What was your worst 'let it get away' vehicle? [Archive] - NAXJA Forums -::- North American XJ Association

woody

August 22nd, 2003, 19:51

This sort of ties into the first car thread... what was your worst case of "I should have bought it" (or) "I never should have sold it"

Mine from back in 91 is clear as yesterday...a 70 Pontiac Bonneville convertible, Black/Black top/Blue interior. 400 2 barrel, dual exhaust, 3spd auto, straight/garaged 2 owner car that ran really strong, blah blah.

The trade was on for my 85 KTM 350 dirtbike...all I had to do was put it back together. (had it pretty much torn apart for chassis paint and refresh the suspension, but it ran great)

I guess he wanted to enjoy the last few days with the Poncho, because he oversteered a smoky U-turn on a narrow road and found a power pole with the RS quarter panel right between the door and the r wheel opening. The top operated OK, but the door was out of whack...

I wish I'd had the few new parts onhand so I could have whipped the bike back together and made the deal, but oh well.

Beezil

August 22nd, 2003, 19:56

its definitly gotta be that big wheel..........

GI-John

August 22nd, 2003, 20:09

68 dart GTS 383

70 Plymouth belvedere 440
:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

RNMedic

August 22nd, 2003, 20:32

remember the original MINI well in Britain they made a pickup version. bright yellow, 1275 GT Motor, GB Minilite wheels 10 inch diameter wjeels 7 inches wide drove like it was on rails couldn't get insurance I was 17 and had my license about 3 months. probably a smart move on their part thing would do 120 easy and 0-60 in about 6.5 seconds man o man.

YELLAHEEP

August 23rd, 2003, 03:31

There's just way too many "shoulda bought it" stories so I'll just do the "shoulda never let it go".

If you ask me, I never shoulda sold my '65 Pontiac LeMans Convertible. 46,000 mile car, bought it from a preacher. SUPER straight car. Champaigne paint and interior with a black top, 326 auto and A/C. Spinner hubcaps and sweet dual exhaust.

If you ask my wife, she'd rather that I had kept my '54 Buick Special. I sold the LeMans Convertible to a collector that made me an offer I couldn't refuse. So, I paid some tool bills to the Snap On guy and bought the '54 Buick. It was freshly painted black with the sweetest flame job I'd ever seen. The interior was black velour and dark grey mohair. The front was lowered and it had a '76 LeSabre rear axle. Here's the killer - the power plant was a 500 cid Caddy and 400 turbo trans!! Boy could that car boil the baloneys.... Took my wife to her prom in that car back in the day - that's why she would say I shoulda kept it.

JnJ

August 23rd, 2003, 05:03

69 Pontiac LeMans Convertible. First car I bought with my own money. I'd just finished Advanced Individual Training (AIT) and had a $3,000 bonus to spend.

Wayne Sihler

August 23rd, 2003, 05:32

72 Duster 340,actually had two .Rolled the first one,went back to the Dlr and ordered the next one 6mo later
Builit several motors for Drag racing,had Racer Brown solid lifter cam,B+M 727 trans,4.30 posi 8 3/4 rear M+H slicks ect----- 13.2 in the 1/4 mile 105 mph
It looked like the old Sox+Martin Duster of the 70s
Gave it to my nephew 3yrs ago,he,s in the process of restoreing it.
Wayne

RichP

August 23rd, 2003, 05:36

Back in 68 when I was just 17 I passed on a 90% restored Jag XK 120 conv, wire wheels, mech wise it was done, all it needed was sanding, primer, paint and interior finish. Came with a spare running engine and tranny, tons of extra parts. Missing all of the convert top components. It belonged to a class mate of mine, he wanted $500 for the whole thing he had bought an alfa romeo and the graduate was the hot movie. My dad talked me out of it, said getting it painted would have cost too much and with it being sept and no top what was I going to do when it got cold. He was kinda right, back then $500 was alot of money...

burnsie

August 23rd, 2003, 07:08

1992 ZR1 Corvette, Mint green with Mint green interior both tops glass & matching color that is. the car was new from the dealer they couldn't sell this car and it was a left over in 1993 the list on it was $44,000+ and I could have bought it for just over $30,000 + tax etc. That color combination was ugly but different, come to think of it I don't think I have ever seen another one like it. I'm not sure if that means I have some taste or if it means I'm stupid for passing on what might have been considered a rare car?:confused:

Georgia Mike

August 23rd, 2003, 08:02

I have a feeling the one I let get away is still in my driveway :(
I've been seriously debating selling my beloved '88 Mustang. It's a 5.0,5 speed,3.55 posi rear,BRIGHT red with blue/purple pearl flames,and black interior. We've been wanting a boat and/or a camper for a while now,and it seems the most logical thing to do at the moment is to swap it straight out to someone. I'm still debating on this,as I love this car,but it sits most of the time,and they're made to be driven,not ignored. If it goes,I'll definately miss it :cry:

woody

August 23rd, 2003, 08:15

Burnsie's tale reminded me of a new 'leftover' 89? Softtail Springer I found at a Harley dealer in W. Bridgewater MA... it was a weird color...two-tone maroon/purple (butt ugly IMHO, but paint is cheap) which is probably why it sat unsold. IIRC they wanted around $9000 for it, list on a new year model was $12K +-

Speaking of rare cars...

Ex-wife was 3rd owner of a 70 Dodge Coronet RT Convert...Yellow/Black 440 4 Bl, only Four hundred something RT ragtops made that year, some had Hemis, some had 440-6bl and (most?) had 440-4bl... Anyway probably not too many Yellow ones with factory AC :dunno: Hope she hung on to that one...I bet it's worth ten times the $5000 we paid for it.

2offroad

August 23rd, 2003, 12:55

91 5.0 LX coupe bought new sold with 55,000 miles on clock.

Backdraft

August 23rd, 2003, 13:01

How about a 1970 Chevelle SS with a 454 and a muncie M22 rock crusher tranny for 1200 bucks. The old man had a stroke and his wife just wanted it out of the driveway. After calling, and speeding to get to it, i missed it by about 20 minutes.

Mike

Scott Mac.

August 23rd, 2003, 13:04

Originally posted by Beezil
its definitly gotta be that big wheel..........

I would have figured you where a Green Machine kinda guy.

'82 Rx-7 5sp. If I still had that car now I'd be running it in the SCCA.

ILLXJ

August 23rd, 2003, 21:57

Worst didn't buy was a 67Cougar with a blown engine for $100. Body & interior were perfect. Worst sold was the 77 Ford in the first car post.

Matthew Currie

August 23rd, 2003, 22:30

The ones I passed up are too numerous and agonizing to remember. If you're old enough, the ordinary cars of your youth are today's classics, and you can always kick yourself for not having had the money, space or foresight to keep them or get them. I once drove a good solid '55 Ford to the dump and left it there. A place I worked had a 50 Ford in good running condition needing some front end work. We couldn't bear to throw it out, so we gave it away. But one of the ones I kick myself hardest for was a neighbor's 39 Ford phaeton that I could have had for $750, back in about 1965. My dad talked me out of it, because it had some rust.

I sold my (running but very rusty) 58 CJ5 for $75, and I gave away my Scout!

The worst one that I let go was my little deuce coupe! Yup, I had a '32 Ford Model B 5-window, in need of serious restoration but all there. Let it go back in the 70's for a grand.

Ghost

August 23rd, 2003, 22:40

MAtthew if I ever meet you I'm goning to slap you for letting that Little Duce Coup go! Mike resist the urge keep the tang. That year will be a classic some day. the One I let get away was the 97 TJ. Oh and the Jade Green Matalic Mustang. I think it was a 70 or 72. Saw it at a car show for 4500.00!

Ralph

August 24th, 2003, 03:10

I never should have sold my first car. It was '69 Camero Super Sport. When I sold it, it was still in good shape. It just needed more attention that I could give it. The guy I sold it to wrecked it. I could have cried.

The best deal I passed up wasn't a vehicle. It was a Smith & Wesson model 19 .357 magnum with a 6" barrel on sale for $175 at a pawn shop. It was in perfect shape. I still kick myself for not buying it.

RR3

Vug

August 25th, 2003, 05:20

'78 Ford Bronco

460ci big block on nitrous

6" of lift and 33" Boggers and I could still hand out an a$$ whoopin' to most of the car guys! :D

http://www.michiganjeepers.com/photopost/data/500/49Air_Ford_n_Burnout-med.jpg?6690

TLange

August 25th, 2003, 08:00

I wish I had kept -

I bought a '79 Pontiac Firebird, the one with the long plastic nose. Just a plain old basic 'Bird. It had a putrid 301 V8 but it had the T10 4 speed with posi. Found a Ram Air III 400 out of a '69 GTO Judge and dropped it in after I upgraded the cam, intake and exhaust. Damm fast car and a very plain looking sleeper. Sleepers are a load of fun! I really could do the taped on $5 bill on the dashboard thing and keep people from grabbing it.

I traded it for a new '90 Ford Escort to run around in. What the he$$ was I thinking? I was at a point in my life were I thought I needed to grow up. By the way, I'm in my second childhood now.

A year after the trade a high school guy calls me and says he can't find any fan belts that fit. The car went through auction and ended up in a town in Kansas. Details about the motor were lost along the way. The guy was buying things that fit a 301 motor as the title said. He said that he thought it was "pretty quick" for a 301.

Joe in PA

August 25th, 2003, 08:56

A Candy Apple Red, 65' CJ5A. Drove it all through my high school years, but the parents thought I needed something a "little more reliable" when I went off to college.:rolleyes:

Thing had a flathead 4 in it and struggled to reach 55mph on the interstate, but there wasn't any place in the Poconos that it couldn't legally (or illegally) go.:D Had a 3-spd on the column, a t-case lever on the floor and a third direct drive/OD shifter. Don't know what the crawl ratio was in 4lo/direct drive (didn't even know the phrase back in those days), but it could crawl over/through anything as long as it had traction. Oh and I'd gladly trade the cd-changer in my XJ, or the wifes WJ, to have that old 8-track player for just one weekend of backwoods romping with Jeanne Ann .................

Speed_racer

August 25th, 2003, 09:15

80 cj5.... 18k original miles... ALL new gaskets, all new everything.. SOA lift... 2" springs.... 35's..... $3000.......

Steelerfan

August 25th, 2003, 12:44

I had a 1966 Ford Galaxie 7 Litre, it was the first vehicle that used the litre designation. This model came with only two engine choices either the standart for that model 428 cu in engine or the 427 optional engine. Mine was a 428 4 speed red with a very light colored tan interior. The interior color was so light that most people thought that it was a dirty white interior. There were only I believe 7 or 8 thousand of this model made, so I do wish that I had held on to it. Of coarse when I owned it the car was only one year old and it seemed like they would be making cars like this for ever back then.

Tucker

August 25th, 2003, 13:47

It wasn't a land vehicle -- it was an airplane. In an otherwise empty hangar on the North side of Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, there sat a 1940 Grumman Goose amphibian airplane. It had been flown there by a movie company and abandoned for unknown reasons. It was all decked out with gorgeous red velvet tuck and roll upholstery, and it looked seaworthy. There were no noticeable leaks in the motors, either. I contacted the base commander and he said I could have it for $10,000 and I had to move it out of the hangar. I could have raised the ten grand, but I couldn't find a place for it on land or water that I could afford. Some other schmuck towed it off a year or so later and I heard that it is flying now with the Confederate Air Force.

Big sigh.

STRYKER

August 25th, 2003, 14:58

1982 Scrambler.

I was the original owner, and I put every one of the 2,215, 000 miles on that baby's first engine. I removed the original engine when I blew it, and gave it new life with a 4.0L Ford Windstar and 435 NP tranny feeding thru a 205 NP and fullsized Ford axles front and rear.. ran it like that for another 80,000 miles.

Basically, the thing was finally bullet proof when I sold it. But upon retiring from N.M. , it wouldn't meet Virginia emissions without about $2500 bucks of work. I missed it the day I sold it.

Yucca-Man

August 26th, 2003, 00:44

Wish I had kept - my 73 CJ5. After going through and fixing all the crap from the previous owner I was on the verge of having it run right finally when the old adage 'divorce forces sale' came true for me.

Wish I hadn't let slip - a guy who lives near me has (had) a 74 CJ5 with some front end damage. Asked $500, which was out of my budget as I was buying XJ lift at the time. I digress. Was going to take a friend over to look at it the other week and I heard the owner sold it for $150 just to get it out of his garage...I would have given him $200!!

Stryker's last note reminds me of the Scram I saw on the side of the road a few years back in Colorado but let slide because I was living in Arizona. :mad:

JeeperJeff

August 26th, 2003, 04:58

The "let it get away" was definitely mt 1990 XJ. Got laid off, was in a bind, sold it and three weeks later found a job (which I just got laid off from :doh: )

The should have bought, 1978 Dodge Monaco A38 440 police package for $700.

Brian Felts

October 13th, 2004, 18:00

1965 Chevrolet swb big back window fleetside pick up.283 3 on the tree 3.73 gears mint condition.My high school ride traded it for a 5.0 mustang :flame:

Glenn B

October 13th, 2004, 18:21

1972 GMC 3/4 Ton pick-up. 402 RAT, turbo 400 tranny. Buucket seats and console. Man, I loved that truck. IMHO, last of the great American heavy duty and sexy trucks.

GSequoia

October 13th, 2004, 18:43

My powerwheels police motorcycle :cry: :cry:

casm

October 13th, 2004, 18:57

1987 Citroen 2CV. Had this car for four years, moved here, couldn't find a way to import it to California. Still the most reliable and fun car I've ever owned.

sidriptide

October 13th, 2004, 19:02

how about a "i hope it doesnt get away from me" story? i found a perfect replacement for my trail rig.. i have agreed to buy it and i am now waiting on an insurance company to cut a check from the fire we had (IN MAY!!!!).... waiting..... waiting... the seller has agreed to give me a few days to get it together.... hard to find such an awesome california XJ here in new england... if it dioesnt happen i'll just have to die...

jeepguy97

October 13th, 2004, 19:18

'89 MJ. Local car lot, mint condition and only had 76,000 miles on it! I thought about it and thought about it and someone else bought it.

bocaj

October 13th, 2004, 20:17

i had a 69 ford pickup 390 edelbrock carb k/n air filter, newer paint orange but it was ok. sold it for 2 xj's sold one xj kept one. wish i wouldve never sold the other xj

bjoehandley

October 13th, 2004, 20:35

My '85 Lebaron GTS, but it rotted out badly in the 8 years I had it.

Wish I'd bought it, Found a nice Ram Indy Pace Truck in Blair, Nebraska at a little Dodge dealership. The only thing I didn't like about it was the conversion vanb running boards. It had belonged to one of the salesmen at the lot and was his baby, that unfortunetly he had to trade on a Quad Cab since he had a family and needed the larger cab when he took his boat to the river (Blair is pretty much right on the Mo. river, not too far away from Desoto Bend). Dad and I decided it would look too much like my Lebaron did before too long.

Bent

October 13th, 2004, 20:44

1970 Triumph GT6+ , The POS was a blast when it was running. But Lucas electric still SUCKS!

Fred

October 13th, 2004, 21:51

1969 Datsun 1600 Fairlady. They copied the sidedraft carbs, and the Lucas Electronics, and the electronics still sucked. Nice little 4 cylinder overhead valve that would rev to 6500 rpm all day long. Perfect weight distribution, you could drive that thing sideways anytime you wanted. I sold it when the alternator shorted out between Highway 89 and Green River, Utah on I-70: No Services for the next 100 miles.

Fred

crystalship1

October 13th, 2004, 22:03

'65 Mustang Convertable. Arcadian Blue (baby blue) w/white top and dark blue interior. My 1st car. ........... ahhhhhhh :cry:

MountainGoat

October 13th, 2004, 23:11

I have a few to add to the list...

1) 1967 Camaro RS/SS Convertible

This one I had the money for but the guy was out of town. It was around 1989 near Alameda California. Guy was asking 2500 USD for the car and it was complete with no rust but needed a full restro. By the time I talked with him he had already sold the car.

2) 1957 Chevy Nomad:

Wasnt all there and needed a full restro. Was in OKC Oklahoma. Guy sold it for 5600 USD. I didnt have the money and the car slipped from my grasp.

3) 1987 HJ60 Land Cruiser:
I forget the price... was something like 2600 USD. Was out of Wyoming. These have an L6 diesel engine with rare H55F 5speed transmission worth about 2000 on its own. Rig had cancer and some other issues but was mechanically sound. I missed out on this rig and was second in line to get it. Turned out a friend of mine in WA bought the rig. So I still get to see it.

4) 1967 VW Type II Doublecab with factory Safariwindows, zero rust, all original minus an engine. 1800 USD. My wife would not let me buy this truck... to this day I am still bummed out... for those that know nothing about these rigs... 1967 was a one year only, and factory safari windows are rare and sale in this shape for just under 3K... It was all there minus engine.... original paint...... put back together... polished out and another engine could easily get 9500 USD for it.

5) 1956 TypeII 23 Window Samba bus with safariwagons and original paint. I owned this rig.... had to sale her... some dude from the south bought her. Today the bus would catch about 18K.

6) 1975 Land Rover 109 Series Safariwagon with diesel engine. I bought this rig but then had to let her go before completing ownership. My wife was against the purchase after learning the cost of repairs.

junkxj

October 13th, 2004, 23:13

I have a couple:
84 corvette with 52k miles. After the second time I tore the 700R4 out of it I got mad and sold it.
80 Fiat spyder, sold it when I was in high school because my mom bitched all the time about it not being safe.
60 cj 5, sold it after working on it for 6 weeks, then taking it out the first time I drove it and blew the head gasket.

My dad has way beter ones, like the 289 Cobra he could of bought for $1500 with a rod hanging out of the motor. That car would be worth a good amount now. Also a 67 , 427 convertble vette that he could of bought for $2900 in 1971. Also the Hertz rent a racer mustang he could of bought for $300 with the rearend out of it. (He worked for Hertz for a short time in the early 70's)

Moto

October 14th, 2004, 00:24

I came across a nice 1984 CJ-7, it had a factory tub, but had just had new floors put it in it, and all the rust repaired by a body shop, with proof and reciepts. Replaced the 2 piece axles with one piece units, had 33's and a small lift, new paint, Rebuilt 6 cyl engine, Rhino Lined Interior, it was SWEET the guy was asking 6K Neg, and I had my 94 Camaro at the time, he didn't want to trade me for it, so I tried everything I could to sell the car in time to buy that Jeep but, it was gone, and I was still stuck with my Camaro, that I inturn beat the bag out of it, and then traded it in for my XJ, so its not all bad, but a nice CJ-7 would have been cool

copperhead

October 14th, 2004, 05:25

.. what was your worst case of "I should have bought it" (or) "I never should have sold it"

-1967 Ford Galaxie 500 fastback. Georgia Pine Pollon yellow, rust free. A friend had a kid, and gave it to me. I ended up dropping a valve and busting the motor, but lined up a new motor. Ended up moving away to go to grad school, and didn't have the time for it. It was sold for $200 in the fall of 2000, the only car I truely miss.

- The other potential is my first car, a 1989 Mustang LX notch-back. Bought it with my sister in 1989. White w/ blue interior. This one is at my parents place in Atlanta, but is for sale as neither my sister or I have a place for it, and my parents are retiring and moving to Central Tennessee. They have 4 cars there and are trying to get it down to two before the move in the spring.

-Copperhead

Urban Redneck

October 14th, 2004, 05:38

My worst "let it get away" was a '70 Chrysler 300H. 7K miles, original everything, only 500 built. Was in perfect shape. They wanted 7K for it at the time. Should have dropped the $, but being 20 at the time, it probably wouldn't have lasted like it should have.

Cottontail

October 14th, 2004, 06:05

My 1988 Z-24 Cavalier. I had less than $400 to pay on it. It was starting to give me some engine trouble, so I started shopping.

I found a black 2-door Pontiac Grand Prix GTP that I traded it on. Three days later, I got my commission check and would have had enough to pay off the Cav, and still buy the GTP. I went back to the dealer immediately after I cashed the check to buy the Cav back, but it was gone.

My Cav showed up on E-bay about a month ago, and I thought about it, but decided not to buy it so that I could save for a newer model XJ to replace Cottontail.

steve01XJ

October 14th, 2004, 08:25

1967 Pontiac GTO. Dual gate Hurst trans, Ram Air, gold metal flake, 52,000 original miles. Was my Dad's car - original owner. He gave it to me for my 18th birthday.

Five years later, a family.....

Nuff said.

Danno

October 14th, 2004, 09:54

My Dad's 1968 Dark Green GTO. He let it go for $250.
My 1998 Camaro Z28SS. Boy, would that car fly!

Roxtar

October 14th, 2004, 11:16

1970 Triumph GT6+ , The POS was a blast when it was running. But Lucas electric still SUCKS!I had a TR7 with Lucas. The running joke was, "Why do the English drink warm beer? Because Lucas makes their refrigerators."

The one I let get away was a '69 Roadrunner, 440 mag, 43,000 miles, and perfect in every way.

juicexj24

October 14th, 2004, 12:20

1966 Mustang, while I was in high school. Parents thought it was a bad idea to have an old car. 1988 911 which I could have gotten in 97 for next to nothing with low miles, got and XJ instead so it worked out if you ask me. Juice

copperhead

October 14th, 2004, 12:35

kid4lyf wrote: I had a TR7 with Lucas. The running joke was, "Why do the English drink warm beer? Because Lucas makes their refrigerators."

No, no, no. I have an MGB, a Norton Commando, and a BSA 441VS. Lucas electrics work just fine. You just have to remember not to let the smoke out. :D Once it's out, then they have problems.

Reminds me I have a lucas headlight shirt that the positions read. OFF-DIM-FLICKER

Copperhead

bchulett

October 14th, 2004, 14:42

In 1980, or thereabout, I ran across an almost brand new 1969 BOSS 429 Mustang, Black on Black, 4-speed, with less than 5K miles. The car was a local dealer-owned car and was sitting on the showroom floor---for sale.

The asking price was $35K. They were selling the family business and it was part of the assets. I thought they wanted too much for that old 1 of ? Mustang ... even with that Shotgun motor.

Very rare car ... I can't imagine what it would bring in today's market.