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Mar 18, 2020 15:53:08 GMT
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Original fiat 500, which was my granddads car, I used to borrow it and drive it around with my head out of the sunroof, yes I was young and stupid then, I’m now no longer young When grandad died, we put the car in for an mot and it failed on just about everything, so the Classic car dealer had it because it would have upset my Nan if she’d seen it around Pretty sure it’s now a trailer half-car that we’ve seen at a once-a-year car show, so I suppose it’s still in some form of use, but I’ll never afford another 🙁
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jpsmit
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,254
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Mar 18, 2020 18:21:38 GMT
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was chatting about this with a friend who is absolutely not into cars - she recalled polishing the trim on her aunt's 57 Bel Air as a child. (apparently the car was only ever driven in summer) Aunt died and left the car to my friend's father. As a young adult (so 40 years or so ago) she asked her father what had happened to the car - Father replied, ' oh a guy at work wanted it so I sold it to him for $50' My friend's father has been dead for some time now but I am not clear she has yet forgiven him.
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vader
Part of things
Posts: 425
Club RR Member Number: 93
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The One That Got Awayvader
@vader
Club Retro Rides Member 93
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Mar 18, 2020 19:30:47 GMT
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My cousins Celica GT Coupe when I was about 18. Think he wanted a grand for it. It was white and just looked fantastic, like a Mustang. If only I had a time machine I’d go back and slap my 18 year old self,
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Triumph Stag Ducati Supersport Shanks’s Pony
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Mar 18, 2020 19:39:17 GMT
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1998 , having sold my first car , a mini i had a choice - a Porsche 912 in good condition for about 3k or a Golf Gti with big bumpers . I bought the golf and should have got the 912, it was really really good but i was concerned about finding anyone locally that would know how to fix the thing .
Fast forward 4 years and i was at a crossroads again ... a nearly new Seat Leon 20v Turbo which was considered a beast back then or a 3 door RS Cosworth in black .... . I chose the Seat ! Again a bit worried about bills for the Cosworth but i could have made it happen . Think i could have got one i went to see for less than 10k if i remember ... Silly as it would not have lost any money !
Many cars like that , i almost bought a 911 in about 2005 when the prices were right down , you could get a 911 3.0SC for about 7.5k then .....
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My dad's 405 Mi16, he wanted me to have it but the Mrs couldn't handle the clutch....
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mwhtc
Part of things
Here for a good time, not a long time. But long enough for a 12 month MOT anyway.
Posts: 24
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May 13, 2020 11:32:51 GMT
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My Dad had a Mk1 Renault 25, silver, that loved eating head gaskets. I was about 5 years old when he bought it and I fell in love with it, more for the dashboard than anything else. I'd love one for myself!
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,645
Member is Online
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May 13, 2020 13:47:25 GMT
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Not this car but one very like it. Black on Black 1970 Barracuda 2001 and I'm 19 years old. I've gone to Boston for the summer on a J1 to stay with my uncle and work with his building firm. Close to the end of the Summer I'm with my uncle as he's getting a small bit of work done on his van in his garage of choice. I see an amazing looking vehicle with faded black paint to the side of the lot. I get chatting to the owner and it's a typical case of "customer died and his wife asked us to take it away. I just want it out of here. 1000 Dollars and it's yours" I had been earning a good wage over the Summer and had the readies to pay for it but I thought there was no way I could get it back without inconveniencing my uncle further so I let it go. Very silly as it went!
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May 13, 2020 14:37:17 GMT
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2014 - Audi A6 Avant 3.0Tdi Quattro 1958 - Chevrolet Apache Panel Truck 1959 - Plymouth Custom Suburban 1952 - Chevrolet 2dr Hardtop 1985 - Ford Econoline E350 Quadravan 2009 - Ovlov V70 2.5T 1970 - Cortina Mk2 Estate 2007 - Fiat Ducato LWB 120Multijet 2014 - Honda Civic 2.2 CTDi ES
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May 13, 2020 14:42:30 GMT
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I might have to start a thread "the ones that got away because they came up for sale just after I'd bought something else" because that's always happened to me! See! www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1213451Would have been perfect if I hadn't just bought the golf! ...and again! See the Puma in the classifieds (although I really need the four doors of the Golf)
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May 13, 2020 19:19:20 GMT
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My Dad passed away in 99 & in 98 he’d bought an XJ Executive Jag. Ironically it was the only car he’d ever had on any kind of finance (& he’d only really done it then coz he’d put it through his business it it kind of made economic sense) Anyway amongst all the nightmare of sorting out all the stuff you have to sort out when someone has died, plus my Mums obvious grieve, we called the Jag dealer & the upshot was they just called it quits on the finance & took the car back. There was £20k owed on it, but 3 months later I paid the same price for a 3 series Beemer. I wasn’t really into the Jag, but as the yrs have gone by I wish I’d had it & just used it for high days & holidays
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May 14, 2020 18:38:25 GMT
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In 2001 I bought the above 1983 Hiace to drive around Australia (photo is not mine but was found on internets). It was a very well appointed van, converted by Trakka in Queensland into 4 berth, it had H/C water, sink, shower (the awning on the tailgate is for the shower), hob/grill, fridge, 240/12V, Staggered Momo wheels, Momo steering wheel. It also had a stupid fibreglass droopsnoot nosecone, which meant that I couldn't run a bull bar, and therefore couldn't drive at night out of town. The petrol engine did have a turbo at some point, but removed before my ownership. I lived in the van for about 8 months, doing a circuit Austalia. It performed without fault, although it loved to use oil! My regret is not shipping it back to the uk. I did sell it for more than I bought it for though
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May 14, 2020 19:50:09 GMT
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When I was about 20, my then girlfriend's cousin was a 2nd hand car dealer. I had about £1500 to spend and he said he had a couple of cars that I might like at that price......... An immaculate yellow RS2000 and a red 1600GL Capri (nowhere near as nice as the one in this picture). God knows why but I chose the Capri and bought that. Probably my one and only chance of ever owning an RS2000, certainly can't afford one now!
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Currently driving a 1972 BMW 1602 as my daily. Don't ask about previous cars - there have been way too many and I stopped counting at 160!
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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The One That Got AwayChasR
@chasr
Club Retro Rides Member 170
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May 14, 2020 20:57:47 GMT
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A few cars. I'll put up Google images to show them. -2004 : 1985 Land Rover Defender 90 CSW V8 : This car was actually a decent car. It had a tiny amount of scabbing at the rear on one of the chassis legs but it was a very clean CSW. The seller even drove up to near us to view it! I almost bought it but the old man talked me out of it. £3k that was. Expensive back then it seemed, but then everything did! -2014 : Triumph 2.5 PI Mk1 Evocation : I still know this car very well. It had all of the bits I wanted done to a Mk saloon. Chris Witor bushes and suspension setup, Fancy camshaft, Mike the Pipe manifold, Compomotive ML wheels. It looked gorgeous. The issues? The Bosch fuel pump had been bodged in by a known Triumph specialist on the cheap ; the car stank of fuel inside ; Why pay £300 the specialist argued? So you don't light the car up? It also needed PAS ; the steering was very heavy and with a Mk1 PI Steering wheel possibly being made of tinfoil & unobtanium, not good! Another? Around the same time I came very close to buying an E36 M3 Touring on here. OK, a converted 328i Touring. The problem? Insurance ; I could not insure it for sensible money. £3k was a crazy amount of cash. 2015 was probably the last time. When I had my Escort RS Turbo I need a daily. Initialy, I wanted an Audi TT 225. I know I know! After seeing a couple of rough ones, a decent one came up at £2.1k. It needed a respray down the side however, as well as a replacement dashboard. Not too bad really. The others for similar money were absolute dogs. The owners described them as mint, but when my then given-away 262k Mondeo drove better and was in better nick than those cars, their definition on mint wasn't mine. All needed cambelts changing etc. And so the tidy Quattro went away . I had a Mini 1275GT come onto the horizon as a daily for me. I've always fancied another Mini in 1275 flavour. I knew my budget was going to be a stretch for the car. He wanted £3.5k. What was the lowdown? -Russet Brown 1275GT -1293cc engine with twin 1.25" carbs, Stage 2 or 3 head and a fancy cam -Blatently hand brush painted gold engine bay -RC40 Twin 'box system -Hi-Los fitted -12" Minilites -New Proper sills ; One was just beginning to have a tiny hole again. -Sparco Bucket seats up front The pictures did the car no justice. He didn't bother vacuuming the inside or anything! He was sick of it! He said the clutch was horrid (it was a race clutch), the car didn't start right, due to a starter motor issue. I then went to take a look. The sill I noticed but the car itself was very sound. The interior looked torn in the photos, but it was actually just very dirty! Yes, it really was that bad! The carpets were actually fine. I then drove it and looked around it. The 'clutch' wasn't bad at all ; I had my Escort RS Turbo's 4 paddle Helix clutch for that . It was fine ; an engine mount wanted adding. It was missing a heatsheild between the carbs and the manifold. Either exhaust wrap or a heatshield would cure that. The starter motor issue was due to the fuelling vaporisation issues caused by the above and it being a inertia reel starter motor ; a small pre-engaged unit would sort that out. I then drove it. The engine pulled very very well above 4kRPM. The brakes weren't great with the EBC Greenstuff pads, but that could be fixed. The issues the way I saw them were fixable by me, but I'd need to chuck time and money. And I went in with a reasonable bid I thought at £2.75k (if it was tight, let me know!). The way I saw it, he could be shot of the car, and I could fix it up. He had another offer of £3.5k on the table but the guy wanted him to basically fix alot of things on the car. While the seller mulled it over, I bought a low mileage 2003 Clio 172 for £1.5k, with it needing a cambelt and dephaser change, and with 4 good tyres, FSH and Clio Cup parts including the spoiler, spoiler lip and the all important Speedline wheels. A day after buying that, the seller of the Mini came back to me after the radio silence. I'd have loved to have bought it (even if I was going above my limit of what to spend on a daily then, but by then I had a daily, and so it went away.
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drseg
Part of things
Posts: 142
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hmm an "inertia reel starter motor" that's why it didn't work, there was a seat belt stuck in it!!!!
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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The One That Got AwayChasR
@chasr
Club Retro Rides Member 170
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May 15, 2020 11:51:53 GMT
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hmm an "inertia reel starter motor" that's why it didn't work, there was a seat belt stuck in it!!!! I see someone is a stickler. I do hate those Interia starter motors though. As soon as the engine tries to catch, the damn things kick out again! As said, I had a plan to sort out the issues on the above . But I was aware there would be a time and cost impact on it. I suspect it was for the best I didn't get the car, as much as I wanted it.
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May 15, 2020 14:50:44 GMT
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When I was 19 a mate of my Dads offered me an Aston Martin DBS V8 in canary yellow for £3.5k. He had a good job, but the car was crippling him, and he freely admitted it to me. It was one of those where you gave it ALL your wages each month, and if you were lucky it gave you some pocket money! I was desperate to buy it, so my dad, with his sensible head on, said ok, just get an insurance quote first All the insurance companies ran away screaming! I didn’t get it, but I could buy my house for what it’d be worth now! 🙁
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May 15, 2020 16:58:50 GMT
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Recalled letting another opportunity go begging...having decided the Prelude i'd bought wasn't for me I went to part ex it...528i manual or E30 M3 for about half the price of the E39...was scared off by the M3 timing chain needing doing....idiot!
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2014 - Audi A6 Avant 3.0Tdi Quattro 1958 - Chevrolet Apache Panel Truck 1959 - Plymouth Custom Suburban 1952 - Chevrolet 2dr Hardtop 1985 - Ford Econoline E350 Quadravan 2009 - Ovlov V70 2.5T 1970 - Cortina Mk2 Estate 2007 - Fiat Ducato LWB 120Multijet 2014 - Honda Civic 2.2 CTDi ES
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May 17, 2020 14:07:54 GMT
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The truck thay got me into Land Rovers probably 30 years ago now. My Uncle bought and restored it in the mid 80's, used it for various things including carrying his trials motor around. He decided to sell it around 2005 and offered it to me for a decent price. A part ex on the 90 I had at the time, and pay the remaining £1000 on the drip. For reasons I still can't fathom I listened to the then girlfriend who told me I didn't need it and it went on ebay instead. Several girlfriends and an ex wife later, I'd still have had the Land Rover, and have instead spent a good chunk of the past 15 years trying to land myself with one. I've bought (and eventually sold) three as projects, worked on quite a few for other people and had a 101 on the road for a few years. Another project truck will be arriving at some point once lockdown is over. This one will be staying.
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May 17, 2020 18:20:01 GMT
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Aaah yes, a 101, the vehicle I spent so long thinking ‘ I must get one of those ‘ that they’re now all waaaaaaay out of my reach 🙁
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Enbloc
Part of things
Posts: 353
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May 17, 2020 19:34:04 GMT
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Browsing US Ebay 10-15 yrs ago, I came across a listing for a genuine '32 Ford roadster. You couldn't have listed it anymore worse than it had been. Listed at a weird time for the Americans, complete car listed under parts, two words in the title, barely a sentence in the description and 3 or 4 photos taken in a pitch black garage, 6 inches from the car and at weird angles not really showing anything but showing enough to confirm what it was and a few details. It was $1100, buy it now. About £700 at the time. I looked at it, looked at it again. I was the 7th viewer on the counter. Now this was when scammers were starting to get ahold on Ebay. I looked at it one more time, thought SCAM and moved on. It wasn't a scam... A real deal original '40's Californian Hot Rod "garage find". Not only that it turned out to be famous car with a famous owner that had been lost for years. As pulled out the garage. This how the car looked in the Ebay pictures. As it looks now. Three figure $$$ car now.
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