I often see post where someone is looking for their old hot rods and other times it was Dad's or Granddad's. Has anyone ever been able to track that old hot rod down and buy it back? HRP
I have seen it right here on the hamb but never heard of anyone finding the car they were looking for.
Having seen a few rods and some customs that I was around in the late 70's and early 80's and the changes the current owners put on them. Dad's old car may make you cry rather than make you happy. One is my Buddy Ron's 29 A roadster that had a great stance in the late 70's even with the true spokes on it. Last time I saw the car it had the same paint but was jacked up in the air and had rims that would do a donk justice. The car went from nice little roadster to clown car. Luckily I don't think Tammy has any real love for that old car to want to hunt it down.
I found a hot rod that I had sold in ‘99 and bought it back in 2016. I had sold my ‘41 willys truck to finance a ‘32 5 window. When I painted the truck I had removed the vin tag (I know) and it sat in my tool box all those years. I had a friend that was into cars and is a PI. I gave him the vin and 10 minutes later he called back and said that the vin came up in several different states. One of them was Nevada. I had heard that the car went out west and asked him to follow up on that one. He called back about 30 minutes later and had spoken to the owner and that he would sell it. He was an heir to one of the large casinos out there and had a warehouse full of cars and that he had only driven it about 40 miles in the 15+ years he owned it. We couldn’t get together on a price and about a year later it showed up on eBay at a classic car dealership. I called and made a deal over the phone. Two weeks later my dad and I flew out and drove it home. It won’t be leaving me again. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
I sold my 48 in 1974 because I had a real thing for a 56 Chevy big window, Couldn't make a deal on the big window and bought a 57 Panel with a hot 327 in it. Drove that for about a year or so and spotted the 48 in the college parking lot and ended up trading back for the 48. The guy who had it had painted over the gold lacquer with three different enamel paint jobs each with rather crude flames. Word I got later that he was quiet a womanizer and everytime some gals, dad or boyfriend got to hunting him he repainted it. Most of that came off at the car wash in sheets.
I had a hot rod pickup truck in my 20's, I am now 80 years old. I sold it because I owed my brother-in- law the money he loaned me to buy it, and now he needed the money to buy the 327" engine for his 1955 Chevrolet. I know where my old pickup truck is, the same guy that I sold it to still has it, sitting outside covered up all these years. It is not anywhere near the same quality that it was when I sold it to him. He will sell it back to me, for a lot more money than he paid for it. I think that I could build another truck for less money, and better quality than my old truck is now.
I sold my old Model A pickup to a guy living in Lumberton, North Carolina and he kept it for several years then it changed hands a couple of times, the last time I saw the truck I thought to myself I wouldn't want to be seen in that!. I had thought if I ever found it again I might try to buy it back but it looked like a circus wagon, the guy obviously had more money than taste and had turned it into a billet laden street rod ! HRP
A rare "without a hood" photo by Don Hale (The last performance upgrade: two port Hilborn Injection System) Hello, Atts Ono was “family” as far as my brother and I were concerned. his countless ideas and explanations while helping us put together our first 1940 Willys Coupe build. His ideas were right on topic and he knew his machining stuff for fit and finish. Our mom always liked him and had him over for lunch or dinner quite a few times. If our mom liked someone, then it was going to be a great time. It helped that before we were doing hot rod build things, Atts Ono and I were on an amateur local basketball team that practiced at our junior high school several nights a week. He was a tremendous point guard (back in those days, he was just one of two “guards” that brought the ball up court. Point guard was a much later designation.) and could have easily played on our local, powerful, high school team and any college division one team. His prospects were very bright. But, we played together as teammates. During his high school days, he did not want to play basketball, but concentrated on hot rods and building/machining specific parts for himself and friends. He wanted to be involved in the hot rod world and his machining skills were tops. His help in our 1959-1960 build of our Willys Coupe was instrumental in our engine building choices. The only thing we disagreed on was the final product showing at Lion’s Dragstrip. he thought we should do the full upholstered interior and custom paint job, get the Willys Coupe completely finished as if entering a car show. My brother’s idea was to get all of the speed parts put together and get it running to the top performance point to be competitive in the gas coupe and sedan classes. Then when we would get close to the national record, spend some more money and top off the final look with the last portion of the build. Larger M&H slicks, Hilborn Two Port Injectors and a C&O Stick Hydro. Since we were close to the national record, a finished car look for the nationals was in the works. (last phase cancelled, including speed parts, etc. after August, 1960) Jnaki We know where our old 1940 Willys Coupe ended up, Cook’s Auto Wrecking in Wilmington,CA. near Lion’s Dragstrip. But our motor was shipped to the Midwest somewhere and is still a mystery as to where and how well it did after the sale of the motor. But, the biggest mystery is the disappearance of the famed red 1940 finished Willys Coupe of our friend, Atts Ono. His younger brother told me a year ago that at the time of the sale, it was too hectic to remember anything about the sale, other than it was shipped to the Midwest. Atts Ono had recently passed away just before the family decided to sell the Willys Coupe. So, where is that immaculate red 1940 Willys Coupe and why hasn’t it resurfaced anywhere in competition or car shows? It would be a satisfied mind to hear about the history of the immaculate 1940 Willys Coupe after it left the Westside of Long Beach in 1971. 1964 Atts Ono 40 Willys Coupe debut at Lion’s Dragstrip
The reason I originally joined the HAMB was to try and track down my 40 Chevy sedan, that I sold in Columbus Ohio in 1990. It was at the GG Nationals, and I needed "College Cash" for one of my kids, so I reluctently decided to sell the 40. After putting a FOR SALE sign on it at the motel I got my first offer, turned it down as I was just starting out and I honestly thought it was worth more than the $10,000 asking price. I acctually had 2 different guys follow me through the gate at GG and were interested in the car. Needless to say it SOLD. Interesting way it was paid for though. The guy who bought it and a couple of his buddies (very trusting buddies) went to the bank and maxed out their VISA cards for the cash!!--------I had sellers remorse fom selling the car for a long long time and joined the HAMB with the hope of asking about the car and maybe buy it back. No luck.
I had spotted what I thought was Danny's Model A in Pigeon Forge and decided to find him to show him the truck, I thought he was actually going to physically get sick.
I have known where my high school ’33 5w is for years but I never wanted it back bad enough to part with the cash. I know where my ‘31 Tudor is but I missed the opportunity to buy it back (bad timing, money wise). What I’d like to know is what happened to my ‘32 5w, my ‘27 T roadster, my T coupe, and my ‘60 T-bird mild custom. They disappeared into the void. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I hear yu but some times it's just meant to be, case in point I had known of a certain 32 5-window coupe for many years, I knew some of the history that a guy found the car in Alabama and brought it home and went through the car, he then sold it to a local school teacher that always wanted a hot rod but knew absolutely nothing about them, so he drove it very little and it mostly sat. I heard he was look at some land and wanted to sell the car, I made him a offer and he promptly refused, then 3 weeks later he called and said he would take my offer. I bought the car and started buying parts to bring it up to my standards and make it more traditional and realized I was getting in over my head expense wise, so I sold the parts I had purchased to a pal that was building a 32 pickup and listed the coupe on the HAMB, the Hamber that got in touch with me started asking me questions about the car, especially the frame. firewall & dash. It turned out that it had previously belonged to 56 Don, the frame construction was the giveaway, he had built the car years ago, it is now back where it belongs. HRP
I don't have photos of the 48 from before I sold it in 1974 or traded back for it about two years later but. Here are photos of my 51 Merc when I had it in primer and had it at Goodguys in Puyallup about 1988 and the second photo is what it looked like when I last saw it after the guy I sold it to finished it. He spent a ton of money on that car and it's his car and last I heard was still tucked away in a nice heated garage. Can't knock that but it sure isn't HAMB friendly anymore. In this last photo it is hanging out with some of it's friends in Front of Paul Harper's house in the early 80's. It is the gray one on the right with the 65 Cad grill and the trailer hooked on behind it.
My dad’s 35 Chevy std coupe, nailhead and Ford front axle and spring, someone offered him what was a lot of money at the time for it and was the last he seen of it. Mid 60’s in Gibraltar Michigan. He also had a 50 Ford coupe with a 348 Chevy, California car he sold late 50’s it was rumored to be sitting in a garage with an FE engine partially installed. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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