Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

My first car, a '71 GTO, 400, 4-speed. Manual steering, drum brakes, what a thrill to drive.

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

Joey, I Still have my 73 Super Duty. 2nd owner since '78, paid best friend $2500 after he spun rod bearing street racing, got mad, and drove it home. Oh yea, has column shift auto (no console)
The pic is circa 78 also, lol., cut a hole in ceiling of my Mom's garage to hang chain hoist, LOL Dad wasn't happy!!!

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

Had two that I wished I still had. 68 Camaro conv that I never really finished but built a few different 350's for it. Had a 'glide but swapped over to a Muncie M22 which certainly made for some "spirited" driving with manual steering and manual 4 wheel drums. The other I regret doing what I did to it was a 69 Chevelle SS396/325 4 speed hardtop. Paid 800 for it to use as a winter car and ended up parting it out. Put the 396 in the Camaro for a while and put the 12 bolt under it also. Interesting thing was that the Chevelle rear was a bit wider than the Camaro rear and that allowed me to put a pair of N50/15's mounted on a standard pair of Cragar SS wheels instead of the reversed ones I had to use before. Will say that running D70-14's up front and the N50's out back made for some hair raising stops. Last motor I had in it was a 060 over 350 with a pair of 660 center shooters on a tunnel ram that ran very strong. Couldn't stop or turn too good but was sure a blast to drive. The end of the Camaro is still a sore subject though and a validation of never questioning your instincts.

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

Well I bet I'll shock a bunch of guys here but I have three cars, that no one would imagine me ever owning since I race a fwd Cavalier:

1. '66 Chevy II, with a 283 and a powerglide. I found a Rochester 4GC carb, and would've made it into an eventual K-M/SA if I'd have kept it. But I didn't have the heart to have to use it as a daily driver, and didn't have the bucks to buy something else for a street vehicle. :(

2. '67 Chevelle, also with a 283 and 'glide, with a 2bbl carb on it. I bought a 327, and some pieces that should've hopped it up, but instead of having someone like "Verle Stevens" build it, I ended up going to a shade tree mechanic that worked on my '73 Div. 5 Street ET winning Pontiac Ventura (back in '81)...that was a mistake!

3. '66 Impala 396/325 2dr coupe, with (egads) a 3spd tranny!!! I should've let the shop I bought the car from repair the carb, but I thought I'd support my local service shop, and the jerk obviously dropped either a nut or bolt into my intake manifold, and couldn't reach it, so he built the carb, slapped it on the car, pushed it out of the shop, and within just two blocks of driving it away from the shop, I hear this "BLAMM" sound, and that was the bolt or nut going through my block cracking it, and ruining my efforts to race at Bandimere with a mid-to fast side of Street ET race car. I wish I'd have known some of my racing buds up there better then, I could have sued the shop for ruining my engine, but I was a 21yr old that didn't know any better, and a first gen racer, so I had no backup... :(

4. Now the easiest car (to work on), that also was my most successful raced vehicle was my '76 Chevy Vega...I bought that car new, and definitely wish I could have it back (since I won 7 bracket races in 8 final rounds, including Denver South High Schools last known equivalent of a state championship by winning the "King of The Hill" title at Bandimere Speedways Memorial Day Dragfest)! I also made the semi's at the first Div. 5 ET finals in Marion Sd. with the car, after filling in for other racers who couldn't go to the race (I was the fourth alternate, since I finished 14th in their points standings that year)! So if anyone out there in Co. comes across a Cream colored hatchback with the vin "IV77B6U220942", let me know...I'd love to have it back, as that was my winningest race car ever...it may have been the slowest of my raced cars, but I was inspired by George Williams' Vega, and wanted to do what he did. The last time I saw that car, it had a pontiac 151 and a 4spd in it. When I bought it, it had an original 140 4cyl, 2bbl carb, and a Turbo 250 automatic in it. That car would've been much easier to hop up than my Z24 (no computer)!!! :)

Great thread idea!!!

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

Graduated high school in 1969 at 17 years of age. Bought my first new car, and paid cash! I worked all through high school at a Standard Oil Chevron station, and after graduation. Was also my only non-GM product. 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger 340, with a Torqueflite, and 3.91 Sure Grip. Vitamin C orange(actually Dodge called it Go-Mango, my father said Go-Man-Go) with a blacked out hood, and twin hood scoops. Lifted up with Cragar S/S on the small 4" bolt pattern, Hooker headers, Edelbrock high rise, and 650 Holley DP, a Sun Super tach, and the mandatory 8 track tape player were all added. Then, at 19, I got an invitation to come play war with my uncle; damned draft. I was a fanatic about keeping the car clean, you could lierally eat off the engine and undercarriage. Let my folks trade it in on a new Buick for them while I was in basic training. To this day, that would be the car I'd most like to have back, and my girlfriend I had at the time (she's been married and divorced three times). Butch/56sedandelivery.

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

As a little kid, I dreamed of owning a 68 Camaro...my brother had one in high school when I was about 6 or 7 and that was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. When I was 15, I spent $600 on my first car - 65 Chevy II 4 door. 194 one barrel, but some previous owner had swapped in a Saginaw 4 speed and a Hurst floor shifter. Fun car to drive to school, especially before any of my buddies could drive. (I lived 10 miles or so away, so I got a school permit.) Sold that car to a buddy who blew it up on the test drive, and bought the only 68 Camaro at my high school. That day a bunch of buddies piled in it, and we went to Missouri to buy fireworks and smuggled 'em back inside the doors. It was a rustbucket, but I always heard stories from older guys about wishing they had never sold theirs. So, in January of '90, as a senior in HS, I started dismantling it. 7 years later, it had quarters, floors, tail panel, rockers, hood, fenders, etc. and I had a mortgage, a wife, and 2 kids. Still have it, and will never sell it.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8217/8...40dfc72f_z.jpg

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

70 Nova SS 396, bench seat,375hp/396,turbo 400. Stolen in 72:mad: close....http://www.gatewayclassiccars.com/displaycar.php?stock=91&location=CHI#

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

My first was a 1963 1/2 Galaxy 406 tri power, four speed. But my second is the one I wish I still had. '70 Boss 302, shaker, slats, spoilers, yellow, and black.

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

My Senior year in High School, with about 2 months left, before graduation(1987), i bought my 2nd '60 Pontiac 2 door post Catalina...had 27,000 original miles on it,,, 389/215hp 2bbl. It was white. I put some 5/16'' poli-locks on it, holley pump on the engine, opened the single exhaust dump...with 2.69 road gears in it, 205 radials on back, 1'' horseshoe spacers in front springs and tall front tires, it went 16.30s/85mph. I won street class with it, that Fall and a few other trophies. I had it until Fall 1990... i had swapped another 389 in it , for awhile(THanks Dad).. had 093 Tripower heads and a 4bbl cast intake...3.90 gears and Grandma cam(hehehe) and went 14.90s ... still through manifolds and single dump. Put original engine back in and sold it... Nice car...shoulda never sold that one!!!

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

I sold the first race car I ever owned in 1974 and knew I would later regret it because it was such a cool and fun car. Here we are years later and the stars all aligned for me and I was able to buy it back last week, 4 days before Christmas. It has been through many hands and was covered in dirt and cob webs, like your typical barn find, but it is my old car. Talk about the coolest Christmas present EVER!!! I'm still pinching myself.

This is an original L79 327/350HP 4 speed car. Original colors are black and black. It shows 27,000 miles on the odometer. I turned it into a race car with the help of Cal Method and it has not been on the street since 1971. My son and I are going to have a ball restoring it (back to a street car).

The photos show the car at the Seattle Point Meet in 1972 (and yes, I beat Mark Coletti) and a few days ago in the trailer when we picked it up.

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

Larry,
Tell us more! What condition was it when you sold it, and again when you bought it back?
How much did you sell it for and how much to buy it back?
And how did it come back to you?

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

Jeff,

When I sold my 66 Nova I had raced it for a year in SS/J with a 327/275HP then the following year in SS/O with a 283/220HP. Cal Method set the record in the car in SS/O in 1973. Later we parked the car; I had no job and no money. I sold the car as a roller for $1,000 to a racer in Vancouver, Washington and he raced it in the Portland, Oregon area for a year, then moved to Anchorage, Alaska where he raced it for a year before moving back to Vancouver. At some point after moving back it was parted out and parked.

In 1997 I got a phone call from a guy in the Portland, Oregon area who had purchased the car. It had been sitting out behind a barn for a year or two. He was tracking down previous owners of the car. He planned to restore it. I tried to buy it from him but no sale. I sent him some pictures and time slips from the 2 years I raced the car. He said he would call me when he finished restoration. He never called.

This year me son asked me about the car so I called the guy. He had just sold the car back to the guy he bought it from! Restoration turned out to be more work than he expected and he gave up. I called the new owner and we made a deal. I paid a lot more to buy it back than I sold it for, but it IS an original L79 car (only 5,400 built), has 27,000 miles on the odometer, and it WAS my car 40 years ago. What do you think the other posters on this thread would pay to get back some favorite car they once owned?

The body is still fairly straight, but the rear sub-frame has been cut, banged, and welded on. Big holes in the trunk floor; don't know why. The two previous owners had accumulated a lot of parts to restore the car and I got all that with the car. So I have a leg up toward restoration. All I know is that this car will be restored and stay in the family. I can't think of a better father/son/grandson project than restoring this car. Well, other than racing together, but we already do that.

Merry Christmas and Happy New year to everyone on Class Racer. Santa was good to me, hope is he was good to you too.

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

Great story; being that it was parted out, it literally will come back from the dead! I would have paid as much as I could for a car with such a personal history.

I had a '71 Challenger 318 in High School. My first fast car as I added typical bolt-ns to the 318 then built a 340 for it. Painted it black & gold with a T/A hood. First really fast car for me (but no doubt a slug compared to some of these stories), first awesome paint and stance car. Spun a rod (oh, you shouldn't wing it to 7,000 in the driveway?). Parked it and accumulated a 440, roll-bar, Jaz seats; basically building it into a real race car. A friend had to have it and I realized I didn't really have the funds to do the job and I traded it for his '68 Barracuda Formula S 383 / 4-speed car which now had a 440 in it with a Hurst Ram-Rod shifter and a solid puck sintered iron clutch disk. What a treat that was on the street with 3.23 gears! Never took a liking to that car and I don't even remember what I sold it for.

A few years went buy and the Challenger went through a few owners. Then one day I saw in the paper "Parting - '71 Challenger". I called. The guy said it was black and gold and all that was left was the 4.10 center in the 8 3/4". I could have that for $50.00. I arrived and the front looked like it went through a tree. The rear was jacked up with two bumper jacks; one on each rear quarter. I about cried. Didn't say I was the one that built the car as the guy was a real POS. Took the gears out and left.

I had 4 years and a lot of memories in that car and it was somewhat of a trend setter for the day. Only lost two street races in it with that 340 (weighed 3200#'s) and I hung pretty close to their rear bumpers in the process. Learned a lot on that car!

If I found the car today? I'd pay some stupid money, probably like you. But I'm sure it was recycled long ago.

I'm not even going to get into all the cars I've owned because they were short term. But there's a good half-dozen at least that should have been keepers!

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

How about this shot? I've been sitting on this photo for over 30 years in a box of racecar pics I've accumilated,, some by me and this one that was shot by Rich Carlson at Seattle International Raceway back in the day. I picked it out of a table top of 8x10s that Rich would sell at car shows years ago. Looks like Richard Schroeder in the background.
I'm glad to hear that the car is on the road back to recovery, and thanks for the story, Larry.
Be sure to keep us up to date in the new racecar builds section, please.
Danny Durham

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

Another car I followed back in the day was the original L-79 car of Jim Parsons who partnered with Terry Harmon in the early '70s. I have these 2 Rich Carlson shots of the Chevy II at Puyallup Raceway ( Ray Rice and Ed Schuler on the starting line) and a little later shot of the car at Bremerton Raceway. Jim still runs the car today in Stock Eliminator.
I picked up my own black on black '66 Nova SS 327/275 4-speed in '74 and sold it in '88. I tried to buy it back a few years ago, but the guy was way out to lunch on the price.
This shot was taken at S.I.R. around 1979, and yes I'd still like to have it back, but I wouldn't give crazy money for it.
Danny Durham

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

I had a number of cars that I would like to have back, 66 Plymouth Valiant Signet 273/235HP 4 speed, 66 Fairlane GTA 390, 2 70 Mustang fastbacks (1 was a Mach 1) both had 351Clevland 4 barrels, Grabber Orange and Grabber Green, 3 428CJ Mach 1s (69 4 speed, 69 auto, 70 4 speed, all with Shaker hoods), and 2 69 Fairlane Cobra Fastbacks, both with Ram Air 428 CJs, 1 4 speed, 1 auto.) I bought (and sold) all these cars between 1975 and the mid 90s. As much as I would like to have any or all of them again, no way I could afford, or would want to pay the "Barrett-Jackson" type prices most of those cars demand these days. I`m not much of a "correct hose clamp and paint dab" guy anyhow, so I`d likely "ruin them" by driving them hard. Let whoever owns them all now think that they always led pampered, never raced or abused lives for all those years.:rolleyes::D

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

As far as "give anything to have back",, this is the one. I bought it from the original owner in Sept. '72 and was stolen from me in Jan. '75 It was found, in pieces, later that year with other stolen vehicles. My only Z-28,, and I've kept it that way. It was a lot of fun while it lasted,, of course, I was only 19 - 22 years old at the time, that may have had something to do with it.
Danny Durham

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

Danny,

Thanks for posting the old photo of my 66 Nova. I missed out when Rich Carlson was cleaning out and selling all his old photos. Would have liked to buy a few more photos of the car.

I used to see Terry Harmon and Jim Parsons fairly often since Terry lived in Yakima and they raced the car at Renegade Raceways where I also raced. I know Jim is now racing the car in Stock and running well.

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

Larry,, no thanks needed,, I was glad to finally be able to use the photo. Just remember, when you guys tear into the 'ol racer, be sure to document the restoration and share it with us in here,,, you know we'll appreciate it. Happy New Year.
Danny Durham

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

I have owned about 125 different cars since 1976. Most of them, I had because they were the type of vehicles that I have a genuine interest in. However, of all, there are only two that I absolutely regret selling... and even knew it at the time.
In 1988, I assembled my old beater 1948 Ford 3 passenger ( businessmans ) coupe, with a pretty stout 59A flathead, Offy bell housing, using a wide ratio BW T10 4 speed, coupled to a 57 Chev rear end ( previous owner had drag raced the car at some point ).
On December 17th, 1991, I delivered and sold that car to a fellow in Leduc Alberta, while on my way to pick up my 1935 Ford 3W coupe ( needed the money to help pay for it ). Should have found another way.

The other... a 1961 Canadian Pontiac Parisienne sport coupe, factory 348, PS, PB, posi rear, which I converted to a 4 speed. Sold it to a fellow in Ontario on October 4th, 2001. It was just a driver, needing full restoration. but I had no money in it. By FAR the best investment I ever made in a car.

Re: What car did you own, and would give anything to have ba
 

I had a '68 Pontiac GTO, 400/4-speed car. Hide-away lights, 4-piston-caliper disc brakes, super clean inside and out. It was my first "Muscle Car" at 17 years old, and I paid $700 for it (running/ready to register and drive/etc). The Goat was basically the car that I "learned about cars" on, as I was always making DIY repairs (when needed) or bolt-on upgrades and such, right in my parents' driveway.

The GTO was parked when I went away to college in 1981. It sat in my grandfather's garage for my entire 4 years at school. Every winter, a guy who shoveled my grandpop's driveway would pester him about asking me if I would sell the car. Finally, after I graduated, got a job and bought a brand-new car, I gave in and sold the guy--"Crazy Mike (I should've taken that as the sign it really was)"--my GTO. Now, mind you, this was a really clean ride, inside and out. Fast, no issues, etc.

A few months after I sold the car, I saw it at a local car show. After taking ownership, Crazy Mike WELDED the front end together and made a "tilt" nose, added a hideously poor flame job to the Ebonite Black paint, and carved the rear wheel wells to allow for bigger tires. Sick to my stomach is an understatement.

If I had any clue the car would've ended up in that state, I never would have sold it to Crazy Mike. Also, if I had ANY clue that an auction series called Barrett Jackson's would be a part of our lifetime, I would've kept that car tucked in grandpop's garage, and cashed in on a nice little chunk of change!

That's the one I wish I had back!