What cars got away?

[Edley Rondinone]

Everyone has a story or two of cars that they had a chance to buy, but didn't. Usually due to, shall we say, "Insufficient Funds"! Myself, in 1976 a 1968 Chevy Impala SS 427, black/black, 85,000 miles, for $1200. Also in 1976, a 1970 Cyclone Spoiler 429 for $800, 105,000 miles, painted an ugly pinkish maroon! Lastly, in 1973, a 1969 Shelby GT 500 for the princely sum of $2950! I asked my dad to buy this car, but he said, in all his fatherly opinion, "Yeah, if we had a boat or something to pull with that big engine"!

[southernfriedcj]

In 1980 I had the chance to buy a '67 Vette convertible for 5k. 427/4spd. Blue on Blue. I didn't have the cheese and the guy couldn't wait for me to sell my '77 GMC Jimmy(which was worth 5k).

[G.R.]

1972 or 73--passed a place daily to and from work for 3 mos, that sold, repaired, and had a yard full of classic Ford and other make cars, sort of a junkyard--on their for sale lot was a '36 Ford "Woodie"
Always wanted one, figured I couldn't afford that one--never stopped to check on the asking price
One day it's gone--about a week later I saw it at a service station I used to always go to--up on the lift w/a temp tag is this car--they were doing a major tune-up, oil change. brake job, tire change--car was according to the mechanic in excellent shape--made a comment that the new owner must of spent a bundle on it--nope $600

The one that got away

[MDP727]

My first car was a 72 Olds 442. Picked it up from a grandma in my small town. I old it my senior year in high school to pay for flying lessons.

[PatBuckley]

A mid 50's Ferrari sports racer that had a Chevy engine installed. The guy wanted $800 for it. I was 16 and didn't have the cash.

[KobraKarl]

A "65" 427 Cobra....about 78 or 79.....$60.000......didnt have it..

[ssnake]

How about a real 67 Cobra for $7500 in 1970..
It now belongs to Peter Portante of ERA.
Kick myself in the @##@%!!

Don

[Rick Parker]

Had a freind that owned CSX2318 in 1971. He called to ask if I wanted to buy it. (He was always changing cars) Unfortunately I had just purchased a Porsche 911S about a month before. How was I going to come up with $5200. Honestly they were just another hot rod at that time, nothing like they are now.

Rick

[xlr8or]

GT500KR Mustang for $2500 in about 1982. Damn thing only had 26000 miles and I couldn't come up with the cash.

Had to watch a friend buy it and clean it up. He sold it a couple months later for $20K.

[Excaliber]

My Excalibur,,,,but then I bought it back,,,,,oh wait,,,,then I sold it again. Well, the story aint over yet, I wouldn't be surprised if it comes home again!
Ernie

[DAVID GAGNARD]

How about an original big block (428) cobra (street car) in the early 70's in my small town. Owner bought it used when he came back from Vietnam around 1970,drove it a year or two and put it in the front yard for sale.... Sat there two years under a pecan tree,full of pecans and leaves.... Finally sold it for the pricey sum of $4,000.00..... I was just out of high school and could not raise that kind of cash..................

David

[Hal Copple]

From the day they came out as 260's then 289's, and then 427's, i loved Cobras, and would have given about anything to own one. I never wanted something so much, for so long. I used to see them occasionally on the street, there was even a green S/C back in Lincoln, NE, in the mid '60's. At that time i was driving a TR-4, then an MGB, then in '69, a Dodge R/T Charger.

Back in the late '60's, you could pick up a 289 car for about $4000. But by then i was married, a dad, and an army Lt. making $330 a month, so there was never a way to have an extra cent for a Cobra. Didn't have an extra cent for anything. Came back from Vietnam in '71 with about $6K in savings, but i was committed to going back to school to become an MD, and (by then single, as my wife had run off with a lawyer while i was overseas), i had to live like a hermit. So i put my career goals first.

So i walked by the used GT 350 for $4K, the used Cobras, the 365 GTB Ferrari, the XKE's, the Yenko, while for a decade i drove my '71 VW Squareback Type III for over a quarter million miles, persuing a more distant dream.

Which is while in about a half hour, i will drive my beloved SPF to work under the cool but brilliantly sunny SC morning sun. I have no regrets about anything in my life. Over 63,000 miles on my Replica now.

[klayfish]

'68 Impala convertible with a 327. Sitting in a neighbors garage for 10 years. $400. It was 1988 or 1989 and I was only 16 years old. Parents didn't like the idea.

Steve

[Buzz]

Both in 1980; both 1974 models: an immaculate Jaguar E-type V12 for $12000(Canadian) and a '74 455 SD 4spd Trans Am for $5000. I was working at my first full time job, cash was tight and I thought both prices were a bit too high.

[Cal Metal]

Corvette Grand Sport. 1967 Hot Rod Magazine For Sale Section:
$4,500 w/o engine; $5,500 with motor. Pitched it to Dad (I was 18). Unfortunately, college was just around the corner--out of state tuition and all. It was a no go. Probably would have sold it for $25,000 three years later, but it is the only one that EVER truly got away.

[cobrajeff]

I was "back home" in Ohio in '72 one weekend when I spotted a "1967 Cobra" in the Sunday paper classifieds. I went out to look at it, and even test drove it. It was the real thing - Guardsman Blue with dual quads, soft top, and original Blue Dots. It was immaculate - only thing I could find wrong with it was a little dust on the dash.

As I contemplated just HOW I might raise $10k to buy it, I realized the only way would be to sell all SIX of my Mustangs (2 1966 GT350's, a 427 powered 1968 GT500 ragtop, a '71 BOSS 351, and 2 289/271hp '65 fastback Mustangs) and drive this beast year-round.

Of course, the guy was not interested in any of my Shelbys or Mustangs, and didn't care to wait while I sold my cars. The closest I ever got - but the timing just wasn't right. But what a fond memory that I'll never forget.

Jeff

[mr0077]

May, 1971... looking for a college graduation present to myself, found a 300SL gullwing for sale in Autoweek for $5000...new paint, new interior, new tires, new fuel injection! What a deal! I started thinking about ownership...what if a bicycle ran into it and put a dent in it, or broke a taillight lense...what if one of those wonderful finned brake drums cracked...what if the fuel injection crapped out (I had just read that the FI system for those cars cost more than a complete FI Corvette motor, in the crate)?
I decided to get a 1968 L89 Vette coupe for $2500. Kept it a year and sold it for $2160 in May '72. Three years later someone told me that Corvette was one of 620 or so, and was worth well in excess of $25000! Darn!
But, like the previous posts, I really couldn't afford it. Like a friend once said, "Anyone can buy a Cadillac (or you name it high-dollar car), but not everyone can AFFORD it"...that was me at the time...ah, well...

[petek]

246 Dino with chairs and flairs, $30k. Could have bought it just before Ferrari prices went nuts. The same car sold for $180k later on. Last I saw the price was back to something like $60k.

[HighPlainsDrifter]

If only I knew.........

I passed up a '70 Daytona charger, 440 six pack, pistol grip 4 speed for $3.300 in '73 , nobody liked the big wing back then.

Had to sell my 70 Olds 442 W-30 cause I got married,needed money.

Then in '74 I passed up my buddy's older brother's '69 Z-28
This was a factory ringer, 302 , 950 cfm 3 barrel Holley, 4 speed, 4.88 gears, off road suspension, factory 8" wide steel wheels with 9" wide rubber[remember all the 6" wide bias factory tires?] This car would pull 7,500 RPM in and instant and set you back in the seat, he was scared to drive it, only had 3,300 miles on it.Oh Yeh and it had a 5 year, 50,000 mile warranty. But I was just married with a kid so I couldn't afford it.
Perry.

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Forgot about another one.....In 1980,married two years then,house note,wife's car note (she bought it just before we married),doctor in a town about 25 miles down the road deceided to sell his 1974 (I think) Jag XKE-V-12,silver,loaded with ever option avaliable then..... I loved those XKE's,still do,still want one.....Pricey sum of $7,500.00,car had less than 30,000 miles and was immaculate......Begged ,pleaded,threatened my wife in every way I knew,she would not budge,really could not afford it at all....My plans were to park the car and show it and not drive it,had I bought it,I probably would still have it today.....Car stayed for sale for three months,about the time I thought I had her wore down,it sold to a local guy...... He did exactly what I had planned to do.... We saw the car a few years later at a car show and it was gorgeous.....Some years back while thumbing thru my CPI book (Cars of Particular Interest),I showed her what the value of that exact car was,50k,she said "oh well".....I promised her that the next time I ran across a car/deal like that,she would find out about it when I brought it home..... Her reply was "You had better enjoy it before you bring it home,cause that may be the last thing you ever do"....

David