What was the biggest 'find' you let get away?

1974... $1200
a 65 Chevelle Z16 (200 made)
Too much Bondo and a crappy repaint.........

1987... $800
a 1940 Caddy Limo
Complete, thin original paint, no damage, sitting in garage for 25 years.
Too hot outside, didn't want to move crap to get car out and it had 4 flat tires....

I was in to Baja Bugs and buggies back then.

 

These were in the late sixties when I was in high school and working in a garage part time:

1949 Jaguar drophead (convertible) for $250. The most beautiful car I had ever seen. I had the dough, the old man wouldn't let me buy it "where you going to get parts"

Brand new 396 with a spun bearing, from the local Chev dealership, replaced under warranty. $50

A few years later, mid seventies, I was in a local junkyard and saw a car I knew well. 1966 Hemi Belvedere 2 door sedan, local car from new. Beat up from street racing and drag racing even though it was less than 10 years old. No engine or trans, $200. Decided it wasn't worth fixing up.

1932 Ford 5 window coupe with Chev V8 and Corvair suspension. $800. Was not interested because of the Corvair suspension. Didn't know it at the time but there was a 32 front end in a junkyard not 20 miles away.

An Allard sports car sitting in a storage lot with a for sale sign on it. Didn't have time to stop, meant to go back but never did.

 

I had a 1963 Ford Fairlane Sports Coupe 260 v8 auto 2 door hard top. Coloumn shifter bucket seats with a factory console. The console had no hole in it for a shifter. The car was red interior with black paint and a red stripe down both sides. I paid $360.00 in 1968.
Ford Econoline 1966 with a 6 cylinder 4 speed on the coloumn the only one I have ever seen it was factory there was the H pattern on the end of the shifter handle.

 

In the late 70s when most muscle cars were under $1,000, I turned down a GT-350 for 1,700, a Dodge Super Bee for 1,800 & a Superbird for 2,200. On topic, in the mid 90s I turned down a disassembled 29 A sedan with restored fenders for $900

 

i'm sure most of us who have been around awhile have let many good buys get away. Of the 1000's I know of the 1954 Vette sittin in the barn at a farm sale is on top my list. The farmer's grandmother lived across from my grandparents. I made him an offer of $2500 back in 70's and left grandparents number. Months later he accepted. I didn't take it because of the eggshell cracks in the paint. Stupid me! Of course $2500 was more than I had anyway.
So many others over the years. But I always told myself, if ya can't park it inside don't get it. Missed a lot because of no room inside. I needed a warehouse.

 

A girl named Vicki F. in 1991. 5'7", blonde, wholesome, yet sexy and flawlessly beautiful. I guess I should add sweet and smart. I let her get away and married my ex-wife instead. What a dumbass!

Or there was that 1929 Chevy pickup in Colorado in 1977. One owner family, original paint, original interior, perfect wood, no dings or dents, original factory pinstriping for Godsake!, It ran and drove. $1,000. I wasn't sure how to get it home. What a dumbass!

 

I came across a '31 Vicky when I was looking for a project..and waited too long and it was sold...think about that one often..love those Vicks, maybe one day.

 

A very nice 100% original (including paint) 1948 Indian motorcycle at the Carlisle swap meet. I was quite a few years ago, maybe around 1990. It fired up on the 3rd kick and was only $4800.00 (asking). I just didn't have the funds at the time.

 

Gosh I see so many "dad wouldn't let me buy it" ... "Dad wouldn't buy it for me" ... "Dad wouldn't budge" ...

If you have a young kid interested in a car, you know what to do !!!

 

Let's don't even go there on the old Indian bikes and other two wheelers. Passed on a cheap 1948 Indian back in the 70's.
One I didn't exactly let get away was my old 1950 Harley tank shifter... Not a police bike. We rode it, rebuilt it, and rode it more from 1965 till 1994 when I retarded to Florida.
Sold the Harley, my nice 55 Chevy 2-dr and my 57 Chevy 2-dr HT. Had to thin out the junk! But why those???????

 

Several, but the one that stung the most was a '66 Coronet RT 440 4speed car, black with white interior, magnum 500's and no engine. Guy wanted $500 for it so I went to get the cash and along the way ran into a now ex-friend and mentioned it. He said he wanted to see it and would meet me back up there. When I got there he had the title in hand and was waiting on the tow truck. Obstinate bastard said "Hey, first come, first served".
To make matters worse he had and absolute POS Coronet convertible that he started restoring with the coupe. fenders, doors hood, cut the quarters off, everything. then never finished either of them. They sat out behind his house for a couple of years then he died, family called local scrap dealer to come get them before I found out. I can only hope it was bad Karma that got him, because he deserved it.

 

I was 14. I heard about a guy with a 1964 Dodge Polara that he wanted to sell. I dragged my Dad there to check it out. It was a little rough but not bad, with a running 426 wedge and a 4 speed, single four on the car & the original two four intake in the trunk. I think he wanted $1800 dollars for it in the 80's. I begged & whined but my Dad passed on it.

 

years ago I could have traded a 69 datsun pickup for a 58 corvette if I would have tossed in a hundred dollar bill. I refused to do it. My ass still has kick marks from that..........

 

Back in the mid 70's a regular customer at the gas station I worked at asked when I was going to buy his car. It was a 53 Vette with a 301 in it. He also has a the original Blue Flame six that came with it. Price $1,000.00 I was afraid of the insurance so I told a couple of friends and they immediately offered him $4,000.00. He suddenly became aware of what he had and held on to it. Never knew what happened after that. Only if I had a little more foresight and money.

 

About 1981 I took my brother with me to look at a 1970 SS454 Chevelle 4 speed. If I remember right it was $1200 and had hail damage. I let him talk me out of it.

 

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> My biggest mistake was about ten years ago I was at a welding suppler shop who use to build and collect cars, He had a 33 Ford 3 window coup turned in to a convertible by a guy who ran a body shop in the late 50&#8217;s early 60&#8217;s He covered it to 283 with auto. Needed very little to running wanted $5,000.00 could got for less.
I was a big Dummy.

 

One of my best friends uncle had a kinda salvage, garage, blacksmith type operation with cars stacked up three high in the back lot. On top of one stack was a complete, running when it was stacked up there, 31 ford coupe. I must have asked the old man about that car 500 times and he would always say."That car is worth a lot of money thats why it's stacked so high so no one can mess with it, yea LOTS of money."
I went by there on afternoon and the coupe was gone. I skidded to a stop went running inside, "Elmer, Where's the coupe?"
He said, "Some fool came by and offered me $300.00 for that, hell it was only gonna be worth about $20.00 for scrap iron."

 

A rust free Model A roadster body at a swap meet for $800.

 

about 10 years ago I found a 41 willys sitting behind a gas station. it was all steel, an old drag car. I went in and talked to the man that owned the station. ask if it was for sale. he said it belonged to a friend, and he would check. he said to make an offer. i just said $1000.00, he called the guy , he said ok. it was late in the day, I told him i would be back the day after tomorrow. I had to work at the fire dept. the next day, and couldn't get off. I went back when I said with the $$. the car was gone!! he said somebody else came by yesterday, and gave him the $ 1000.00. he said he didn't know if i would come back or not. I was sick for about a month.

 

A 1936 Auburn Speedster for $250. I was about 1960, and was, probably, a hell of a good deal, even then. Where does a 13 year old get 250 bucks?

 

Glad I'm not the only one. Great thread.

I had 2 chances to buy Watsons T-Bird (about a decade apart) and both times I had something "come up". I get a sick feeling every time I see that car now. And I see it a lot.
The one good thing is that it's taught me to jump whenever I get the chance. I have never let another car get away from me and becuase of it I've owned some pretty cool cars that I really couldnt afford.
I guess that 1960's Aston Martin for 10K still haunts me a little, but not as bad. I was only a kid and didn't have the cash then. (At least it wasn't a $250.00 1936 Auburn Speedster... Hahaha)

Oh well... onward & upward!

 

1978 2 tone black and white 56 chevrolet convertible that needed a top and starter $1500

1973 1963 highly modified corvette street freak gasser $1500

1986 1967 Shelby GT350 for $17K

 

In the late '80s, right before the boom in musclecar prices took hold, I had an opportunity to buy a '68 Hemi Dart Super Stock car for just $10K. I was short a few dollars, but I could've bought it without any huge problems. It had very little track time, and still had all of the original parts it left the Campbell-Hurst facility with. Now, that car in that condition would bring six digits without any problems.

In 1988, I was looking for a nice Mopar musclecar, and came across a '70 SuperBird in the local Auto Trader for $8,500. Lime green, white interior, 440 4-bbl, fresh engine, only 66K miles, second owner, bought new in Oklahoma City. Passed on that one. The very same car showed up at a local classic car auction in 2006 and sold for $125K.

A few years later, I came across a '56 Chrysler New Yorker 4-door with a 354 Hemi in it that I could've bought for $400. Supposedly running and driving, too! I got the directions and headed out with my pickup and trailer. Got there, and there were three other guys trying to get the car! It ended up being a biddding war, so I left. I did not want the car at two grand, and two guys were still trying to get it!

 

No such thing. In 1967, yes, since that was the first year for BOTH the 440 in a B-body, and the R/T option. In '66, the options were Coronet, Coronet Deluxe, Coronet 440, and Coronet 500. In '67, the R/T model was added. The 440 was a MODEL designation only and had nothing to do with displacement, all the way through 1970.

 

Same as many of you the list is long.
This one stands out.
1949 Cadillac Sedanette. 6000 original miles. Owned and bought new by a retired Cadillac mechanic. Looked like it just rolled off the showroom floor.
Price was $1000.00
Even in 1975 this was a bargain.

 

I was at an estate auction about 8 yrs ago and they auctioned off a 1929 cord L29 sedan. I bid the car up to $5500(yeah I know cheap for a cord) but it was really rough. I saw the guy bidding against me was the same guy I saw at Barrett Jackson spending an average of 100k per car, so I just figured let it go, he's got more money. I should've kept bidding.

 

'27 Chev sport coupe, '63 rego sticker, Fisher body in original light grey/ maroon pinstripe. Complete, straight, broken speedo glass. Found it in an inner city barn. Never found anyone at home, never followed up. That was in 1982.
Car was seen at swaps in same condition last year - $ 12,000

 

Well, apparently someone was playing around with the factory badges, the guy said it was a 440 but maybe it really was a 383. Hard to tell since motor was gone and I didn't get a chance go through the car anyway. Still was a heck of a deal.

 

A ratbox 427 67 Shelby in 1970 for $2500 because I didnt have the money and it ran but not very good. It was rode hard & put away wet but it still was a real 427 Shelby

 

A 59 Vette 283 4 speed for $900 when I was in high school. Dad said I did'nt need it. I was driving a 57 chevy 2 dr sedan with a 396 4 speed. Banker said NO to loaning a 17 year old the money. Life goes on and cars come and go. I still have the 57. This all took place in 74.