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I imagine most of us have a few rides that, for one reason or another, got away from us. I have several, but these two are the ones I miss the most.
The Corvette went to pay for daughter #2's's college education. The Nova bit the dust after a few failed job relocations bit too deeply into the financial reserves. I'd love to have either one of them back!
I've had a few greats that I lucked on to and let go, but My first car was a Fuel injected 57 Chevy Nomad. Bronze with off white Roof. I Paid $900.00 for it in 1978. Bought it from the original owner. Car was flawless. The only thing I added was some Crager SS Wheels but that was it. I Kept having problems with the Fuel Injection System and nobody including the Chevy dealership knew how to get it to work right. Sold it about a year later for $1500.00 and thought I was the Monopoly Guy at the time.
I don't know is it worse when they get away and they are still close enough to touch.
My high school car(first car) was a 70 442. Long/bad family story, But anyways i had to give it to my brother(Free). This was over 30 years ago. He still has it in his garage doing nothing but sitting for 30 years(He's not a car guy) but yet he will not give it back to me.
I'll stop there, i'm getting P!@$%^ off (LOL)
1969 AMX 390 4 speed
1970 Javelin 390 automatic - actually my favorite driving car
1971 Hornet SC 360 - something like 760 built
1970 442 W30 - bench seat 4 speed owned for 42 years and let it go. Sold last year after restoration for $129,000
1970 442 W30 - Aegean aqua automatic with absolutely every option you could order on the car
1970 442 Post - very early Fremont built car
1966 Ford Thunderbird
1970 Pontiac GTO Judge - the real deal and actually rescued from a salvage yard in New Mexico
Mine was a 70 W-30 auto and air hardtop for $1895 back in '79 on a used car lot.
I did test drive it about 6 times in about two weeks though. It was a mile
up to the turnaround then back. Man oh man...
91 Civic Hatchback that I traded in before I became a classic car guy.
Hey! I loved driving that car.
I also had a 1986 Caprice Classic Wagon that I sold for el cheapo once it started really leaking in the interior and burning like.... 2 quarts of oil a week. Again, that was BEFORE I knew anything about cars.
But I still dream of that Civic. Yeah, yeah... I know.
1970 AAR cuda, red with black interior pistol grip shifter, 6 pack intake and carbs in the trunk, US Indy slots. Car was at Preston Chrysler Plymouth in Dallas on used car lot, spring of 1978 for the price of $2250. I was 17 and needed my dad to sign. I paid deposit and went home. Mechanic owner took it for one last joy ride before we came to pick it up on Saturday. When we got there he said he missed shift and broke something in the trans. Promised to have it fixed by the next Wednesday. Left with car still sitting on used car lot in the back corner. On Monday dealer called, on Sunday when they were closed (Texas blue law) some one stole the hood. I went and got my deposit back. It sat on the used car lot another month with a standard flat Barracuda hood and broken transmission that ended up having to be replaced.
I bought a 74 H/O instead for $1800.
69 Cutlass W31 stick, original down to the hose clamps, trophy blue, no vinyl top, blue gut, no W26 console, bucket seat, standard white W42s, SS2 30K ish miles, grandma car. She was till driving it when I first saw it. Sacramento area. Imagine white hair barely above the steering wheel with glasses driving a W31 circa 1987. Sold it cuz she couldn't push the clutch anymore. Didnt get to her soon enough, The servicing station guy bought it out from under me! $1000!
72 H/O 455 sun roof.
68 W31 stick. Black Black bench seat. Didn't know what I was looking at when I was a wee lad. $1700 1980.
71 W30 auto vert! again didn't know what I was looking at when I was a wee lad and I couldn't afford it. 10K mid 80s. Bittersweet with sandalwood top n gut.
70 triple black SX
72 Cutlass with every single available option except buckets and console including 455, FE2, power everything, air shocks, 4 core, trailer hitch package. Someone wanted to tow something. Bamboo with tan gut. California car zero rust. Didnt know what it was. All I knew is the numbers on it weren't 442.
Circa 1995, fresh out of the military. Low funds and trying to build a steady, independent foundation to live on. ....This was my first year at the Pate Swap Meet in Cresson Tx. #1: Original numbers '69 H/O minus the coveted air cleaner. $7500 was a tall order for me at that time...... #2: Later that summer this was a number matching '69 Dodge Coronet R/T 440 six pack, pistol grip four speed, brilliant blue with black interior. Asking price was $9000
Never had:
1. My grandmother's '65 Mustang. Black w/black pony interior. 6 cyl/AT. She bought it new in '65. Grandfather had been a long time GM engineer & got a new Buick every year. They'd always have a new one & a 1 year old one. When he passed, she wanted something smaller. Had the Mustang delivered to her house. Drove it for a year & then had dealer air installed. She mostly quit driving soon after that. The I last saw it, it was still immaculate under boxes/blankets in her garage around 1980 and only had 9,000 (9,330 I remember!) miles on it. Museum piece. I tried several times as a teenager/young adult to buy it, but she had become reclusive and I rarely saw her. When she passed around 1985 I learned that she had sold it to 'somebody down the street' for $1000.
2. 1970 Plymouth Superbird. When I was 14 yo ('79 ish) and while on our typical low budget vacation with my mom & siblings, we stopped at a rural gas station somewhere in middle-of-nowhere Tennessee. I wandered around the property and behind the building with some other not-runnings was a pale yellow Superbird. Black vinyl top & very nice black int. 440 / 4 spd & 78K mi. No rust & looked straight, but very dusty and on 2 flat tires. While I was looking at it, station guy came over and asked if I wanted it. He said it just needed a clutch and the previous owner had sold it to him because he couldn't afford the repair, but other than that it ran and drove fine when parked. "It'll prolly need a battery now and some tires, but I'd let it go for $1500." Of course he might as well have said $1,000,000 as I had neither the $1500 or any way to actually get it.
Had:
1. '55 BelAir 2 door post. Had 227K mi on it and orig 265ci V8 w/3 spd on floor. Was complete, but very, very worn out. Started taking it apart to restore and was eventually hit with the hard realization that I didn't have the tools, space, skills, or money to restore. Sold it for $500 in early '80s & later learned that some of just one side's trim pieces were worth more than that. (The regret from this is probably why I've kept my Cutlass almost 30 years!)
2. Do bikes count ? My 1985 Honda Nighthawk S. Black & red 80HP 6sp shaft driven smooth fast dream machine. Had the best exhaust note (stock) of any bike I've ever heard. First brand new vehicle I'd ever bought. $2970 in May '85. Kept it immaculate (& in my apt living room for a couple of years!). Sold in '95 to buy a house. I still occasionally check internet for them on sale and when I find that one museum quality one....
Last edited by Indy_68_S; Sep 23, 2016 at 08:29 AM.
The one I really regret NOT BUYING was a 1970 Oldsmobile Rallye 350 in Homeworth, Ohio in 1987 or 1988. It was a Cutlass model with bucket seats and the vent windows (the passenger side opened into the mirror), I believe making it a Cutlass Sport Coupe, which is the rarest of the Rallye 350s (1 of 160 made).
The ones I really regret SELLING are:
1. 1970 Dodge Super Bee, 383 Hurst Pistolgrip 4 speed car, originally very rare B5 blue with light blue C stripes and white bench interior, standard 'Bee hood. When I had it, it was already black with gold C-stripes, bucket seats, and Ramcharger hood. I reupholstered the interior to the correct white. One of my best friends still owns the car, but he repainted it dark gray with white C-stripes.
2. 1974 Hurst/Olds, black, 350. I flew to Kennett, Missouri in 1995 to buy this car and drove it back to northeast Ohio. I sold it a few years later to a guy who was reportedly a drug dealer, who then sold it to another drug dealer. I've lost track of the car, but it spent some time in Ashtabula, OH.
3. 1968 Plymouth Road Runner, 383, automatic, 28K original miles, gold with brown/tan interior. I owned this one from 1991-1992, then sold it to pay for tuition for the police academy. It spent 20 years in Urbana, OH; then reportedly went to the St. Louis, Missouri area. Also whereabouts unknown.
I find it interesting that so many of us had a love for Mopar also. I miss my 68 Coronet R/T, 440/6v, 4speed, dana rear with 391's. It was B5 blue and white vinyle interior. I also miss the 63 Fury, 440/4v. torqueflite, and 8 3/4 rear, I recently sold.
Bought when I was 16. Needed a bunch of work and before internet. Never got it where I should have. Sold it as a project to someone else that had a bunch of them. Was a life lesson, if buying an old car make sure you can get parts for it.
1974 Cutlass Supreme. I drove it through rain, sleet and snow. This car was a beast. Give me any kind of weather and this car went through it with no problems. I also had a lot of back seat moments with this car until I donated to charity and bought a 93 Bonneville because it has a supercharger. What a piece of crap that I ever owned. I called the charity company to see if I can buy the Cutlass back but the lady told me that its too late, its already on the flatbed going to Pennsylvania.
You Coronet R/T fans know that the Six Pack wasn't available from the factory till '70, right? Can't be "numbers matching" otherwise.
I've only got one that got away, but I'm alright with it.
Three that got away that I should have bought but didn't for one reason or another was:
1. 1969 GTO RAIV. First car I ever looked at seriously. Wanted a Judge but when this popped up, I began to realize that the engine was more important (vs. RAIII Judge, as was commonly found), which was a coming-of-age of sorts because I was only 14. Car is still with the guy who bought it when I didn't, and we've been in touch for 20 years.
2. Saw this in 10th grade. I remember it as a black cherry-hued 1967 Cougar GT with a CJ 4-speed and red interior. Ironically, I met the Cougar club registrar last year and he told me the car, like me, has travelled 3000 miles and is nearby. It's being restored and was originally black/red and was not a GT.
3. When in college, I found a 1972 Formula 455 with the 455 HO, 4-speed, Honeycombs, AC, and rear console - loaded to the hilt. Was a great driver, and the seller was letting it go because he was into autocrossing and had just bought an RX-7 (the last-gen). I think the price was $6000. Someone in NJ ended up with the F-body and it even made a magazine.
You Coronet R/T fans know that the Six Pack wasn't available from the factory till '70, right? Can't be "numbers matching" otherwise.
Never said it was original, I bought it in 77. It met its demise in a parking lot getting T boned by a 70 Mercury Marauder. It was like being hit by a Sherman tank.
Numbers engine, admittedly I did not know that the three twos were not available until '70, but then again I've never owned a Mopar. I would never claim to be an expert on them either. I have had a soft spot for them as well as other marquis that I have not memorized the associated data and statistics. Please forgive my ignorance
69 Roadrunner, 383 with stage four heads, chrome everything, 4 speed with pistol grip. Just needed paint. Had to sell due to rebuilt motor failed. Lived with parents at time and Dad said " it's gotta go".
1970 442 convertible OAI hood and air cleaner but not a W-30. Black with white interior, 455 auto with glass pack mufflers. Cherry condition. Could not get a loan to buy. Drove it a few times, the reason I keep buying Cutlass convertibles now.
1980 Burnt Orange Z-28 4 speed posi T-top. Lost job had to sell.
I should have kept my '70 SX, and my '66 GTO even though it was a 2 speed auto (had a turbo 400 in it when I had it), and I really should have jumped on that '69 W30 post coupe back in '77 ($900), but I had my SX and didn't need a 4:33 geared car to commute 35 miles to work. Good thing that I passed on that '70 LS6, as I am sure that I would have killed myself, the neighbor's '68 Z/28, with the off road cam and only 28,000 miles ($1300.00) that his wife made him sell, and finally a very well maintained one owner '70 GSX 4spd Stage 1, in Saturn Yellow, for some reason I did not think that I could afford the $2000 price tag, so I bought the GTO instead ($1700).
I should have kept my '70 SX, and my '66 GTO even though it was a 2 speed auto (had a turbo 400 in it when I had it), and I really should have jumped on that '69 W30 post coupe back in '77 ($900), but I had my SX and didn't need a 4:33 geared car to commute 35 miles to work. Good thing that I passed on that '70 LS6, as I am sure that I would have killed myself, the neighbor's '68 Z/28, with the off road cam and only 28,000 miles ($1300.00) that his wife made him sell, and finally a very well maintained one owner '70 GSX 4spd Stage 1, in Saturn Yellow, for some reason I did not think that I could afford the $2000 price tag, so I bought the GTO instead ($1700).
You might be the winner here, passing on both a GSX and an LS6. Who knew what they would become 30 years ago?
