Classic Cars, Which do You Own, Did Own, or Wish you Own

[Phil Stone]

My last muscle car was a 1968 Barracuda notchback. The 318 in it wasn't enough for me, so I put a 340 out of a wrecked Duster into it. It used to break its motor-mounts on launches.

Here's one that is in much nicer cosmetic shape than mine was:

http://www.muscle-car-wallpaper.com/...024x768-01.htm

I like my cars to be a little more efficient these days (and better handling, that thing was a beast!), but I still think fondly of the sound it made when I punched it.

[Phil Thien]

Another 240Z guy here.

In beautiful "please pull me over" red.

[Michael Weber]

Jaguar XKE. 4.2 liter
then a 1950 Jaguar Mark 2 Sedan
then. 1965 Mustang
then and now a 1950 MGTD.
the one I wish I had back the most was the Mark2 Sedan

[James Baker SD]

Not really a classic, but as close as I will ever come. 1995 Mazda RX-7 with twin turbos. Bought it when I heard they were being discontinued and what was on the dealer lots was all there was going to be. Wanted it in silver and found a dealer willing to hunt it for me. He finagled one that met Cal emission codes and I had my dream car. Two weeks later I met my future wife who gets horribly car sick when she rides in it. Could not bring myself to part with the car so it sits in the garage waiting for days when I am alone (wife travels). Car will be 20 years old this fall and it has just over 7000 (no typo) miles on it.

Now if I could have any car ever built, without a doubt the 1953 Mercedes SL gullwing.

[Bruce Page]

My first car was a 1960 T-Bird. I wish I had it today.

[dennis thompson]

61 Corvette
50 Cadillac
53 Chevy
wish I had the Vette

[Jerome Stanek]

Another 240Z guy here.

In beautiful "please pull me over" red.

I bought a red one but it came through as blue. had to wait 7 months for it. and was offered more than i paid for it the day I got it. Was on a waiting list at 3 dealers

[Phil Thien]

I bought a red one but it came through as blue. had to wait 7 months for it. and was offered more than i paid for it the day I got it. Was on a waiting list at 3 dealers

I have a friend that still has a blue one, in awesome (original) condition.

They are neat cars.

[Chris Damm]

My 1st car was a 1953 Chevy that I put a in a 301 V8.
Then I bought a 1929 Model A that I put the 301 in.
Followed by a 1966 Chevy Nova SS. Changed the 327 to Z28 running gear.
A 1969 Camaro SS 396 L89 was next. I raced this one with many different engines.
Then a 1970 El Camino with a 307, changed to a destroked 400. (sense a theme here?)
Then I got married and a bunch of boring family cars.
Now I have a 1972 El Camino SS396 and am reliving my youthful fascination with cars!

[Gordon Eyre]

My very first car was a 1935 Ford convertible. The brakes were a joke.

[Randy Rizzo]

'57 Bel Air, a factory 270HP w/dual 4 Rochesters and a '41 Merc 😓 Then there was a '65 GTO, a '67 Camaro SS, and a '62 Impala SS. How's a young guy supposed to know they'd all become classics!!!

[Rick Potter]

I remember cruising the In N Out burger joint, back when there was only one. Midnite, sunglasses on, looking for a race, Pepsi was a dime in the same style cup they still use. I heard they bought the palm tree design from Dixie Cup, when they stopped making them. This would be in 1957, and early 50's Fords were the desired high school car. Anyone who could afford a '55 or newer Chevy with the new V8 was rich.

When I graduated in '60, I was driving a '54 Ford with a hot 312 in it. Only got beat once by a '57 Chevy, because he was running cheater slicks. The richest guy in school had a '59 Impala, with a tri power 348.


When my brother graduated in '65, a sea change had happened. Guys were trailering in Hemi-Dodges to Bob's Big Boy, looking for races. Lots of 409's etc on the used market by then. It was a land of twice pipes, 4-speeds and bucket chairs by then.


That wasn't the only sea change. My yearbook shows girls in dresses at school, even some poodle skirts. My brothers yearbook shows mini skirts and hot pants.

[Alan Caro]

Rich Riddle,

I've gone through a few old bangers- about 35. Some highlights:

1952 Bentley MK VI : This was my first car which I bought in Cambridge, England. I sold it very quickly- in two months- as the insurance cost was as much as the car- $900 /yr in 1974. This is not mine, which was all black:

1937 Riley 12/4 : My Second car: I drove this around Cambridge- though I wasn't supposed to have a car- and parked it in another college's boathouse where I knew the boatman. These were sophisticated for 1937- Aluminum body, twin cam engine, Wilson pre-selector
gearbox- an early form of automatic, and it had automatic jacking- built in jacks.

1952 Morris Minor coupe: My third car. This had a 25HP sidevalve engine from the 1934 Morris. This car went on several 500 mile trips - completely reliable. On one 800 mile trip, I and a close friend slept in the car, you could fold down the rear bench seat and the front seats forward with your feet in the trunk. I eventually also had five other Minors including one of my favorite cars, a 1957 convertible.
MOR RL 50.jpg

Another car I liked a lot were Volvo 122S and I had five of those. Favorites were a 1968 coupe and this 1963 station wagon.
P5020003.jpg
Behind was a 1968 Volvo 145S station wagon, a fantastic one-owner car that I bought from a psychiatrist friend.

The Volvo 145S:

Volvo 145S_L_1.jpg
My favorite car of all was a 1957 Jaguar XK140MC:

Jag FR 60.jpg
And this was my perfect car. Reluctantly sold after 22 years.

Also a nice one was a 1928 Packard 443 with a custom convertible coupe body by Dietrich:
Packard 443_FR.jpg
I drove this to Pebble Beach a couple of times where I attended the Concours every year for twenty years. Another reluctant sale,...

I had a 1955 Cadillac coupe that I drove as my everyday car in Los Angeles for three years. I bought that car from the estate of the original owner, Murray Cutter, who was an orchestrator in the movies- having orchestrated "Gone with the Wind" for Max Steiner. The car still had a little card with his name under the hood, I suppose to identify the owner to shop mechanics.

My everyday car for 9 years was a 1970 Mercedes 300SEL 6.3 which was a limited production car- the first German muscle car as it was the 300HP engine from the 600 limosuine in the long wheel base 4-door sedan with air suspension. Quite expensive in 1970- $17,000 when a Rolls Silver Shadow cost $19,000. Onassis used to travel with three of these to be semi-inconspicuous and they had an anti-kidnapping feature: pull out a knob and the air suspension would raise the car 4 inches to be able to hop curbs. Plus, the car would do 145MPH. Phil Hill made these famous as he used to race weekend Ferrari owners thorough the canyons in Los Angeles and guess who won? These cars were and are very expensive to work on- I bought mine with $35,000 in repair bill in the glove compartment: a new cylinder head had been $8,600, the air suspension rebuild was $7,700 and the fuel injection pup rebuild was $2,500. As all this was done, this car was completely reliable: in nine years I replaced the timing chain tensioner and one air-spring myself.

My everyday car today still with only 72K miles is a 1994 Lincoln MK VIII, another sleeper as these have a Mustang Cobra 4.6Liter DOHC- fast and quiet.
Lincoln_ Lf.jpg
Other cars I had include 10- Mercedes 190SL's including a 1954, number 0046 that was in the very first batch and had the seats from the 300SL roadster. I also had 2- 280SL convertibles.

Cars I wish I'd had:

Any prewar Bugatti ___ https://www.google.com/search?q=1949...ugatti+Type+57
1949 Cadillac Series 62 convertible. I think this may have been the best production car ever made in the US- a beautiful design before the bloat era. When I was a kid my father had the fastback coupe version of that car. I went to see one in Santa Barbara, but instead bought a _____1936 Packard coupe from the seller- a big mistake.__ https://www.google.com/search?q=1949...ac+convertible
1952 Ferrari 166MM Barchetta_http://www.favcars.com/ferrari-166-mm-touring-barchetta-1948-50-photos-102528
1964 Ferrari Lusso. I narrowly missed having one of these in 1985_ http://extendcreative.com/ferrari-25...photo-gallery/
1963 Bentley Flying Spur: I also missed one of these in 1989_http://onlycarsandcars.blogspot.com/2012/04/bentley-s3-continental-flying-spur-by.html
1931 Alfa Romeo 1750 with Touring body_ https://www.classicdriver.com/en/art...cours-elegance
1934 Packard Le Baron boat tail speedster
1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 convertible_ http://www.coachbuild.com/gallery/ma...geViewsIndex=2

_ and about 100 others.

Alan Caro

[Alan Caro]

Rich Riddle,

I've gone through a few old bangers- about 35. Some highlights:

1952 Bentley MK VI : This was my first car which I bought in Cambridge, England. I sold it very quickly- in two months- as the insurance cost was as much as the car- $900 /yr in 1974. This is not the one I had but the same model:
1952 Bentley MKVI.jpg
1937 Riley 12/4 : My Second car: I drove this around Cambridge- though I wasn't supposed to have a car- and parked it in another college's boathouse where I knew the boatman. These were sophisticated for 1937- Aluminum body, twin cam engine, Wilson pre-selector
gearbox- an early form of automatic, and it had automatic jacking- built in jacks.

Riley !937 Kestrel.jpg

1952 Morris Minor coupe: My third car. This had a 25HP sidevalve engine from the 1934 Morris. This car went on several 500 mile trips - completely reliable. On one 800 mile trip, I and a close friend slept in the car, you could fold down the rear bench seat and the front seats forward with your feet in the trunk. I eventually also had five other Minors including one of my favorite cars, a 1957 convertible.
MOR RL 50.jpg

Another car I liked a lot were Volvo 122S and I had five of those. Favorites were a 1968 coupe and this 1963 station wagon.
P5020003.jpg
Behind was a 1968 Volvo 145S station wagon, a fantastic one-owner car that I bought from a psychiatrist friend.

The Volvo 145S:

Volvo 145S_L_1.jpg
My favorite car of all was a 1957 Jaguar XK140MC:

Jag FR 60.jpg Jag LR 60.jpg
And this was my perfect car. Reluctantly sold after 22 years.

Also a nice one was a 1928 Packard 443 with a custom convertible coupe body by Dietrich:
Packard 443_FR.jpg
I drove this to Pebble Beach a couple of times where I attended the Concours every year for twenty years. Another reluctant sale,...

I had a 1955 Cadillac coupe that I drove as my everyday car in Los Angeles for three years. I bought that car from the estate of the original owner, Murray Cutter, who was an orchestrator in the movies- having orchestrated "Gone with the Wind" for Max Steiner. The car still had a little card with his name under the hood, I suppose to identify the owner to shop mechanics.

My everyday car for 9 years was a 1970 Mercedes 300SEL 6.3 which was a limited production car- the first German muscle car as it was the 300HP engine from the 600 limosuine in the long wheel base 4-door sedan with air suspension. Quite expensive in 1970- $17,000 when a Rolls Silver Shadow cost $19,000. Onassis used to travel with three of these to be semi-inconspicuous and they had an anti-kidnapping feature: pull out a knob and the air suspension would raise the car 4 inches to be able to hop curbs. Plus, the car would do 145MPH. Phil Hill made these famous as he used to race weekend Ferrari owners thorough the canyons in Los Angeles and guess who won? These cars were and are very expensive to work on- I bought mine with $35,000 in repair bill in the glove compartment: a new cylinder head had been $8,600, the air suspension rebuild was $7,700 and the fuel injection pup rebuild was $2,500. As all this was done, this car was completely reliable: in nine years I replaced the timing chain tensioner and one air-spring myself.
Mercedes 6.3.jpg
My everyday car today still with only 72K miles is a 1994 Lincoln MK VIII, another sleeper as these have a Mustang Cobra 4.6Liter DOHC- fast and quiet.
Lincoln_ Lf.jpg
Other cars I had include 10- Mercedes 190SL's including a 1954, number 0046 that was in the very first batch and had the seats from the 300SL roadster. I also had 2- 280SL convertibles.

Cars I wish I'd had:

1. 1957 Jaguar XKSS

Jaguar XKSS.jpg

Any prewar Bugatti
1949 Cadillac Series 62 convertible. I think this may have been the best production car ever made in the US- a beautiful design before the bloat era. When I was a kid my father had the fastback coupe version of that car. I went to see one in Santa Barbara, but instead bought a _____1936 Packard coupe from the seller- a big mistake.__ https://www.google.com/search?q=1949...ac+convertible
1952 Ferrari 166MM Barchetta_http://www.favcars.com/ferrari-166-mm-touring-barchetta-1948-50-photos-102528
1964 Ferrari Lusso. I narrowly missed having one of these in 1985_ http://extendcreative.com/ferrari-25...photo-gallery/
1963 Bentley Flying Spur: I also missed one of these in 1989_http://onlycarsandcars.blogspot.com/2012/04/bentley-s3-continental-flying-spur-by.html
1931 Alfa Romeo 1750 with Touring body_ https://www.classicdriver.com/en/art...cours-elegance
1934 Packard Le Baron boat tail speedster
1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 convertible_ http://www.coachbuild.com/gallery/ma...geViewsIndex=2

_ and about 100 others.

Alan Caro

[Mike Ontko]

It wasn't a classic when I owned it, but my first car was a franken-made Mustang Mach I - a 1969 chassis and frame with 1970 front quarters, grill, and hood, and a 350 Windsor engine from a '71 Galaxie. Green with red and gray primer, it was quite a site. But at 16 years of age it was still pretty cool for a first car.

If I could afford the luxury of a classic muscle car, it would be the 1972 Mach I.