Have you ever LOVED a motor vehicle that lost? Please share your story.

Discussion in 'New Member Introductions' started by Red_Carpet, Sep 12, 2011.

  1. Red_Carpet

    Red_Carpet Banned

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    Of all the vehicles I have ever owned, my 1966 Pontiac Lemans convertible with an overhead cam six and an aluminum head was the love of my life. I bought it in Colorado Springs off a lot for $800 in 1998, :clap: and brought it back to Southern California to restore. Unfortunately, Pontiac designed a crummy engine. I rebuilt it twice when I should have put in a 283 V-8 , all I would have had to do was change name plates and a couple details and it would have been a GTO!

    [​IMG]

    I sold the car because as a tween I could not afford it, and needed dependable transportation for work. I kick myself today, but I could not afford the car any more. I went for payments on a Toyota.
     
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  2. Chariot

    Chariot Banned

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    Let me make sure I read that right; you sold a 1966 Pontiac for a TOYOTA!
     
  3. Red_Carpet

    Red_Carpet Banned

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    I bought a new Celica GT for $225 a month. I had an outside sales job with a radio station at the time. I had taken a client to dinner to discuss their radio schedule. At 9pm we went to my car, and it would not start. There was delay, embarrassment, and some anger on the client's part. The next day I bought the Celica.

    You know how new car dealers are. Once they have the deal on paper, they drag the old car out of view. I remember the moment with sadness. However, the Pontiac Lemans was sold at auction, and turned up at a mechanic I knew socially. He turned it into a GTO and sold it to a person of means. It appeared in a muscle car calendar. Fortunately, the mechanic got me a copy. I scanned it with my printer, and it is now my-sign on avatar!

    I believe classic cars are never really 'owned.' They come into the hands of 'caregivers' and are passed on. They have a life of their own. Sometimes we have to realize that we might not be the right person to own a vehicle no matter how much we want it.

    Yesterday, I saw a 1953 Buick in rough shape. I talked to the owner. He loved the car already, but knew it would be years until he could afford to fix it. So, according to the man it will become a yard car on the side of his driveway. (I am sure his neighbors will love it). However, the guy was smart, he will cover it with a tarp, and stick a for sale sign on it. He'll pick up a few bucks, and send the car off to some happy affluent owner. Sometimes just being a part of the car has to be good enough. Do you think my vehicle love is crazy? My wife does.

    [​IMG]


    .
     
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  4. webrockk

    webrockk Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Inherited a pristine '67 Chevelle SS 396 rag top from my grandmother in
    1985. I cherished that glistening turquoise machine for many years....but along came a persistent squirrel in 2003.... who made me a final offer I couldn't refuse ($17,000), and I had to let her go.

    The other thing I reqret selling was the '91 Harley FLHS bagger I bought new, and extensively hot rodded/customized..... My wanting to remain whole, and among the living for my newborn son inspired that sale. He's almost 15 now, and races a Suzuki 250 four stroke....so, I've been getting the bug for another one.
     
  5. Red_Carpet

    Red_Carpet Banned

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    [​IMG]

    1967 Chevelle, SS 396 rag top, (lucked out finding these pics).

    [​IMG]


    .
     
  6. mikezila

    mikezila New Member

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    iz not convertible. :confuse:
     
  7. webrockk

    webrockk Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    *sniff*

    Nice....mine had a black rag top, and about a year before I sold her, I shoed her with Goodyear red lines.

    [​IMG]

    Looked a lot like this one.
     
  8. webrockk

    webrockk Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Similar...

    [​IMG]
     
  9. SpotsCat

    SpotsCat New Member Past Donor

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    I bought a 1975 Norton Commando in 1981 for a mere $1000 from the local Harley-Davidson dealer. I did oodles and oodles of work to the bike - new Amal carbs, had the engine rebuilt, blueprinted, ported and polished, had the frame sandblasted and painted with Dupont Imron in a gloss black. New seat, new Norton Interstate fuel tank (Roadsters held 3 gallons, Interstates held 5 gallons), braided fuel lines, brake lines, and oil lines. It truly was a beautiful machine!

    Moved to Mississippi, and the house we were living in didn't have a garage, only a carport and I didn't want to leave it outdoors exposed to the winter elements. So, I figured I'd rent a storage locker to keep it in until springtime. I'd had it insured, but the company I was insured with (Dairyland) had a program where the insurance is suspended at the end of November, and restarts again at the beginning of March - they figure you won't ride in the winter, and can save money on the insurance bill.

    Well, some lowlife stole it out of the storage locker one night in January. The storage locker people discovered that my locker had been broken into, and called me and the local police. I filed the police report and turned it into my insurance company - who promptly denied the claim since the Norton wasn't insured. I tried to file a claim for the Norton on my homeowner's insurance, but it was also denied. And, since the storage locker has signs disavowing their responsibility for theft... basically I was up (*)(*)(*)(*) creek without a paddle.

    I hope someday I'll get the phone call from a police department somewhere saying my Norton has been recovered... but I doubt I ever will.

    It was a beautiful piece of British steel, that looked almost identical to this --

    [​IMG]

    Part of me hopes that whomever stole it at least has the decency to take care of it and treat it as the fantastic machine it is, part of me hopes the mother(*)(*)(*)(*)er slams it into a bridge abutment at over 100+mph and is a quadraplegic for the rest of his/her miserable life.
     
  10. MrRelevant

    MrRelevant New Member

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    I has a 1987 IROCZ 5.7l with ttops that was my second car after a beater for my first. Got stolen and totaled.

    [​IMG]

    I tend to associate my emotional attachments to autos by the memories generated with the car present.I loved most of my rides...but Man I REALLY loved that car.
     
  11. krunkskimo

    krunkskimo New Member

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    ahh the memories, nothing compares to riding and owning a bike. I loved riding in California, it litteraly has to be the best state to own a bike. You had mountains, flat open road, and the coast all in one area. Lane spliting is legal, cops took it easy on you, and you could ride practaclly year round.

    Plus owning a motorcycle has to be the easiest way to pick up women in California.

    sadly i totaled it in 07 riding a little to hard in the mountains.
     

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  12. wezol

    wezol New Member

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    Yeap, my first truck. Miss it to this day and kick myself for ever selling it.

    It was a 76 F150 Ranger 4x4 w/360. At the time we got it, it ran but not great. Spend 6 months working on it here and there with my dad, and drove it through high school. One day it started running bad, had a carb fire, and wouldnt ever run right. At the time, I was still learning about vehicles and didn't know anything about carbs. I was leaving for college, and my grandpa was selling his mint condition 97 F150 4x4 Lariat cab and a half, so I sold my 76 for $750 and bought that.

    Looking back and knowing what I know now...I know that guy was laughing all the way to the title office...:puke:

    2 years ago, my uncle GAVE me his 78 F150 2wd with a mildly built 400...and I'll NEVER part with it, I will not make the same mistake again. I've since pulled the 400, added a double roller timing chain, set strait up, edlebrock intake and DUI ignition. It already had a mild cam and hooker headers.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  13. Red_Carpet

    Red_Carpet Banned

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    I have to post pics as close as I can get. Pics are from Google. But, I appreciate your being specific. I try to be precise when describing my vehicles too. At least viewers will get the idea of these muscle car beauties. I doubt many people could spot the difference between say, a 1966 Pontiac Lemans and a 1967.
     
  14. Red_Carpet

    Red_Carpet Banned

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    Crap. Your story breaks my heart.

    You might have felt better if you sued the storage company. At least in my State you can do small claims court yourself and save a buck. You might find some pleasure in wasting their time and assets in court. Every time there is a court date, go and ask for a continuance. Keep them taking off work and to appear.

    Otherwise, you could just blemish their reputation by filing a report with your local Better Business Bureau, (call - they will mail you the form). I did this to sprinkler company, when they started losing new business. They became very eager to make me happy. :mrgreen:
     
  15. Herkdriver

    Herkdriver New Member

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    "Loving" a vehicle is a bit of a stretch, I'm not that much of a materialist
    to equate the word "love" to plastic, metal and rubber...but I do miss
    the fun I had on my first motorcycle and the first vehicle I've ever bought
    brand new...

    1986 Honda Interceptor VF-500...

    this is just a pic from the web, not my actual bike, but I did have the lower fairing
    kit similar to this...a great starter bike. I put 12,000 miles on it before trading it in for a
    bigger bike.

    [​IMG]
     
  16. SpotsCat

    SpotsCat New Member Past Donor

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    Thanks, I appreciate that! :)

    I'd considered filing a lawsuit against the storage locker company (as well as my motorcycle insurance company, and my homeowner's insurance company) but an attorney I talked to said that I had zero chance of winning. I should have either kept the insurance on the motorcycle, or else gotten insurance for the contents of the storage locker - either a seperate policy from the storage locker people, or else a rider on my homeowners insurance.

    If I had left it under the carport and it had been stolen it would have been covered 100%. But, because I tried to protect it from the elements and put it in a storage locker, I ended up losing it.

    Maybe someday I'll get it back, or buy another Norton, or maybe a Triumph, or a BSA.
     
  17. webrockk

    webrockk Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Few things rival the hatred I have for thieves. I had a '72 Bonnie stolen out of my highschool parking lot in 1979. It was found about ten years later at the bottom of a popular local swimming hole (Cherokee Sink)
     
  18. Herkdriver

    Herkdriver New Member

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    I don't understand the romance surrounding British motorcycles and cars.
    The vast majority are unreliable...I'd even go so far as to say that some are junk.

    Japanese bikes are bullet proof in comparison.

    You buy a British bike, you pay for the mystique, not for a reliable motorcycle.
     
  19. webrockk

    webrockk Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    The three position Lucas switch: Dim, Flicker and Off.

    :)
     
  20. Herkdriver

    Herkdriver New Member

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    The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark."
     
  21. webrockk

    webrockk Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Lucas....The Prince of Darkness.

    Dang, I miss my biker days!!
     
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  22. Herkdriver

    Herkdriver New Member

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    The new Triumphs are very nice, what's stopping you from getting back to riding?

    Plenty of good deals out there.
     
  23. webrockk

    webrockk Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Nothing, really....I got out of riding when my son was born....I wanted him to know me, and to have a little influence over his upbringing.... and felt the risk of some blue hair....or me... taking that away was too great....but he's almost 15 now.

    another thing happened, as well....the biker "lifestyle" I was involved with for decades revolved heavily around drinking, bar hopping, and other assorted 'less than noble' pursuits ;) . When I quit drinking over 5 years ago, I distanced myself from the whole scene.... and sorta drifted into other interest.

    The "bug", as you know, never goes away, though....and I'm constantly scouring Craigslist for a deal on 'the' bike I'll ride off into the sunset.
     
  24. Herkdriver

    Herkdriver New Member

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    That's very true, the bug never goes away. Family usually takes precedence for a lot of
    folks who give up their bikes and quit riding.
     
  25. changed

    changed New Member Past Donor

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    Web, its a beauty and I am sure you love to ride. But.....PM me if you have the need for speed OR you don't wear a helmet.
    I love bikes too, but decided life is too precious. And if it doesn't kill you, that sucks even worse.
     
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