I read the "This Hurts" thread and it got me thinking about all of the cool cars my dad owned and sold before I came along (listed in the order in which they were purchased because all were bought new except for the Ford Coupe and the MG).
- '55 Ford Coupe (First Car, bought in '59)
- '59 MGA Roadster
- '67 Mustang GTA 390 Fastback (sold when he left for Vietnam)
- '68 Dodge Dart
- '69 Datsun 240Z (first 240 ever sold in Arkansas)
- '71 Datsun 240Z
- '75 Alfa Romeo Spyder
- '77 International Scout
- '79 International Scout
- '82 Jeep Cherokee (2-door)
I was born in '83 and from there it was a series of small pick-ups, a Subaru GL wagon and a couple of minivans. I wish he had just kept ONE of the others, I would've taken any of them. I can only imagine what my sons will say about the E30, WRX, Volvo, or Miata I've sold...
1965 T-bird for a 72 Pinto
1965 Austin Healey 3000
The only cool car my dad ever own was a Mini Clubman GT in England. My mom had an Opel Manta though.
My parents didn't have any cars before that I really wish they still had, but they did get some sweet cars that they kept to this day, including a mint, super low miles MkIII Supra (mom is the original owner) and a couple mustangs. I did have an uncle with a pretty awesome list, though. Pretty much every sweet kind of 65-70 Mustang (except the shelbys), E type Jag, Triumphs... I think the saddest thing is he beat most of them into the ground. His E-type, though, fell victim to a girlfriend. She left a mirror in the back window, reflecting light and burning a hole in the headliner, smoked in it, and finally went through a fence and into a ditch, backwards. My dad said every time he would show up he had a different sweet car, non of which were long for this world.
My dad had some cool cars after we kids showed up. The ones he should have kept: 1932 Plymouth with a SBC and 3 speed, that got traded for a Chevy box van and two Corvettes: a 1956 Corvette which had been dechomed and had a nasty lumpy running SBC, I think it was 308 ci (a 283 with some weird combination of crank and overbore) and a 1957 Corvette, all original, with fuel injection. He sold the 1957 pretty quick, kept the '56 for a few years (and yes he let me drive it more than once!) then sold it and put the money back into the speed shops he owned. Then there were the two E types, a '69 and a '70, a '85 XJS, an '89 XJS 'vert (my favorite), then a pair of XK120's that he bought and discovered he couldn't fit into, his legs were way too long. The last cool car he owned was a 1932 Ford replica, SBF and AOD, black with red interior.
My dad never really owned many cool cars, but he has owned cars that I think he was proud of.
His first new car was a '63 Meteor, and he insisted on having the dealer install seat belts before he took delivery. My only memory of that car was riding to the dealership to trade it in on a new '69 Montego.
The '69 Mercury was only around for a few years before he bought a '73 Plymouth Fury III. I think he felt like a king when he bought that car. Moments later, there was a gas crisis...
He kept that Plymouth until about 1985. In 1981, he bought new Mazda 626 sedan. My mother and I were very disappointed that he didn't buy the Accord but, damn, that Mazda was a fantastic little car. And rear wheel drive!
After a few forgettable cars, he bought a Volvo 850; another car that he really loved. A second Accord and another Mercury followed that. Now his daily driver is a new Explorer.
But yesterday, he showed up at my house, driving the Explorer with his 2009 Honda Fit Sport five speed in tow. He let me take the Fit to work today. I love that little car!
He also has two Segways, just because he wanted them.
He's eighty one.
Dad was a gearhead so it's hard to say how many cool cars he had. I came along late in his life so he was pretty much over playing with cars by my time. My youngest sister is eighteen years older than me and her first car was a hand me down Gremlin from my mom, would like to have that one.
Dad did have a 64 Electra 225 that I wanted but he sold it to my brother who blew it up and wood it for scrap. Very nice low mileage car
My Dad didn't own much to appreciate, but my Mom had a Buick Wildcat and a Corvair Monza Spyder. As a teen, before driving age, I was really upset with her for selling the Corvair before I was born.
My grandfather bought a '67 Plymouth Belvedere II hardtop new that I ended up driving in high school. I still regret selling that car.
My other grandfather had a '25 Buick in 1927. He said that they advertised it as "75 hp. 75 mph." Some kid bet him $25 that the car couldn't do 75. He and two friends had to pool their money to come up with $25, but they all piled in the car and made two passes at 75 to win the bet. I don't think he ever went faster than 40 mph again.
1953 Corvette. I really need to dig up pics.
My dad had a '32 Ford three window coupe in college, but that was in the 1930s so it was just an old used car at the time.
My dad had an AMC Spirit until I was about 4. Beigemobiles since then I guess.
Father in law always talks about street racing back in the day. He had 2 corvettes, a 70 chevelle ss 396...not all at the same time, and doesn't have em anymore of course!
My father is also a gearhead, so there have been quite a number of interesting cars over the years; both before and during me. But here's a list of the cool things he's owned over the years, that I know of.
Some sort of 40's flathead Ford that ran like stink, make out of several wrecks.
Austin Healey 100/4 Double amusing since he says he sold it while my mother was pregnant. He can't explain the pictures of me in it.
Mustangs, two done up in conjunction to some degree with the factory and Carroll Shelby to his custom specs.
Falcon Sprint
Various old Spitfires
Datsun 2000
My father hates people, he hates cars, and he hates people who drive cars.
He just retired as a service manager/shop steward/dispatcher/service writer. He gave up cool cars and gliding to have me.
AND DON'T SAY, "MAN, WAS THAT A MISTAKE!"
See. I know what you're thinking. Bastard.
Lancia Scorpion
Mk1 (US) Ford Escort w/Formula Ford motor
Jag XJS V12
Alfa GTV
Suzuki Swift GTI
1969 Plymouth RoadRunner
Fiat X1/9
Fiat 124 Spider
Ferrari 348 spider
four that I can think of 356c which he had when I was born, replaced with a 911t which he sold few years later for a Fiat Spider and finally a 1979 RX7 he had others that would be deemed cool here like the 1986 Trooper II so yeah there were a few.
1968 Camaro RS (Blue with stripes, 327 engine) (Dad's car)
That was his first car. Other than that, there were some cool cars that were wrecked (1971 Monte Carlo SS, mom's car and a Cutlass Supreme, think it was a 71, which dad got after he sold the Camaro (which was a stick and mom couldn't drive)) and a seemingly endless stream of VW Beetles, mixed in with an oddball Nova or two.
Lest see.
2 356's
A 69 big block Vette
67 E-type
77 Trans Am, black with the bird on the hood.
69 912
86 951
23 T Roadster
31 A Delivery Sedan
29 A Roadster
Has a
31 A Victoria
23 T Tourung Car
1962 Standard Vanguard Estate. Jealous,aren't you ?
N Sperlo wrote:
My father hates people, he hates cars, and he hates people who drive cars.
He just retired as a service manager/shop steward/dispatcher/service writer. He gave up cool cars and gliding to have me.
I know how he feels. Me, I just hate stupid people who drive cars that are way smarter than they are.
Pop had a ....both Oldsmobiles bought new....
1955 Oldsmobile 88 Holiday Coupe Red/white 2 tone with dual glass packs and yellow fogs behind the grill.
1968 Oldsmobile "98" 2-door - 455 CID with 4 barrel. 7 of us traveled in this bad boy. 4 kids in back - mom, dad, and baby seat hanging up front.
my dad died when i was 9 (1984), but my grandpa told me that he bought a brand new 69 Camaro Z/28 when he got out of the army in 1969.. he blew up 3 engines under warantee and convinced GM to buy it back..
but i'm the one that sold the Buick Nailhead powered '30 Model A 5 window coupe that my dad built in the 60's... i was 13 and a guy showed up at the door with a pile of $20 bills that added up to- get this- $1500, which was the most money i had ever seen in my life at that point and my mom convinced me to sell the car..