Which Vehicle From Your Past Would You Like To Own Again?

Question

It could be a car, van, or truck that you yourself had owned or a vehicle that your family had while you were growing up.

Mine would be the first car I owned: a 1971 Pontiac Ventura. Very dependable but still a little sporty.

Answer 1

I had two favorite cars.. Part of my mis-spent you was spent as a hack - a cab driver in a midwest city. The Business was owned by a high school buddy's father, and on occasion they needed fill-in's and limo drivers, and guys to drive up new stock from the auto auctions. I had my hack & limo license - and the hours were fine with me - and the pay was ok - and I found the work interesting. But the best part of the whole gig was that I was allowed to by cars at the auto auction under the Old Man's License - and that turned out to be a profitable side line - that both his son took advantage of & usually turned over a car-a-month-a-piece for a profit of about $ 2,500.00 - $ 5,000.00.+ each - which was pretty darn good money for a couple of 20 somethings in the early & mid seventies.

My two favorites, (and most profitable cars), were a 1972 Cougar two-tone Vinyl hard-top, and a 1973 Chevy "Shark" Corvette. Both were 3 years old when I bought them at the Omaha Auto Auction in January of '76 and and thefollowing January in '77, and both were bought on saturday sales which turned out to be near blizzard to blizzard conditions across Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Colorado, and Ice storms across Missouri.

ON our first trip down in '76, the buyer gallery was very "light" and Greg - the Owner's son & I had gotten a ride down on Thursday from one of our friends who was on his way to Denver, We knew a couple of wild girls from high school who had moved to Omaha - that we called and they invited us down to party, and they did mean party - but that's a story for another time. Anyway, I bougth the '72 Cougar that trip for $ 1,350.00, a while Greg picked up a '72 GTO. .

THat car was immaculate. It only had 21,000 miles on it, and still smelled new inside the cabin. The body was a warm creme color, and the vinyl on the hard-top was a rich burled mahogany & saddle leather color - very understated paisley print.., that was not padded - but laid on so that it appeared soft, but was rock hard, - this was a vinyl top that was not going to crack, split, fade or be subject to rips or tears.

The windows were deep dark bronze tinted all around, - and you could not see in any of the windows - even the windshield. All chrome had been removed from the body, including all insignias, dealers markings & plaques, and manufactures markings & logos.The remaining trim - around lights, door handles, window frames, - etc. was medium dark bronze anodized aluminum - matching the color of the window tinting. The Bumpers were chrome with the same anodized aluminum inserts & fasteners used on the rest of the trim the bullit mirrors were painted to match the body. The hood featured a split screen scoop, and the custom grille was a vertical chrome round bar type - concealing the ram air intakes. The engine was a stock 350 Cleveland, and the Drivetrain was a standard automatic 3 speed with OD on the floor. Front seats were leather buckets, back seat was like a corvette seat - not worth much for comfort. Back side windows were Opera lites. Cockpit was a nice wrap around type with a 160 MPH speedo, and built-in Tachometer.

I added a super charger, gas rear suspension shocks, cherry bomb dual muffler system, under frame orange running lights, and ET MAG wheels front & back with oversized white letter racing tires fore & aft. The car was tight & sweet, and fast., but most of all it was beautiful - and nothing on it was stolen.

My investment in he car was $ 1,350. + $ 125.00 for fees, taxes & license. Supercharger kit weas $ 170.00, Mag Wheels were $ 200.00 mounted, & balanced. Racing tires
were $ 280.00 installed on mag wheels. Undercarrige lighting system was $ 125.00.

All said & done I had $ 2, 250.00 invested in the car. The blue book value on the cars that I dealt in did not matter - never did. I dealt in 2-door muscle cars and convertables / sports cars. I figured that this beautywas not worth about $ 7,500 as she sat, - more if I went out there and started winning some races. Which I always did - it got the car noticed - and I knew just where I was going to get the best money for this car - it was going to be Sioux Falls , So Dak - and that's where, when I decided to sell it 6 months later - I did. I loved that car though - had a lot of fun it. Sold it to a kid from Sioux Falls for $ 7,650.00

The '73 Corvette was basically the same story -- Silver metallic grey with blact trim, 327 cubic inch V-8, with hydraulic lifters, and a 3/4 race cam, was set up with two 4 barrel carbs on Edlebrock heads, which I changed back to a single 4 barrel with ram air induction and electic fuel pump.Left the Tranny stock, and the rear end factory. The soft top was in perfect shape, Had the hard top repainted. The front end had some damage, which I had repaired, and wecided to strip the whole car and repaint - ussing same color scheme - but added 8 additional coats of clear coat lacquer. (Sheldon Hague Painted the Car).

I replaced the factory wheels and worn out road skins with centerline rims and Good Years premium racing tires rated to 160 MPH +.- went with 8" rims in front and 11" rims in the back. Added undercarriage lighting (Purple & blue pulsing). I don't remeber all of the cost involved with this car - I know I paid # 2,700.00 for it at auction, and I think I invested another $ 2,500.00 in restoration and upgrades - but she ran hard and fast, and was reliable and tight. when I did sell her, I got my asking price of $ 10,000.00 form the first guy who showed up to look at her.

I miss the days when cars were unique in design and you could tell just by the sound of the exhaust sytem what the vehicle was, - or by the set up of the tail light system the exact make and model of the vehicle as it passed by on the highway at night Anyway - thanks for the menories.

Answer 2

If you are the kind of people who will use this car for the long and plan on keeping the car for a very long time, then it is better to buy a new car. It might take you longer to pay it off but at the end it will be yours. You will put a down payment, and pay off the rest of the car in monthly installments. Leases are usually better for buyers who like to change cars 2-3 years. If you are the type of person who appreciates change then lease your car. With leasing, you also put down a down payment and give monthly payments except you don't pay for the car entirely. You are paying to drive for 2-3 years (depending on how long u decide) and then you return it to the dealer at the end of those 2-3 years, you don't keep it. Basically, with leasing, it's like renting a car from a dealer for 3 years and giving it back. In essence, with leasing you will never really own a car. Another thing is money, if you make your decision based upon financial reasons then obviously it is better to lease if you are tight financially since you are only paying a portion of the actual value of the car. If you are financially stable then you can go ahead and buy the car. Figure out your criteria for buying the car and then decide whether leasing or buying is better for you. The site below will give you a more in depth explanation.

Answer 3

Okay, I was going to say my 1985 Dodge Omni GLH Turbo. What a hoot! Quickest car with 4 doors you could buy then. Sneaky fast, and it was bright red!

But someone opened the door to 'Dad's car,' so now I'm torn.

There was a 1952 Lincoln Cosmopolitan Hardtop that was the showroom version of the cars that won their class in the Carrera Panamericana (Mexican Road Race). I'd like to get back the (real) silver dollar I dropped down between the rubber seal and the passenger-side power window.

Then there are the two Jaguar XK-Es -- a red/black 1962 roadster, and a 1965 4.2 coupe in silver blue over gray.

But the most seductive would probably be the fly yellow Detomaso Mangusta that he picked me up at Orange County airport in after my Vietnam-era stint in the Army was up. We had to leave my luggage in a locker, but you think I cared?

Answer 4

As a kid, we had a 1957 Ford Ranch Wagon, 2 door. Very cool, but it went to the car crusher about 12 years ago. My Dad took it off the road in 1974 when New York state rust got to it permanently. He kept it though, and it just ended up a rust pile after almost 40 years.

Second choice would be a 1964 Mercury Park Lane. It had a neat back window, in a sedan, that electrically went up and down. (another favorite family car)

Answer 5

before I was born, my dad had a really rare car:

A 1969 Chevrolet Biscayne 2-door police package with a 427.

It was a mistake because 2 vehicules were ordered by police but when they came with 2-doors instead of 4 the police didn't accept them, so they were sold to the public. I don't think there are a lot around. WOUld have loved it if my dad kept it.

Answer 6

My 78 Old Cutlass, 305ci, 4bbl, ran great, looked pretty damn good for a 20+yr old car(bought it 98),not to mention having a power sunroof, I didn't even know they had those back then. Of course having to cut into the dash to put a new radio in(sorry can't do analog tuners) was kinda a pain but still it was the best $400 I ever spent.

Answer 7

My first car was a 1976 Chevorlet Nova. Man, I would love to have that car again. It was a most dependable, very reliable vehicle.

Answer 8

1956 Chevy 2 door post, with a balanced 350 rated at 375 HP, kited 400 hydro B&M

Answer 9

It would be my first car which was a 1978 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Runner-up would be my second car 1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass.

Answer 10

in high school i had a 1967 chevy malibu 283ci 4 door that ran like a champ, (before i blew the engine), i would love to have that car back

Answer 11

1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport (fastback), reliable and very comfortable