Worst trades ever. Everybody's made one, share yours!

So I replied to the Crusin Caddy's thread with a photo of my old '56 Caddy convert. For some reason, I had decided I wanted a motosickle, and I traded the car for a '61 Panhead Bagger. Seemed like a good idea at the time, we'd had loads of fun with the car, it wasn't really "finished", and I was ready to move on. This made me think we've all swapped stuff off we've regretted later, (or, contrarywise, scored a scream'n deal on a trade!) and thought it'd be fun to hear about other peoples stories of regrettable trades. Or, stuff they couldn't believe they ended up with. Like, what was that guy thinking?

Of course now, I sort of wish I'd kept the car. When I sold the bike this spring, after having it 14 years, I almost bought another early 50's Cad to cut up, but ended up with the '48 Diamond T pickup I'm building now.

The pendulum has swung the other way as well. Just before I did that boneheaded trade, I swapped a 'glass, full fendered '27 T with a Ford 200 six for a sweet black '40 Deluxe coupe with a 302/C4. The coupe was sold when I had some health problems and thought I'd need the $$, so it served it's purpose.

Looks like this thread's been brought back from the dead! Here's a couple more of the Caddy, and the bike which I swapped for it. Sigh...

 

Guy traded me a FRESH 289/C4 for a 351W/C6 that puked rusty water all down the driveway when my son pulled the plugs. Still haven't figured that one out but I'm happy!

 

I traded a virgin 56 Premiere 2 dr ht w/ 28k original miles on it (project mind you) for a 351w powered 51 Ford tudor. WTF was I thinking. If I could go back in time, Id still have that Lincoln. As ugly as I think they are, the Ford was a way bigger project.

 

my freedom for a gold band

 

In high school, late 60's i was drivng a cherry 37 ford coupe merc flathead , mu buddy had a 59 inplala 348 three speed car, traded title for title turned out to be a tiotal rust bucket POS.

 

Worked for 2 years putting a '40 Ford PU back together. Finished it and traded it for a 8' camper. The camper leaked and the fellow totalled the '40 two weeks after the swap.

 

I just traded a '63 Nova Wagon for a complete '31 Ford coupe, good deal.

 

In the 70's I acquired a running single seat Formula Jr. car ( I don't recall how) that had been converted to street legal . I drove it around a little bit but decided I needed a motorcycle so I traded it for a basket case Kawasaki and a little cash . Never got the bike up and running but but I saw a nealy identical Formula Jr car go for $30,000 in Scottsdale a few years ago . Who knew ?

 

Worst trade times two:

First, in 1978, I traded my '66 Bonneville convertible (389 Tri-Power, air (yes, really!), 8-lugs, red/red/white) for a 1972 Datsun 510 sedan. Went from ten mpg to 43 mpg, but hey, I was 18 and making two bucks/hr and gas was a whopping 78 cents/gallon!

In 1986, I had a teardrop camper trailer that I got iin Denver for a hundred bucks. Put new tires on it, repacked the bearings and towed it home to Oklahoma. Used it for over a year. Traded the damn thing for a POS 1948 Austin street rod "project" that my wife absolutely hated! It was a pretty shitty deal, too. She reminds of that occassionally, because she really dug that trailer!

 

Years ago (read young and dumb here) I had a 1967 Ford Farlaine GTA with buckets and no console from the factory. 390 cid, C6 and Kelsey-Hayes four piston calipers on big discs up front. Body was nearly perfect. I traded a '71 Canadien Pinto hatch back for it ( I paid $110 for the Pinto) because the guy who was selling wanted something that got better gas mileage.
Loved that car.
Later I traded it for a '71 Triumph 650 Tiger that had no seat and looked like hell. Barely ran.
I've regretted that trade for nearly thirty years.
r

 

Ouch. I've humored that thought from time to time.

I traded a solid, running 65 Econoline van that I couldn't give away for a non-running 50 Chevy coupe that as I removed various nuts and bolts slowly disintegrated as the weight of all the bondo couldn't support the rear quarters. I try not to think about that, especially every time I see another Econoline or watch their value and desirability skyrocket.

 

COMPLETE as last run ARDUN V8-60 Engine for $2,200. worth of Reproduction 1932 Ford parts. At the time it was a good deal, but that was 30 years ago.

 

My buddy had a 88 Mustang GT and took this fellow for a ride. The guy gets out of the car and says " I want my 35 sedan to run like that" my buddy made the trade of a lifetime. He traded the 90,000 mile (302) motor, tranny, harness and computer out of his GT for a 64' 427 side oiler with NASCAR tunnel port heads, intake, solid lift cam and tranny out of a 64 Thunderbolt.

Since then he built himself a 427 oiler cobra

 

my life for my wife

 

Ouch. My wife is supportive and loves the cars (well, most of 'em anyway!). She's all for the Diamond T project, as she started towing the trailer by herself this summer D) and like me, will feel more comfortable with a more suitable tow (oops, tow TRUCK, with the one ton dually) car when traveling.

We disagree sometimes and argue like tigers, but I wouldn't trade our life together for anything (or anyone).

 

dont get me wrong, i love my wife to death. but sometimes she just doesnt get it.

 

I feel your pain. I sold a cherry '66 Bonnie convert with a HEALTHY 400 tripower from a GTO to a buddy of my younger brother for, get this, 400 bucks! In my defense, it was 1978. Duh. He beat the crap out of it, and sold it to a friend of his who restored it with eight lugs, new white interior.

I missed the car and bought, for 400 bucks D), a '67 Bonnie convert, triple white, 400, which made up, kinda, for giving the '66 away.

 

You guys must marry the wrong women. That was the best trade I ever made.

 

My 1935 Scott Motorcycle and side-car,500cc of underpowered, unreliable watercooled 2-stroke (and that's before the side-car was attached) for an unrestored 1917 Harley model F, just a mag rewind and it was a runner. I loved that bike, had to sell it for a house deposit.

 

Year was 1980, I traded a '75 Chevy Monza for a '68 Corvette roadster. The Vette had a blown up motor but I had a 454 sitting in my garage.

 

My cash for lotto tickets...problem is, I can't break myself from it...

R-

 

1975 - I traded a 100 yr old violin for an Edelbrock manifold....dumbass me.

 

No reason to disbelieve that story.............even with the discrepancies..............right?

Frank

 

If you would like to investigate, I can give you names and phone numbers of both parties?

What did I get the dates wrong or something? The driver (owners brother) of the thunderbolt lost control and hit a bridge, totaling the car. The motor tranny were pulled and sat in the corner of the garage for 30+ years. Then he builds up a 35 tudor sedan and was looking for a driveline for it. He rides in my buddies GT, he wants it, makes the trade. The 427 oiler now sits in my buddies FFR cobra in a garage in Western NY.

Where is the confusion, discrepancies?

 

Worst trade, or comparable trade - Wife #1 for Wife #2.

Best trade ever... Wife #2 for Wife #3. Shoulda married her when we graduated high school!

They say that the lottery is a tax on the poor and uneducated.

 

Education - lack of, or, more than needed, does NOT prevent anyone from making bad decisions...

R-

 

63 Impala 2dr hardtop for an 86 s10 Blazer. Couldn't afford to replace the tired 283 in the Impala so I ended up with an S10 that shockingly needed a new motor too!
I luckily haven't done any more dumb ones since then.

 

Traded a '38 Jag/VW repro even for an orig. owner '68 Bug a/c car,37k mi., a '52 Buford Spec. woody wagon(not running but complete as parked) AND a '52 Roadmaster ragtop that needed only seats recovered(leather) and a carb kit($13) and some help getting compression back to run like a top! Don't miss the Bug, the wagon is still owned by the guy I sold it to, he's never touched it but it's dry, and ,sadly,REALLY miss the rag and can't get it back... went to Italy(someone slap me!)

 

Mine might be one of the longest trades, while dad's would be one of the worst.

Traded my 31 Tudor (the pink car if you look in the Tudor thread) for a 1964 Nova SS327, not a Chevy guy so I traded that for a 56 Fairlane with a 460 and a Lincoln clip (drove to Kenfucky form Cali to do that), traded that for a Harley Night Rod Special - traded that for a 427 Cobra replica that I traded for a 40 Ford pickup, SBC a little rusty under the shiny red paint. That got traded for the 63 1/2 Falcon Convertible that I still have! All of this was done in a 3 year period.

In 1964 my dad traded his 1954 MGTF1500, freshly restored, for a brand new Chevy Van, the first of the flat front vans. He converted it into a camper van before you could buy such things. The family spent the summer of 1964 touring the entire US, 46 states and unfortunately visiting about 50 Chevy dealers because the thing was such a piece of shit! The memories of that trip are ever lasting as far as historical sites and time with the family - it also initiated my extreme dislike for Chevy's! Worst part - the MG recently sold for $25,000, the van wouldn't be worth $100.00

 

traded a 36 ford 5 window for a 47 ford coupe, i really learned my lesson there.