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  • How you found your present ride

    I'll start with a long story.

    It all started back in 1973 when a friend of mine bought a NEW Yellow with black stripes Z28/RS. I fell in love with that car. Fast forward 18 years to 1991. Married with two kids I got the car bug when I started working with two guys that were into Street Rods. Their passion re-fired my Muscle Car passion. So I went on the hunt for a 70-73 Camaro RS. After months of looking at some pretty bad examples I almost gave up. Bought one more Auto-trader on Thursday and there she was, a One Owner, 1973 RS/LT, 45k miles for 3500 dollars. When I called the owner she said she was busy and she did not have time to show it till Saturday. I explained that I was very interested and that I was worried that someone else would push her into showing it before Saturday and I would miss out. She promised that I would be the first to see it. So I waited two days, worrying about the car. Well Saturday came I grabbed my 5 year old daughter and headed to see the car. Well it was not perfect but it was heads above anything else. The owner explained that about a month before she just put a for-sale sign on it and only had one offer. It was two boys that wanted to look at it. She let them take it for a ride with her in the back. I guess they beat on it during the test drive but once they were done they made her an offer. She told them that no matter what they were willing to pay she would not let them have the car because of the way they treated it. Well after my test drive I offered her the asking price of 3500 but she had only one question. “What was I going to do with it” Well I told her I was planning on restoring it and that mostly it would sit in the garage under a cover. Well that’s what it took and the car was mine. My only problem was I did not bring anything to put down on the car for her to hold it till I could get the money. I think I offered her my daughter. But she was willing to hold it till I could get the money on Monday. Monday came and I went back to get the car. Her husband had all the paperwork including most of the old Registrations some even with the tags still attached. All the invoices for the repairs since new and a few other odds and ends. When I asked where she was the husband explained that she did not want to be there to see it drive away. I forgot to add that this car was her 19th birthday present. Well 16 years later I did live up to my word. It sits in my garage under a cover except for sunny days when I take it out for a cruise or a show. That 5 year old is now 21 and she may be the next owner of the Camaro.

  • #2
    Re: How you found your present ride

    Cool story, here is how I found mine. I was coming out of a relationship with a girl, 3 years, we planned on getting married, had some $$ saved up for the wedding. Once I knew it was finished I told a buddy of mine I was looking for a tube car. Did not care about the make just wanted one. It is x-mas time and I get back from Germany and my buddy calls, Found one look on Racing Junk. Sure enough 73 Duster. tube car, turn key 10K. Red flags go up but I call. I am told it needs work, confer with a friend he says tube cars are easy to fix. Get a ton of pics, some issues but fixable. I haggle with the guy, he drops the price. I tell him I would be there that Sat. I am in MI he is Virginia. He tells me he wants cash, oh man. Great 2 days to get it from teh bank. Hang the phone up, let the dogs in. Beagle is bloody. WTF? He and the Dane were playing, Dane hooked a tooth and tore open his neck. Off to the Doggie ER. $800, 16 stitches and a day later I have Frankendog back. Friday, ex calls wants to go out, I need to leave for VA by midnight to arrive in time. Ok no biggie, out I go. Same crap as always. I am stupid. Head out to get the trailer. get home forgot the damn tie downs. back out to get them and off on the road. arrive in the area about 4 hours late. See hot lady walking a Rot on road. road my back side it was a fricking 2 track. She asks if I am there to see Jamie, I said yes, she said you found him. OH GOD ran through my mind, my face must have said it all. Then she said I am his mom. OH GOD ran through again. I just got rooked by a 12 year old. I pull up to the drive and there is the car. Cool. Money changes hands, hot mom offers me a drink. Should have hung out for a couple of hours she was HOT!!! but off I went with the car. That is my story on my Duster. Still fixing things on it but they are not as major as when I first got it.

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    • #3
      Re: How you found your present ride

      July 2000, my '47 Chevy convert burns in a shop fire.
      Spend the next 18 months looking for replacement.
      In Oct of 2001 I'm at the GG Charlotte event in my Corvette when a car pal tells me about a '47 Olds convert thats a project that's sitting in this dudes garage but he doesn't know if it's for sale. I tell him I'm not interested in a project car, I wanted a completely done convert to replace my Chevy BUT it doesn't hurt to talk to the owner.

      By this time I have been on lots of wild goose chases, had traveled from coast to coast looking at cars guys said were done and in reality they were projects still. Even went to Barrett jackson looking. ;D Got fed up with the whole searching aspect.

      Anyway, I give my busienss card to "Red Shoes" who is going to give it to this guy named Steve Hendrickson when he saw him at the SEMA event a couple of weeks later.

      About a month later Steve calls me and we talk. He had no intention of selling "Project Big Olds" BUT after a few weeks of numerous phone calls and emails back and forth he determined that if he was going to sell the car that I would be the perfect person to finish the build (his words not mine). Price was agreed on within seconds and I sent a check out to him. On Dec 30th 2001 I went with a buddy, truck and trailer in a blizzard to pick up Big Olds in the Northwest corner of WI.

      I was completely overwhelmed at first BUT after 6 years I see the light at the end of the Big Olds tunnel. Big Olds debuts at the Detroit Autorama in March completly done. Bodywork, paint, top, windows, rechromed EVERYTHING and complete interior.

      Steve and I ended up being great car pals. I called him often filling him in on the progress of the build and Big Olds' accomplishments (first time down the drag strip, first time down the long course during Speed Week, etc.) He passed away the summer of 2006. I still keep in contact with his brother and father. Sometimes when I'm cruzn down the road I feel someone sitting on the seat next to me and I know it's Steve. He is sorely missed but I know in my heart he is proud of how Big Olds turned out.

      This is what I started with


      This is what he looked like last month




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      • #4
        Re: How you found your present ride

        1992. Local trading paper.. "Unfinished Project (read: basket-case) for sale"..



        Some young idiot with rose colored glasses paid money for it. (me.)

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        • #5
          Re: How you found your present ride

          Yeah, but c'mon...your car is awesome, and you know it. 8)

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          • #6
            Re: How you found your present ride

            1975 My buddy and I used to ride around in his 66 tbird and test drive muscle cars. when ever we would see them on a car lot. They were cheap in 75. Going down US41 in Sarasota Fl we saw a 69 road runner. We went in for a test drive thinking we would run the crap out of it like we always did. However when we popped the hood it was pristine and all original (that would soon change). Interior was sweet as well, and it only had 40,000 miles on it. The best part was the price tag $850. I had 600 and begged my parents for the rest. My dad said he would have to see this car, I was 16 years old, only he was out of town, so my mom went. We got there and she wanted to drive it. I thought oh no it's a four speed she won't be able to do it. Well I was wrong. She pulled out and went thru the gears like a pro. When we got back she said I don't know this car is pretty hot. pleading insued and she gave the go ahead on one condition NO RACING on the street (who me). I love this car and still have it. It now has atleast 98,000 miles on it. Cable broke years ago don't really know the mileage, and don't care.

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            • #7
              Re: How you found your present ride

              My 70 Caprice I found by accident. I was at a salvage yard looking for parts for a friends 84 Camaro and on the way out took a peak in their "used" car lot. It should've been labeled "abused" car lot. Anyhow, it was languishing in the back corner with months of dust on it. I guess I was the only one who knew what it had, cause I was the only to ever inquire about it in the 5 months it sat there. I bought it for two grand with the the idea of raping it for my 65 Impala SS. LS4 454, TH400, disc brakes, 12 bolt rear, 5 rallys with trim, Power seats, windows and AC. After driving it around for a month while doing a project on my 65; I decided it was too nice to cut up.

              My 65 Impala SS I found because I was looking for a car I didn't have to smog anymore. At the time my 73 Impala had to be smogged and it I just bent the rear differential slamming into an island. When I found it, it had 175/75 14 JCPenney white walls, with standard chevy hubcaps, a 350/350 combo from a junkyard and it barely ran and drove. The kid who owned it needed cash to finished hacking up his 64 Impala for hydros and batteries. I got it for $1200 bucks.

              This is my story about my buying experience of the 65 Impala SS

              Surprise, Surprise, Surprise


              I have found that whenever I buy a used car I get a surprise
              with it. It's not the kind of surprise you get in the bottom of some
              sugary cereal box. Nor is it a wonderful surprise like finding
              that missing Picasso in the trunk of your new heap. I would
              be happy just get a surprise of finding a few bucks in change
              under the front seats. No. No. These are the surprises we do
              without. The kind the old owner of the car always keeps to himself to
              let you discover the minute you leave with your new purchase. Usually, these
              are the kind of surprises that are as welcome as the surprise tax audit.

              When I bought my 65 Impala SS; I endured not one or
              two; but three unwanted surprises on the way home the
              night I purchased it. The first one came when I
              decided to top off the fuel tank and to see if the gas
              gauge worked. One minute after I started fueling the
              car; I noticed my shoes were filling up with gas as
              well. My tank was leaking from somewhere. I found out
              when I pulled the pump nozzle out and it pulled the
              tank filler neck out with it. More gas in my Nike's.
              And, all over the ground.

              I tried to make a hasty exit and to my dismay I
              discovered surprise number two, a dead battery. Ahhh
              hah! That's why there was a battery charger at that
              guy's house. It took so long to get a jump
              start all the gas I spilled on the ground had
              evaporated.

              By this time it was late and getting chilly so I
              turned on the heater. Surprise number three. My heater
              core was peeing all over the interior and into my gas
              filled high tops. At least I wasn't cold anymore due
              to my boiled feet. This is when I also figured
              out the reason why there was no carpet in the car.

              Now I had the pleasure of cleaning out the rest of my
              bank account at Kragan's on the way home to buy
              new a battery, heater core, and JB Weld. But, I did
              have a 65 Impala SS in my driveway.
              BS'er formally known as Rebeldryver

              Resident Instigator

              sigpic

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              • #8
                Re: How you found your present ride

                Got my latest Studebaker in May. My uncle purchased it new. I wasn't looking for a four door, but when I heard in September '06 that he was thinking about selling it I asked to have first dibs on the car. When he wrote me in April that he was indeed going to sell it, I called my wife and asked if we had the money for another Studebaker. "For what?" was the answer. "Uncle Richard's Studebaker," I replied. "Oh, sure." Now you know why she's so great. A buddy with a trailer and an F350 and I drove to Omaha (From eastern North Carolina) and picked up the car. Got to keep it the family, right? ;)

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                • #9
                  Re: How you found your present ride

                  It was 1982 (probably April) and my ride at the time was a black 66 Barracuda with a Commando 273 and four speed. Every time I filled up (which was often since I using the car to run copier service calls) I got into a conversation about cars with the pump jockey (remember them?). One day the conversation turned to Dart convertibles. This guy said he knew where one that he thought might be for sale. I couldn't find it. Fast forward to October. We had passed on making an offer on a green/green 69 GTS convertible because of the color when I was given similar directions to the first car. Sure enough it was a Dart and it was also a GTS convertible that WAS for sale. The problem was that at $1,950 we couldn't quite afford it so we just tucked it away in our minds.

                  On a Friday in January 1983 we went to look at a 67 Barracuda Formula S convertible that was overpriced and had rust I didn't want to deal with. The next day we went and made an offer and a deal on the GTS for $1,550. We drove it home in the rain the following Wednesday (Jan 26, 1983). We still have the car. It needs a restoration again, but we've racked up 75,000 miles or so in 25 years.

                  It's never been perfect or completely original, but to have something this rare (271 GTS convertibles were sold in the US in 1968 with a 340/auto) and be able to enjoy it all these years is something special.

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                  • #10
                    Re: How you found your present ride

                    Ebay,price was right,worth a lot more than I paid for it.The only suprise was how good it was.
                    Calypornya...near the beach

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                    • #11
                      Re: How you found your present ride

                      My mother passed away in 2000 from lung cancer. In Feb. '01 we four kids received a settlement on a lawsuit she had filed against her insurance company. They had refused her treatment stating that her policy had expired two years before. They had still been collecting the payment automatically from her bank account the whole time it was supposedly cancelled. Anyway, back to the point, she had told us that if anything ever came from the lawsuit, we were to spend it on something we had always wanted. My boss knew I was looking for a '66 GTO but wanted me to look at his neighbors car. All he said was it was a '55 Chevy. Since that was my second choice, I looked. The minute I saw the car, I knew my mother would have loved it. Stop looking right then and made the agreement.

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                      • #12
                        Re: How you found your present ride

                        I grew up in a small west texas town, population 1000. You know, the kind of town where everybody knows everybodies business, where all the parents know each other an you cant get away with anything.
                        Well anyway, There weren't too many hotrods. When I was a senior this nerdy sorta guy showed up and was driving a 38 chevy coupe. It wasnt real fancy but had a 283 and some chrome wheels. Since I was about the only guy in school that sat in the back of the class and would hide a hot rod magazine in my note book to read during class, I decided to get to know him.
                        We got to be pretty good friends and ended up working at the same speed shop in a larger town after we graduated. Well he decided to go into the ministry and went off to college about 1000 miles away. When he would come home I would always hound him to sell me the coupe since it was gathering dust in his dads hanger. I finally wore him down and he sold it to me for $500.00.
                        That was in 1974 and Its the one car that I have had all these years. Many more have come an gone. After all I had to promice to give him first shot if I ever sold it. Its been through two major rebuilds and 3 paint jobs and there are lots that dont agree with everything I have done with it but hey, its mine and the only one I have to please with it is me.


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                        • #13
                          Re: How you found your present ride

                          Some really cool stories. Keep them coming. ;D

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                          • #14
                            Re: How you found your present ride

                            I currently have four cars that are being worked on. Two have pretty much no storey to them...yet.

                            The daily driver S10 was found on Craigslist for $500 and is a great little truck. The 57' Poncho was found of Kijiji after I sold my 49' Chevy Fleetline on there. I got a good deal on it and like the car a lot.

                            The other two have a bit of a storey to them.

                            The 80' Z28 was found at an auto wrecking yard just outside of toronto. Its one of the few yards left around here where you can wander the yard and pull your own parts. They had this white Z28 that looked pretty rough sitting in their used car lot one day and I took a quick look at it. T-tops and a 4 speed...not bad. But I can see the ground through the drivers side floor and the interior is totaled. It also has this big porche whale tale on the back, and a set of ancient radial TA's on wester turbine rims. I inquire about it and they tell me one of the yard boys wants it, so its pretty much sold.

                            I come by three weeks later and the car is still there. I ask about it again, and they tell me that the yard boy couldn't come up witht he cash, but a local camaro parts place wants it, but hasn't come to get it or pay for it yet.

                            I tell them I have cash now and will buy it.

                            The nice yard lady tells me, that if the camaro parts place doesn't come up witht he cash to come and get it by friday, I better come on saturday. Its wednesday now. But at least this time they give me the keys to take a look at it. I unlock and open it and find the interior is not nearly as bad as it looks. The drivers floorpan is shot, but the rest of the floor is solid. There is no carpet or seats, and tons of trash in the car, but a closer look shows perfect door panels, dash, and console, as well as a hurst shifter, racemark steering wheel and a couple of nicely mounted autometer guages.

                            The trunk showed a trunk mount battery, and the original spare, and jack - all unmolested. And no rust.

                            I open the hood...and quickly shut it. Sitting in there is the original 350ci V8, topped with a holley carb, and an aftermarket Martin Turbo System, with edelbrock varijection water injection. Seems noone knows what is under the hood. since noone there seems to know how to open the hood. I go back in there and tell them that I want it because its a T-top car and will stop by saturday to see if its still there. The days go by, and I figure I am not going to get the car - someone from the camaro parts place is going to see it and snap it up.

                            Saturday comes and I am at the yard just before it opens and can see through the fence, that the car still sitting in its place with a large "SOLD" written in grease pencil accross its cracked windshield. As I sit there lamenting the loss, the nice yard lady comes walking up to the gate to unlock it and sees me there.

                            "Arn't you the guy who wants that old camaro over there?" she says to me.

                            "Yep, I did want it. But it looks like its sold."

                            "Yeah its sold. To you! I hope you brought the money like you said you would! The camaro place never came to see it and I am fed up with their BS."

                            I had the paperwork filled out in no time and she sent one of the guys down to the ministry right away to get the title transferred. Within the hours I was the legal owner of the car and had arranged transport back to my house. As I was waiting for the title, I opened up the car - trunk, hood, doors - and started cleaning out all the trash and giving the interior a good wipedown. I put the console back in its place, and even found the T-handle and boot for it and put it back together, along with the air induction aircleaner. A little air in the tires and the car was starting to look presentable.

                            As I was sitting there getting all filthy in my yard clothes cleaning out the car, a crowd started to gather around it, and all the teenaged yard guys were ribbing one guy pretty hard for not buying the car because it had a turbo setup on it that they didn't know about - because they couldn't figure out how to open the hood!

                            While they are ribbing the yard guy, another guy comes up to the car, takes one look at it and then back his truck and trailer up to it and starts putting down the ramps - right in front of the car!

                            I just look at him and ask him what he is doing. He tells me, that its ok, I don't have to clean the car anymore - he will just take it like it is. Seems that one of the yard guys went and called the camaro parts place and told them about the while I was cleaning it out and they came running over to get it.

                            "Sorry," I tell him. "Its my car, and its not for sale. Will you kindly move your truck - you are blocking the yard entrance."

                            He didn't seem to like that response. "Do you like your job?" he asks me.

                            "Yes, very much." I respond.

                            "Well, unless you get these notions that this car is yours out of your head, your not going to have it much longer. I have a deal with your boss about any old camaros that come into this place. That car is mine."

                            "Well you can just go f**k right off then. Its my car, pal."

                            "We will see about that! And say goodbye to your job!"

                            The camaro parts place jerkoff stomps his way into the yard office to speak to the nice yard lady (who happens to be the manager and yard owners wife). While he is making his way there, the guy comes back with the title and goes in after Mr. Jerkoff. Then the nice yard lady comes out with a handful of paperwork and hands it over to me - including the new ownership in my name. Mr. Jerkof is right behind her.

                            The nice yard lady turns to Mr. Jerkoff . "This CUSTOMER came and paid for the car when he said he was, and didn't jerk me around for two weeks. I know you only came after a certain SOON TO BY UNEMPLOYED if he does this again employee of mine called you about the car. So the car is his. Get your truck and sorry ass out of my yard before i feed them both to the crusher!"

                            The floor show alone of Mr. Jerkoff getting put into his place was worth the $400 I paid for the car.

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                            • #15
                              Re: How you found your present ride

                              Great stories so far......I wanna hear more ;D

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