History the ones that got away… (and should have kept.)

at least for a while longer… or put into storage.

these were my dad’s pontiacs. had these two and also others. on the left is a 56 safari and a 55. he also had a 57 4dht poncho. I drove the 55 for a while until I got a ticket for excessive smoke while sitting at a light in Covina. The safari he sold and then I bought it back after a year and drove the wheels off of it and then (like an idiot) sold it for $175 to a guy in Pomona. that was back in 1969. The 57 four-door hardtop was the best driving of all of them. that car moved out well. i’ll post more pictures as I find them. there’s actually quite a few. like my 56 Corvette. (I bought it for $200.) and a 56 belair 2dht.

 

Hello,

There were three vehicles that in my mind, that “got away.” One was the 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery that I eventually bought with a Flathead motor, but it originally came with a high performance 348 Chevy motor. The cost of the 348 power was too high for anyone to notice the for sale sign and that included me.

Although, I knew the owner from junior high school/high school. We were several of those kids that came from the same Westside of Long Beach area back then that got involved in hot rods and drag racing. At the time, perhaps, a handful continued on into high school activities.

The 348 power in the 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery was so unique, that no one had seen one before and actually, no one wanted it because of that notoriety. It was a Ford, but not a 40 two door sedan that was in the same drive-in restaurant parking lot, when this rumbling 348 powered sedan delivery came through to showcase the just finished build.

By the time I got the sedan delivery, the 348 was out and a stock Flathead motor was put in place. It was a great reliable build and took me thousands of road trip miles all over So Cal coastline in search of waves. It was a very good hot rod and stood out everywhere we went, including daily parking battles in front of our high school every week. But, not a 348 power...

The other old hot rod, only four years old at the time, was a 1956 black Ford two door sedan. After our 40 Willys Coupe, 671 SBC build and accident at Lion’s Dragstrip, a family friend from Los Angeles thought this cool looking sedan would take our minds off of the experience/recovery from the accident. It had the look of a racer, which it was recently at Bonneville. The Flathead motor was great sounding and it was hooked up to a LaSalle transmission, too.
similar in looks to this one
When I went to Los Angeles to see the offered hot rod sedan, I instantly wanted it, after I took it for a test drive around the L.A. neighborhood. It was a Ford sedan with some attitude and power to back it up. The Moon Discs on blackwalls and black car made it have a good look to being a high speed racer. It had just been cleaned up from racing at Bonneville. The owner wanted to go in a different direction in their racing builds and this 56 Ford Sedan was for sale.

1956 Ford Sedan fresh off of the salt flats, 1961. old Friday Art…

At the time, my brother still had his 1958 Impala and I had just purchased the Flathead 40 Sedan Delivery as my own car. But, this sedan would have been a different hot rod style cruiser that no one else had at the time. As nice as the sedan was, our motto was to sell one, in order to buy one. We both had our own cars.

When we were talking at home, my mom overheard the conversation and wanted to buy it. She knew the family friend and to her, anything he had for sale was going to be a good one. She had an ulterior motive, my brother would have a car, the black 56 Ford Sedan and she would take the 58 Impala. Now, that was sounding very interesting. Or, he would take the sedan delivery for his renewed recovery surfing adventures and I would get the 56 Ford sedan... she still would get the 58 Impala. That was some planning.


Jnaki

The last one that got away and we are thankful for it was a yellow 46 Ford woody. We needed something to give us an edge in our photographic business in hot rods and motorcycles. Arriving in a woody at photo shoot appointments and car shows would have been great. But, we did not realize until later that someone was directing us away from the woody and towards our next hot rod project, a 327 powered 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery…
327 SBC powered project build
Yes, it looked similar to my original 40 Ford Flathead Sedan Delivery, as we liked the look from the 1960 era. But, at least this time, it had the power to back up great cruising without any restrictions. It was a project car that was in various stages of development and it took several long months of work to get it safe to drive daily.

Why was this missing woody a good fortune? Well, the woody would have had many instances of security problems for our photo equipment. The windows and shaky locks were not something to write home about in the questionable neighborhoods all over the place. With the sedan delivery, we could just stop somewhere and walk in a diner for a lunch break or dinner.

With the woody windows and even with covers, the locks were not as secure as they could be. So, it was telling us weeks later to purchase the red 40 Ford Sedan Delivery with secure locks, no sight rear cave area and unusual looks for a hot rod. YRMV

So, my wife and I were happy Ford Sedan Delivery owners and used the hot rod as a daily driver for all sorts of road trips. But, a new addition to our family, created a situation that could not be fixed, so the 327 powered sedan delivery was another one that got away.

I have always thought that as time progressed, it was no longer a vehicle with one-two longboards sticking out of our rear window. But now, a shorter board easily fit into the back cave and allowed security, reliability, and convenience. That is what I miss the most. But, for our family, the Sedan Delivery was not a hot rod built for three. So, off it went to a young couple just starting their hot rod adventures.

The last one that got away...

 

I believe all of us Car Crazys have had cars in our past that we now realize we have should have kept. I do have 3 in my garage, 1 is my Dads Midget racer, in my family since 1948, a OT ragtop I purchased new 33 years ago and a OT Hemi Mopar now 17 years old. I had some pretty Kool cars as a kid, (check my albums) but always sold the one to buy the next one, the thought of storing, preserving for future never entered my mind, Worked my butt off for everything, no silver spoon for me. If I knew then what I know now, I'd be a wealthy man just from purchasing the "right" cars. I remember in the early 70's, 60's muscle cars were a dime a dozen, guys gave them away, the Hemi Mopars were the cheapest to buy of all the used muscle cars at that time, look how that turned out. So many examples I can think of, but my Foresite, None Hindsite, Perfect. The best example of my 0 Foresight was I did not buy Microsoft when it was a penny stock in the 70's, everything would have turned out different, I read in Forbes magazine years ago, $10,000 in penny stock worth 240 million by late 90's, early 2000. Attached pic of a Ford Kustom ragtop I owned in the 60's, would be hell of a conversation piece today.

1967/ [GALLERY=media, 502159][GALLERY=media, 502158] by wicarnut posted Jan 20, 2014 at 5:46 PM

by wicarnut posted Jan 20, 2014 at 5:46 PM[/GALLERY]by wicarnut posted Jan 20, 2014 at 5:46 PM[/GALLERY]

 

327 B/W T-10 I sold it in 1972 for $200, or 400, I don’t recall which, to buy a washer and dryer that I needed more. 60 diapers to wash every day.

 

My 61 Vette that I had installed a 427 L88.

 

Every car in my albums in my Profile….especially the 61 Sunliner and the F100…

 

Not just one that got away either.
In the early 70's I had a factory 327/4 speed/12 bolt ElCamino, the 327 was found to have a cracked block when I went to rebuild it, the machine shop where I worked just happened to have a good bare block in the back and I bought it for $30.00, the block ended up being a 66 Nova 327 block and I did not know they were different at the time until I went to hook up the clutch linkage and the cross shaft stud location on the block was in the wrong spot.
I had to make an offset bracket to get the clutch to work but somebody got a really valuable engine with that Elky.



This next one is real collectable nowadays.
1964 Chevelle 300 series two door station wagon.
The previous owner put a 425 Olds, 4speed and 12bolt rear in it, the engine was not all that impressive and the gears must have been in the 4.56 range because it ran out of steam about half way thru third gear, just couldn't warm up to that Olds engine so I sold the car.

 

This one for sure!!!

 

59 Plymouth sport fury. San Diego made me get rid of it because it didn't run and was sitting in my driveway. I wanted to put a 440 in it. I had a shop that was going to get the body done and ready to paint, but the two owners got in a fight and closed the place down...had to give it away to keep it from getting crushed.

 

All of them. HRP

 

Now don't get you tits in a wringer. We see a lot of USA-powered Fiats and such here. It's a 1959 Facel Vega with a 383 Chrysler wedge (factory) in it. I payed $7800(?) for it as it sits here. I straightened out a few things, got it to run a little better and kept it for, I guess, two years. At the time, to restore it properly, it would have cost a bundle. I sold it for $8500 or so. Two years ago, nothing changed, same paint, dirty engine, more ragged upholstery, it sold for $213,000. I probably would have kept it if it was a year or two older -- they had Chyrsler and DeSoto hemis.

 

Not mine but my dad bought a complete running driving 1940 Ford Tudor sedan in the mid 90s. He drove it for a couple of years tore it apart put a mustang II front end, a302/C4 with a Ford 8". He got pretty far then lost interest and sold it. I tried buying it from him but he wouldn't hear of it, he wanted to make sure I saved money for college

 

My Dad purchased a wrecked 37 Cord in 1950 for the $25 towing fee.. He rebuilt what was damaged and painted it black. This is the only pic I have of it. It was taken after he got it driveable but before he painted it black. He said it was the first car he went over 100 mph in. He traded it in for a newer family car in the mid fifties. Current whereabouts unknown.

 

A '35 Chevy Standard one owner sedan. All original with one correct repaint. Factory original spare tire had never seen the road. Beautiful original upholstery. The head had been removed one time for a carbon scraping. Traded a '56 Chevy for it. Got broke and sold it to a coworker for 600 bucks. He got killed in a robbery at work and I don't know what ever happened with the car. That was in 1963.

 

Built this pretty much from scratch....see photos.
Unfortunately due to handicap problems (Legs, back, neck) I had to let it go before I could finish it.
Should have paid someone to do it.. DamnDaddy

 

This one. 1964 impala SS numbers matching. Trunk and rear floor under back seat was rotten. Traded it for a 1970 Nova ss 396 four speed car. then proceeded to spin the bearings. had to sell it as I had just gotten married and didnt have the $$ or garage to repair it in...

 

So often, a guy will sell a car to be responsible. To generate money for things with higher priority. But sometimes the money doesn't make that much difference in the long run, the money is gone and the car is gone.

From now on, anybody here starts feeling like they "have to" get rid of their car, check in with us first.

 

Back in high school, my teacher said she had a 29:Ford sedan for $50.I stopped to,get a trailer! Another kid beat me to it.
I’m still pissed about that! It’s only been 52 years ago!





Bones

 

I graduated high school in 1985 and i live in the rust belt. All the cool cars were junk by then unless they were someones creampuff baby that i had no chance to afford. Finally by the early 90’s I got an original paint mint 70 Torino GT, I wish I had that back.

 

My 65 Vette with 375 horse 327 , 11 " clutch , close ratio 4 speed , 4.56 rear , heavy duty factory leaf springs at rear and side pipes. Sold it with 50,000 miles on it to build a new kitchen for my wife .

 

63 Galaxie, bench seat, 390 3x2, factory 4 speed car. Original paint and interior.

1931 Roadster, Olds J2, QC, Lasalle tranny. Perfect body with absolutely no patch panels or damage. Friend of mine, who has now passed, built the car. I try not to think about it because my ass is getting sore from kicking it.

 

The '53 Willys Aero Ace hardtop that my dad let me overhaul when I was 15 (161 c.i. F-head). My '29A standard coupe - first car. My '64 Barracuda - first one sold in Kansas City, and bought from a neighbor, a retired truck mechanic who frequently helped and guided me when overhauling my Model A.

 

I bought a 1958 FV4 last year. It hadn’t ran since ‘97. I got it running, driving and braking. It’s been a dream car of mine forever, I can’t believe I get to drive one. It’s the same color as yours.
It has a 354 Hemi with dual quads and a two speed Powerflite transmission.
I would miss it too if I sold it.
They are cool cars but have quirks and parts are expensive.

 

Wish I had been in the states to buy and OT mopar race car in 68.... Uncle Sam had other ideas....

 

What years did you own this? Do you have any more pics?

 

I owned it from about 1982 to 1985. I changed to European taillights and it had dueling(cq) rear power antennas(!).

 

Mine has only one actual power antenna, the other is a dummy. Was it sold by Hornburg originally? That's where mine was sold. Thanks for the pics.

 

Amazing line up. The first series Excellence is my favorite Facel Vega, I've never seen one in real life.

 

'50 88 wagon ... cost $55 & 3 days yard work in '68. Original owner was Hill's Bros. in S.F.
I was told it was 1 of 5 88 wagons with 3 speed trans, but Olds couldn't verify ...

 

I sold this 34 Plymouth about 10 or so years ago, I really miss this car. It still had the stock IFS , disc brakes and a locker rear end, that thing drove great and handled well... I´m glad I found another 34 Plymouth project.