Letting it go, or keeping it forever?

I have a lousy record of getting rid of hot rods; ok, I've never sold one.

Having said that, I've got buddies that have, even vehicles they owned for a pretty long time, and they don't seem to miss them much. I think the decision needs to be based on the at***ude and temperament of the individual.

 

I could never part with my 64 Impala. It sat in our back yard for 3 years, my dad worked on it here and there and finally decided he wanted something pre-1950. So when I was 17 he told me he would teach me how to get it running and driving and maintain it. It had a 65 283. I have spent so many countless hours on that car, painted it, hit a deer with it and painted it again, won and lost so many races, took it to reno nevada for a summer when I was 20. It now has a 350 SB .Its about time for another paint job (sun fading and door marks from parking lots) Theres just way too many memories, plus my dad gave it to me, and that means alot. If i ever was forced to sell it, I would sit down on the curb and cry! lol

 

Its funny I got 3 sentences into the article and thought to myself...if you need to sell a 55 ford wagon to fund buying the Ferrari, what are you going to sell in order to service it? My boss currently owns 2 Ferraris and has had 4 in total. Each one he lost money on and each one barely saw the road, and when they did he drives them like a old woman in a 55 ford wagon.

 

The 3 cars I have I'm going to hold on to as long as i can. I plan on giving each one of my kids one when they get married and they can do what they please with them but in the mean time, I'm going to make some great memories in them and hopefully is sparks a sense of preservation in them. I can just about attach any sense of emotional attachment to any car I own....even if it's a stretch.

My '35 was built by me and some friends with help of my wife. That's my forever car.
My '33 came home the week my son was sent into the ICU at only 9 days old. So that's his car and I'll always remember that and the pics we took with him and the car.
The '32 Tub was bought recently because last week we gave birth to our Daughter Veda and needed a family car. That's hers now.

If I ever had a chance to get one of my father's cars I don't think I could ever get rid of it.....not even for a ferrari.

 

Congratulations are in order to you and your wife Jeffery,,,I kinda like the name Veda! HRP

 

Same here. I am still driving the 2000 Ranger daily that dad bought new and I have ran for 11 years/250,000 miles. I have driven it so long I HAVE to keep it since it is worth nothing! Maybe in another decade the value will have climbed back up? Wait, LilT will be old enough to drive by then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I find this thread very interesting. I think it all comes down to the memories and connection that you have with the vehicle.


In 1969, my grandmother and grandfather ordered a 1969 Firebird new from the Oshawa Pontiac dealership. They took delivery two weeks later.
By 1976, my grandparents had divorced, and my grandmother stored the car, as she needed a more practical car for 4 kids.

During my childhood, whenever I visited my uncle (often), I would go out to the barn where it was stored. I have early (and fond) memories of sitting in that dust covered car. I couldn't reach the gas pedal, or the shifter. I wasn't tall enough to see over the dash. All four tires were flat and the hood was covered in boxes. But I would pretend to drive for hours on end. I always promised myself that I would drive that car someday.

Throughout high school, I saved my income and finally got the car on the road... It would often spend more time off the road needing repairs, than it did on the road. Though I did get some summer use out of it, I don't have many overwhelmingly fond memories.
It became a source of frustration; always another problem, always requiring more money.

My best memories of the car are still those from my childhood. My mother learned to drive in this car, and her best memories of the car are from the early 70s when it was on the road. After much deliberation, we both made the decision that it would be best to find it a new home. The joy and pride of ownership doesn't justify keeping it.

I have it for sale now. Will I regret selling it at some point? Yes, I'm sure I will. Do I worry that I will regret it as soon as it is sold? Yes, I do. But I know that my heart is not in it anymore.

I'll keep the proceeds from the sale in an account, and use them to fund a future project. One that I have a p***ion for.

What I'm getting at, is that sometimes, the memories are worth more than having the actual physical object.

 

I'd sell my wife for the right price and I'm pretty fond of her.

 

Why do we have to stick our nose into stuff like this? If he wants to sell the wagon and buy a Ferrari or a VW, so be it. It's his car, his history and this is still the good ol' U.S. of A.
Let it Be!

 

I have my dads first car. It's a 65 mustang coupe. And it's sitting out in the pasture next to all the other cars I have bought. I allso have five model t's that my grandfather gave me. And they are all parked in some horse stalls on my dads place. The mustang I will probably never touch. And the t's I might get to one day. But I will probably never sell any if them. I allready have to many cars and I keep buying and not fixing. I keep saying I am going to start working on a car. And then I find another place that has a bunch of old fords and blow all my money on them.

 

Shee-it, it took me over 35 years to afford the first one! I'm in no rush to let it go any time soon.

Still, at some point in the future, my Dad's '64 Oldsmobile will most likely come to me, and I only have room for one toy car. What will I do then? Keep my car that I love and send my Dad's down the road, or keep his legacy in my family and flip my old (are far less valuable) Chevy?

I honestly have no idea. Either one sounds bad. Maybe I can park Dad's 442 in the living room.

 

My grandpa's truck came to me five months after he died, and I won't part with it till I part the earth. I have a 55 Chevy that I sold twice, but after buying it back this last time I'll never sell it again. My folks had a car when I was a kid that I'd love to track down, and maybe one day I will. My point is that you can never get moments back, but you can keep pieces that bring back those moments. Life is only so long until its not. Let someone else pay the price for the Italian.

 

Soo you guys are going to be the old *****s who refuse to sell any project cars deteriorating on your property...and if you need a new grandchild for your will mark me down

 

You are correct, and no^^^

 

ain't no need for, clothes, fornitures, magazines ect ect those can go, my cars will go after me!
Even if i'm not drinvin them i keep'em... so i may tollerate a trade... but goodlord a Ferrari? never: the new ones are arrogat hugly machines designed to vomit your status around with no style!
The older ones look great, but ride like ****!!! I buddy of mine has a 1957 250 Boano, last time he made me drive... hahahahahaha when i got back on my 47 Buick sedanet i felt like in heaven. That over restored 250 has horrible clutch, shifts like a truck and i don't let me talk about the steering...

 

try renting before you sell...

 

None of my grandchildren are disrespectful! HRP

 

I let my first car go. It was my first project. My dad bought it for me because he saw how good I was at keeping my minibike running. The car was a 1940 Olds' business coupe with an inline flathead 8 that was apart and in the trunk. I was 14 years old and he figured that I should have it drivable by the time I got my license at 16 or 17. I never should have sold it.

My kids first project was our '55 first series Chevy 1/2 ton PU and they swear they are never going to sell it. I tell them all the time how I miss my first car. My dad was all thumbs when it came to cars so I did most of the work and he supplied the funds, which was more valuable when you're 14. My kids built our truck with me and it gave them the bug. All four are now junior mechanics, even my daughter. We are currently building an AV8 hotrod and I KNOW that the time spent on our projects will be something they will take with them forever.

I am certain that they will never let go of their old cars. There are to many memories attached to them.

Andy

 

Yes thats about right see what they go for when I'm gone...and if you can afford them then ..


THE MONEY IS SPENT ON EM ... GONE **** !
LIKE TRAVELING EXPENSES, BUYING BEER OR FOOD THE MONEY IS GONE ,SOME WOULD SAY INVESTED..
DO THEY HAVE VALUE AND WILL IT INCREASE ?????

WILL I NEED THE MONEY AND SELL EM OFF CHEAP- QUICK ... COULD BE .....
THEY ARE FOR THE MOST PART ( EXCEPT A COUPLE PARTS CARS )ALL STORED IN NICE DRY CONDITIONS

GUYS CRABBING ABOUT THE FOLKS THAT HAVE CARS AND WON'T SELL EM ... JUST NEED TO KEEP ASKING AND KEEP LOOKING..GOOD LUCK ALL OF YA ..

 

I don't dis-agree with this. However it does strike a sentimental chord with alot of us. You can't buy character, depth, or history. I like alot of us have grown fond of a well worn person, car, or old horse beacause they have paid the price and earned the right to be there and your affection. Same reason guys fake patina, because the real deal is hard to come by. This guy would be an Idiot to let that much history go for a silly Ferrari. I love Ferrari's but not enough to sell or trade my soul for.

Tim

 

Lol don't get me wrong, I'm a very respectful youth to my elders and always have open ears...and I will always go out of my way to make sure my grandma will have the best of her last years on earth...And Grandpa HRP I love the wagon and the history you shared the car looks gorgeous and I'm glad someone in your family will cherish it as much as your wife but I can't stand looking at these cars slowing being torn apart from mother nature when so many people would like to give it life again! If I were the man in the predicament over the ferrari I wouldn't even consider such a thought since the time you value with your loved ones is priceless.

 

They will always have their memories whether they have the car or not.

 

What a great idea for a thread. HRP, great story. So good to see the then and now photo.

I'd give ANY and ALL of my cars for one of my Dads old cars. My Dad is still alive thankfully, so we are still making car memories, but the thought he may not be around forever constantly reminds me to ***ociate an old car with him. I get photos of him working on my cars any chance I get. I also manipulate my kids by driving them down to the donut store in my old cars... so they ***ociate me and the cars (and fun) together. Hoping they get the feeling of me from the car when I'm gone.

While you usually can't do anything about getting your parents cars back... you can ensure your kids are given the chance at it.

Having something physical gives a different connection than just memories alone.

 

Every car will eventually sell. I know of two that I have been waiting on to come up for sell. Both of them owned by old men who will not sell them. But both of their kids tell me that they will be for sell one day. One is a 40 standard coupe. That is all original paint and all. And the other is a 34 five window. It is a old hot rod the old guy built in the late fifties. I buy a bunch if cars. And I am allways looking for more. Most of them are a waiting game. And then having the money when they call you. Most of the time the family is out to get what money they can as fast as they can. There are more cars out there than people think.

 

I've got a friend who still has his first car; a 1973 Camaro Type LT with Z-28 package. Not possible you say? Couldn't be purchased that way you say? You can when your Dad works at the dealership and orders it that way. He's had it since he was 15.

He also has the '56 Bel-Air hardtop with the dual four barrel equipped Corvette 265 that his Mom used to drive. Ordered that way too back in the day.

I would totally keep that wagon if it were mine.

 

My dad bought his first brand new car in 1985(the year i was born)..Id love to have that 85 Hyundai.

 

Sellers remorse is a b!tch.
I personally deal with it every day myself.
The car I sold one day in 1984 for $400 because I got a bug up my azz will haunt me forever.

 

This reasoning is exactly why our daughters won't end up with my old cars,,They were raised around old cars their entire lives and don't want one,,if they owned them the cars would be sold for penny's on the dollar in hopes to get a new Toyota,,my grand children will own them,,Veda will inherit the sedan. HRP

 

My parents had a '58 Ford Ranch Wagon when I was a kid - six cylinder, three speed standard with rubber floor mats and vinyl upholstery.
We travelled Vancouver to Saskatchewan quite a few times, took it on all sorts of trips camping, the beach, random drives into the mountains.
My older brother drove it when he was a teenager and my parents had a newer car, drove it until one of the connecting rods went through the side of the block. Then my Dad sold it to somebody that was going to replace the six and drive it to work. I wouldn't mind finding it again but it did have an aweful lot of rust on both front and back fenders. I think I'd rather have the memories than the car.

 

Dude,you can fix rust,,but I realize everyone is not going to dive in head first in the shallow end of the pool! HRP