The ones that got away...

driller

El Presidente
Staff member
The latest issue of Hot Rod magazine had this topic for a column by David Freiburger of RoadKill fame. It was a good read and I thought it would make for a good topic for discussion here. ;)

As David writes, "Of course, memories of old cars, like girlfriends, are selective; the longer they are gone, the better they were, and the less you recall the reasons you broke it off to begin with."

Hopefully you can join in and make a post of one of your past cars that, regrettably (or not), "got away".

Bonus points for posting pics of your old car.

Double bonus if it's a Lincoln. :cool:
 
Still looking for the one photo I took of it 11 years ago but I used to have a Red on tan, 94 Thunderbird LX with the V8. Nothing special about it other then I really enjoyed it, had to put a transmission in it, then long story short...lost it in the divorce, so I never really got to spend quality time with her. I still shop for t-birds but I'm Lincoln guy at heart...maybe if an 84 turbo coupe or the right SC comes along i might have another.
 
I've got more than a couple and it would be tough to rank them but let's start with the oldest... my first car. :cool:

The best match Google could find for a pic was even the right color...

iu-2.jpeg

A 1965 Buick Wildcat.

The year was 1974, so a nine year old car back then wasn't necessarily a pretty thing, and this was certainly no different but it was a solid driver as they say. I abused the poor thing to no end but the torque monster of the Wildcat 445 V8 engine seemed indestructible. I remember you could start a rolling burnout from 30-40 mph all the while being surprisingly comfortable at speeds well over 100 mph. I learned quickly the cost of gas and tires despite probably having the car just over a year. It died from lack of maintenance to be honest, finally seeing it's demise overheating on the way to a job site hours away. The knock never went away and I sold it for $100 to a scrap yard.
 
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Nice Buick!
My first car was a 67 Pontiac LeMans convertible. It wasn't running when I bought it, I rebuilt the 326 engine, bored, balanced, cam, 4 barrel carb, and headers. I eventually rebuilt the front end, changed the trans to a 3 speed auto, and added 373 gears. It rusted out pretty bad, it actually dropped the gas tank out on the expressway, I put the tank in the trunk, ran the fuel line through a rust hole and drove it home like that. I couldn't reattach the tank to all the rust and ended up driving it with the tank in the trunk for a while. I finally had to junk the car, even though it ran and handled great. Many years later I bought a 66 convertible, very similar to the 67, drove it for a few years, then took it off the road because the frame rusted out. That one is in my garage still waiting for a good frame. Here's a photo of the original 67 with my 25 dollar beater Ford wagon, and a photo of the 66 before I started to take it apart, along with my first Marl VIII, which rusted out too, and my orange MG which I still have.PONTIAC and WAGON.JPG3 cars with pontiac.JPG
 
our 1969 Roadrunner 440-6pack...she was mean, hated me, drew blood, always wanted to look good, and was only happy when I treated her rough...
But these two...the cars that made "Club 16"...my 94 mark VIII and her 97 LSC Club 16
 
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