You have owned that for HOW LONG !?

I was thinking of how long I had owned some of my vehicles recently. I've had a couple for a number of years, one since the late eighties.I then thought of a friend down the road who has owned his '57 Chev. since he was in high school in the mid sixties. My guess is there some good stories here on the HAMB. There are likely some that but both of those to shame. My guess some in the same family for generations. Cars trucks bikes etc. Tell us is your story?

 

My Grandmother bought my '56 T-Bird in '56. I was selling a Franklin Mint die cast of it on ebay and a guy in this area want to come by and take a look at it before bidding. He sees the '56 in the garage and we start talking, he tells me that he has a '57 that was bought new buy his Grandfather (if memory serves).

I thought it was a bit weird to have two such similar cars with such similar stories in the same town.

 

I got my 56 chevy when i was 14 but im 29 right now so not too long. we'll see how long ill live cause itll be mine till i die

 

Well, it isn't a "since it was new" story, but my dad bought this old '61 Corvette when I was five-years-old. See how handsome I was ...



32-years later, and not only does he still have it, but it still has never been painted or restored in any way, and I have a six-year-old son of my own.

 

I bought my (non HAMB) Vega in '79. Had it running on the salt with GMC power in '80. Bought my roadster in '84 or so. Bought my '32 in '65 and sold it in '98.

 

I bought my 1955 F100 in 1997. Finished it in 2009.

 

Purchased in pieces in 1962---Finished in 1968---Still chasing those lines!!-----Don

 

I have a chassis Research dragster i bought in '65 brought it to the Orange dragstrip reunion earlier this month. Have a belly tank I bought in '72 tried to run Bonneville that year(fuel pump problem). Also have a '34 Buick 3 window coupe I bought in '73.

 

I've owned my '32 Chevy 5-window since 1973. Currently it's in pieces but it has actually been a runner for a few of those years.

 

How about a car that's been in the family since it was new?

1954 Ford Ranch Wagon,,My wife was a year old when her Grandmother bought the car,,she is about 3 in the photo,,HRP



The next photo was taken in the late 60's,,



It spent 27 years in our barn,,





Been working on bringing the car back to life for the past 8 years,,,





And a photo of Veda and the wagon,,she is about the same age as her grandmother in the first photo and the 6th generation that will get to ride in the car and hopefully be the caretaker of it in the future. HRP

 

We have a customer who bought his '57 Chevy Convertible (dusk rose/indian ivory 2 tone, 265 V8) in 1960 when him and his wife got married.. drove it for a few years, parked it in the garage a few years later.. Pulled it out for their 50th Anniversery and washed it off and got it running.. Still looks like it did in 1960..

 

Not exactly HAMB stuff but I bought my Norton in June 1967 and its stil in the garage. It went to World finals last year and currently holds its class record at El Mirage. This shot is with the future (and long suffering Mrs. Firingorder1).

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43 years later we're still together!

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I wish a had a picture, but there is a local couple near me with a story. Harold went to Vietnam in '68 and came back with no legs. Having left his '57 belair back home, his parents didn't have the means to see him when he got back to a hospital in the states and sold it to make the trip. A couple years later ('72-ish?) he stumbled upon a dealership where the owner had bought a new '57 just like his old one and parked it in the showroom as part of a personal collection. Harold's story moved the guy and he sold the car to him and they now show it locally. Harold's wife is also disabled and in a wheelchair. They show pictures of the two of them pulling the engine and re-habbing the engine bay and a few other things in the last couple of years, working together in their own way. He says the car is his legs and will never get rid of it. I offered to come by and help a bit he just laughed and said he would never let a stranger touch the car.

 

This is my Dad's truck. My Great Grandfather purchased the truck in 1956 from the used lot of a local dealer. My Dad got it from him in 1972. I remember riding to kindergarden in this truck. Dad and I pulled it from the barn last summer and put it on the road. We got rid of the 216, put in a fresh built 235, and went through everything. There's a family story for every dent and scratch on the thing. We even found my name scratched on one of the rear fenders, but I swear it was my Brother's fault. Here's some pics.

 

I still have my Chassis Research K-88 Dragster that I bougth in '72 when I got out of the Army. I still have my first hot Rod built it in '90 and been driving it to work all week.

 

Had the one in my avatar since '79.

 

built it 65-67 still have it
son is running it now...
327+mondello heads 13.75
alum rods ..........bm hydrostick 5.83 summers spool&axles.....

 

Owned my 56 for 30 years in February of next year. Bought when I was 17 and considering parting company...Sniff....


Picture courtesy of Drakie

My 3 sons came home from Hospital in the Pumpkin (painted those colours what else could you call it?) My wife refused to let me bring our daughter home in it....

Took all my children to be Christened, my brother to the church and he and his bride to their reception...

P.

 

paul dont do it! that car is nice! i had 2 56s 40 years ago that i wish i had now!

 

My friend Dick Valenzuela has owned his 32 three window coupe for about 55 years.

 

HI: My 1936 ford panel truck is in another thread, had it for 45 years,drive it all the time!!!! Chris

 

1951 Packard, purchased new by my Grandmother in '51, still have it in my driveway, (ran when parked-in 1969...)
1930 Model A Coupe, purchased new in 1930 by my Great Aunt June as a gift for her father, my Great Grandfather...still have it, bone stock, in nice shape.
Lots of good memories in both those cars, it would be next to impossible to part with either one...

Here's a few more:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=366376

 

I got my Willys in 1982. Got rid of the wife in 1992, kept the Willys, we have an understanding.

 

1986, Little Rock Air Force Base, 19 years old, bought a well worn 65 Chevy stepside. I've made almost every modification to the truck, never painted it. Looks like it belongs in a fencerow or wooded salvage yard. I've driven it 300,000 miles. Been parked a few years, needs transmission work, fuel system work. I'm sure the squirrels and mice have had fun with the wiring harness, but I know how to fix that.
Fix or sell? Many good memories. Was part of the reason I have an ex-wife, kept what didn't argue with me.

 

My Uncle bought my 32 Roadster in 1957. I have owned it since May of this year when he passed away. I have spent a lot of my life in the car...

 

bought my nova conv in 82 as a 6cy pg now has 327 4sp with tripower both daughters learned to drive in it my grandson wants to drive it now at the age of 13 so there is hope for the future

 

My younger brother and I acquired our Grandpa's '29 Ford in the late 1940s. He is the custodian now. I drive it when I go visit him.
We painted it two tone blue with a china-hair brush. It was summertime, we were too little to work in the field, painting it was our mom's idea to keep us busy I guess.


We drove it and put it away wet for years, abused it, hunted rabbitts bouncing across sage brush pastures, until I left the farm in '55 to join the Air Force. After that our little brother took it and virtually ran it into the ground. Sometime in the 60s it got a motor overhaul, then was put away in the garage where it remained until 1995 when it was restored. All of the body work and hand rubbed lacquer was redone by our eldest brother Bud(RIP).

 

While it's not a HAMB type of car, it's still a good story. I purchased my '69 Camaro a little over 39 years ago, while working at the local Ford dealer. I was 18 years old. Now you know the story behind it's license plate and my HAMB id. That's 38 year old lacquer paint on the car.

 

I bought Henrietta the '38 Ford pickup for $15 in 1966 when I was 14 years old. My parents bought Ozelle the '55 Ford new at Drake Motor Co. here in Rockmart GA. It's been mine since 1968.

 

I have an original "29 Tudor Sedan that my family has owned since 1950. It was built at the Dallas plant in October 1929. It was sold at the dealership my grandfather bought in 1947. The orginal owner bought it for his wife's birthday in '29. She died of cancer in 1948. He drove it for awhile but one day he drove it the wrong direction around the town square and the local police finally took his drivers license away from him (It was a small town). He gave the car to my grandfather in '50 so that Hot Rodders would never get ahold of it. My dad drove it to high school in the late '50's. It is to be passed on to the first son of each generation. It has never had the title changed and I have the original bill of sale and every Texas license receipt from 1929 till 1963 when it was last registered. It has 75,567 miles on it! The motor has never been touched and it still gets started every coupl of months. It just sits patiently. Torn between preserving it or restoring.