Whats the stupidest thing you let pass through your hands

That's easy, I just did it a Spalding Flamethrower for a 365-390 Cadillac. I wanted to make sure I had this months House payment.

OH yeah a 50 Ford sedan rebuilt flathead and all new chrome in trunk. Car was strait needed interior but livableand wanted 2K. Had the money and not the space

 

A '56 Chevy two door post....traded it in on a new VW......OH...hind site!

 

Back in 1974, I wasn't dumb, just poor. I could have had a super-straight '70 Hemi CUDA with SlapStik that was running sub-12 quarters, dead stock. The only thing wrong was the rubber boot around the shifter was shredded. The 4-and-a-half grand might as well have been 4 million, since my wife was trying to finish college at the time. Later, numbers-matching CUDAs went through the roof! Great memory, BUT it still hurts to have had to pass it up!!! But a ton of us have been in the boat of having little money or no PLACE to put a cool car, eh?

 

This......I sold it when I was feeling a bit pissed off, and have come to regret it since...here it is arriving at the docks in Sweden.The new owner sent me this pic.

 

in the mid ninties there was a deal I found for 2 59 caddy coupes for 1500. One was complete but rough, the other was cherry clean and straight, but missing parts. I told the guy who was a friend at the time. Dont sell them, I want them and Im heading to your place right now to get them. I have cash. He said ok, I'll hold them and wait for you. hour and a half later when I got there they were leaving on trailers. I said WTF and he said well you took so long! I said I live 2 hours away and i got here in 1 1/2 hours! How much did u sell them for? He said 1000. I told him "you lost 500$ and a friend, and I proceeded to count out 1500$ infront of him, just like I promised. Rotten bastard...

Also missed a 49 packard hearse and 50 packard ambulance pair for 600...
Grrrrrrrr....... -GothY-

 

About 1990-91. Bought for $7500, painted the fenders and added the Appliance wires, sold for $8250---thought I was flyin'........

Then there's the 30k mile 74 Jag XKE v12 factory air 4 speed factory hardtop I bought for a grand(hit in the right front) Sold for $4500

My stupidity has no bounds. Glad I'm in good company.

Oh, and Zenor---thanks for the Les Paul story. One of my friends/customers was a sessions musician......one day I ask about the hard case in his back seat..."what is that, Larry, a 57 Stratocaster?" I jokingly asked....."no", he says "its a 58 Les Paul" HIs widow sold it to a very nice and well known Nashville entertainer, along with another guitar for well over 6 figures

 

1965........... Corvette Coupe...... 327/365........... Nice Car............... Got a divorce....... and had to pay legal bills.

Let it go in 2000 for $17,500

 

Stacks? What all 10 studio albums?

The things that still get me are kinda O/T.
Complete with 'serviceable' tag two stage supercharger from an Australian Rolls Royce 45 Merlin from an Australian Spitfire.
Astro compasses from several aircraft,
One from an Australian Lincoln bomber complete.
One from an Australian crewed Lancaster complete with serviceability tag dated 1942.
Quite a collection of gages and other components from WWII and later Aussie aircraft including a panel believed to have been part of the Australian built Woomera bomber.
(That last one may not sound like much but there is VERY little left of this aircraft as it was scrapped. If it is what it was supposed to be, it historical value is immeasurable)
Various other Lincoln bomber components and....
A Sunderland flying boat retractable nose turret.
The last one I sold to a private collector, the rest I gave away to a museum when I joined the Army.
All I have now is the pilots seat from an Aussy Irouquis that was shot down in Viet Nam. Believed to be a Navy chopper(?) it was salvaged from a bin at HMAS Albatross!

And the last? Yup, a woman who is now stupefyingly rich, she was a trainee officer cadet when I mat her that had just finished a geology degree. Who knew she would go on to find some of the richest bauxite deposits on the planet?

Doc.

 

A complete early sixties FED with a Hilborn injected 327 $2500.00 at a swap meet in 1987.

A 1952 Willys Aero Lark for free!

A Falcon Ranchero $75.00.

Countless Pontiac tri-powers that were all rebuilt and ready to go.
They were cheap forever but, ever since the internet everybody wants stupid money for them no matter how crappy they are.

 

The stupidest thing to pass thru my my hands, my wife would tell me, would be my dick
I cant disagree when I look back over 62 years of usage. She's right.

The next stupidest thing to let slip away was my '40 Pontiac, 303 Olds powered, $75 because I was 15 years old and couldn't fabricate worth a turd to keep it running.

Also my '64 XKE, $2100 around 1969 because it needed brakes and a tranny repair. Estimate $1200 to fix.
It was a mint 40,000 mile yellow roadster.

The list continues, a 70 GTO Ram Air coupe I bought new and sold for $1500, my '58 Corvette, my wife's '67 big block Corvette, those brought less than $2200 each!

At least I still have my wife to keep me on the right path.
She won't let me sell any cars out in the garage. SMART!

 

All of these and about 20 more that I can't find photos of since I returned back home from service in 1975!!!

I watched a B-J auction "Once" and when three cars like ones that I had owned when I was younger went across stage and totaled over $1.2 Million.... I shut it off!

When the oil embargo of 73' hit... I was chopping up some of the "Rarest" muscle cars for their drivetrains!

In 73... The Muscle cars were "Crap Cars"... and made great engine donors!
All of them Had bad fit and finish and quickly rusting out as well as wearing out...

 

A Lotus 23 factory sports roadracer for $4,500. It had a very neat but non-Lotus body from Wescott's on it at the time. The car with that body was bought by another guy after I passed on it (no money and very young at that time). The new owner bought a reproduction Lotus 23 body and did nothing else. The car sold for $145K in that condition about 6 months later.

 

On the bright side,any and every guy on the HAMB would love to have that car and the present owner surely knows its history.And he is the steward of that bit of history and no matter who owns it,it'll always be Dean Lowes car.

Looking back on all of the wonderful cars I've owned,only one left a bad taste in my mouth.I sold my Vette for top dollar to some stooge who tore it up in less than a month.Since then,I've always had the attitude that I'm not selling a car,I'm collecting an adoption fee from its next caretaker.Luckily,I've been blessed with good finances and have never been in the position of having to sell anything to someone that I didn't like.I guess I believe in car karma.

 

1940 Ford louvered hood for $150.

 

64 plymouth 426 max wedge 4 speed $500 call me stupid

 

In the mid '70's I looked at a running, finished duece coupe at a car show for $3500. I was only about 15 so it might as well been $35,000.

 

1969 Super Bee with a 68 coronet 383 4spd parts car, $2200 both. (both running, superbee had a built 440) This was in 1996, and I was 16 and pennyless.

Two 1965 T-birds that were kept in a barn. $500 for the pair, not running, but nice shape.

1967 Impala convertible. Marina blue with a white top, 327. Little old lady's car. $1400. "You can't get a convertible, you'll flip it over!"

1963 Galaxie squareback. Red on red 390 running and in driving condition. $500. Wasn't sporty enough for me.

I'm sad now.

 

Time

 

Nice to know I wasn't the only one. When I turned 16 back in 1979, I went car shopping. Found a gorgeous '67 Firebird 'vert with the OHC 6-banger, 4-speed, and the cool hood with the factory scoops & tach. It had American Racing 5-spoke mags, and I could have bought the car for $500. Mom stepped in and said I couldn't have a convertible because I might roll it and kill myself. To this day I remind her about what I lost out on.

 

My voluptuous, smart and funny college girlfirend. Auburn hair, dazzling in every respect and agreeable to anything--if you catch my drift.

 

56 Bel Air Hardtop, Al's Automotive front chrome axle, 396 with 2 fours and a 6 point cage for 2500.00!!!! Not sure where the car ended up but all I had in my pocket was 65 cents and some lint. JOKER JASON.

 

A 1959 edsel ranger 2-dr for 500 bucks in prime condition and a 1953 willys areo coupe with a 383 for 200, all because some dick pussied out of a deal i had with him for him to buy some seats from me.

 

1956 210 2dr Chevy sedan with a 427 4 speed. Had a cracked piston, but I was also offered all the parts to fix it included. $600. Still kickin my own ass after 30 years. Body had no rust except over the headlights

 

SOHC Ford for $4000 about 8 years ago. Dammit.

 

My 64 Falcon Futura coupe I paid $800 for it got married 6 months later and didn't think i would have room to work on it at our new house! sold it to a buddy (it was a virtual rust free georgia car) and he tubbed it with in a month kinda sucks hotrod it yes tub a rust free car no!! Still looking for one to replace it!!

 

Well, How about three Hisso engines, One converted to a 4 cyl for racing. A still pickled V12 Allison, Maybe the full set on the car Kinnmonts. I still miss my 55 Nomad and the 55 Hardtop dealer display car with EVERY option. Still have the 65 injection and the 32's though. Passed on the 69 Firebird 400 conv black on black and the 70 hemi cuda.

 

Ardun heads, covers and intake setup.

FREE, take it away at a Fort Worth machine shop. I walked away from them cause my car had a Chevy engine in it.

Sigh...........

Mid 60's

 

old henry j gasser from the sixties. straight axle, olds rear end and set up for chev. small block. was for sale for 400.00. when I finally talked my wife into buying it, it was already gone.

 

1963 spilt window vette for 1400 in 1971. Ins. was going to cost 1200 could'nt do both. 7 months later everyone discoverd the 63 same car sold for 7000.

 

In 1982, just out of high school, sold my 69 Mach1 for a 70 Shelby 350. The price was $5000 it was all there, rolled out of the garage for the first time in about 8 years and saw that the rear frame rails were a bit rusted out and said no. Can you say STUPID, it would be worth about 90K now days. Next was a Boss 302 in Georgia I saw at a mom and pop store, asked how much, $13000, it was an ex Bud More car. It was perfect, I had to get a house though. I did'nt pass on my current ride, bought it half done and built the rest, and now I having fun with it.