The one that got away.

[slusher]

I traded off my two tone green 77 dodge truck in 1989 and have been heartbroken since. l had it repainted and new chrome installed and new wheels sawblades and cloth interior. better then new. l was 23 and did it all working 2 jobs. l think it will always bother me...

[Badluck 13]

.......Awwwww man this one still haunts me,back in my junior year,1980 had a chance to buy a '69 Nova SS 396 4sp car for $900.00,pretty straight and solid car,thecar was at a local gas station owned by Mopar guys and took this in as a partial trade,scraped and saved for the dang thing and I was $150.00 short and my dad spotted me the cash and said go get your car.......honest story,the car sold a few hours before after sitting there for a month........30 plus years later and still think about that one......................................

[MPi-KM]

In the late 90's, me and my brother had a chance to buy a VW Type 3 Notchback (I can't remember the year) for $800.

Edited May 21, 2013 by MPi-KM

[lordairgtar]

Two I can think of, possibly three. First, my 1969 Buick Special with a 350. Of all GMs intermediates, the Skylark/Special/GS bodies just looked lighter than the Olds or Pontiac counterparts. Mine was a post coupe, although I really wanted a Skylark hard top like my grandfather's car. The second one was my 1976 AMC Hornet X hatchback with the 304. It would embarrass Camaros, Frirebirds and Challengers all day long at autocross. Mustangs were harder to beat. The third was my disco era 1973 Eldorado convertible. I lived in Santa Barbara then and never had the top up. I would pull up to the valet station at the club like a boss. My GF at the time had a VW Beetle....exact opposite of me in every way.

[1972coronet]

Oh , where to begin ... Guess I'll go in chronological order :

1.) 1970 Challenger . Nothing special as far as model or engine , as it was a base 318 . However , it was a very early build car from the Los Angeles plant , and was a showroom model at Atlantic Dodge in East L.A. !! My cousin bought it new , drove it right off of the showroom in late Sept 1969 .

It was FC7 Plum Crazy , black top , black interior with console , AM-8 Track , Rim-Blo wheel , W11 wheel covers , etc. , etc. It even had black / gold Calif plates !! While I don't remember the plate's number , I do recall seeing a "Z" on it , and that the plates were , indeed , 1963-1969 Ca plates .

When I got my license in Sept 1989 , I was looking for a car . My cousin still had the challenger , but was considering selling it . I said , "FIRST DIBS !" , to which she agreed . In the meantime , I found a clean EV2 Hemi Orange 1972 Dart Swinger , which I bought .

Months pass , and I hadn't heard from my cousin . I finally called her , to which she replied , "Once you bought that orange car , I thought that you didn't want my 'old purple car' anymore , so I sold it ..."

1971 Coronet Wagon 383 4-Speed . I spotted this oddity at 101 Used Cars in Carlsbad ( Ca. ) back in 1990 . 101 Used Cars , was a classic car dealership my friend and I frequented any time I drove to Carlsbad to visit him . One time in the Spring of 1990 , I spotted this "out-of-place" 1971 Coronet wagon on the lot . I perused it , pondering its presence . I looked inside and saw a Pistol Grip Shifter jutting-up from the floor (!!) . A quick check of the v.i.n. revealled an "N" engine code : 383 Magnum !!

My pulse was racing and I was flush with excitement !

I popped the hood to look at the car's fender tag . I about passed out when I recognised a "D21" !! It's a factory 383 Magnum 4 speed station wagon !!!

The dealership "knew" what they had . They wanted $2,000 for it !! That was entirely too much for my 20 years old budget !!

I wonder what-ever became of that anomaly ??

1974 Monaco "A38" . Within months of seeing the aforementioned 1971 Coronet , I saw a 1974 Dodge Monaco at the local community college . It was black and white , but wasn't a Bluesmobile replica ; just an unmarked , retired police car , sitting by the college's shop garage .

A check of its v.i.n. revealled DK41L4D !! The "K" meant Police Model Conversion , and the "L" meant E58 , 245 hp 360 HP !!

While I found the 360's presence to be "odd" , I wasn't all together surprised . After all , 1974 was the dreaded gas crunch era .

All of its police-model-specific parts were still there ; Unity spot lights , shotgun rack , Certified 140 MPH speedo , rubber mats , and , oddly , power windows .

While the car ran well , it did need some work . The owner was asking $900.00 , but was willing to trade for my 1972 Dart . A raw deal , even by 1990 standards !

I passed on "the deal" , and I still regret my decision .

[TheRX7Project]

Back in about 2002, my dad picked up a CLEAN '71 Javelin. At the time I already had two project cars- a '53 Studebaker and a '69 Bradley GT kit car, but I really liked that Javelin. My dad put it up for sale and it was gone almost right away. What sucks even worse is that the people he sold it to let it get impounded for parking tickets and never recovered it (as far as we know). I hope it got auctioned rather than crushed.

Before that, in about 1998, I had the opportunity to buy a near-mint, low-miles AMC Pacer DL wagon. For $200. The owner parked it in the early '80s after tagging a curb in a snowstorm and bending one of the control arms. I had it bad for that Pacer, I just had nowhere to put it.

Edited May 21, 2013 by TheRX7Project

['70 Grande]

Mine was my 1970 Ford Mustang Grande, (hence, my forum name). My car was a T-5 car; 351 Windsor, Dark Blue paint with a Black interior and vinyl top.

It had no Mustang nametags or badges on it anywhere. The car was manufactured in Feb. of 1970, exported to Germany and sold there. In Germany, at that time, there was already another German automotive product that used the "Mustang" name, so Ford was not allowed to sell Mustangs or use the Mustang name in Germany. Hence, all Mustangs sold in Germany were labelled T-5's only.

A US Army Lieutenant purchased my car brand new in Germany, drove it on the Autobaun for 2 years, then upon his return to the states, decided to have the car shipped back to the USA because he loved driving it so much. I bought it from him a few years later, and I loved driving it as much or more than he did! Sure wish I still had it...

[tubbs]

we did this on another forum, soooo many emotions in this post....... anyways..... here are a few stories (don't want to get my number of posts up too high.)

back in, oh i'd say early 80's my good body calls me and said he knows where 2 superbirds are. one yellow with white interior, 440 4bbl and an automatic. the other was white with black interior, 440 6 bbl car 4 speed. both owned by the same guy. he wants $6000 apiece. my buddy still has his yellow bird that he got for $5000 and i dont have the white one because it was a 4 speed and i wanted an automatic.

the year was 1991, 3 months after i bought my pro street road runnerr, we went to the mopar nats. this guy comes up and says that he really likes my car and wondered if i would want to make a trade straight up for his challanger. so i went to look at this car, not bad, a 440 RT/SE, triple black, auto, shaker...... BUT IT WASNT A PRO STREET CAR!!! do you know how many challanger RT/SE came with a 4 bbl shaker..... not many!!!!!!

summer of 1979, out of high school for a while and had a good job, a friend and i went to a very large swap meet (before the internet took over, this was the only way to sell things). got there early and went looking for a muscle car. i had graduation money and just sold a 68 road runner so i had cash. looked all day and nothing really caught my eye until we were getting ready to leave. we saw a black (actually fathom green but i am color blind) 69 camaro with cragars on a trailor. thats cool!! lets go check it out. (i wasn't fully aware of the mopar phenominon at that point of my life). very clean car, 4-speed, buckets, big block.....BIG BLOCK? i saw no 396 emblems on the outside of the car.... i askes the guy what size motor, he stated 427.... "dont you mean 396?" i said back to him. "nope, a 427" he said. "did it come out of a vette or something? "nope, bought it this way"........ yea right? we laughed.. i was a 19 year old know-it-all about cars and the factory DID NOT put 427's in camaros. I KNOW!!! I"M 19!!! "its a special order car. a COPO"....... we laughed again. "a what?" said laughing again. "a COPO camaro, i ordered it to race and i am not racing anymore and want to sell it. $5000 or give me an offer." we walked away laughing, only to realise about a year later that they actually made a 427 COPO camaro in 1969..... who's laughing now....... certainly NOT ME!!!

one more, i passed on a saturn yellow 70 buick GS/X for $600 because it had an electical fire and it had a complete chevelle interior and a 454 in it.

Edited May 21, 2013 by tubbs

[CrazyGirl]

i have had more cars than i can remember , but i think i'll get a new 2013 corvette , in 2023

Edited May 21, 2013 by CrazyGirl

[Tom Geiger]

a friend of my wife's family lived on a 3 acre property with a small house and a barn. In the barn was an early 1960s Mercedes 190 SL. It was a car that her brother in law drove in his younger days and was saving for his son. Tragically the son was killed in a bicycle accident and the owner died in his 50s. That left the car in the barn. Our friend's father died leaving her the property. She lived there for years and every time my wife saw her, she reminded her that I was interested in the car in the barn. Well, she eventually sold the property and the car was gone. I saw her and asked, she had GIVEN IT AWAY to someone she worked with.

I pointed this out to my wife the other evening as I was watching Chasing Classic Cars and one sold for $200,000!

[Daddyfink]

Oh geez!

Sold - 1971 Chevelle

Sold - 1973 Cuda 340 Magnum

Sold - 1969 Datsun 510

Sold - 1965 Mustang

Sold - 1964 Bug

Did not buy - 1971 340 Duster -$500

Did not buy - 1967 Stingray - $2500

Did not buy - 1962 Impala SS - $1100

Did not buy - 1966 Datsun Roadster - $200

Did not buy - 1974 Grand Prix SJ - $300

And the one I really regret - 1968 440 Road Runner - $1000

[blunc]

57 Ford Town Victoria, 4dr hdtp (my first car). Saved it from a wrecking yard, rubbed out the factory black enamel till it was shiny...unfortunately since it was an Arizona car the interior and weather stripping was all shot before I got it and it had sat through two of Arizona's 100-year floods so there was some rust in the floor.

[ZTony8]

Three of them got away:

1) Back in the mid 70s I missed on a real '65 GTO convertible.My buddy and I were out riding our bikes and I saw the GTO on a street with a for sale sign in it-$900.It had just had accident damage repaired and when I drove it it had a severe pull to it.Could have been anything from a simple alignment to a bent frame or suspension components.So I offered what I thought was a fair price considering the money that I'd possibly have to sink into the car but the owner refused.

2) My '71 Firebird Formula 455 H.O. 4 speed.I bought in 1974 for $2400.It had been played with before I bought it and the engine was tired,the paint was flaking,and it had a Ford radio in it.I kept the car for about 14 years(it sat for many of those) until my (now ex) wife said I had to sell it because of the pending arrival of our daughter.Sold it for $900 and regret it to this day.

3) A friend's brother-in-law had a rust free '57 Chevy 210 post coupe.My buddy was selling his house where the car was stored so it had to be moved.Unfortunately for me I had no place to put the car either so I had to pass on it( for $600).That one hurt.

Edited May 21, 2013 by ZTony8

[tubbs]

this will only relate to some of you (hopefully) but it's funny how we can remember the price, color and little things about these cars, but if our wives/girlfriends ask when your first date was, or first kiss, or worse, the anniverary ?!?!?!

LORD HAVE MERCY !!!!

[chevyfever2009]

summer of 1979, out of high school for a while and had a good job, a friend and i went to a very large swap meet (before the internet took over, this was the only way to sell things). got there early and went looking for a muscle car. i had graduation money and just sold a 68 road runner so i had cash. looked all day and nothing really caught my eye until we were getting ready to leave. we saw a black (actually fathom green but i am color blind) 69 camaro with cragars on a trailor. thats cool!! lets go check it out. (i wasn't fully aware of the mopar phenominon at that point of my life). very clean car, 4-speed, buckets, big block.....BIG BLOCK? i saw no 396 emblems on the outside of the car.... i askes the guy what size motor, he stated 427.... "dont you mean 396?" i said back to him. "nope, a 427" he said. "did it come out of a vette or something? "nope, bought it this way"........ yea right? we laughed.. i was a 19 year old know-it-all about cars and the factory DID NOT put 427's in camaros. I KNOW!!! I"M 19!!! "its a special order car. a COPO"....... we laughed again. "a what?" said laughing again. "a COPO camaro, i ordered it to race and i am not racing anymore and want to sell it. $5000 or give me an offer." we walked away laughing, only to realise about a year later that they actually made a 427 COPO camaro in 1969..... who's laughing now....... certainly NOT ME!!!

Yea id be kicking myself in the rear end for that a long time for not buying it

[oldcarfan]

I have a couple that I wish I still had, but the one I really miss is a 1957 MGA that I pulled out of a field. It had only surface rust and rotted wood floorboards. I traded it to someone before I really got the chance to do anything with it. The guy that got it tied a rope to the bumper and pulled it to free up the motor. Then he put fresh gas and a battery in it and it started up.

[The70judgeman]

For me it was my first car. A 1972 Pontiac LeMans Sport. Since the GTO reverted back to an option again on the LeMans line, it was outfitted with the Endura Bumper and scooped hood. So it looked like a GTO would have. It had the 350 2-barrel and a previous owner had put headers on. Not long after I bought it the carb went bad, so instead of rebuilding or just replacing it I opted for an upgrade. Off with the 2-barrel and manifold to an Edelbrock Performer RPM intake and Holley 650. Well, after a few years of fun driving I felt it was time to start putting my plan into action and started the tear down at my moms house. That didn't get too far and the neighbor complained about the car. Seeing how expensive such a task would be I reluctantly tried to sell it as is. I sold the Holley to a guy at work and only had a few callers for parts that I had to turn down because they didn't want the whole car. I ended up selling it for scrap. The guy who came to pick up the car recognized the car by the VIN, so I don't think it ended up being scrapped. Selling the car was a sad day that I regret to this day 20+ years later.

Here's another one that got away...my fault though. I had first dibs before it went on the market and passed on it.

Edited May 25, 2013 by The70judgeman

[gtx6970]

The one on the right.

Edited May 21, 2013 by gtx6970

[PappyD340]

For me it was a 1969 Mach 1 428 Cobra Jet black on black. I was 17 and my next door neighbor had that and a 63 Galaxie 500 Convertable 390 with 3 dueces and a factory 4 speed, and he and his wife split and they sold the cars for cheap but it was 1971 and things were cheap compared to now but I guess I just didn't beg dad quite enough cause he wouldn't give me the dough said I would kill myself, he might have been right!!!!!

[Tom Geiger]

i have had more cars than i can remember , but i think i'll get a new 2013 corvette , in 2023

That's how I finally got my Jaguar! I loved the style of the Jaguar S Type from the moment I saw it back when they were new.. Just that classic Jag look! I finally got the bug three years ago and kept my eye out on eBay and Craig's List for a nice one. I finally came across this one at a Bentley/Rolls dealer on eBay. It was a 2000 V8 car, and absolutely gorgeous with 24,000 on it. I called and was told it was already sold. (the getting away part) So I went about life and forgot about it. A few weeks later I saw the same car on Craig's List so I called and asked what was up. The salesman was apologetic and said it had been sold but the party could not get their financing approved. He agreed to hold it for me until Saturday (this was Wednesday and I was coming to NJ from PA). I got there and it was everything I could hope for. They wanted $15,000 but accepted $10,500 cash. Some folks will whine that Jaguars are nothing but trouble, but I haven't had a dimes worth of trouble in 3 years. Okay, 15 cents worth... I replaced a fuse!

Edited May 24, 2013 by Tom Geiger

[Jeff Johnston]

only one... I've had many muscle or sports cars, but this is definitely the one that got away. I bought this at 21 in October 1986 and in 1988 had it re-painted. It needed stainless brakes because the stock calipers were famous for sucking air and having no brakes. I almost met Jesus a few times which scared the heck out of me.

My every day car was a 1985 MR2. I ran over a spike in the road which sent me into a jersey barrier just about the time the new 1991 MR2 was coming out. State farm totaled the car leaving me to drive the Corvette, with grumpy brakes, every day. I decided to sell the Corvette and buy a bran spanklin' new MR2 Turbo. I could make the payment and I did not want to spend the grand (1991 money) to put all stainless calipers on it.

Yeah I know...stupid choice. Hey I was 26 ! I miss this car every day. It had the lower compression 350 (lower than 71 I mean) but let me tell you this this still was super torquey. Real fun car... The MR2 was fun too...lots of fun. I just don;t miss it like the Corvette..

[johnbuzzed]

'73 Challenger. Red with a white vinyl top, black and white interior. Bought it from a girl in '82; it ran great, had COLD a/c, but the rear sat a little low. Had the rear springs rearced and an extra leaf added, lowered the front end 1.5" (tweaked the torsion bars), installed Cyclone headers, turbo mufflers, duals with stainless steel tips (bent by the fine folks at Grumman Aerospace), a Holley Economaster 500 two-bbl, an Accel cap, rotor, wires and coil. I also installed an aftermarket combination trip computer/cruise control and fabricated floor and trunk mats. Went to the first Car Craft Street Machine Nationals East in '83, won second place in the "blind-line stop" competition. Ran the "Out in the Streets" rally on LI with it and did... miserably, but we had fun.

I had the car for three years. It had it's little idiosyncrasies and picked up some battle damage along the way and for some stupid reason I decided to remove the vinyl top. But, the floorpans were starting to go and the car really was impractical- we were looking at expending the family and had just gotten a K-car wagon, so it was that time.

I never heard how that car sounded until the buyer drove it away. There are times when I still mentally kick myself and say "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Oh, well.

Edited May 24, 2013 by johnbuzzed

[Tom Geiger]

the car really was impractical- we were looking at expending the family and had just gotten a K-car wagon, so it was that time.

Yes. I lived with a '73 Barracuda as my daily driver for a few years. The trunk was non-existent and the back seat wasn't fit for humans. I still remember getting my daughter in and out of the baby car seat in the back! Argh!

[Chitown]

Had a '65 Barracuda 273/auto w/A.C. as a daily driver around '77.

Much later a '63 Continental, white w/turquoise leather, a very solid, driveable project that never took off (*see below).

But the one that I miss most was my '65 Dart GT Convertible, 273/4spd.

I really needed a car for work when I layed eyes on it in a used car lot.

It conjured up images of an A/FX machine with its' nose-high stance and Torque-Thrusts on the front. Little did I know that awsome stance was due to blown-out air shocks in back, Ha!

Owned it for about 10 years and got as far as rebuilt suspension/brakes, installing an 8-3/4" rear w/3:23 Sure Grip, new top... then got married and sold it a couple years later.

That car was a blast, the only power was under the hood: manual trans, brakes, steering and top!

I worked in the automotive parts industry at the time and sold it to one of my customers who was in a much better position than I to restore it.

So much so that it made the cover of a Mopar magazine when he finished it.

*Seems I could never combine those two important elements of time and money.

I think of what I paid for it in the early '80s ($1250.00), and the sale prices I see today on all of those televised auctions (Barrett-Jackson, etc) and just cringe.

It definately got away and I will probably never get the chance to own something like that again.

[ToyLvr]

Like many of you, I could make quite a list of cars that got away.

There are a couple that still stick in my mind.

Around 1976, when I was a young lad of 17 years, a family acquaintance had a '66 Ford Galaxie 7-Litre (if you're unfamiliar with that car, see the website www.7litre.org). The car was in reasonable condition for a 10 year old used car, and I seem to recall that the owner wanted less than $1000. I knew just enough about cars at the time to realize that this car was something special. Unfortunately, I didn't have quite enough $$$ in my piggy bank, and my Dad wouldn't loan me the rest. He was opposed to me getting the car anyway, as he felt the big block Ford would get me into trouble. Instead, he steered me towards the more "sensible" little Corvair. I still managed to get into trouble....

Speaking of Corvairs, over the years I've had opportunities to acquire a Yenko Corvair, and also the rare '61 Corvair "Rampside" pickup truck, but the opportunity always came up when I had no cash to spare. Sorta works the same way with my model car collecting.