Hot Rods One That Got Away...

I'm sure everyone has thought about the "One Car or Truck That You Let Go"
One of mine was a Chevrolet 1961 C10 Short Box Steepside from Alabama.
I was about 21 years old when I was working for L&L Salvage Yard in Paw Paw, Michigan.
One day a gentleman came in looking for Old Chevy Truck part's, to be specific early 1960's Chevy C10's. Of course we had a few, like half a dozen, but pretty well picked over. The gentleman spent the better part of the morning walking through the Old Truck's section of the Salvage Yard, but no luck finding what he needed. The man informed me what he was looking for and I gave him a few other local Salvage Yard name's that might be able to help him out with what he was looking for.
A week later that same gentleman returned to L&L in need of part's for another vehicle, we started talking about the last time he was in looking for the C10 part's and that's when he pulled out a photo of his 1961 Chevy C10 Pickup from Alabama.
He told me the 61 C10 had a early 327 with a Muncie 4 speed and a posi rear-end in the C10, I became very interested in his 61 C10 and asked him if it was for sale, he told me NO!
Like any young man I would bug that gentleman every time he came into L&L for other car part's.
Finally after that long summer, the gentleman called me up and said are you still interested in buying my 61 Chevy C10? Of course I was, and went to look at the 61 C10 on my next day off of work. We came to the price of $500 and the money exchange hand's for the title and paperwork that was still in the original owners name, and still an "A" title from Alabama, it was the gentleman's relative that bought the C10 new in 1961.
I was born in 1961 so this C10 Pickup became very special to me over the next few year's.
The 61 C10 was full of history, with it's original paint and interior, and that sweet 327 that hadn't ran for many years. I cleaned up that Ol'61 C10 and worked on it getting it ready for the day I could drive it on the road legally.
Well "Life" can throw you into a spine when you don't expect it. My not so good day had come in the form of a Motorcycle accident in 1984, I was in the NCU for week's, then I finally was able to return back home, minus my job, and a long uphill battle of recovery. I had been laid off that same week of my accident, big cut backs at the Factory.
It was getting very hard to pay bills and put food on the table for at that time my only child Tara, my wife Tamie and I.
So out came my toy's with For Sale put in the front Windshield, then put in the front yard at my Mama's Farm, one by one all my Chevy II's were sold, then my 1969 K10, my 74 SS Elcamino, and then the 1967 Camaro, they all sold way to fast, after many years looking and finding them, in just a short time they were gone.
Months went by and I held onto the 1961 Chevy C10 Pickup as long as I could, but it again came down to bills, food and clothes for my family, and so I contacted a friend who was interested in buying the 61 C10, Tommy was born in 1961 as well and wanted the 61 C10 for the same reason.
So once again money and title, the original "A" title (I never put the 61 C10 into my name) changed hand's again and off went my once in a lifetime dream truck.
Tommy never put the 61 C10 on the road, after all these years it's still in his barnyard next to the barn rusting away with every passing day, and Tommy will not sell the 61 C10 back to me, or sell it to anyone...
Well I had forgotten about the 1961 C10 for many years until recently when I came upon some of my Old Car and Truck paperwork, and inside the big envelope I found something that I thought went with the 1961 C10 Pickup Truck year's ago when I sold it to Tommy.
Its the Original Paperwork for the 1961 Chevrolet C10 Pickup Truck from Alabama, with the Dealer Ships name, and original buyer's name and address, what he traded in on the 61 C10 and how much he paid for the C10 new.
What a find after all these years, a ghost from the past I guess one could say, I never took any pictures of my 1961 C10 Pickup that i can remember, but I have a picture of the original paperwork to share with y'all.
Thanks for reading my story, I hope y'all enjoyed it, and I hope other's can tell a story of
"The One That Got Away" as well!

1Nimrod
(Dustin)

 

Dang fine read Dustin, glad you shared it with us!

 

How did it have an Alabama title when they didn’t start issuing titles until the 1975 models came out?

 

The ones I should have kept:
1940 Ford pickup, 350 SBC rumbler.
1940 Cadillac Series 62, complete minus engine and transmission.
1950 Chevy 3100 with 350, Powerglide, and air conditioning.
1964 Dodge Model 440.
1967 Chevy II, rough idling, high winding 283, four speed.
O/T 1973 Nova, built nasty 350
O/T 1988 Turbo Coupe, five speed.
...and a whole truckload of motorcycles.

 

I had a Alabama title, that's what I know.

1Nimrod

 

What was the sales tax rate in Alabama back then? Must have been really low.

 

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Must have been one of those that came from Broadway title company. They were able somehow to get titles on stuff that didn't require them in AL. That no longer works, anything over 35 years old the current year is now exempt from having to have a title.

Just did some rough figuring, looked to be about 1.75 % sales tax on vehicles. I know back in the 80's it was only 3%, not sure what it is now.

 

That's cool to know about the title work in Alabama, I never knew other states were different than Michigan.
I'm sorry I have no explanation about the title on my 61 C10, I just remember it was the same name and address as the paperwork I found after all these years.
Thank you all for sharing...

Dustin
(1Nimrod)

 

You need to harrass your friend til he too sells it. Hes doing it a disservice and you obviously feel strongly about it!

 

I last talk to Tommy years ago, when I asked him about the 61 C10 he could not remember me or what truck I was talking about for whatever reason, I guess it was fresh in my mind more then Tommy's, maybe bcuz that C10 meant more to me than to him, I'm just guessing?
Tommy I thought finally remembered the 61 C10 after talking for awhile longer, He then told me they lost several of their classic car's and trucks in a fire, some how their 40' X 60' Pole Barn burned to the ground with some of his old classic vehicles, after he told me about the fire I said so you finally moved the old 61 C10 into the Pole Barn after all those years? Tommy wasn't sure again what Truck I was actually talking about, then I told him the 61 C10 use to be parked outside next to the old Dutch Barn, then finally a light went on inside his head, he said the Blue 61 C10 with the brown hood right? Yes I said, then Tommy told me the Truck is still parked next to the old barn and it's not for sale.
I'm sure the 61 C10 is rusted up badly by now from being in the barnyard with wet tall grass growing up under and around it for many summer, with flat tires and the C10 sinking deeper into the mud after many years, it's been about 37 years since I sold that cool old 61 C10.

1Nimrod
(Dustin)

 

Cool story- too bad your old friend is such a dumb ass.....

 

My story about the one that got away from me is all my fault. It was a barely OT car for this forum but we will call it a 67 RS/SS 4-speed convertible. My dad and I picked it up on a trailer and a couple truckloads when I was 12. We spent the next couple years completely going through the car together to the point that it was a very nice car. We were almost finished with it other than putting the top on and getting exhaust when I lost interest. I wanted more of a hot rod than a convertible. I bought my second car when I was 14 and built it by myself. I kept the 67 around until I was 16, but finally ended up selling it. When I looked back on what I had done when I was in my early 20’s, I was sick and actually tried to buy the car back. It had been through a few owners, but a friend of mines father in law had it. I called him to see if I could work a deal and he had just traded it off for a Cobra kit car a few days prior. I was sick and was definitely the idiot that let it go all because I wanted something else. I’m sure it crushed my dad to know all the time and effort he put in a car for me and that I would just send it down the road.

Anyway, I have tried to tell the story to my two boys not to force them to keep their stuff that we have worked on, but to at least consider that they might value them more later. However, I do think letting that first car go has helped me keep these old cars in a better perspective overall. They are just cars and the most important thing to me is more the memories we create with family and friends with them more than the actual cars.

 

I agree my friend...
My Dad, one of my older brothers and me, I'm in the Army shirt, I was 10 year's old, working on our Stringray Bicycle with Dad on the weekend when he visited us five kid's. It was memories like this that kept me interested in wrenching on Ol'cars...

1Nimrod
(Dustin)

 

Curious, but how was ownership known/proved? I assume the legal owner had some means of proof of ownership, etc.

 

1. Like most I have some woulda/coulda/shoulda stories. A memory for me this AM, back in 90's, I had retired from racing hobby and was coming back to car hobby and was looking around at a some different options, I had already purchased a new OT Camaro ragtop, I still have it, and was thinking about something from my youth, my first car a 57 Chevy (avatar)or a muscle car, never had a 60's muscle car, by the time I made enough money to buy one, the insurance cost was outrageous due to my bad driving record, (street racer idiot)car payment $125/month, insurance $150/month, my house payment at that time $250/month so it never happened. Found some real nice 57's around $10-15K, procrastinating, then a beautiful 64 Pontiac GTO, $12.5 K original 35K miles, I hesitated, it sold, (my favorite muscle car) then came across a HighBoy roadster that tripped my trigger big time,(a fan of Tom McMullin 32 highboy roadster since a kid, viewed in Hot Rod magazine) bought that, enjoyed it, then a 32 3 window and last a 51 Mercury, those 3 cars, that 25+ years flew buy. No regrets, everything happens for a reason and never take car $$ advice from me, example 57 Chevy today $50+K, 64 GTO $50+K today. BUT my Passion/ Car Nut addiction has served me well, now playing with a new to me OT hobby car here in AZ. snowbird nest this winter. So.........Life is Good ! Everyone Have a Great Day !

 

The one I wanted to buy so bad that it hurt was a local old drag car that a guy I knew had tucked away in his shop. It was a 34 Ford 5 window coupe, fenderless, painted white and red with "rude and crude" on the cowl. It had an injected, 392 Hemi with 14 to 1 compression and a Mopar four speed and a Chrysler rearend. I still had it's magnesium Halibrand's on it too. This was in the early/mid 80's and I was married with one kid and going to school at night while working at an auto parts store during the day. The owner offered it to me for $3,500 and it may as well been $3,500,000 but I wanted it bad. I heard that someone had bought it and "restored" it and was racing it at nostalgia events but I've never seen it since.

 

"One that got away"..if I were to dwell on it, there would be several.
At the time though, it was the right thing to do..no regrets.

 

I never heard of anybody having a problem as long as they had a tag receipt in the car. Not saying it didn’t happen, I just never heard about it. It’s that way now, all you need is a tag receipt and insurance card on anything over 35 years old.

At one time places like Broadway Title could get AL titles on vehicles that weren’t required to have them, probably so they could be sold to a title state, but they have put a stop to that. Even if you have a valid title on something over 35 years old, AL won’t issue a new one if it changes hands.

As to missing out, I missed out on an Anglia once. Followed it from a used car lot through two owners, then lost knowledge of it. It had been a drag car at some point, it never changed in the time I knew of it, nobody ever did anything with it. Probably just as well, I didn’t have the skills, equipment or money to build it anyway.

 

Somehow I didn’t get the quote above that last post.

 

Your story brought to mind a similar story for me. I had my Midget racer at a show to display advertising for the local races and a man came over and we spoke for a long while, a very nice man and a big race fan. The conversation then got serious and sad, he had no family and his time was ending, cancer, he had an old Packard and asked me if I might be interested, my reply was doubtful I could afford another car at this time but I'll look at it. It WAS a 32 Packard Phaeton, Wow ! what a car, thinking way beyond my means at that time, recently divorced, business in a downturn, just purchased a property for home and shop, cash poor was an understatement and my attitude/thinking not the best at this time. He quoted me a price, VERY reasonable. I should have stepped up and purchased the car, begged/borrowed/whatever it took to make it happen, a Great investment it would have been. Woulda/Coulda/Shoulda. Lucky for me the only mistake I ever made. (that day) LOL

 

Another Story. My Old brain is on a roll this AM. I grew up in a racing family and some of my Dad's racing friends I got to know as a kid. Fast forward 20 years or so and I buy a property out in the country and am riding my motorcycle around the countryside, stop in local tavern for lunch and a friend of my Dad is the bar owner and his machine shop was behind tavern. Famous/successful car owner in his day and remembered me. I liked walking into his shop, stepping back in time 40/50 years, overhead shafts for machines, partial dirt floor, wood burner, a real history lesson. He had his famous midget stuffed in a chicken coop in the corner with stuff piled on it, including the chicken/pigeon droppings. I offered to buy it, stopped in numerous times/years, had lunch, invited him to my shop, liked him, enjoyed his company, a great story teller of old racing days. I really wanted that car, several times I offered to buy it, even went with a wad of cash so he knew I was serious, no deal. One day I stop in and a young lady was behind the bar, his Niece had inherited everything, race car was already sold to a vulture I know, he showed at the funeral and made the deal with her and took advantage of her. I missed his funeral as I didn't then and don't now read the Obits everyday. Such is life, win some, lose some. I've seen this way too many times, a fellow rodder/racer tips over and the vultures sweep in, not to help, just greedy little people taking advantage of the family.

 

I lucked out and bought a swell slightly off topic car from a little old lady named Alice Kram*** . I have the title and all that, but it seems transport is going to be my real problem.
So far, no luck.

 

How's about one that shoulda got away. Back in the 80's I hear about this guy selling/cleaning out his shop. After about 10 minutes I figure out the guy really isn't interested in selling, but he's real keen on the cleaning re-arranging bit. But he's a nice old guy, so I spend about 6hrs giving him a hand. Back in a corner I notice a tarp covering something. I ask him what he's hiding and he gives me the stink eye and says it's just an old truck he'd messed with. I don't ask again and keep helping clean and arranging. When he called it quits, we shake dirty hands and I start heading for the door, empty handed. I'm almost out the door when he asks if I want to see the truck. I said why not, you've made sure I've touched everything else in here(with a big grin). He drags the tarp off and I'm looking at a full fendered 32 Ford pickup. But not stock. Top's been chopped, body's been channeled. It's faded black, some rust bubbles but from what I can see, it looks ok. I take a chance and ask if it's for sale. This got an attitude change. "Couple of buddies offered me a grand, but I told 'em to fuckoff." I said, "Smart move, cuz' you'd missed out on the 2500 I'm offering."
I get the stinkeye again. "Cash?"
"Yep."
"When?"
"Now."
"You got it on you?"
"What does now mean. You got the title?"
"In the truck. Keep all my titles with the cars, saves losing them. When you want it?"
"If I'm paying now, I want it now."
"Got a trailer?"
"Yes."
"Go get it."
"Need help getting it out?"
"Nope."
So I get the trailer and he's got it out waiting for me. Looked better in the shop, but still decent.
Now comes the 'shoulda got away' part. I do the wash and vacuum thing then try to get in it. Being a big buttermilk boy I couldn't fit in the damn thing. The channel job(think doors a 1/4 " off the running boards, and a 4" chop) and you get the picture. Too much trouble to return to stock, and I wouldn't have liked it then anyway, so I moved it on down the road.
Funny thing is Ernie told me later that he couldn't fit in it either. After making everything fit right, he wasn't about to change it back, so he got pissed and just let it sit.

 

^^^^Great story

 

On the one that got away end of it, I had a buddy who's only 'bucket list' car was a 65-67 Jag E-type coupe. Problem was, while I was considered to be a big buttermilk boy, he was the whole fucking dairy. One day he shows up at the shop and tells me he's dumped a few ghetto properties and we're going to get his Jag. So I drive him to where the car is and it's perfect. Low miles, all the service records, british racing green, leather interior, chrome wire knock-offs, the whole sheebang. I can tell by the look on his face we're leaving with this car. With the 32 pickup fresh in my memory I mention that maybe he ought to test drive it first. He's so excited he says he doesn't need too, it's perfect. I say humor me, at least sit in the damn thing. Now this is where it gets good(actually bad from his perspective). Watching him try to get into the Jag was like watching those clowns at the circus with their little car. Trouble was, he was ALL the clowns, with the bike riding bear thrown in. When he did finally get in it, he couldn't get his chin off his chest, couldn't turn the wheel(jammed against his belly), couldn't find the shifter( jammed under and against his leg) and to top it all off, he couldn't close the door from the inside. I honestly thought we were going to have to grease him up to get him out. I could tell by the look on the owners face he was wondering if insurance covered the jaws of life. It's tough watching a buddy's dream shatter, so on the way back to the shop, and being a good friend, I offered to buy him dinner at the 'All you can Eat' place. And that night he damn near put the place out of business.

 

Dammit RJP, you win the internet! I can just see that happening!

My brother in law weighs about 500 lbs, his daily driver for a while was a Chevy Cavalier. Not quite as bad as your friend, but still a sight to see him get in and out!

 

X2!!

 

Big Guys, Small cars, have seen that many times in my lifetime of Hot Rods and racers. There have been more than a few times I waited around to watch a man get in or out of his car. You and I raced Sprint cars so you can appreciate this, we had a big man 6'+ around 250# pretty fit and a good racer, drove by me most/all of the time. Gambler chassis with a BBC, also we had a 400#+ man running a Wi. Super Modified, similar to sprint cars with clutch and starter, again a pretty good racer, you definitely noticed he was a very big boy. Early in my time going with my Dad with his Midget there was a driver, nicknamed Bruno, again 6' 2'' and guessing 250#+ and squeezed himself into a KK midget back in the day before roll cages, his shoulders were above the top of roll bar, sadly he perished racing this car, again a good driver, ran for several years. On your 32 Ford pickup story I wonder if it ended up in Wi. around 2000-04 as we looked at one for sale, the wife found it so we went to look at it for her. Very Kool little truck, all proportions correct but with a very small drivers compartment. the wife is 5" 2'' 110# back then, she could get in it but I would have to move steering forward to get it away from her chest, I could not get in it on passenger side, never would happen behind wheel for me period. 5'10" 200# I was then and now. Priced very reasonable, thinking maybe this was the one we let get away for my wife, I offered to buy it but she was concerned that I would never be able to drive it or ride with her and even after moving steering and she was concerned on the leg room. At a later time frame we got her a 51 Buick Roadmaster restored classic car, plenty of room, we could have camped in the back seat.

 

That's a sad story my friend.

1Nimrod