Time is flying...

[Phred]

We were at the Dairy Queen the other night and saw a first generation VW Rabbit sporting antique vehicle license plates. Wow, I'm getting older!! I never thought of the Rabbit as an antique car, but techically it is in the eyes of the state.

I wonder if he only drives it "in parades, to and from car shows, and to and from getting service"?

Peace to all.

[skip]

In my town a few Pontiac Fiero's are plated that way too.

[Dusty]

I know I am plated that way, it says I can only be used on weekends...good Lord the wife makes use of me on weekends

Thankful to be back at work.
dusty

[marc hildebrant]

In 1967, I got a 1933 Chev for a Christmas present. The car was 34 years old and "looked" old to me as I was just 19.

Today, a car 34 years old would be a 1976 car....hey, that was just yesterday !

Marc

[Keith True]

I was at a truck show Sunday looking at a 78 Autocar.The young guy had done a pretty good job of preserving it,and touched it up a little.He was pretty proud of his antique,but it seems like just a short time ago I drove that truck out of the dealership brand new.I drove it off on Dec.24,1978 for my boss.The last time I drove it was in 1993,and it had 1.4 million miles on it.It is still a modern truck to me.

[Uncle Bob]

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It's just too hard to think of a car that I looked at in the show room (or owned) when new as being old......

[Mitch//pa]

yep i have a 1984 jaguar that was eligible for antique plates last year.

[Freddie (Memphis)]

Y'know...'s funny... I remember in 1966, my Father saying to me he would buy me a new car to take to college...and for me to go ahead and pick out one...just keep it affordable and practical. So...off I go on my little Honda 90 to all the local car dealerships....cruisin' around, lookin' at cars. Man...does it get any better than that for a car nut?

I had ruled out all the Mopars...Dad was a GM man, y'know. But, I went to a local Ford dealership one Sunday AM...and found "my" car: a leftover 1965 Shelby Cobra roadster...427 cu in...under car exhaust...4 speed...power NUTHIN'...just a little car with a big, big engine. I was in deep serious love...well, maybe deep serious LUST, anyway. I still remember the sticker...type written, stuck on the inside passenger side of the windshield: $6886.68, plus tax and license from Shelby American International out of Van Nuys, California.

"No way on God's green earth...", I thought. "Put that straight outta your mind, you doofus...there's no way Dad's gonna spend that much money on that little car...!" I ended up with a brand new '67 Chevy Camaro...a nice car, but certainly no Shelby Cobra!!! ...and it was less than $3,000, too.

If we only knew then what we know now. Today, that little '65 Shelby roadster would be worth in the neighborhood of $375,000.00 - $450,000.00 - UNRESTORED! ...and indeed it would be registered as an antique...a 440 horsepower, 35 year old antique car!

Today, besides the Model A, I now own a '65 Shelby Cobra replica built by Superformance in South Africa...having waited 35 years to get my dream car. Because it is a replica of an antique, this fall I plan on registering it as an antique, as specified under Tennessee Department of Motor Vehicle law. While it's certainly a fun car...it's sure worth a helluva lot less than the original...

If we only knew...

[Uncle Bob]

Heck of a good memory Freddie! I suspect it's hard for enthusiasts today to imagine a 427 Cobra languishing, but at nearly $7k that was TALL money for a limited use car without many creature comforts. I rotated back from flying over the jungle in Nov. '68, dropped into Galpin Ford in So. Cal. They had a black one on the show room floor. One of the salesmen told me it had been there over a year! I had stashed away a decent poke for the year what with flight & combat pay, + tax exemption, but not THAT big a stake! Yep.....if we'd only known. But then we got a second shot in '73 when people were practically giving away muscle cars because of the fuel deal.....

[Freddie (Memphis)]

Yes sir...see if this turns your crank as much as it does mine...! This is me at Carolina Motorosports Park a couple of years ago...about as much fun as a guy can have with all his clothes on...!

...and We must've crossed paths somewhere in SEA.... I was stationed in Korat and Udorn, RTAFB, Sept '67 - Oct '68, 355 TFS.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Freddie (Memphis)

Yes sir...see if this turns your crank as much as it does mine...! This is me at Carolina Motorosports Park a couple of years ago...about as much fun as a guy can have with all his clothes on...!

...and We must've crossed paths somewhere in SEA.... I was stationed in Korat and Udorn, RTAFB, Sept '67 - Oct '68, 355 TFS.

I'd say more than crossed! Probably drank in the same bars and,.... oh never mind.........! Korat, 10/67 - 11/68, 553rd Recon

No track pics, but this is the 289 FIA replica I had.

[Keith True]

I have an uncle that was repainting the offices in the Rambler garage here.He bought an SC Rambler that had sat on the showroom floor for just over three years.I know it was cheap,he sold it to me in 1975 for $600.The first thing he did to it was to paint the car blue to get rid of that horrible red-white-blue circus wagon look.I sold it to the local fire chief as it was getting pretty rusty.He ran it until the coil/shock towers caved in and the car went out back.It may still be there.My wife's ex had a Mustang that he sold during the gas shortage for $600.All she remembers about it was it had two fours,a four speed,was red,and had louvers on the back window.They bought it new when he got back from southeast Asia.That one had sat on the showroom floor set up like that for a while too.

[WTSHNN]

The first generation Dodge Caravan mini-vans are now considered antiques...

[Pa Joe]

Well, sitting here reading all these posts and found them interesting. Many of them, if not all I can definately relate to. Made me think of last March when I was down in Datona during bike week. I'm 64 and still riding a full dresser Harley believe it or not. Me and my friends go into the local Moose club for supper and I got talking to the Govenor ( the main man of the Moose) and he told me that the average age of the membership was 75. Wow, I felt like a young kid. just my 2 cents. Joe in Pa

[Clem Clement]

Clem here. Takli summer of 64. Flying KB-50's pumping gas to anybody over the Plain de Jars. We had the Hun rote Squad from Cannon with us. Man there was a lot of thirsty fighters of the Plain. I had an A3D hit me and damn near drained my tanks.

67-68 I was in Blue Chip in Saigon. Probably sent some of you guys North. (And My heart with ya.) Thanks for your courage.
Clem
USAF retd

[Benson]

Originally Posted by Clem Clement

Clem here. Takli summer of 64. Flying KB-50's pumping gas to anybody over the Plain de Jars. We had the Hun rote Squad from Cannon with us. Man there was a lot of thirsty fighters of the Plain. I had an A3D hit me and damn near drained my tanks.

67-68 I was in Blue Chip in Saigon. Probably sent some of you guys North. (And My heart with ya.) Thanks for your courage.
Clem
USAF retd

I worked out of the Central Highlands between Ankhe Pass and Mang Yang Pass for all but 23 days of 1968.

There was joke in Stars and Stripes or maybe it was in Playboy.


It showed hundreds of Mason jars lined up against the background of the mountains with the USAF planes scooting around or scouting maybe.

Clem ... were you the one in the upper left corner?

[roccaas]

Thank you for your service.

My earliest memories (JFK had 6 months to live when I was born) were of y'all on TV every night with Cronkite, body counts, and the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

As I grew older, and crazier about jets, I wondered why they sending -105's North with so few bombs aboard. Now I know that we had a serious ammo supply issue. Hell of a way to fight a war.

BTW, my '87 BMW M6 is up for Antique in 2 years, so that means I've been out of school for WHAT a Quarter Century.

[Frank Nemo]

I begin giving this subject some thought and came to the realization I was getting pretty darn old. I starting counting the cars I have used as daily drivers and excluded the hobby cars. In all since 1952 I have had 15 cars that were driven daily. 11 if still owned would qualify for "Antique" car plates. To me that's a little scary!

[glenn in camino]

Getting old is way better than the alternative.