The ones that got away!!!

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cosgig

cosgig

MoBro Inc.
FABO Gold Member
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While attending a Mopar friends memorial service last weekend, a topic of discussion came up that I thought we could have a little fun with here at FABO. Lets call it "The ones that got away". I would like to hear about that "one car" you wish you had bought but didn't, or the one that you watched for years that disappeared before you got a chance at it, or the one you passed on that your buddy bought and will not sell, EVER!!! And give us a story, something we can seek our teeth into, although I know not everybody is Hemingway, I'd like to hear all of the details, the heartbreaks, the whole sad tale of that one car, the one you REALLY wanted!!! And if it's still too traumatic, page over to the other side and look up my other post...."and the ones that didn't"!!! So, lets hear it gang, time for a trip down memory lane!!! Warp factor one Captain!!! Geof
 
Well, back in 1986 My Great Grandmother passed away leaving me around $20,000 in her will..So i was 19 then and wanted to buy a car, and seen a few things i liked.I had a choice of a 84 z28 with a hot 350 motor all done up with nitrious and around 400 horse power for 8500, or a 70 lime green super bird 440 6 pack car all original for 10,000....Guess what a 19 yr old picked, the wrong one, Z28..The good news was my buddy bought the superbird and still has it today in the same condition...Lucky him
 
my dad bought a '70 340 4speed duster new. this is the car that started my love of mopars. i begged him not to sell it, i was 10 years old and had grown up in that car. stood next to my dad in the front seat and shifted it for him. white car w/ black bench seat. go wing and rallye wheels. i cried my eyes out when the guy drove it away. $1700!!!!

back in high school i had a buddy who had a brother with a '70 roadrunner, 440 six pack 4 speed car. someone stole the carbs off of it and he wanted to just get rid of the car. it had been sitting in my buddies parents driveway for about a year when i asked him about it. said i could have it for $3000. this car was nice. it was that copper color with black interior. i remember sitting in it and grabbing that big old pistol grip shifter. but $3000 was alot of money back in the early 80s.

also had a chance at a '70 AAR cuda. it was a one owner, guy bought it, drove it on the street for a few months and turned it into a drag car. it had like 4000 miles on it. beautiful original orange paint with centerline auto/drag wheels. 4 speed car. around the same time as the roadrunner. $5000!!!! with all the original parts. including original wheels and tires.

my dad had a friend that had a '64 belvedere that he had drag raced back in the late '60s and early '70s. know where i am going with this? yep it had that huge engine with the plug wires in the valve covers. hell yeah, a real hemi S/S car. he got in a jam for money and told my dad he wanted to sell it. my dad was storing the car in his shop at the time. dad asked how much. $3500!!!! dad said give me a week and i will get the cash. his buddy said if nobody else comes up with the cash it is yours. this was in the oil bust of the early '80s in Oklahoma, and he was about to lose his house. well, a dentist called and brought he cash the next day. he pulled up and asked for my dads buddy, handed him the cash and said put it on the trailer. never looked at the car. i cried a little on that one also. i wanted that car!!! pearl white with pearl blue spider web paint. i was like 12-13 years old.
 
1985 .just graduated high school. 18 yrs old.
71 hemi cuda f4 green,buddy seat ,auto on column,full hub caps.
$ 8500.00
i dont think i had $85.00 at the time.
it would be nice if the prices would come down to reality.
so we could by a car and enjoy it for a little while.
 
Great idea for a thread Geof! And great stories guys!
 
You have probably heard me cry before about this subject.
I worked at a C/P dealership back in the early 70's and I could get any car that I wanted at dealer cost.
I loved the look of the Cuda but I hated the way that they were built.
I can see it now....Curious Yellow Hemi 4 speed, non-console, dog dishes, shaker, painted bumpers, stereo, etc, etc, etc.
Excuse me while I go have a good cry-------again!
 
I passed on a cyclops Turner for 500 bucks...complete, covered inside a barn...with 15 years of chicken poop all over it. Also rolled on a Cord when the bidding got over 4K... those 2 put me in the stoopid section, hall of fame..
 
When I was 15, way back in 1985, I begged my Dad to go on a June, saturday morning to go to a local lot that had a 70 Coronet advertised in the $500 specials. After 2 cups of coffee and about a half a pack of smokes, he gave in and we left for the lot. We arrived and I went apeshit over a 1970 Dodge Coronet 500 2dr, dark mettalic blue, black vinyl top and interior. It was in typical NE Ohio shape, holes in the floor, very little trunk left. The sales guy made the mistake of handing ME the keys and I fired it up. It was just a 318 but to me it sounded like a Super Stock Hemi. The old man got in and drove it over to my brother's house about 6 blocks from the dealer. He let me and my brother take it out, my brother romped it pretty good, laid a few patches etc. and returned to his house. My Dad asks as we get out "How's it run?" to which my brother replies "It scoots pretty good, fast for a 318." The old man looked at me and flat out said NO! I was crushed...to this day my brother does not recall ever driving the car or having that conversation with me and my Dad. Thanks Jeff, I really wanted that one.
 
In 1999, me and my bro were in my 73 duster "alley shopping" as we always do, and there was a 1971 demon, 340, 4spd, ralley pack, factory orange / black top with white buckets. It had the scoops and spoiler and was all original (except for the chain that was wrapped around the hood latch and frame and locked!. the guy wanted $1500...i hummed and hawed..and needless to say, 3 months later I went back anbd it was gone!
 
1992, 17 years old, neighbor had a 71 cuda 318 car for sale for $900. no motor, everything else was there. i seem to remember he said it was green but originally painted orange. light rust in the trunk otherwise solid. i bothered him about it every time i saw him, he said it was safe in a storage unit he shared with his mopar buddy. before i got to look at it his buddy had sold it to someone else. broke my heart
 
i had a chance to get this bonie and clide type of suaside door 43 dodge , the guy wanted 1000 bucks , need all new rubber tires hoses ect. had a flat head stright 8 in it . paint perfuct . no rust in side clean , all there . been in a barn for 30 years . not in the weather. so i called my dad cause i was 16, and asked him if i could have 1000 bucks and i would pay him back . told him what it was for so he came out and looked at it .



you never beleave what he said .


um sur this car is worth more than 1000 bucks ,....>!


he told the guy he could probly get 10,000 easy for the car .


my dad sucks for this.
 
When I was 16 my dad’s friend’s dad died and the mom had a car she wanted to sell. It was an always garaged 1967 cutlass convertible. Red with red tweed interior with a white top. All I remember is it was a v8, but don’t know what kind. The guy only had put 2000 miles total on it and it still smelled new. He had never put the top down ever. It still had original tires on it.. everything. The mother just wanted it gone cause it reminded her of the husband and so she wanted only $2000 for it. Me being 16, working at Longs drugs… didn’t have 2000 yet… I told him it’d be worth a ton someday! I still don’t know how much it would have been worth… don’t wanna either. =)
 
not a mopar, couple years back my dad was telling me some cars he was looking to buy note my dad isnt really a gear head. he said back in the early 80's he was looking a 1 owner mustang or an 1980 trans am 301w/ turbo he really liked the mustang he thought it was like a 71 with that long body style and then he said he remembers a roll bar being in it he passed on the mustang b/c the price was $5000 lot of money then.. n bought the trans am.. so after he told me that i looked around and couldnt find any 71-73 mustang with a roll-bar but then came across a 1969 SHELBY and all those had roll-bars.. thats right he passed on a 69 shelby car. when i told him that he couldnt believe it
 
Back in '77 I found a 32 plymouth coupe, 390 Ford and toploader 4spd. Guy was hard up for cash and told me first 1k took it. I hit Dad up for a short loan till my Cutlass or 66 'stang sold. He told me I had too many cars and if one sold I could get it.

I went by every day for 2 weeks. The owner of the Plymouth and I got to be friends but hewas clear that he couldn't hold it. Finally sold the Cutlass, sped over after work to, yup, an empty drive.

The guy came out all sad, (I hadn't called, nobody else seemed interested), and told me I missed it by 20 minutes.:angry7::angry7::angry7:

Occasionally, I still grumble to my Dad about that one.
 
5 years ago when I was 15 I was at monster mopar weekend at gateway. I found a 1970 Plymouth duster it was only a 318 car but it was b5 blue with black interior with black side stripes rallye wheels the car looked mint only $3000 Needless to say i was 15 and jobless so couldnt convince my dad to lend me the money.
 
Also My dad parted a numbers match 68 dodge dart gts 340 stripe delete car bench seat. Wish he would have kept that one I bet he does now also all it needed was a little rust fixed on the frame and the typical body areas but it was a complete car.
 
well before I was in kindergarden I can remember my dad dragging off a 69 cuda with a 440 in it. And when I mean drag off i mean it had only one wheel on it and he drug it down the dirt back roads to the junk yard. Also my brother when he was 16 had the chance at a 70 GTO. But my dad would not loan him the money for it because no one would insure it. I missed out on a couple of Dusters but nothing super cool like 340 OR Demon just slant 6 cars. Finally at the ripe age of 30 almost 31 I bought myself a Scamp
 
Back in '85 I regretfully passed on a '70 AAR Cuda, limelight, was rustfree, but the car had been hit in the driver front fender, and someone had dropped a 400 in it. Price=$400. For another $200 guy had a complete 340 and I already had a 6 pack setup on my 69 Dart GTS I could have used. At the time didn't think I needed another as I already had my GTS and a 69 1/2 A12 Road Runner.
 
back in 1983 i was 20 and had a 1969 G.T.O paid $300 for it with no motor,but it had a racing tranny and 4.11 rear.picked up a Pontiac 350 dropped it in and on my way..1 week later a friend brings me to his house and he,s got a 383 chally ragtop.Nice car!he asks if I,m interested in a 71 G.T.O he takes me behind the garage and there sits a 1971 G.T.O 455H.O 4 speed,posi and says $1000 bucks.Well I could tell the front end was gone,wheels were slanted in.It was white with gold interior.Turned it down,no cash.Later found out 1 of 1000 made.We still talk about that car but more about the big block challenger ragtop,it even HAD THE LUGGAGE RACK ON THE TRUNK.HE NOW HAS A MINT 69 428H.O GRAN PRIX.AND I HAVE MY 73 DART SPORT 340 4 SPEED.WOW HOW THE TABLES TURN.HE ALMOST CRY,S TALKIN ABOUT THE CHALLENGER!!
 
20 yrs. ago I was at the local yearly Collector Car Auction and there was a 70 Challenger T/A, 340 6 pak 4 speed, fiberglass hood the works. It had been fully restored, numbers matching and even had the old Polyglass GT tires on it and in Purple to. The highest bid went to 22K and the reserve was 25K so back on the trailer. It still to this day pisses me off that I didn't buy it. Oh well my Demon loves me just the same.

Terry
 
1971 GTX 440,4bbl,4 speed,Airgrabber hood,gull wing,and Backlight louvers
$3000.00 in 1995 Rough but complete.1971 Super Bee 383,4 speed,triple black,100% rustfree $2500.00 in 1997,1970 Challenger SE 318,auto,$100% rustfree $500.00 in 1994 There are many many more I kick myself in the a** for.Never had any money.Now that I am older and can get the money I never find the deals anymore.
Jim
 
there have been so MANY

latest
61 Corvette
350 4 speed both tops in a nice #3 condtion $32,000.00 I was worryed about my job and thought about it for 2 days and when i called on that Saturday it had sold the day after i looked at it

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I have wanted a 61/62 Corvette since about 1972. What a dumba** for not taking the money out of the retirement account, not only would the car been worth more, we would not have lost so much with the drop in market.

Ahhh the 70 Roadrunner convertible

white with burnt orange interior. The car was super clean inside and out, not a number match had a 383 2 barrel in it. The thing that bothered me the most was the heavy undercoating and the sheet metal repair in the trunk with sheet metal screws (this was in 97 car had been done 15 years and at the time no replacement parts available) He wanted $10,000. i really wanted it, but again passed, what a dumb a**

the one I really should have bought

70 Hemi Cuda

1985 it was a blue, my guess B7 darker than B5, black interior, auto he wanted $6,000 but was looking for a Cuda Convertible. I had a 71 Cuda convertible but it needed restored. Hemi Cuda, just had a crack in the dash, I didn't think it was worth that much more than my convertible. And in todays value my Cuda Convertible and the Hemi Cuda are worth about the same. I SHOULD HAVE KEEP THE CONVERTIBLE. but I had bought a new boat and didn't need a convertible since we spent so much time on the water and I loved my 4 speed Challenger

But at the time I didn't ever keep a car too long so it really would not have mattered

there use to be an AAR Cuda sitting by an old girlfriends house and I always thought I should stop and see if they would sell it, years went by and I never stopped, one day i went by and they had cleaned the place up and the cuda was gone

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Man, you guys are tearin' me up, but I love it. Keep the stories coming, it's good to hear that we've all had a lapse of judgement in our lives at one time, but we're redeeming ourselves now!!! I'll tell you a little story of my own. It's not Mopar but it is Harley related so don't kick me out of my own thread!!! LOL!!!

The year was about 1985 and I was a strapping young lad of 20 or so. Oops, I meant a strapped young lad cause I was BROKE!!! Well, this was the era of the pawn shop, and in the big city close by was a row of em', all waiting to take your money or your stuff in exchange for next to nothing. I got to be a regular customer of one of them, always selling my good stuff but never buying. Then one day this 72 Harley Sportster shows up, all original, black and bad to the bone. Just what young cosgig needs to menace the streets of S.E Michigan with!!! The asking price was $2200.00, serious coin for the day and way out of my league, but man I wanted that thing. No, wait, I needed that thing. So there it sits, calling me but no answer. So about a month goes by and I go back and the price is $1800.00, better but still too high. Next month it's $1500.00, then $1200.00, then $1000.00. After watching the thing go down in price for 6 months or more I finally decide to cash in all my chips and bring it home. I head off to the pawn shop with all my worldly goods and there she sits with a price of $800.00!!! AHA, boys, shes all mine!!! Wait, what's that I see??? A sold sign!!! AHHHH!!! I go in and ask the owner whats up and he tells me" You're about 20 minutes too late, a guy just came in and left a deposit". How could he, that bike was supposed to be mine. I tell the owner I'll give him $1000.00 to pull it and he says sorry but he will call me if the depositor backs out. I'm still keeping a spot clean in the garage in case he ever calls!!! So, keep the stories coming, it's good therapy! And yes, I'm over it now... wait, I gotta go, theres the phone!!! Geof
 
I was 2yrs out of highschool in 1981, had over $12g's saved for a house and the guy down the street put his '69 yellow roadrunner 440 sixpack with fiberglass hood, all factory original, car was like new. Wanted a whole $4500 for it. Told my dad I wanted to go look at it, all he said are you nuts who would pay over $4000 for a car thats over 10yrs old, gets 8 miles to the gallon and shakes the windows in the house when it drives by!! Without his blessing I went and looked, drolled and passed it up!!! I did buy a house a few yrs later, but sure wish I would have had it to put in the garage!!
 
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