One that got away

[Pops1532]

About the middle of my sophomore year of high school Hot Rod did a feature on a flamed 40 Ford Deluxe coupe and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I wanted one bad. The following summer we took a family vacation. I had made my parents very aware of the fact that I wanted a car like that. So we're tooling along on some narrow state highway in Kentucky pulling a travel trailer behind an International Travelall. Dad and I spotted a 40 coupe but he wasn't stopping. I said let's see if its for sale! To my surprise he turned around and went back. It was a 40 standard coupe, complete, a little rough but a very good candidate for restoration or a rod build. Owner said she'd be willing to sell it. She asked $400. My Dad knew I only had about $60 to my name asked what I thought. Thats when I realized he was going to buy it for me or front me the money. I countered at $300. Seller was firm at $400. I reasoned that is was rougher than I wanted, it was a standard and I reall wanted a deluxe, we'd have to cut our vacation short to go back to IL and drop off the travel trailer and rent a car trailer, and Mom would have been really upset about cutting the vacation short. I said no, I'll get a different one later. We did find a Deluxe coupe on that trip. No eng, trans, or interior.....$1000. Also found a junk yard with lots of old stuff. They had just crushed all of their pre war stuff including a 40 coupe a few days prior. Mom asked my Dad if her uncle would have one. He had run a junk yard at one time. Dad thought about it and remembered seeing one when he had been there years before. We called Mom's uncle. Sure enough, he had a 40 Ford coupe. Had as in used to have. He had scrapped all his junk cars a few years before. That was 1975 and I still haven't gotten one! Years later I told Dad that I should have gotten the $400 car. He said, that's what he thought at the time.

In '84 I retired my daily driver '64 Marauder (the 390 was long gone before I got the car. It had a 352 in it). It had an electrical problem that I had diagnosed but not fixed and was otherwise drivable. I also had a '62 Montery 4 door. One tiny rust spot. It was a project car. I had put bigger brakes from a wagon on it. I had built an engine but hadn't installed it yet. Money got real tight so I junked both Mercs. I've always regretted doing that.

[Hotrodvideo]

In 1974 my dad was looking at a '50 Ford Woodie, really nice original car with a new rebuilt 8ba. The guy was asking $950 and my dad passed on it.

He's still regretting that one.

[georgewarren]

Back around 1963 or 64, the local Ford dealer in Key West had a 56 Ford convertable and a 56 hardtop on the back (junker) row. One had a good 292 with a bad automatic tranny, the other a bad 292 and a good three speed stick. Both had good bodies, including the convertable top. $50 each, but I couldn't afford that on the money I made with a paper route!

[46yblock]

Not so much got away, but gave away. 1960 Corvette with rebuilt 327, Muncie 4 speed. I was young back in 1969, so wanted a Yamaha 250 Enduro. Sold the vette for 950.00 and bought the Yamaha . With money being tight, it wasnt meant to be a keeper, but sure was fun for a couple years.

[Gerry]

Back in 1966 bought a 57 Cheby convertible for 75.00 needed a trans, 3 speed stick. Really clean car paid 35.00 for a junkyard trans and drove it for a Rhode Island winter. Got drafted so sold it for 200.00 thought I really took this guy for a ride. Got out of basic than AIT and got stationed in Fort Hood Texas and found ads in the local paper they were selling for 500.00 on up.. Guess I should have kept it !!!

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Had 3 different '55 2 door post chevys. Year later had totally restored a '56 chevy nomad. 302 from a Z with a 4 speed. All cars were fun and ran great. Don't miss them a bit. Had a '63 Galaxie 2dr post 390 4 speed. 3rd gear was rough. $50.00 and it was gone. Cry all the time over that one. '69 Merc cyclone in 1976. 429 cobra jet with the 780 double pumper and lots of git. $600.00 and it was gone. Miss it bad. Between 16 and 18 years old. '49 Ford 2dr custom, '52 Ford 2dr custom, '56 Crown Vic, '57 Fairlane 500. Dad crushed them. They were mine but he got tired of looking at them. God the list goes on. Everything was $300.00 or less. Had a buddy who's old man was a wheeler and a dealer. He kept buying the stuff and sold it to me. My poor Dad 'bout lost his mind. But like he kept saying "you're working, it's your money, I got nothing to say." My Dad collected a lot of stuff too.

[gasman826]

I was 17 and searching for my first new car...Mustang. The local dealer only had one four speed car. A '69 Fairlane Cobra, 4spd, ram air in dark jade. Dark jade looked too much like OD green (Army green), I passed. When to another dealer, only 4spd cars on the lot were Shelbys. I thought they were a little over dressed. My cousin worked at a Hertz lot and said they had several GT500s in the back that could be bought really cheap. I wanted a new car! I finally found a Mach1 428 4spd. I was just a stupid kid!!!

[paul2748]

63 1/2 K Fairlane (289 HIPO). If we only knew.

[amodel25]

When I was 13 my uncle was going in the Air Force and offered to give me his pretty nice running '39 Oldsmobile business coupe, straight 8 that he had driven through high school and college. My dad's response....."you are 13, no drivers license, and don't need a car". The car went to the mechanic that had worked on it through the years.

[junkyardjeff]

I had watched this 66 or 67 Mercury cyclone sitting in a back yard from 75 to 83 when I finally asked about it,FE 4 speed with the complete floor cut out and was wanting 75 dollars for it and could only get 60. It was gone the next week when I had the money.

[wizardofx]

1. I bought a non running '69 Charger for $150 when I was 19. (1984?) It was white w/ black vinyl top. It had a 383 4bbl that needed head work. Other than that the car was perfect. I had so many Ford parts at that time, I thought to myself, "why do I want to get involved with Mopars NOW??" So I sold it for $200. Owww!!... (he says as he kicks himself again in the ass.)

2. It get's worse.. When I was 16, in 1981 I rode past a great looking red Comet A/FX with a for sale sign. I knew it was special, but not enough. I spoke to the owner At the time they wanted $300 for it!!!!! But, I had a crappy part time job making minimum wage and couldn't scrounge up enough to buy it. So to this day I get a wee bit sick thinking I could have had one.

Oh well...

[46yblock]

Duplicate Post.

[rick55]

Mike, you must really miss that Corvette - you've listed it twice.
Regards

[46yblock]

Sorry about that. Yeah I would appreciate it much more now than when I was a young semi adult. But I wouldnt run it down a 5-10 mi. stretch of the Kansas turnpike at 136 mph on Allstate bias tires, either. Thrilling!

[Frankenstein57]

When I was dirt track racing in the late 70's, I was making a jump from sportsman to late models. The ford stuff required to much $$$$ to run with those guys, sold my last 427, standard bore, -10 on the crank , for $2500 to buy a chevy. Wish I could have kept it.Mark

[Randy in Oklahoma]

Was wandering around a small Colorado mining town in late sixties. Found and bought a 40 Willys coupe from and old couple, with intentions of coming back the next year to pick it up. (I lived in Texas at the time) . I never made it back.