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Cars I should have bought but did't, cars I should have not sold

4K views 49 replies 22 participants last post by  jaybutter 
#1 ·
If you have been in the hobby for a while, (50 years for me) there will be cars you passed on buying and cars that you sold too early. Here is a short list of mine, what are yours?
notable cars I passed on:
1955 Gullwing for 4500.00
1933 Ford Cabriolet 350.00
1934 Pierce Arrow Limo V12 200.00
1930 Model A coupe 100.00

Cars I sould not have sold:
1964 289 Cobra later found to be the car used by Elvis in "Viva las Vegas" now valued at 1 million
1963 Cobra team car which last sold for 1.3 million
1965 Shelby GT 350, car number 11, prototype - got 24K for that one.
 
#2 ·
I have not had the cars with that kind of provenance. I can relate. The unfortunate part is cars are not treated as commodities by too many. Were they treated in this way it would be easier to keep them as one could use them as a way of getting capital.
Here is the list of cars I've had and sold 2013:

1955 Bel Air 2dr HT w 450 supercharged.
Two 1965 Vettes 327/250 number 2 cars.
'64 Impala SS 327.

I divested the '89 Rolls, the 90 Town Car Limo, the 01 Prowler, the 97 S500, the 94 500SL, and the '78 Mark IV (used on "Dallas") as well as the "Burn Notice" '60 La Sabre, a '70 Le Mans GT, '72 Buick Riv. and a few more.

I am still focused on the '83 500sl restoration.
 
#7 ·
A car I should not sell and did not... I know that was not the OP request, but I paid $500 for a 1963 Lincoln Continental with no rust 30 years ago... not saying how much I dumped into restoration but it is still a blast to drive; the 7 liter engine just keeps on ticking...

What a spectacular car, and timeless design. It must have seemed like a bolt from the blue when introduced in late 1960. When most of the cars on the road looked something like this:

 
#5 ·
Once passed on a 57 Bel Air Convertible $900 selling price in my late teens (now 59) as well as a 59 ElDorado silver top, 63 1/2 Split Window Corvette coupe, sold it to buy a boat of all things, and a 69 Z-28 Camaro, sold along the way somewhere...
 
#9 ·
There has not been any successful suicides from rear hinged automobiles. Presumably it refers to how the door can be flung open by the wind of a moving car, but then the rear seat passenger would be pretty dumb to exit the vehicle at that point. Rumor is the configuration was preferred by mobsters in the 1930's as it was easy to push somebody out the rear hinged door.

It is much easier to get in and out of a rear hinged door, the styling is unique, and the chauffeur can open it quicker from the front. None of these reasons are valid for the Lincoln. The reason it has suicide doors is the vehicle was a four door convertible. Where would the rear door be reliably hinged on such a car? It was a simple engineering decision. Like the Mercedes, the Continental has no frame, but a solid steel unibody. A 20 foot long unibody means tons of steel, so the curb weight is 5,000 pounds.

The early sixties slabside was also known as the Kennedy Lincoln, due to the unfortunate historical fact that JFK was assassinated while riding in this model vert. Many people recognize the car from the Dallas videotapes.

Mine is not a convertible but I failed to obtain my late neighbor's 1964 Lincoln vert, the widow gave it away to some due in Florida who convinced her it was not worth anything. That was depressing. Anyhow, I redid the interior upholstery in white cream leather with red piping, found a great painter at Maaco, and have done well at shows.
 

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#13 · (Edited)
The cars that I owned and miss the most:

1966 Buick GS - Purchased after Tech School, used in College
1971 Olds 442 - Got married and went on Honeymoon
1971 Camero - First new car, traded in my 1966 Buick GS <- still regret doing this
1971 Ford Galaxy - Hey I liked that car.

Cars today lack the styling and "soul" of cars in this era.
 

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#14 ·
Here is a few sold and regretted:

1956 Chevy 210 2 door sedan, chased for 5 years, along with several other fellow HS kids, from original owner who I think liked to tease us kids; bought from person who was successful in prying the car away only to get laid off before doing anything to the car, I did a pretty respectable restoration, got Corvette fever and swapped for a '71 roadster. Biggest automotive blunder I ever made. In over my head on that POS and did not even keep it a year. Tastes change and I am not that big of a tri-five guy these days, but I did get a good screwing on that deal.

1973 Triumph TR-6 - just a great all around car. Kept for 5 years.

1939 Chevy sedan - I was third owner of this all original, sold due to loss of storage and frustration that I was not in a position to do much with it with first house, young family, etc. This would have been an easy car to restore to a high level. Did not get back into the hobby for over a decade.

1939 Packard 120 - held for about 5 years, we moved it along a couple years back and I do miss that one.

Lost Opportunities:

1948 Pontiac sedan - Dad and I were close on this one in 1977, at a big annual swap meet in Foxboro, MA, at the old Pats Stadium, I do not think they do this one anymore. An all original #2 , around $3K, not small change in 1977. We talk about that one to this day.

1967 Jag XKE coupe - a local car I could have had in the mid 80s for around $4,500, long term or original owner, dented "bonnet" but pretty sound otherwise. We looked at another one a couple years ago at Lime Rock, but I passed on that one due to the fact it had been a theft recovery and had a NYS issue VIN - a couple friends said resale would be tough, but it ran well, and was fairly solid. They are still very expensive to restore even to driver level - and at the end of the day the 2+2 is the least desirable.

1933 Peerless Club Sedan, CCCA Classic, about 5 years ago I could have swapped my Packard and some cash to a friend for this one of one car, but had not had it that long.

A couple of MG T cars...

There were others....
 
#16 ·
Jay the SL is a great start. I will tell you my 25 year old has ignored a lot of cars we had that I thought were pretty cool until we got the SL, which he uses on occasion and has "claimed" thus we will be holding it, plus we do like it. Most of the cars I have had have not been as usable as the R-107, they are great interesting cars you can still use without too much worry.

I have to say that the Lincolns mentioned above are really cool cars. One of these is definitely on my short list. On the "suicide door" comments, while they compliment the style of these cars, the reasoning is structural, just like the prewar cars. On some of the really high end early stuff, like the green Delehaye above, if you look at the shape of the door you will quickly realize hinging at the back end was necessary - the curvature of the door and coachwork prevents front hinging. Just a bit of useless trivia for anyone interested.

Fonzi I think those Lincolns really look great in white. It still amazes me how affordable those cars remain vs. a lot of 60s cars.
 
#17 ·
The unibody construction of that beast is apparently own of the things that allowed the suicide doors, or suicide doors were demanded due to the unibody construction or something like that. The simple fact is that the pillarless window design (of any convertible) mandates that the door be hinged where there is solid structure. I believe that the reinforcements required to make a b-pillar strong enough for those heavy doors would have been significant.

The reason the 1964 year got an extra three inches in the back seat was apparently to make it easier to get in and out of the back. 61-63 were apparently shorter length. 64-65 were very similar, and 66-67 were like a totally new design with sharper edges. I think the sedan continued through 69.

That was my first classic and I only sold it because I got a convertible I drove every day and decided that the car wouldn't get driven enough to justify it. I never even though of potential "investment" value. That car made me want to learn to weld, but I decided to stay focused on renovating my homes instead. (I bought a rental property to have a garage for that Lincoln. The rental property was a great investment. It looks like the car could have been if I had hung onto it too. Too many people say cars aren't investments. Now I say "screw them. They just don't know WTF they are doing." Admittedly, better money can be made on parts.

Sorry to go OT.

Some day I wonder if I will regret selling my black 1973 450sl with ~70,000 miles for $8500. Yeah, it had a reconstructed title, but it was nice.
 
#18 ·
Suicide doors explained:

Simply put it was a styling cue. The term? Well you've seen the insurance commercial where a car passing by takes the door off of a just opened car door? Flip that and imagine the effect. The doors were also said to be prone to "pop open in crashes and fling people outwards." Although it's true there is no record of that actually being true.

Though the cars were popular in movies about the Italian Mafia I can assure you that there preference did not play a role in the design of the cars. It was a sign of prestige that began in the 30's luxury car hay day particularly from European craftsman. Dave Brownell made this idea popular romanticizing the terror. The doors were most popular with chauffeur driven cars for there ease of ingress.

From the NY Times: Kit Foster, a past president of the Society of Automotive Historians. ''I think it's obvious,'' Mr. Foster said. ''If the latch is opened, the door gets ripped open by the air flow.'' What happened next hardly needs to be said out loud. In the era before seat belts, if the passenger was leaning against the door, out he went.

Of course all of this is from both an article I read in Automotive Engineering 30 plus years ago and from stories from my uncle Mick and Uncle Bobby. Mick ( Mickey Rupp) is a vehicle enthusiast and Bobby (Pittman) is a renowned restorer of Gen I T'Birds.
 
#26 ·
Interesting hypothesis, but I think the door came before the mini. At least Wiki pegs the skirt to October 1965.
"The style came into prominence when Jean Shrimpton wore a short white shift dress, made by Colin Rolfe, on 30 October 1965 at Derby Day, first day of the annual Melbourne Cup Carnival in Australia, where it caused a sensation."
Nonetheless easy to open rear doors and legs have merit.
 

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#20 ·
Every car in my list I regret selling. Some more than others. I really miss my Nomad and my Impala SS. I miss my Diesels too. Nothing special except for me
 
#27 ·
That would have been a lot to spend on a used car in '66, but it would have been quite profitable.

I regret...

not buying a '56 Corvette for $450 in about '68 and a Porsche 356 for IIRC about $600 in about '71.

selling my '53 XK120, '63 XKE, and surprisingly a '70 Opel GT and an '84 Pontiac Fiero which I believe was SWMBO's favorite set of wheels.

Of course all were passed on, bought, and sold at then, market prices. :eek
 
#25 ·
Sunbeam Tiger

Gave it up when I got my first sailboat. Kicking myself ever since. It was a brute - 289 Ford with a 4 barrel. - crammed into a light weight body about 2/3 the size of our cars. Would break the tires loose starting in third gear.
 
#28 ·
I wanted an Opel GT ever since I saw Maxwell Smart drive one. Cool little car. And the Fieros, I'm given to understand, can be surprisingly fun, especially if you can get a V6 with a manual. (Though working on them can be a real pain.)

And if you had a genuine Tiger, that was a good one, too...another Maxwell Smart car. Such a great design that there are fake Tigers out there, Alpines with Ford V8s retrofitted...
 
#30 ·
I graduated from College in 1971 and landed a good paying job.
I wanted an Opel GT too, also the Datsun 240Z - but there was a
long waiting list for a $3,800 Japanese car. My perception was not
good for Japanese cars but everything I read was the 240Z was nice.
My Dad recommended I go with a Camero - my wife and I dated in that
car and she still thinks I was a dumb ass for selling it while we were
dating - but she married me anyway, so who's the dumb ass???
 
#29 · (Edited)
I vividly recall some outstanding bargains back in the 1960' and 1970's:

190SL, green with black interior, nice = $800
1959 Jag XK120 with bent rear bumper = $1200
1957 Chevy 2dr HT, black/black, mint = $800
1966 Sunbean Tiger, red/black = $1,000
Amplicar = $500
1967 Corvette 427 blue/black, 4 speed, side pipes = $1800
GTO's, 442's, SS396's just a few hundred dollars.

I always liked Pontiac GTO's. Never owned one but got to drive quite a few.

Memorable cars - why I remembered? My dad was a used car wholesaler
and I went with him to wholesale Car Auctions - I was one of his drivers and
being a car crazy kid a beggar wanting him to buy me these cars.
My dad hated Corvettes but he knew he could make a profit on them.
Often times he would purchae a Cadillac and would drive back in air conditioned
comfort. I mostly drove back un-air conditioned hard riding, manual shifting
cars like a Corvette, GTO, SS396, etc -- and was as happy as a clam :)
 
#31 ·
Carl my first actually usable car was a '71 Camaro, in 1978. I wanted an MG or Triumph (too dangerous, you know, could roll over, and so small..) or Gen 1 Mustang (GMs of that era are better, best not get him a Ford, it will fall apart) but ended up with the Camaro. A nice car, I always thought the '70 - '73 design was nicer than the first gen Camaros. It was the lightest car in the rear end I have ever driven; and it had a hard life as a teenager's first car...

Of course this thread reminds me of some others missed -

'57 Chevy 2 door hardtop, black, $2,000 around 1983 - a big miss.

Black 190 SL a buddy found and bought around '85 for $3,000 - he could have gotten it for a lot less but was in a bidding war with a local garage owner. Today it would be considered "too nice to restore" - he wanted to trade for any year Corvette but did not have a lot of luck. He had a couple other cars so it got pushed to a corner. I have no idea where it is now, or if he held it for any length of time but a great find I wish I had been able to pull off.

'30-'31 Model A Victoria, $5,000, early 2000s - this one stings because it was two miles from home, I knew of the owner but never pursued, someone I know from MA grabbed it - a virtual steal for one of those in nice condition.

BUT there are ALWAYS opportunities. My point being, you cannot buy/own them all BUT neither can most people, so there is always that chance unless your heart is set on a Cobra or some such expensive car.
 
#32 ·
When I was 21 I planned on never selling any car that I owned. Reality got in the way...

48 Plymouth club coupe
67 MGB GT
67 Ford Fairlane Coupe
87 BMW 635 CSI
79 Alfa Romeo GTV

When I was 16 my dad would'nt let me buy a Jaguar XKE for $1000.


My grandfather was in oil industry - Conoco and bought a new car every year. He told me he owned 2 Duesenbergs!
 
#33 ·
Yeah...the ones discarded prematurely:

1. My first car, a '69 Olds 442 Convertible, 455, turbo-400, 12-bolt in '76 for $300. Donated it to my gearhead cousin in '83. Dumb, dumb, dumb. LOVED that car!
2. 1976 Triumph TR-6, bought for $1000 in '83 and gave to my father in '87...then rusted away from non-use.
3. Two Jeep Grand Wagoneer's bought new '89 and '91.....LOVED them, even the '63 technology.
4. Two BMW E31 850's, '91 and '97...second and last E31's titled. Should have kept the '97.
5. 1999 BMW 528iT with M-suspension, seats, inline 6-cyl and 5-speed...best damn overall BMW (of 21 M's) I've ever owned
6. 2005 Mazda RX-8...tossed OE suspension and added Koni's, MazdaSpeed springs, sway bars, SS exhaust....LOVED this car but it drowned in a Hurricane
7. Missed opportunities....too numerous to mention...but a mint 1974 BMW E9 (3.0 CS) for $15k and a '74 XKE for $7500 come first to mind.

No point in regrets. At least we had a chance to enjoy all these cars. And in truth, it wasn't always enjoyment at the time, was it! :)
 
#34 ·
From old world shepler - BUT there are ALWAYS opportunities. My point being, you cannot buy/own them all BUT neither can most people, so there is always that chance unless your heart is set on a Cobra or some such expensive car.
The trick to buying a Cobra is to be old. I sold my 65 Shelby GT 350 for 22K, took out a loan, scraped up my savings and bought my first Cobra for 32K and suffered while making loan payments. Sitting next to it in the owners garage was a Lola and the Ken Miles factory team Cobra, both priced around 99K each. No way I could have bought either. In 1970 a friend bought the 6th Shelby GT 350 made for 1900.00 but could only do it by taking out two car loans the same day. Neither bank would give him all the money.

Neither my friend or I ever thought the cars would be worth what they are today. We just bought what we liked and could barely afford. The same reasons that I bought my 560sl.
 
#35 ·
Yeah I hear that, if I was a young guy in the 50s instead of the 70s I might have been lucky enough to spend $100 - 250 for one of those old, drafty open Packards or maybe $500 for a Duesenberg (are you nuts, kid, where will you get parts for this thing? It does not even have wind up windows! Too new to be an antique!)

They say prices are trending down on a lot of prewar cars but I don't think we will see those prices anytime soon...

I guess for my generation the opportunity was with muscle cars & the vast majority of coattail 60s pony & intermediate size cars - had a couple but overall the interest is just not there for me, I have thought about buying a few of these to sell because I would be more likely to make a dispassionate purchase, but the market is a little too volatile, IMO to invest "non hobby" money.
 
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