Art & Inspiration Falling In and Out of Love

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Falling In and Out of Love

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...I will miss this when the time comes...there are many that could fill the void when that happens but this puts 1963 near my heart everytime I turn the key...
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I lusted after a certain car for years and finally got my hands on it, the Holy Grail for me was the 32 Ford in my avatar, It was a little different for me, I really did hate selling the car but I was trying to help my mom who was in the late stages of cancer and needed help.

I was sick watching the car being loaded on the trailer and watched as the car went out of sight, at that moment I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt I had made a huge mistake but there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

Time passed and within 3 months my mom had died, I was confident that I had done the right thing even though I regretted selling the sedan, life went on and I went through several 32 Fords then one day a fellow hamber called me telling me that Roger had passed away and his wife had ask him to call me and offer me my old sedan as per his wishes.

3 days later I found a buyer for my flathead powered 32 4 door sedan and by the end of the week I was on my way to North Carolina to take possession of my Holy Grail once more.

I am one of the lucky ones, I was able to get that special car back.

This is the photo that was taken when I was pulling out of my late friend Rogers driveway heading back home. HRP

 

For those of us who only have space and $ for one hobby car at a time, it's a pretty simple process. If we lust for a car, the one we have has to go first. Do I miss some of the ones I've parted with? Sure. But I also know I could not have enjoyed the ones that followed without selling the then current ride first. Loved 'em all, but no regrets.

 

Poco... great band.

 

Amie, what's ya gunna do?

 

Oh, I see what you guys did there! HRP

 

^^^^^^

 

Since I started building cars over 50 years ago I think back to over 40 cars I just couldn't live without so I started another project. I have been lucky enough to have finished most of them, only to sell at some time after completion. I just had to have a deuce Vicky, got it 75% done, then sold it. Couldn't live without a B400, same thing 75% done/gone. Recently I completed and then sold a deuce delivery, chopped 5 window, and highboy pickup. Couldn't live without any of them but when they were done the fun was over. I have managed to hang on to my Henry deuce 3 window for over 40 years and my Henry deuce roadster for 15 years. Currently doing my 3rd chopped deuce highboy sedan and of course another roadster. We'll see if they stay or go?

 

I’d like to think of my bucket list as a menu.. like a list of cars that I will consume and move on to the next one.
Realistically, I’ll buy the worst candidate of each and put so much work in there that I’d be too sentimentally attached to part with them. Then have to save up and and start all over on the next basket case. Lol.

 

Had this 15 years, had fun with it, bought something better so not sorry it sold….

 

I had this one for 42 years. Sold it to build the ‘32 five window I’m currently working on.

 

I still miss my first car., a '40 'Olds coupe. It was a really cool car. Huge mistake selling it. I was a kid in my teens and needed something more practical. I should have pulled the stock flathead inline 8 and dropped an early 'Olds V8 in it and kept it but my skill set at the time wasn't as well developed. I still to this day occasionally search Craigslist in the area I lived when I sold it.
Andy

 

I've had close to 100 cars, many of which I just had to have.
Times change, opportunities present themselves, vast list of desired cars, etc., led me to present day.
I learned finally not to say.."I'll never get rid of this car".
The hunt and then the building/personalization is what motivates me..once obtained, on to the next has been my mantra.

 

Trying to find what fits and makes me happy. I have had a few cars that I regretted selling, mostly cause I know how good they were and what they could have been with a few thousand more thrown at them. I have a 2 car garage, and a driveway that will hole 4 total. I used to have 2 in driveway and 2 inside, but to get the ones inside out requires moving multiple vehicles kinda sucks honestly. So I keep things simple with 2 inside now and the appliances in driveway.

I had a 61 Impala that went to Norway, that car drove great, looked great, Miss it frequently. But End of the day, that car and selling it paved way for the things I have had, dreams I have chased etc. Everything was a stepping stone for sure. Personally I wouldn't mind another flathead v8 car, and I have really been thinking about the 32 to 34 years, just the price point of these cars is stupid insane honestly for something thats not trashed beyond belief. I am always planning the next build in my head, right now I have a hopped up banger coupe that I have wanted for years, now I have it and having fun with it. I think when the time comes I will sell it or trade for a 32-34 coupe project, or I may just change out the driveline in this coupe.

My first real build still sits in the garage, and still serves me well as functioning as a truck etc, dependable for sure. She gets used as the pickup truck for motors etc, and looks good doing it. 1956 Dodge pickup, some days I contemplate selling her and buying a 55 to 59 chevy truck to replace since I had always wanted one of those, but this ole dodge is too good and does it all still.

still my number 1.

 

Love them when I find them, fall out of love when I buy them.
While bringing them home I'm already thinking of what will I get next.
Don't miss any of them.

 

It’s all about the pursuit of the hunt.

 

Personally I have never understood how people could sell a car they built.

When you build/modify a car it takes on you personality, your soul! For me selling my 53 Chevy or my Model A Tudor vintage stock car would be like selling a child.

It's mine my taste, my ideas, my hours of work welding/fabricating, going to swapmeet, and junkyards.
I see the time I have spent with my father building, and hunting down parts.

My cars will never be for sale!

 

To me, if I built it, when they're done, they stop being fun. If I bought it, the fun stopped when the bucks left my pocket. I was always about the build or the hunt. A hotrod to me is pretty much the same as the felt on a pool/card table. Just a usefull tool for my enjoyment.

 

Poco is a good guess. But the song you've got stuck in your head was actually recorded by Pure Prairie League. Not bad for a bunch of cowboys from southern Ohio.

 

Howza all-

Interesting post. I kinda fall in love with a car I am building and just hold onto it. My last '59 Edsel (Hell, it was on the original car feature page here on the HAMB back in 1997!!), a more door, I bought as a non running hulk in 1995, then owned til it left my driveway in 2016. I have since replaced it with a '59 Edsel 2 door hardtop that I am throwing some cool prototype vibes at. Where I am going is, I hold onto cars, and do not have the funds to expand, so, I just build what I have. .

 

Ah, yes. Good catch. Clearly my brain is getting too old to play musical trivia. Saw PPL on High Street in Columbus MANY years ago.

 

How timely is this? I just sent my coupe down the road Tuesday.Having serious sellers remorse. But I am replacing it with the Fleetline. That was a bucket list car. So I guess it will all work out.lol. Snowman ⛄️

 

Some of us were a little worried when we saw your coupe in the classifieds...GLAD to see you were just upgrading...and that's one hell of a nice upgrade

 

When i get a car built i then want to sell or trade it for another builder. I have a 39 ford 2 door that is almost done and i am ready for it to sell.

 

The fall of 1957 started the whole process and future adventures...

Hello,

When my brother got his first NEW car, it was a doozy. A black 1958 Chevy Impala with a big 348 motor was one of the nicest cars I had ever seen. Instantly, his old 1951 Oldsmobile that he sold to a friend and that was supposed to be my first car was history. Now, this black beauty was something else and I knew that now, I had another goal.

I was used to doing all of the “gopher” maintenance and services needed on his old 1951 Oldsmobile Sedan, so I assumed I would be doing the same thing for this sparkling new Impala. I was right, since I still was a year and a half away from legally driving. My jobs continued onto this cool black Impala and now I was getting a bunch of experience getting used to the two door sedan. You name it, I did it to keep the black Impala running smoothly, being in fine tune and shiny as all could want for a daily driver.

It was instant love and the future looked very bright. My brother did do his part in owning the Impala. Since he and his friends already had their hot rods and cruisers in place, it was my job to do what I could to stay in the picture. A lot of good that did with similar ideas for the 51 Oldsmobile Sedan… gone in a weekend. But, this one felt different, as my mom also liked the look and size of the Impala.

Jnaki

Jump up 3 years and now, I was the legal owner of the 58 Impala. It had gone through plenty of activities from drag racing, to beach transportation to mountain, teenage crusier. But, they were all leading up to my ownership (and for driving to her activities for my mom) So, for the teenage driving years, I was the proud owner/tuner/racer/cruiser of this cool Impala driving around in So Cal.
Thanks, @themoose
It was the past maintenance that gave me impetus to continue showcasing the Impala for those weekly hot rod cruises and drag race adventures. It was one of the nicest cars in our teenage group and was a hit wherever we went from San Diego to Santa Barbara and up into the local mountains. The daytime beach, ahhh, not so much. It was used a couple of times, but was not one of those daily/weekly beach activities/surfing style of cars. Even though, the longboards did fit into the trunk when I took down the rear seat back.

So, through 4-5 years of driving the 58 Impala through thick and thin in So Cal, it was time to part with it to fund the next several years of college activities. I could have driven the 58 Impala 400 miles North to the next adventure of the college years, but that was not happening.

It was a sad day to see the all black on black on black 58 Impala sitting in a driveway, while we drove away for good. It was going to a young teenager that we knew and he also knew the 58 Impala. So, his teenage years would have similar stories from our past adventures, too. It was time to move on and the love we once had, was a fleeting memory. YRMV

 

This is part of my issue as well , only room , cash and time for one at a time .



I’ve owned a ton of “ bucket list cars “ over the years only 2 I wish I had back
My 69 Lincoln and an O/T vw rabbit .

I love all my cars but I seem to love something else more as time goes on. I got my 40 merc now and I think I’ll own this one for a good while .
Unless a 40 Willy’s gasser shows up in my price range

 

I bought my 51 Merc when I was 16 and sold it after I blew the engine up when I was 17 in 1964. It changed hands a few times and a buddy spotted it sitting at a house and we went and asked and found out that a guy I knew had it. I actually bought it back from him for 10.00 and Pat and I towed it home with my Buick. It sat until the late 70's when I stuck a 350 Buick in it and then a 350 Olds. I sold the body to a guy who offered way more than I thought it was worth at the time and he spent a ton of money on it and as far as I know it still sits in his garage.
The 48 I bought as a 75 dollar beater in 1973 and then started redoing it after I figured out that there was no way to have my T bucket done for the 73 Street rod National in Tulsa , I was living in McGregor TX then. 3 months of hard work, having a guy who decided I needed a bunch of parts more than he needed a bunch of money sell me a load of great parts including a chromed seat frame plus the help of some friends and my wife and I drove it to Tulsa painted and Upholstered.
Sold it because my dream truck was a 56 Chevy 3100 Big window but couldn't make a deal on the big window I wanted and ended up with a 57 Panel with a hot 327 that I drove for a while and then traded back for the 48 one day. The truck wormed it's way into being part of the family over the years.
In truth I have never owned any car that was on my bucket list or at least long enough to get it running.
I've had three or four 67/72 Chevy Short beds and every time I bought one someone offered more money than I thought it was worth. One sold on the trailer on the way home when we stopped at a gas station and never made it home.
I'd love to have a Chrysler or Desoto Fin car but doubt that I will ever be able to afford one now.

I've still got the had to have to build an AV8 flathead but no A. The Bucket list build for the past 30 years has been a Flathead V8 powered early Ford.

 

I have only had one rod and plan to hang on to it. Going on 28 years now. I only have garage parking in my shop (yes, I live in the city) for one rod. That has kept me from starting others or accumulating projects.

I sold my 32 3w project in 2004 after I had my roadster on the street. I bought the 3w as a body in 1992 before I bought the roadster, also as a project, in 1994. That would be the roadster which I found while looking for parts for the 3w. And the roadster will likely be my only rod. Lightening struck (a '32 3w project) twice but I ended up with one good rod.

 

Hard to imagine what would be better.