what is the rarest car you have come across

A friend who is into microcars has one of these, a France Jet. I think he said there are only a couple in the country so that would make it one of the rarest cars I've seen. It looks a little like a 59-60 Corvette, but would never be mistaken for one in performance with a rear mounted Kohler opposed twin.

 

Awww man, that's such a sweet ride....Looks even better with skirts!

BTW - had to edit my original post due to brainfart - saw the Mercedes in '68, not '71. (The Navy was only a painful memory by 1971!)

Good luck with your project, it sounds worthy!

 

Don't know about rare as in actual numbers, but the most unique car I ever owned was a '38 Caddy hearse. We dropped a 472 in it. It still didn't haul ass.

 

1957 Pontiac Sedan delivery with a factory 283 FI engine and a stick! Its probably 1 of 1.

I saw this car - its rotting in a garage out near ottawa. Its still owned by the son of the original owner who ordered it that way new for racing. Its not for sale....

Apparently he could run a hydro in it and still get it into the stock classes because it was considered a truck and some trucks came with a pontiac motor and hydro.

 

GGAHHH!!! that is cool, and sad. I bet that tucker went cheap, because of parts availability!

 

54 willys aero ace

 

20's Wills St.Claire touring car, boarded up in a barn,,,that was 45 years ago in CT.

 

There used to be one of these off Pilkington ave in Lake Grove, Oregon in the early seventies along with a bunch of others.

 

Perhaps a mid teens Cunningham touring car. Or maybe an 1892 Benz. I got to do a bit of work on the Benz, it was incredible to be able to even touch a car like that. Original paint and upholstery, etc. It was a gift from MB to Henry Ford way back when. Remember, this is a Benz, not a Mercedes Benz.

Bob

 

Those doors look remotely similar to a car called a Berkley, however I do not believe the hinges are on the right side. Hmm.

 

My own "Black Magic" 70 Mustang Sportsroof(not a Mach 1) is a 1 of 116 R code CJ in that body style but the convertibles and coupes are more rare. Pic is what it would look like restored... mine was a drag car and will be again one day.
"P" code 65 Custom documented as a ex Utah Highway Patrol is probably more rare as law enforcement vehicles usually get the crap beat out of them...
Had a 91 Trans AM convertible TPI 5 speed that was a 1 of 104 because of mid year introduction...

 

I got a copy of that picture from a guy that ran an insurance company in a very small town in Northwest Iowa about 20 years ago. He was a car guy since a kid so he knew what the Tucker was when he saw it on the used car lot while going to school in Berkley CA back in approx 1954. He said he could not afford it but wanted to at least get a picture of it. I love the photo because it really points out that even the most desireable cars were viewed as a "used car" at one point in thier life!

 

52 Mercedes, certainly uncommon. A friend of my dad's stumbled across one of these covered in dust in a barn in Cranberrry, NJ back in the early 70's. Owned by a NY lawyer who wouldn't turn it loose. We marveled at that car for an hour, never seen anything like it from a quality perspective.


Then, in late 70's, a kid who lived in a little split level house in Blountville, TN let me sit in his dads car in the garage -- original 289 Cobra, red. Little aluminum doors with leather pulls must have only weighed ounces. Don't have any idea how they got it, and never saw it on the road, but it was awesome.

 

1965 Holman-Moody A/FX Mustang is sitting in a local guy's garage. It is complete, running, driving with race pedigree.

 

My cousin owns a 1935 Packard Opera Sedan 1 of 5 known to exsist. He restored it about 20 years ago and still looks brand new. I hope to own it some day.

 

A few years ago i ran across an odd-looking 2 seater sitting at a Best Western, looked like a jag and i thought maybe it was a new design to compete with bmw. When i went back to look i approached from the rear and saw the emblim said 'XK-SS' and it was the wildest thing i had seen in a long time; right side steering, machined dunlop wheels, open exhaust running down the left side; front end held with a leather strap; turn signal had a colored disc in front of them and the car was old. I waited for the owner to ask about it but gave up and left. I went only a short distance (to Kmart) and i heard it fire up. The sweetest sound.
Later i read about these cars. Jaguar had some 'D' body shells when they started producing the 'E' type and the kinda mixed the 2 together as an experiment. Very few of them were made (people like Sterling Moss got them) and Jag felt they could sell them and started to tool up for a production run when the factory burned to the ground. There are only 6 or 9 of these things in existance.

 

Went to a guy's place to check out a WW2 Dodge Power something for a friend, in the back of this guy's shed was a 1928? SPA- Italian boat-tailed roadster, about 20' long with a HUGE inline 6, the owner said there was only 1 other in the world, (junker) and he was allowed to pick bits off it on a trip to the U.S.

 

Anybody ever see the Mustang wagon in the Portland/Lake Oswego area. Late 1960's, early 1970's I got to change the oil on it at the Rocket Junction station below the Sherwood Inn on I-5'

 

Years ago I had a rather ordinary ,but rust free '61 T-Bird .A fellow in a neighboring town asked me if I wanted to trade it for his Mercury Convt.Upon inspection of his Mercury,I discovered that it was a 1957 Merc. Turnpike Cruiser,Indy Pace Car model .Needless to say,I traded.The Merc had some rust issues,but it was all there in its' yellow and black glory.I did get it running..and it ran good.I put the car in Hemmings and I must have gotten forty phone calls on it.One caller told me that there was only 12 of these left and that Conway Twitty had one of them.I sold it to a fellow in the nearby town of Hornell NY as he was the first to come look at it...I wonder where it is today?
Another rather oddball car I once had was a complete '62 Alfa 2600 roadster convt.that I bought out of a local junk yard for less than $100.00 .A neighborhood punk shot that car all up with a bb gun after I got it home.
Steve (V7)

 

installed heat & air in a 1946 Chevy suburban WOODY !!! never knew they even made them. owner sais they were built in India and shipped over here in pieces
only 6 or less known to survive

 

While not a rare car per se, but I came across a Ford Ranchero (early 60's Falcon type) body in a Fort Worth Texas wrecking yard - painted up as ThermoKing Diesel powered world record holder. I don't know if it WAS the record holder or if it was just a support vehicle for the team. This was in the early 70's and it was in very sad/bad shape. I've never found any info or photos of it in my searching.

 

I can still remember 2 rare Fords that my friend Nate Cohen owned in the early seventies until he died. A 1964 Thunderbolt and a 1964 factory lightweight Galaxie. Both are still around to this day.
Merry Christmas to all!!
Plumber 1

 

Back in 66, leaving the restaurant at the Leschi Marina (Seattle, Lake Washington), we happened to see a car inside a small 'specialty car dealer' on the boulevard. We went in and there sat what looked a lot like a Lotus 7, but it had side pipes along both sides. On the cowl was a small Cloisonne emblem 'LBM'. The gentlman at the store explained that he (a Mr Bain) and his partner (Pete Lovely, of Ferrari fame) were assembling these cars to sell retail. He wanted a whole $2500 for it, but because I had only recently purchased a very very very used 64 289 Cobra roadster, I was unable to get very serious. The place was closed the next time I went by (six months later). I don't really know who Bain was, but pretty much know Pete Lovely's story. Also have no idea what happened to that car, or if there were any more built. It was very neat, in a retro-racer way.

dj

 

It's cool to hear the name Nate Cohen again. I remember the Crazy Nate Fairlane pretty well, read about him long ago in a good Car Craft article. Never met the man, wish I had.

 

Close..16 built..and all acounted. Several though are "data tags"..much of the car is rebuilt around the original data tag.
I have been in one..but not had the opportunity to drive it..
These are well over 1or2Million $$..
I wonder why I couldn't go for a spin..

 

I had a 40 Ford hearse a long time ago.

 

About three weeks ago I saw a Yugo going down the highway under it's own power, now that's pretty rare.

 

I bought a 65 Falcon Sprint convertible in 1980 to resale, there were only 300 of these made.( was'nt any more than the VIN tag and sprint fender emblems that made it different than the Futura convertible ) made a couple bucks, but?????????

 

A rolling chassis of a Hebmueller aka Hitler mobile in my friends backyard along the side of his house in Reseda California

 

The Willys COE pickup, in my long departed uncle's opinion, was a POS offroad. The running gear was great, but when you hit rough road the back window was too close and your head would hit the window. He bought it new, drove it one summer and traded it on regular jeep CJ.
I always liked the look of them.
Bob