Did you find your car or did it find you ?

Stopped at a book store saw an add on the wall and the add and eventually the car followed me home.

 

Our Hawk found us. I used to drive Hamb friendly cars when I was younger, the last one before the Hawk was my 62 Impala, I sold her when i was home on leave in 90 or 91. Fast forward a decade or two. My ma passed away in 2009, left me the estate. After i paid off some bills and took care of house and family, my lovely bride basically said to "go find yourself a car!!"
Cool...
I drove a lot of cars. A Fairlane I was in absolute love with, but drove like a loose collection of parts in formation..loose formation..a 47 that was well within budget, but needed more love than I could give it at the time. Another 47 that was more street rod than traditional. This went on for a while..I finally found a 63 Galaxie that I really liked. The day before I came back to test drive it, I actually gave the whole thing to God. I just wanted this to be a good thing for the whole family, not just for me, and if it's going to be a burden, I'll stop right then and there.
So I show up at Pat's Auto Sales ( Pat specialises in older classics), and the Hawk has just been unloaded from the trailer. I inquired about it, Pat said he hadn't even driven it yet, so we took it out. She needed brake work, pulled hard right, but she really wanted to go and felt solid.
I got pictures e-mailed to me. Teresa really liked her and Grace, my daughter, just said "ooohhh!"
Pat held on to the car until we made up our mind, and we bought her. She neede some work, but now she's pretty doggone roadworthy, and a part of the family.
You could say she's been a blessing, as I've met many good people through my involvement with the old car hobby, and that includes you lot.

Yep. She found us.

 

I was sitting at a stop light on the corner of Glenoaks Blvd. and Sunland Blvd. in Sept. 1968, when Boxley Auto Wrecking drove past with a orange 57 Nomad on the hook. (!). As soon as the light turned green, I peeled and followed old man Boxley back to his yard. As he stepped from his truck, I asked "how much?". It was $50.00, and I drove it in high school till I joined the Navy.
Fast forward to 1994: I walking the paking lot at Pomona, and I spy a red/white 56 Nomad parked against the fence. The guy wants $16k (prices have gone up!). I've been driving it ever since.

 

The 57 I hunted for quite some time (though I was only in 4th grade) to find an afordable 2door hardtop. Found the 210 and the guy had all the trim to make it into a Belair. Down the line I realized the coolness of the 210 and used the extra trim for parts money.

The 61 Unibody I was looking for an older truck for a "shop truck" for my pinstriping business. It more or less found me, as once I spotted it I couldn't see myself using any other truck. That and it was priced way under what everything else was in the area. It fit my budget, the $$ I'd made from pinstriping that summer and flipping a couple of cheapo scooters I rebuilt and painted.

 

My first 37 Chevy Coupe I found in the early 70's and made the guy an offer. Several days later he called me to come get the car. That car got my family and I hooked on the looks of the 37's. Over the years we have had the Coupe, a few Sedans, a Panel Truck, a Sedan Delivery, and a Pickup Truck that were all 37's. Most I found. The Chopped Sedan in my avitar found me and I built it over 20 years ago, sold it and I guess you could say I found it again and brought it back home. The chrome hood handles on the car originally came from the first Coupe and have been on every 37 that I have owned. My kids tease me and say they are going to have them mounted on my coffin which I hope is a long time from now.

 

I helped my find an Amos Webster Track T project that was pretty far along... The 27 body had been narrowed and was decent but not as nice as the rest of the car... I kept teasing him about when he was going to tell his wife that she would 't fit in the car too ...

I was at a swap meet and ran across a rust free 27 race car body... I asked the guy to info to pass on to my friend and he said he planned on selling it today! I said - that's nice but in case you don't could I get contact info... He said check back at the end on the meet...

so, I stopped back and he said he would make me a deal I couldn't refuse... I politely informed that I wasn't trying to be a smart ass - but, how could be make me a deal I couldn't refuse if I had no interest in the body and all I wanted was contact info to somebody who would be interested... He responded with - how about a $150... I stood in amazement - emptied my pockets and said I'd be back as soon as I hit up an ATM

I loaded up the body in my wagon and headed home to call my buddy... Told him to come over... When he arrived I gave him a chance to buy it or help unload it... With no second chances.... He helped me unload... Next day he said he had changed his mind... I reminded him he had a one time offer that had expired....

So if you following my build - you know the rest of the story

 

A friend from work took this pic with his phone 3 years ago, showed it to me and said, "isn't this like that old stuff you guys are always messin with". 31 solid top with a 5" gas welded chop, an old hot rod.



Then

Now.

 

I remember riding the school bus to school and on Main St. there was an apartment building with an old ramshackle garage behind it with no doors. There sat a black Ford pickup. I looked at that truck every day from the bus. Then it was gone. When i started dating my wife, there was always a nice looking black Ford F-1 in the driveway that was said to belong to her father. I was talking to him one day and asked him where he found the truck and he said pretty much "That apartment building down by the light with the old ramshackle garage behind it." Well, that solved that mystery. About 5 or 6 years later, I bought it and owned it for around 12 years and drove it every day. Then I had to sell it, which wasn't something I wanted to do. Sure would like to have it back.

 

I found my 30 roadster body while driving around with a friend the summer I got my license.
It had been dumped under a railroad overpass.
I found out later that it had been raced by the brother of a guy who worked with another friend.

 

this f1 body id say found me, even though i found it on craigslist. i wasnt searching for one and it was a 2 month old post. its also another reason im cuting it up as much as i am. i was looking for a 30's era cab so i decided to make it the size of a 30's era truck instead

 

I found mine a '52 Chevy fleetline, wished I hadn't found a lot of bad body work under filler. All the bad body work has been corrected all you can do is move forward. I always been a finisher, so the car in no way would defeat me. In the end it'll turn out to be the best ride I've owned.

CRUISER

 

I was riding my bicycle home from the swimming pool, and took a different route. Lo and behold, there under a patio sat a '34 Vicky...or so I thought. Too cool. I drooled, slobbered and went and told my dad. He said " I think know that guy." A few months later, the guy (a student- dad taught auto shop) came to dad and said that he had to sell his old car because of a nasty neighbor. Turns out to be a 1934 Chevy Standard two door. Gave him $140 (he says it was $150). Had it ever since...this was 1969, the guy became one of my best friends and still is! We still run around in it....44 years later. The Vicky came the next year....

 

I inherited my car (1960 Impala sport sedan) after my parents got it for my brother back when he was in high school. Got parked and I resurrected it a few years later for my high school ride. Sat for a very long time and now trying to bring it back. So I guess it found me. Lol


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love reading these kind of stories ... its like an adventure

 

One of my Uncles in Fla. bought my truck at auction to use on his polo farm. His farm hands drove it. My other uncle bought it from him, painted it green and fixed up some things. I was in town helping my mother move, truck was sitting in his driveway not rnning. He had faught esophigal cancer and was in bad shape. I asked him when he was going to sell me his truck? He said " give me the $2000 I paid for it and it is yours." SOLD! Had to send the wife flowers to soften her up. Drug it home behind a v6 Dakota on a Uhaul trailer. That was in 2005.