Author Topic: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?  (Read 2247 times)

TFoch

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Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
« 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?
Spending time with my grandkids gets in the way of finishing my car but I don't regret it!

themoose

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Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
« Reply #1 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. 
 
Too soon we get old too late we get smart. One out of two ain’t bad 8)

sammons

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Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
« Reply #2 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.

chopper526

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Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
« Reply #3 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!!!! >:( ;)
Tighten it up til it strips, then back it off a quarter turn

ghost28

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Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
« Reply #4 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.   

62131

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Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
« Reply #5 on: February 09, 2016, 09:47:05 PM »
Yep I let a Yenko Nova go by me at $2700  :-\

EDNY

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Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
« Reply #6 on: February 09, 2016, 11:14:02 PM »
I drove a 57 Chevy in a demolition derby :'(
33 Chevy 5 Window, 34 Chevy 3 Window, 37 Chevy 4dr sedan

TFoch

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Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
« Reply #7 on: February 10, 2016, 06:57:03 AM »
Ed how could you!  I hope it was a four door ;D
Spending time with my grandkids gets in the way of finishing my car but I don't regret it!

munch

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Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
« Reply #8 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.

Kiwijeff

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Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
« Reply #9 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.
Gold Chainers CC                President                            New Zealand Chapter

sixball

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Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
« Reply #10 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)
The probability of life originating from accident is comparable to the probability of the unabridged dictionary resulting from an explosion in a printing shop.  Edwin Conklin

jckwsky

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Re: Did You Ever Let A Car Slip Through Your Fingers?
« Reply #11 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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