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It was the summer of 1997 my parents just moved my family for western Massachusetts to middle Georgia. My dad was out looking for a car and found one running good condition 1980 olds 442 sitting next to one that had been wrecked. The guy that owned them was in the air force and didnt have the time for the car. So we got the car and a few extra parts.
Geez this thread certainly has some history behind it.
Ok I'll add to it.....
I stumbled onto my '72 ragtop in June 2016 within about 2 weeks after my dad had passed away. I still had my then current '72 Buick Skylark ragtop which was all in primer awaiting the opportunity for final bodywork and paint, had been an essentially endless wait up to that point. Somewhat out of frustration by that time but mostly to divert attention from my recent loss, I one night randomly started perusing various county Craigslist 'cars for sale' sections just to see what was currently up for grabs.
As if to practically be handed to me, there it was, only advertised in a remote county of Deland, FL ad - a beautiful 54k original mile red convertible with white top and interior, essentially exactly as I wanted to finish my Skylark if ever the chance to get it in for the final bodywork were to arise... The ad was already 5-6 days old so I assumed it had to have been gone by now and it should have been - surely had it been advertised in Tampa or even if it had simply popped up in their surrounding county sections, it would have been sucked up early on. But I clearly remember it wasn't showing in any surrounding county either directly or by reference.
So expecting disappointment, i called the number anyway and astonishingly, still available. Owner agreed to hold it for me to come out that Saturday a.m. and he even met me at a local muffler shop owned by an acquaintance of theirs so that it could be put on a lift for my inspection.
Short story is there was no way I was leaving without the car upon further inspection so after about an hour a great deal was struck and I drove her home from Deland (just below Daytona Beach area) to Tampa (about a 90 mile drive) in the 90* FL sun, on 25yo Sears radials and shocks, factory a/c blowing cold the whole way. Life was good that day....
Sometimes I equate this chance fate to some kind of divine intervention - like maybe ol' Pop was looking down on me and this was his way to let me know 1 last time he was still with me.
Last edited by 70sgeek; November 17th, 2021 at 12:30 PM.
I was told by my father the summer of 1969 (I was 16 yrs old) I was going to buy my first car, a 1967 442 from our neighbor who owned a used car dealership (with his brother). My monthly car payments were less than my monthly insurance premium. My second Oldsmobile was a 1972 442 I purchased on my own in 1976 in Riverside, CA. My third Oldsmobile is a 1971 CS convertible I purchased three years ago & own today.
November, 2003 in a national auto trader rag. A dealer in Calgary had it. I flew out, put a deposit on it, flew home and arranged transport and set about selling a very nice '68 Camaro SS350/4 speed to make room in the garage. Don't regret it a bit -- I always wanted a ragtop.
I believe I missed this thread if this is a repeat I apologize
I have never been one to run with the pack it seems when it comes to guns' car's, tool's I seem attracted to orphans ! there are a few exceptions
I do admit to having a thing for 55 and 57 Chevy's probably because my folks owned one. I did own a 1957 Chevy sedan delivery( Lots of fun) and a 57 Chevy convertible which I never did get running (a sad story for another time) I also had a 64 Belair which I did see to about 95% complete and I was very proud of it.
Now for the Oldsmobile, I was out of the game for a while, I sold the 64 and focused on the family and when things became stable again I decided I wanted a street rod but again I wanted to be different and didn't want a Ford, I was looking for a Plymouth, Dodge or anything with suicide doors or a Buick, Chevy, Pontiac, Olds 34-39 well it was slim pickins and when I did find them they were out of my price range unless I wanted a project and I didn't.
I had mentioned to my cousin who is a classic car guy that I was looking but gave up. A few months later he calls me and says I know this is not what you were looking for but you may be interested, the price is right. its complete and drivable as is and it kinda fits you. he gives me the details and I go to see it , LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT ,the seller was motivated although he did not have it advertised, we made the deal and she's in my garage now, it was perfect for me ! a orphan, a marque no longer made and a sedan (much, much lower production numbers than a hard top) I knew there would be the usual numbers of TRI-Chevys showing up at the cruise-ins but I was pretty sure I would be the only one rolling a 56 Olds Super 88 2 door sedan !! So after giving up on on my street rod quest this just kind of fell in to my lap and Im happy it did.
November 17th, 2021, 04:56 AM
