Hot Rods Who really ownes "your" car?

@fuel pump - Wow, what a wonderful story ... you are a "Class Act"!

After my father passed away (also from cancer), we slowly started selling off all of his cars ... well, all except his Deuce 5wd Coupe (of which I am the current caretaker).

Although they were all hard to let go of, one of the hardest was his Jet Black 1957 Chrysler 300C Coupe ... It was the last car that I helped him to "re-store" ... and the car my family drove to & from his Memorial service.

Fortunately, we sold this '57 300C to John & Christie Lazenby of Southern California ... I say "fortunately" because John is also very much a "Class Act" ... to this day, he still e-mails me to let us know the current status of (as he calls it) "Our 300C" ... You can't imagine how much it means to me that John keeps in touch ... I'm sure that Matt will appreciate you keeping in touch as well.

 

The 28 pontiac PU I'm building now I am learning some of the history of it. My dad bought it at an auction years ago. It came with a title from 1947. When the guy my dad got it from bought it from his dad. I want to go show it to some of his family that still live in the area after I get it done.

 

WOW, what a story, thanks for sharing.

 

Just read HEMI32's comments about "Our 300C". We feel very fortunate to own this car but what is far more important is the bond that we've made with the former owners family.

Always remember, it is the "people" that are the important thing.

 

my gradfather left his 53 ford truck to me when he died, but it will always be "pops truck"

 

My house, most of may cars and tools were here before me and will be here after me. I often wonder what the originals owner of my pre-war cars would think if they knew their cars would out last them by 50 - 80 years. Its cool to pick up an old tool box at a yard sale and see the prior owner initials and little custom fixes they did to their tools. Brings good Karma to working on the old cars.

 

great story and, way to show some class

 

ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE GROWN MEN CRY? Great story it should be in your fam for generations..

 

I have to share this with my girl. Thanks for posting

 

The look on that lady's face is priceless.

You did a good thing.

 

Great story, Thank you !! As far as I know my cars... are just old cars. That one of yours is special to alot of people.

 

In the 70's my Great Grandmother bought my Great Grandfather an old car. He kept it at their lakehouse for years, even after his vision got to bad and Nana's strength too weak to handle the manual steering. He baby'd it pretty well. The engine was apparently rebuilt (there's a sticker on the side of the motor from the place that did it) and it was repainted by some outfit in the 80's that is long out of business (I have the keychain on the original set of keys). It was his car and he loved it.

He passed away when I was in 7th grade and my mother bought it. She loved that car too when she had it (though neither she nor my father was all that mechanically inclined). She'd drive that thing everywhere and relished the conversations with people who'd come up and ask her about it. I think that during the time she owned it, it went into the shop twice, once for a tune up and once for some electrical issue that I can't seem to recall. Eventually, financial concerns forced the car into the garage and relegated it to retirement.

10 years pass, and I manage to convince my parents to pass ownership of the car over to me (meaning convincing them to take my money). I've spent alot of time on her, learned a hell of alot about cars, and 4 letter words (I honestly believe that I could make Patton blush at this point). I get a kick out of driving a car that has been in the family for four generations. However, it isn't mine... it belongs to all of us. I just get to fix and drive it.

John

 

without a doubt very good karma points . Half of a car is its past owners.
My wife asked me after our first date why do you talk to your car? I told her my old hotrod had a soul and she will be here when we are all gone. after our first kid we had to sell her, after only three weeks I got a call from the owner telling me he had been out haveing a few and lost it on hy 30 and totaled ol red out. we drove up to see the car. my wife cryed for two days she finley got it. 23 years later she names every project we do.

 

X2 on that!

 

Steve Warling and Tom Fulton will always be the owners of my Hot Rod, Im just the caretaker.

 

One of the great car history stories on here. Sometimes there are things happen that just make it a great day.

I've seen that reaction to seeing a car that belonged to someone that people were related to and I have seen the opposite when the car happened to be something that caused friction in the family.

As for myself I really don't care much to own someone else's old rod or a well known rod or custom because there are always those who will have a fit if you change the least thing.
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Great Story ! It's nice to know some of the history of the car you have. I have very little history on my cars. I wish they could talk .......

Doug

 

Man...i like to shake your hand for such a level headed, compassionate gesture. I got a little emotional reading the story. I have had alot of cars in my day and most i built myself, some i bought turn key. The turn key ones did not last long in my possesion. I realized they just didn't make me fuzzy. So i hear ya when you say your a keeper till it goes home. One thing about rods, they have 'soul' Everyone of them.
I had the opportunity to get my old ride back after 25 years. Some wanted the rod but he didn't sell it. He sold it to me thou for hell of alot less than what he could have got for it. But he chose to sell it back to me. I got choked up over that even thou i ment stretching my finances to the limit.
Your story is much more touching. Hats off to ya.

 

Great story.
The one and only owner of your car / my car is: time
If a car is build right and in really good condition it will "live" longer than you and me.

 

Nice story.
Dunno if its related, but this seems to jog my memory to when I bought my first car from my great- uncle Reg. I'm sure it was the only car he ever had and he worked on the line that built it (GM-Holden- 1956). I swear I saw a tear in his eye as he backed it down the drive for the last time. He scraped the wall with it ( licence revoked for poor eyesight).
I still have the car.

 

I often thought that the guy that initially built the car was the owner at least until the new owner tears it completely apart and turns it into a "Circus car"... then it becomes his creation and you don't want to become affiliated with it anymore! Hahaha...

Or until the car is changed significantly where it becomes unrecognizable... the present owner is a caretaker preserving what the "Owner" had built.

 

I can relate to this story, my pop built alot of cars while I was growing up, sold them all to pay for things to make our lives better.till this day, the 36 ford coupe with a hot olds motor that he sold for 600 bucks to a young hot rodder just back from nam @ late 69 to black top our long drive way which we used like a drag strip with the go-cart & mini bikes he built for us. I became good friends with the the guy 5 years later,and yes he still has the car, almost everbody in town still calls the car my dads old car, the guy will never sell it ,but I would sure like to get her back someday.

 

I bought my truck from a local guy that had owned it from 1983 to 2007, it sat in a garage from 91 to 2007. He traded a Toyota straight across for it in 83. The previous owner, and builder of the tuck, needed a car for his daughter to take to college. Carl talked for a while about many big boobed bimbos going to Myrtle Beach with him in the truck, as well as racing a Vette down HWY 52 and many other stories. He showed me the truck a few days later, covered in carpet,cardboard and with a rotten plywood bed full of junk. The bed was all but gone, all the tires flat, engine not running and ugly green metalflake paint. The interior was green diamond tuck faded to gold, looked like the inside of a brothel and smelled like the latrine door on a tuna boat. I bought it then and there.

This truck as well as a gaggle of great friends, to include my Wife, have helped me through the worst 2 years of my life. The truck kept me busy and I seldome worked alone or without a cool one. The truck gave us a good reason to hang out , BS and sometimes work on the truck. That did me more good than all the drugs, Psychologists, Psychiatrists and counselors. Had I not had the truck or a great support system I probably would have gone South. I thank God, Allah, Bhudda, or whomever runs this world, every day for all my Friends that helped me thru. You know who you are!!

Each caretaker adds a chapter in the life of a car, I hope the next chapter in my trucks life adds as much joy as all the previous chapters. Cars arent about "look what I have" they are about the memories, friends and good times.

 

I hear ya there, my wife and I own a 68 Ford pickup that the second owner had a strong attachment to. She said we were the right ones for it and I couldn't give it up even though my wife wants to sell it because we need the cash. It still sits in her parents shed, her dad doesn't want us to part with it either!!!

 

Heck man I have stumbled over three of my old cars on here so far. The new owners are happy to hear the history of them, and its cool to see were they end up.

 

Somewhere "up there", you've made someone very happy, for eternity! Class act, you make us all proud.

 

Hey Rich,
Way to go.. but knowing you I wouldn't have expected anything less.

My old model A was purchased from a guy that couldn't finish it and I will never forget the look on his face the day I drove up in his driveway with it after it was done. And then another day I took him for a long ride... he passed away shortly after that. I hated to sell that car but the current owner is a god friend to me, (and Rich) and he has the same vision for the car so the tradition continues...

I keep in contact with the guy I bought my 47 from too... send him pics occassionally and visit him whenever I am in his part of the country. Developed a great friendship with him and look forward to driving it in his driveway some day... maybe this summer.

Anyway, way to go Rich.

 

Very cool story. Thanks!

 

i just got a 63 galaxie a few months ago from a friend that had it for a couple of years, in that time it just sat at his shop and he never did anything to it. he bought it from a friend of his that had it for about five years and never did anything to it either. and he bought it at a estate sale from the original owners grandkids that didnt want it. so back to the present, i had seen this thing a few times and knew it was a clean car and it was for sale. so i made a call to my friend and offerd up a quad and a big gocart and i ended up bringing it home the next day. well after making a few phone calls to get some paper work on the car, i ended up get a folder dropped on the porch one day. the folder contained the orginal bill of sale from the dealership and about every reciept for th the past 50 yrs.

long storry short is that this old lady f-ing loved this car, and i dont think i can bring myself to ever do anything but drive and take care of it like she did.

 

JimSwann, Did you ever notice, You NEVER see hotrods or motorcycles in front of a shrinks office?

Fuel,
Good on ya !