Hot Rods The "I Shouldn't Have Bought That" thread

ohv 6. 268 ci. 1bbl

 

WOW! So many things I shouldn't have bought!
I came across this really nice solid 39 Plymouth business coupe I just had to have. I sold a very nice driving 54 Dodge pickup so I could buy the coupe.
Lots of work later, over $1,000 in brakes and the car was almost undrivable still!. The brakes sucked, and every time I wanted to go for a ride something was messed up. I did eventually get my money back out of it, but those 3 years of ownership were about the most miserable hot rod ownership years I've ever had. Gene

 

My son bought this with his own money. We drove a couple hundred miles to see it.
After a initial inspection and a test drive I said to my wet behind the ears son,
lets just pass on it and go get some lunch.

Ya, we went to lunch alright, in a rented car carrier.
So after a few months of me looking at this ride in my parking space in the garage everyday
my son decided to go on a year long tour with his band.
I said, what about the car? he said, it's yours have fun and do what you want with it.
I could have strangled him at the time. So it's mine for now and keeps me busy and it
will be his again someday.

 

I'm glad I got over my British fetish with motorcycles during my youth. Great bikes and cars. They definitely teach you how to wrench.

 

I have been thinking lately that I honestly can't say any of the cars I have ever owned have been dream cars. If I would have saved my money instead of buying every car that is a "deal" I could have a really nice running/driving '40s Ford Coupe, or Model A or something. Instead I just bought a bunch of rust buckets, four doors, and late models over the years. Oh well just a life lesson. I have a list of six cars now and I am only going to stick to that list no more buying every car I have the money for at the time.

Oh yeah the list...

1.) '39/'40 Merc Coupe
2.) '35-'36 Ford Three-Window
3.) '49-/'50 Merc Coupe
4.) '30-'31 A Coupe
5.) '32 Roadster, Truck, Sedan, or Coupe (Three or Five Window)
6.) '41-'48 Ford Coupe

That's the list and I'm sticking to it. No more impulse buys ;-) Now someone go on the classifieds and buy my recent 4-door purchase so I can get my money back and move on.

 

When I graduated college in 2002 my folks gave me a thousand bucks (bringing my life Savings up to $1000) and it took me no time to find a 1938 Tudor in a field. Paid the farmer 750 bucks for the car and 250 bucks to deliver to my home 150 miles away. No money, no rebuild skills, college did me a lot of dam good. Sat in a friends back yard for two months when a guy gave me 1100 bucks for it. I learned plenty from that experience. Never told the folks, only my dear old grandad.

 

1963 Buick Riviera.Bought at a auction(first mistake) trailered it home and then started chasing electrical gremlins.
Found out a week after the auction(you bid you own it,no return)from the former owner that it had been in a flood.
I can still hear him laughing while telling me about it.Owned it for almost a month,drove it twice then traded it for a 4.11 posi 12 bolt Chevelle rear end.

 

Couldn't you repurpose the cab and nose on a half ton chassis?

 

HPIM0369 by papajohn posted Oct 13, 2010 at 10:43 PM

I try to live life with no regrets, but I should never have bought the Corvair "gasser". I was looking for a Model A at the time (still want one) and came across this beauty. Looked cool as hell, but didn't even run when it was delivered. Put a little work into it and drove it a handful of times in 3 yrs. I just had a limpy for it from day one. To top it off, I lost my shirt on it when I finally sold it. The only positive is that it ended up with the right owner and he has built into the dream car that I would never have done and that the original builder had hoped to achieve.

 

Just look at my build thread...

 

Yeah cabs look the same. But it's a great runner as is, fully rebuilt.

 

31Vicky must be waiting for a dramatic entrance..

 

An OT '72 Chevelle SS. Got it for a steal. Planned to restore it and flip it. Hidden craptastic rust in trunk and floor corners. I didn't see it. My proposed buyers always did. Put more work into it than originally intended by a long shot. Finally unloaded it and broke even. Lesson learned.

 

Weren't you looking to sell this a while back? Love this car.

As for "I shouldn'ta dun dat"... I can honestly say that covers every old vehicle I have owned to date haha

 

Quite a bit of the foolishness in my life can be traced back to the purchase of the July, 1963 issue of Hot Rod Magazine. Pretty sure it cost fifty cents. Wasn't long before I had a subscription, and it's gone on from there.

 

If you remember our phone conversation, I warned you it was a rusty piece of junk

 

Tried to sell it a couple times, partially done, no luck. Blew it apart again, now it sits.-MIKE