All things Automobile - THE definitive car thread

[Tripped1]

Originally Posted by One Less Harley

Which leads to this......

Lookit you all fancy.

That looks like a perfectly good tree in the background. My mom used to ground me for hanging motors out of trees

[vtwin]

[QUOTE=One Less Harley;20482983]Maybe this will help you miss those British cars even more..........

My recent ejumication on why Castrol GTX isn't what it was 30 years ago....




Which leads to this......



That powerline looks like it should be raised. Never rode in a TR6, but did ride in a friend's GT6 with o/d around the Berkeley Hills, what a slot car! It was the early one with those "kill you in a turn" rear swing arms too. His younger brother borrowed it one night and flipped it.

[Bueller]

Originally Posted by koncha

I was talking with my parents a few months ago at their 50th wedding anniversary. Obviously, they were married in 1962.

For the wedding, my dad wanted to purchase a new car. He had a 1961 Corvette but wanted something brand new to celebrate. He looked at just 2 cars: 1963 split window Corvette and a 1963 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing. He debated the vehicles and tried to pick out the merits of each. At the time, he was very much into racing and made regular weekend trips to oval and road tracks, as well as drag racing.

He ended up with the 1963 split window with the 327-360 in whatever the blue was for that year.

It ended up being a real lemon and was eventually traded for 1965 Corvette convertible 396-425.

I only mention this because a Mercedes similar to the one my dad was looking at recently sold for $1.3M.

I would post pics of the 1963 but I can't locate pictures of his. We believe all known pictures were lost in a house fire a few years ago.

There you go. My family's story of 'almost was'.

The '63 lemon aside, I would have purchased the Vette too. Had it not been problematic the extra hp would have been more fun, and he wouldn't have owned either today anyway.

According to Wikipedia the gull wing was only made in model years 1955 through 1957??? They claim the rest of them were roadsters. Regardless, the $11,000 price tag was stratospheric for the day.

[jdiaz]

How much would a 65 Corvette convertible big block sold for at auction in the last few years? I can't imagine it would have been chump change.

My situation is not much better. My dad purchased Microsoft stock at the IPO in 1986, then sold around 1988 because "they really weren't going anywhere." We can laugh about it now, a little.

[Tripped1]

Originally Posted by jdiaz

How much would a 65 Corvette convertible big block sold for at auction in the last few years? I can't imagine it would have been chump change.

My situation is not much better. My dad purchased Microsoft stock at the IPO in 1986, then sold around 1988 because "they really weren't going anywhere." We can laugh about it now, a little.

Back in 2000 I think it was my boss picked up a 66 big-block for $55,000 at a dealer auction. At BJ or Autobaun that car likely would have went over 100

[koncha]

Originally Posted by Bueller

The '63 lemon aside, I would have purchased the Vette too. Had it not been problematic the extra hp would have been more fun, and he wouldn't have owned either today anyway.

According to Wikipedia the gull wing was only made in model years 1955 through 1957??? They claim the rest of them were roadsters. Regardless, the $11,000 price tag was stratospheric for the day.

I inserted the gull wing because it was my understanding they were sold through the end of the 300SL run in 1963.

My mistake, not my fathers. I will correct the post.

[koncha]

Originally Posted by jdiaz

How much would a 65 Corvette convertible big block sold for at auction in the last few years? I can't imagine it would have been chump change.

My situation is not much better. My dad purchased Microsoft stock at the IPO in 1986, then sold around 1988 because "they really weren't going anywhere." We can laugh about it now, a little.

Remind me to tell you the story about a study group partner in college that tried to convince me to take all of my student loan, scholarship, and grant money and purchase some put options on AOL/Time Warner when it was trading at $750 or so a share.

I bought a Tacoma instead.

He retired. At 23.

[Bueller]

Originally Posted by koncha

Remind me to tell you the story about a study group partner in college that tried to convince me to take all of my student loan, scholarship, and grant money and purchase some put options on AOL/Time Warner when it was trading at $750 or so a share.

I bought a Tacoma instead.

He retired. At 23.

Jesus. That one hurts.

[jdiaz]

Originally Posted by koncha

Remind me to tell you the story about a study group partner in college that tried to convince me to take all of my student loan, scholarship, and grant money and purchase some put options on AOL/Time Warner when it was trading at $750 or so a share.

I bought a Tacoma instead.

He retired. At 23.

But you had a 22RE, baby!! Your friend will never know that joy, since he is stuck driving Lambos and Ferraris now.

[koncha]

Originally Posted by Bueller

Jesus. That one hurts.

Yeah. We still talk. He is really excited since he traded his King Air for a Cessna Mustang.

I sold my Taco to my attorney. Toyota bought it back for a frame rust issue at something like 2.5 times KBB values not long after I sold it. My attorney updated my will for free after kid #2 because he developed something that might resemble a soul.

I did buy Ford at sub $2 a share. I told my college acquaintance about that one while I was doing it. He bought also. I get to retire a few hours sooner. He did something horrendously unnatural with 3 porn stars that got him kicked out of his suite at the Bellagio.

[koncha]

Originally Posted by jdiaz

But you had a 22RE, baby!! Your friend will never know that joy, since he is stuck driving Lambos and Ferraris now.

I know. Except I had the V6. I was so close to ADV Rider meme-dom.

[Gas Hog]

This thread has epic written all over it.
Big bird and the Hammer in the pre driveway pad days. A lot of fun getting 1400 cc's up that baby

-
Big bird has delusions of grandeur.. like me..this is what she sees in her refection.



Gary

[vtwin]

Originally Posted by koncha

Remind me to tell you the story about a study group partner in college that tried to convince me to take all of my student loan, scholarship, and grant money and purchase some put options on AOL/Time Warner when it was trading at $750 or so a share.

I bought a Tacoma instead.

He retired. At 23.

Had bought quite a few shares of Apple at $66 a share, sold it at $99, thought I did ok. That was just before it skyrocketed to $400. To top it off, I sold it one of two days before it's 1 year period and had to pay higher tax on it. My wife still is mad at me about that. Kramer made me do it!

[HOT DAMN!]

Originally Posted by vtwin

Sell, sell, sell...

[ImaPoser]

Sorry to hijack the car thread back on topic, but I gotta start car shopping. Put $800 in the wifes van last month, now it's back in again, looking at $500 more. At this rate, it's not worth trying to get it to the 10 year point we agreed to keep it and we're going to replace it now.

The fun part is, not counting on being shopping for another two years, neither of us have a clue what we want. Looking at anything from new minivans/suv's in the mid $30's down to beater, just get us those next two years $2k cars(still got that taurus Bueller?)
Heading out to drive the dealer strip right now. Always wait till it's below 20 to go car shopping.