The post about the car on Ebay led me to this post.
Why do we have these cars ?
Me personally, I just like cars and too me there's no hot rods, customs,
resto rods, restorations or whatever word you want to use. I just think of
them as cool cars.
Am I a die hard mopar fan ? No. Actually, I'm not a die hard any brand fan.
I will say I would rather buy American than foreign, but is no
justification, it's just what I like. As far as old cars, I own one
Plymouth, 2 chevies and 1 oldsmobile.
Did I go searching for any of the cars, No, I just happened upon them.
When I was in College, my plymouth was parked for a year in the back of the
parking lot of the supermarket across the street. I liked the look of it, I
thought it was cool. I had always wanted a 57 Chevy, not because it was a
Chevy, but because I liked the look of it and as a kid it's the car you see
most often. I finally got the owner of the Plymouth to sell it to me. I
borrowed $300 bucks from my sister (I was broke and out of work with a
broken leg) and drove the car home. Years down the road, I had finished the
plymouth and was hiking in the forest clearing some trail for an offroad
motorcycle event when the I started taling to the pres of my club that I
wanted a new project car and he tells me he has a 53 Chevy in his garage.
After all the details were figured out. It was his first car bought in 63
and built to go drag racing in 67 and left with it's new motor sitting in
his garage since 67, never to be raced. Has 41,000 miles on the odo and is
basically rust and dent free. $1000 later, it was in my garage. This is my
current project it won't be resotred to original because I don't really care
about 100% originality, I just like it if it looks good.
Last summer, my grandmother call me and see an ad in her local condo
association paper. For $600 I came home this time with a 4 door 57 Beliar
that needs floors and fender patches and interior. for $200 I picked up a
use v/8 and auto trans. My wife likes 4 door cars and she wanted this one.
This one is on the back burner. This spring, my grandmother called me again
and hooked me up with a guy from her senior citizen center and for a hundred
dollars, I towed home a 74 Oldsmobile delta 88 convertible and after a fuel
pump and brake rebuild, some used tires, I have $425 into the car and I'm
cruising with the top down. I've never actually gone looking for an old car,
I happen upon them and if I like them and they are a good deal, I buy them.
I also know of a 48 Dodge that will probably end up mine just so it doesn't
go to the junkyard. I do have a special place in my heart for my Plymouth.
It is the one car that I will never sell. A) because how much is it really
worth, not much, it's a Plymouth, and not enough to really benefit me B)
because I had about 10 guys help me do the car when it was ready for the
junkyard and I knew nothing about body work and there were great friendships
and memories built from that car. Friends that I will never
forget. My wife has an 84 Honda, personally I don't care for the car, I
don't lilke small cars, but it was the first car she bought brand new. So
now I am fixing the rust and painting it. She has memories in the car of her
and her father who passed away years ago. Since it's something she cherishes
and I know how to do the work, what a few hours in the barn making it look
nice and her happy.
I just enjoy old cars. I like working on them, well not maybe everything on
them. I hate taking auto trans out on the ground and I hate changing exhaust
or dropping gas tanks, but it's all part of the big picture.
I met a neighbor (he has a 67 Mustang) and he actaully knew what my plymouth
was and asked what cruise nights I was going to since he saw me leaving
often. I told him. None really, I use the car for normal driving. I even fit
a counter top refidgerator in the truck to take back to Walmart.
I just like cars period and people have different ideas of what they want
them to look like. If someone wants to chop or modify their car, then all
the power to them. If all the cars in the world looked the same, things
would be boring. Kind of like the newer cars. Can anybody tell the diference
in the years of newer cars, I know I can't.
I guess that's enough babbling for now.
Nick
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