One of the cars that visited “the yard” quite often was a car I genuinely begged for. I remember it clearly: 1979 Chevrolet Malibu two-door, primer gray with red gut, redneck lowered, with a random spoiler of unknown origin screwed into the rear decklid. I wanted that car badly. It was complete, minus an engine and a set of springs that kept the car from dragging it’s pumpkin over the “road turtles” of South Kitsap roads. The answer was always “no”, coupled with a musing about a car that always seemed destined to boomerang back into the owner’s life. He absolutely detested that car.
Fast forward to today. I’ve done my best to not own the same exact car twice…even though I’ve had numerous G-body Cutlasses and about every flavor of Chrysler FJM cars ever produced. I look back on the cars I’ve gotten rid of over the years, and I wonder…would I take one back? If I had the ability to acquire it, condition be damned, would I actually want to own one again? There might be a couple…the 2005 “Mock One” Mustang was a fun canyon carver. The 1984 Dodge Ramcharger was only sold as a flip for some cash, it was a good truck. The 2006 Monte Carlo SS would make an interesting MPG build since trying to make power would mean a destroyed transaxle, and the 1987 Monte Carlo SS…well, that’s the most collectible machine I’ve had, nevermind one of the coolest. The rest have either met their end or I have no desire to know where they are at.
What do you think? Would you do like Derek here did and dive head-first into a car you hadn’t seen in years just because, or would you leave the past in the past and move on to anything else?
Absolutely. There are several cars out of the 50+ I’ve had that I would like to have back.
1. 1979 Toyota Celica
2. 1982 Toyota Corolla SR5 Coupe
3. 1989 Nissan 240SX hatch
4. 1989 Ford Contour SVT
… just to name a few.
I think it got shipped off to Europe, but I wouldn’t mind having my ’86 Corvette again. Just not as a daily driver.
I had a 1968 Ford Bronco. 302, 3 speed.
Why the HELL did I have to sell that one????
I think I got $800 for it. I thought that was pretty good money at the time!
Absolutely! I have owned many cars and trucks since I was 15(1972) and I would want a few back. My 1st, a 1965 Falcon Futura convertible, mostly because of how much I learned wrenching on it. I absolutely loved my 1965 Impala SS as a wonderful driving, cruising, weekend drag strip car.
My Olds 98. I just saw it on a car carrier being hauled somewhere. Still looked great after the friend I sold it to redid it. I hope it’s got a nice new home.
White 1969 Road Runner basic 383, Torqueflight, smoked a little, no sweat, sweet $1000 car, spring 1976.
It lost out among a decent ’74 Vega 4 speed hatchback and a basket case ’67 XLCH that was worse than suspected and that I wish I’d never seen, except that what I learned working on it saved my bacon a few years later in a situation that mattered.
Since I was driving 85 miles round trip to work,the Vega was an easy choice and I already had more in the bike than I did in the RR and I was able to break even on the RR (I wouldn’t have come close on either of the others) so I sold it to one of the girls we’d known for years growing up in suburban Mooresville, IN USA.
She drove it into a pole one rainy morning a few weeks later and her dad ended up slapping a Belvedere doghouse on it and I guess it hung around for a while after that. I keep hoping to read the story . . .’He thought he’d bought a Belvedere.’ It wasn’t really special, just a garden variety, BEEP-BEEP horn Road Runner that’d be worth maybe ?$35K today. I’d sure as Hell take it.
It was a 1982 Mustang GT. We happened to go by the Sharonville, Ohio Ford plant on a Sunday afternoon in spring of 1990 and noticed the SCCA were racing. So we pulled in to watch & the 2nd car in the parking lot was for sale. Maroon 1982 Mustang GT sunroof with factory 4sp SROD trans, 80k rebuilt with forged pistons at 70k, 85 GT factory aluminum intake & 4 bbl carb (157hp upgraded to 175hp), factory 85 GT quad shock rearend with 3.08 gears & spare 4.10s. When I asked him when the clutch was replaced, he said it was original (he’s racing it & much better shifting than I would ever be) He told me he got tired of the fake factory hood scoop collecting bugs, so he drilled about 20 holes in it & remounted it backwards. I was in high heaven when I met him at the credit union that week. I truely enjoyed driving it and even won $105 at Kil-Kare during a Miami Valley Drag Racers round money event. It’s best run was 15.11 because I never put the gears in (but I have since put 4.10s in my fox, 99GT & 03 Mach 1). If anyone sees it, I’ll buy it back!