The OneThat Got Away

[34pickup]

I also passed up on a 57 T-Bird for $1500. It was in the 80s so it was a lot of money but still a good deal. It was also an E Bird that had the intake changed to a single four barrel. Someone put a battery in the trunk and it leaked and rotted out one of the quarter panels so I went home to think about it. I thought too long. When I decided it was still a good deal with the only rust was in the trunk but needing a restoration, I went back and it was already gone.

[37 Coupe]

The Thunderbird I mentioned in an earlier post was a maroon color I have never seen on another TBird. I have seen the same color on a couple '57 Fairlane convertibles but never another '57 T bird. My brother bought a black '57 T bird from a family friend about 10-12 years ago for $25,000,it was a real nice low mileage car with just a repaint on it. My brother is not really a diehard old Ford guy but just always liked 55-57 Birds.Had some problems with the automatic and had it rebuilt plus some other mechanical things over the years figured he had about $28,000 plus in it. The guy he bought it from was always asking me at shows and cruiseins if my brother is ready to sell the '57 back and couple years ago I said I think he wants to make room in his garage. Contacted each other and my brother told him he could have it back for what he paid for it ,guy couldn't believe that was the price. He wheels and deals a lot in old cars and has for years,I was his paper boy in 1960 and remember a 32 3 window for sale that didn't look like the AMT 5 window model I had just built. He passed on the very fair offer and bought a black one of those new Mickey Mouse T birds. My brother placed an ad in Classic T bird and got best offer $35,000.

[V12Bill]

When I was 12 or 13 years old I had a chance to buy a complete and solid 1936 four door convertible for $75. I asked my dad for permission to buy the car and and got the same response that the kid in the Christmas Story got when he asked for a BB gun. The car was sold withing a few days and the new owner ran it into a stone fence pillar and totaled it.

[37 Coupe]

But the kid did get the Red Ryder gun and almost shot his eye out as predicted.

[29delivery]

Many years ago I lost a 1951 mercury convertable to a well known midwest custom guy who has since passed.He knew I had made a deal and showed up telling the seller he was picking it up for me.

[1938 Coupe]

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Originally Posted by Barry-ct

I had the chance back in the 70's to buy a 48 Ford 2dr coupe that was running and fairly complete for $150.00 . That was a lot of $$ back then for a kid of 20 years old to come up with. He sold it to someone else and I missed my one and only chance to be able to get a 48 Ford for a good price. Sure do kick myself for that one! NoW they're so far beyond reality in price, I could never buy one. Oh well........

What seemed like a lot of money back then would be chump change today!

[Shadetree]

When I was 15 years old I washed cars at a dealership. A man brought in a mint `36 Ford Coupe. It absolutely looked like a new car. It was stunning black with a green pinstripe. He was asking $500 for it. As far as I was concerned it might as well been $5000.

[wisbangman]

The ones that got away ! 1959, I was 15 - There was a 32 tudor sedan, rusty, sitting behind a house in West Allis, Wisconsin - $50 bucks ! My dad said No ! Later that year, I found a "like new" maroon 48 coupe $150.00- another No ! My best friends dad said Yes so to add insult to injury, I had to look at it with envy every day. When I was 17 a 1940 Standard 2 door Sedan came along, that one was a Yes ! Fast forward to 1968, I was in the Jaycees found out that one of my fellow Jaycees had just sold a 35 roadster for $900.00 wish I would have bought that one. There are more, but all of a sudden, I'm not feeling so good.

[ora masters]

hey 37 coupe i have one of those [micky mouse t birds ] and i love it red with red and black upholster both tops 02 looks like new with 85,000.miles

[BlueSunoco]

Sounds like it's always best to have cash in hand or some kind of partial payment and make the other guy sign a statement saying YOU are to have the car,,,,, and/or better yet, get it then and there don't let time or other parties get involved and mess you up.

Brother in California, years ago, came upon a '67 Shelby GT500, all original black plate car with a 425 HP 427 out of Mel Burns Ford I believe it was...... he wasted NO time running all around THAT NIGHT getting cash for the car and it was not cheap. BUT, he walked away the winner, got the car before the owner changed his mind. Good thing because a couple of days later he got two separate phone calls from VERY angry people who said THEY were supposed to have the car and he 'stole' it out from under them

[dude]

Your number was worth keeping ,but not using ..can't figure some people...

[Shadetree]

When I found my `35 I gave a deposit and a handshake with an old gentleman. Months later after I got it running I was at car show and a stranger walked up and said that I had beat him by two hours buying the car. He also said that he had tried for years to buy the car. He said he offered the owner more money to back out of the deal with me but he refused. So sometimes you win.....

[rockfla]

@ Bluesunoco
No way, as my best friend ALWAYS told me, "SEAL THE DEAL....TAKE THE GOODS....GO HOME!" Don't EVER give a deposit and leave it. We had a friend who bought a 40 Sedan Delivery on his way out of town and Left a $500 Deposit....when he returned two days later got a $500 handshake and "SORRY"! Someone paid him a little more money and took it home. My dad wanted to do the same with our 35 Sedan Delivery, I told him no...it didn't cost anything extra to pull a empty trailer. REMEMBER

ALWAYS SEAL THE DEAL!!!!!!!

[Clem Clement]

While in college we spotted a '40 Merc parked on the city street. My bud said buy it.
I wrote my Phone # on a matchbook cover I found in the gutter and offered $25. 2 weeks later the owner called and accepted. I had to borrow the $25. We had to drive the car backward to get it up the hill to campus because the clutch was shot.

A few weeks later Daddy came up and we towed it home via R130. When we went by the Ford Factory I could see him tipping his hat to the factory (Where the 40 was built!). I will never forget the Father/son trip. A local bud and I put an 8BA in the Merc and got it running and driving. I loved that car.

Then the Good Lord called Daddy home and we had to sell the Merc. It resides now in the late Bob Aufderheide's garage in Dayton Ohio. The Merc was a convertible sedan.

[Clem Clement]

As a kid I found a '29 Packard touring in a field for $25. Daddy said no. The next car I found was a 40 Buick convert for $25. Daddy checked with my Uncle Raeman who said no. He said the 40 Buick had a poor transmission. Then he said I have several cars I own here at the shop and you can have anyone of them. My bud and I went down there immediately and picked a 40 Packard sedan. he said no as tires were not available. Then I picked 41 Ford Tudor. He said no as he did not have the title. A couple of others were junk. It came down to 2 X 48 Pontiac coupes. One in green with a big visor and one in dull black. We picked the ugly black one and asked who was going to get it thru inspection. He said you are nephew. THANK goodness for that decision! Both of us learned about fixing cars from that decision. King pins, mufflers, tire changing; tune-ups, low cost repair solutions like kerosene on the windshield to get the poor wipers thru inspection, tinfoil from gum wrappers to cover burnt out fuses, junk yard runs for fuses and light bulbs, etc.
The old heap covered our experiences for 6 months of fun. I would change tires for folks on the NJTK for cash. Every trip home I went to uncle's pile of worn tires and tubes and mounted up 3 more for the next trip to school. When one of those MAY POPS blew, they took the tube and half the tire with the blast.

That summer the Pont was dying. We drove it to the junk year and it died 20 feet from where the junkie wanted it. He laughed so hard and said: You boys got every inch of service out of that wreck. We did!