Hot Rods Ever wonder what happened to your old car, then are sorry you found out?

No I really don't care. When I sell something its because I no longer need or want it. Or I want the cash to buy something else. I sold my collection of 55 and 56 ford 2 dr sedans , a Camaro and some other stuff so we could pay cash for the place where we now live. Last year I sold 4 trucks a 55 GMC a 65 chevy a 66 GMC and a 83 chevy. Used the money to pay cash for 4 acres of land that adjoins our other place. Ive owned somewhere in the neighborhood of 2000 vehicles. in the end they are all just stuff.

 

Not really. Like Old wolf said. Just stuff

 

Well said Old Wolf. Like the old saying, " so many cars, so little time ". I've always been addicted to cars, but I'm not really a materialistic person. Probably the reason I never felt the need to give cars a name. When asked what car I'd like to have back, my answer is none. I'd like to have what some of them are worth, but always look forward to the next possibility.

 

I would dearly love to have my first car back, Calif black plate DND 671, last seen in San Diego. Should have put a huffer on it but was too young and broke. I'd be a little worried though, bit of a death trap with extended spindles, crappy original brakes, too much motor, no belts..hope whoever got it made it safe.

 

In ‘74 I bought a ‘57 Chevy 2dr. for $125. Didn’t know much about cars, but I wanted a hot rod. My brother and a couple friends helped, with me doing the grunt work. Put a 396, 400 trans, rear tubs, floors, custom dash, tilt wheel, moved the springs inside the frame, had special Cragers made, power disks, custom interior, wiring, paint. Took six years to finish it. Had a lot of fun, raced it a lot, laid under it a lot. Sold it in ‘82. Guy played with it about a year, then parked it in a barn, where it still sits today. Don’t want it back. I learned everything on that car.
And that’s the quality I feel it has. That experience fed my family for the next 25 years until I sold my restoration shop.

 

Only one I can think of was an OT Olds Cutlass I had. Red with beautiful black interior. I drove it for a while until it blew a head gasket. A buddy of mine had to have it. He had dreams of putting a big block in it. I figured that sounded like a cool deal, and saved me the trouble of fixing the head gasket. A while after we made the deal I asked him about the car. He had given up on it and hauled it to scrap!!! Still makes me cringe to this day.

 

"66 Plymouth Satellite I built back in the "70s that was an honest high 11 second car on the street. I found out years later that it ended up stripped and upside down in a ditch in a farmers field. Guy that told me about it wouldn't tell me where it was or I would have gone and gotten it. Still feel bad about that one.

 

All my cars went to a good homes at the time, some have changed slightly however the rest are pretty much how I sold them. I'd had fun after building them, time to move onto another one. In the end they'll all outlast me?

 

In the late 60's I sold a chopped and channeled 1934 Ford pickup. The new owner took it to the first street rod nationals in Peoria. He drove for a few years, but it has been sitting outside under a tarp for several years. 2 years ago, I wanted to but it back. He said that he would sell it to me for $ 6,000. After knowing how it has been stored, I said no thanks

 

i am 70 years old and been building cars since i was 13. built, i don't know how many cars, bikes, vw trikes, drag cars, street cars and what not. never seen any of them again. until recently, i got back my first street rod. it is a vw-t i built back around '76. i have fixed all the things that needed fixing and will put it back together and drive it until i go to the big garage in the sky.

 

Flatheadgary
That "T' wasn't blue was it?

 

My first ever build was a C Cab way back in 1973/4, when I sold it in 1976 to a shop in London to buy Andy's Instant "T".
I sold Instant "T" to buy my Center Door in 1978.
In 1999 I bought back Instant "T" from the guy I'd sold it to, in 2000 I sold it on again and the guy who bought Instant "T" from me told me he had my first built C Cab which he threw it in with the deal.
I sold it on again and that's the last I saw of my first ever built rod








Last time I saw it

 

"I shared a photo of our old ‘36 Fordillac Special in a Hot Rod page, and right away some guy posted photos of it now, after changed hands a couple times for STUPID money."

I'm probably wrong, but I don't think they're the same car.

 

I'm curious why you considered that the car was turned from a hot rod to a street rod?

 

I found the very first car my sister and I shared until it became mine and I put bucket seats and floor shift in it, a 56 Ford 2 door sedan. I found it many years later out behind an abandoned gas station with a lot of junkers. Someone had put a big block in it and repainted it but it still had the seats and floor shift in it. It was not in very good condition anymore so I didn't even inquire about it. Kinda wish I had now but that wasn't my favorite car anyway so I guess it was scrapped.

 

The 63 Fairlane hardtop that I got new was traded to a friends son for a pair of tires in the early 80's with no drive train. It was sitting out with a bunch of other cars in the field and he liked it. He did lots of work on it and the last time I saw it (20? years ago) it had nice paint and looked pretty darn good. The 49 Ford (that was my avatar for a number of years) was sold to a guy I had known for years and he finished it, a much nicer car than when I had it. I have no doubts that the OT Vette I sold a few years ago is probably as nice or nicer than when I owned it. Guess I am lucky. I hope that the 38 Chevy and Studebaker in my avatar are sold after I go to room temperature.

 

Dad always told me "You can tell them what to do with the car, when they can tell you how to spend your money".

 

It's the old "gotta make it my own" thing. Some could use an improvement.....some don't, but end up getting F'ed up.

 

My first car was a 62 Triumph Herald Saloon Coupe. It was a real death trap too. But after I sold it the next owner had it burn down, in the middle of the street, while driving it. Tough luck for sure.
My third car was a 64 Fairlane 4 door with a 260 and a three speed on the wheel. A guy I knew bought it after I traded it for a Mustang. He blew his brains out, while parked in it. Not so good, indeed!

 

I had many cars over the years once they were sold I never looked back many went on to a better life ( new owners took them to the next level) others were discovered later to be worn out and tired either way I was only the care taker for a while then moved on to the new care taker, I am a bit particulate about my cars and hate to see the abused but in the end they are no longer mine.


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

Aren't we all just care takers? Some of us are better at it than others in that some cars last 100+ years and other last 20 minutes. I think my cars will, at least, outlast me. After that? Who knows?

 

Yes, I sold an early 80's elky black knight 4 speed car to a neighbour, two days later it was wrapped around a power pole. It was a really nice car.

 

I sold my avatar to a guy in St. Petersburg (I think) Florida in 1999. It had a fiberglass front clip, a .030 over 429, toploader four speed and 9 inch w/3.73s at the time. The bed was still in primer.
A few years later after contacting everyone on my email list about moving I got an email "Did you sell me a '56 F100?". It was Chris, the guy I sold the truck to. If I remember correctly he narrowed the rear end, boxed the frame, broke the 4 speed I put in it, then I think two more before going to an automatic. He then replaced the stock crank and rods with an Eagle rotating assembly, bigger cam and I don't remember what all else, then put a cage in it, painted it white like I started to and went racing. He sent me pictures (beautiful!) and said "I kept a couple of touches you put on the truck" like the one half handle from worn out wire strippers I modified and used as the turn signal indicator arm. The truck looked great and I always hoped to see it on tv when drag races from Desoto Dragway in Bradenton Fl. were on.
I had fun with, drove it coast to coast twice and he stepped it up. Hope its still out there racing.

 

Back in 1966 I traded a really nice 58 Chevy Bel Air 2 door hardtop with a 348/4speed that I had pampered for several years for new Impala SS. I found out that 2 weeks after I traded it in the dealership sold the car and the new owner promptly drilled a bridge and totaled it. Must have been to much for him to handle?

 

Hey B,

After we got our 58 Impala in the winner’s circle a few times for those cool trophies, we kept at it until it became nearly impossible to compete with the newest 335-350 and then the 409s in late 59-early 1960s. So, we started our 1940 Willys Coupe build. When that hit us back in the face in August 1960 after getting close to the national record for C/Gas, we were just recovering from our accident.
1958 Impala total

We knew the shop manager at nearby Mickey Thompson’s shop. We had always had a great relationship with Mickey Thompson at Lions, when we were racing the 58 and the 671 SBC C/Gas Willys Coupe.


The call from the manager was to ask us if we were willing to upgrade our 58 Impala with the latest from Mickey Thompson’s shop. That meant putting in a supercharged Pontiac motor. Since we already had a C&O Stick Hydro installed, they said the installation would be easy. All safety upgrades would be done. When we told them it was a daily driver to high school, they said it would be built to be driven on the street and compete at Lions.
dream
When I told my brother what was asked and offered to us, he was happy. Wow. A super, fast 1958 Impala and he did not have to do any work. He said that sounded fantastic and he would get back to me. He let it go for several days and finally came up with a “NO.” Even though it was told to us that it was a street driven Impala, even a daily driver, he had doubts about the everyday reliability of that 671 supercharger on a Pontiac motor.

He said it was a drag racing car that could be driven to the drive-in and back, legally on the street. At the time, he was still recovering from his 3rd degree burns and we had to use the Impala for countless trips to the hospital and doctor’s office. We had to have an easy start up, consistent daily driver for those important uses. Not to say anything about my mom’s weekly shopping trips, either.

My brother still had a sense of humor as he mentioned our mom starting up the 671 Pontiac motor/1958 Impala. He could picture her backing it up in our narrow driveway, and ending up at the Lakewood Shopping Mall or in Gardena for some necessary grocery shopping, with a few hot rod encounters along the way. What would she tell people that gathered around the car at the grocery store/shopping mall? Her sons were a little crazy for drag racing and hot rods???

Jnaki

This style of car was just getting put in place at the drags. Could they, (Mickey Thompson Shop) have known what was coming up all over So Cal? Other Pontiacs, Ford sedans, Chevy wagons from different speed shops and teams, were all installing huge motors that stuck out of the motor compartment. This was a new car era for the Gas Coupes and Sedan Classes.

I still wish I could find our old 58 black Impala that I sold in 1965. Today, it would be a classic.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/lions-dragstrip-1960.1025215/page-4#post-12231989 Mickey Thompson story for the Impala

 

I just meant that the wreck was that bad...….Not insinuating anything other than that.

 

I like that way of looking at it. Everyone has their own idea for what their vehicle could or should be. Once you've sold it, it's now in the hands of someone else's ideas. So long as it's still giving someone joy, working on it or just driving it and not being sent to the scrap heap, I'm fine with it!

 

When I was in college I partnered with a buddy to build on off topic Mustang GT, 390, toploader, 9 inch. As this was during the gas crisis big blocks were cheap, we blew up 3 in one summer, finally found a wrecked police car with a 428 and built it right. Fixed all the rust, painted the car, really was
a nice car for a Mustang. Some kid offered us stupid $$$ for it, bought it on Thursday, Hit a telephone
pole on Friday so hard the front fender was pushed back into the rear axle. Taught me to never look back on a car when it is gone.

 

... I still like the black version better.

 

I sold my '35 slantback that took me a year to finish in Sioux City, Iowa then moved it with me to Canada then sold it to a fellow in Massachusetts. He made some upgrades and a year almost to the day offered it back to me but I was not in a position to buy it back. It ended up in Australia. The fellow there had my email and made contact with me. It has since been sold again and I have seen a picture of it. Not much has changed from the way I built it.