford 3-w coupe, 354 hemi, 4"chop top. They had it up forsale, think it was in the early 80's. That thing was cool! I thought real hard about buying it. I took it for a test drive, bad handeling, brakes pulled, no heater or wipers and grey primmer. I just couldn't see paying $2,200. In later years all three of us wished we had  it.
Like Tom I was also big time into muscle cars, bought sold traded many of them. Now each and every one would bring big bucks today.
Title: Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
Post by: chopper526 on February 09, 2016, 01:30:31 PM
Tom, did you ever ask the wrong guy!!!!! Cars I passed on, or let go too soon. All of these cars were in good/better than good condition:

1. When I was looking for my first car in 1975 my Dad worked with a guy that wanted to sell his 1936 Ford business coupe for $400. I passed.
2. When I worked at a gas station in 1976 one of the guys had a 1964 GTO convertible, 389 tri-power, 4 speed, all original he wanted $3,000. I passed.
3. A friend of mine worked at a Pontiac dealership in 1978. He took a 1958 Corvette in trade. He offered it to me for $3,000. I passed.
4. Also in 1978 I met a guy who wanted to sell me his chopped 1932 Ford 5 window for $1,000. I passed because it need glass and an interior.
4. In 1981 I bought a 1970 Torino 429 Cobra Jet 4 speedfor $1,000. I sold it less than a year later for $2,000 because I wanted a car with A.C.
4. In 1984 I worked with a guy who wanted to sell me a 1968 Shelby GT500KR for $6,500. I passed (my reasoning was I already owned a Mustang convertible).
5. I bought a 1965 Satellite with a 426 wedge in 1986 for $2,500. I sold it in 1987 for $3,300. because it was just sitting in my garage.
6. There is no 6. It seems all the deals have dried up.........although I picked my '32 up for $9,500. and I do think that was a bargain. :)

Anyway, I know all of you guys have a thousand stories just like mine or worse/better. It just kills me every time I think about those cars. I always thought I was smarter, I guess not. So, THANKS FOR ASKING, TOM!!!! >:( ;)
Title: Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
Post by: ghost28 on February 09, 2016, 08:58:31 PM
Yep quite a few. But the one that hurts the most was a bone stock 41 willys coupe body for 200.00  I didn't have that much money so I bought his 26 tall T coupe body for $125.00  Now look at what a willys body will fetch.   
Title: Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
Post by: 62131 on February 09, 2016, 09:47:05 PM
Yep I let a Yenko Nova go by me at $2700  :-\
Title: Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
Post by: EDNY on February 09, 2016, 11:14:02 PM
I drove a 57 Chevy in a demolition derby :'(
Title: Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
Post by: TFoch on February 10, 2016, 06:57:03 AM
Ed how could you!  I hope it was a four door ;D
Title: Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
Post by: munch on February 10, 2016, 08:18:10 AM
I had a cherry 66 Nova one owner that we pulled the six and built a V-8 for.  Nice ride, but as a kid I didn't appreciate it as I should and got tired and traded it.

Then there was a 66 Capri, red, black interior, bucket seats, auto console, 283.  Nice cruiser, I wish I had that back.
Title: Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
Post by: Kiwijeff on February 10, 2016, 11:45:12 PM
I only have one that bugs me.
My buddy that was living in the same house at the time, had an early steel Dodge that was built into a bucket.
It had 350 Olds in it, chopped screen, half hood etc. Opening doors, and he let me drive it when he wasn't.
It was a great Hot Rod. After he sold it, someone changed the color from red to yellow with a blue chassis, and it ended up on a local car lot, for five grand.
I hated the new paint scheme. It looked awful.
I wished I hada brought it. It was a one off, cool old school Rod.
I've since tried to track it down, but had no luck.
Title: Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
Post by: sixball on February 11, 2016, 02:23:58 PM
Several, but the ones that still hurt are my first car a '38 Ford coupe, a near perfect '40 Ford sedan delivery, 2 '40 Ford woodies, a '51 Ford woody, my first Chevy a '48 Fleetline, a '40 Chevy pickup, and a '47 Chevy sedan delivery. There were lots of others even a Morris Minor Travler (woody) Those are just some that I owned and drove I can't even think of some that I could have owned but passed up. A hot rodded '25 Chevy roadster and a '32 Plymouth roadster, a bone stock '29 Ford roadster pickup, a '50 Chevy sedan delivery………... :(  All the Fords had flathead V8s, The Chevys had 235, 261 Chevy, or 270, 302 GMC sixes.  8)
Title: Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
Post by: jckwsky on February 11, 2016, 04:05:20 PM
back when I was growing up we had a 1940's something, I can't even remember what type of two door it was, but I so wanted to work on it as I got older, unfortunately my old man sold it when we moved.  The one I owned was a 1968 International Pickup.  Got that one for free and ran it for about a year.  It had so many problems my mom made me sell it.  This was before the internet and parts were hard to find but I loved that truck.
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