CLASS RACER FORUM - View Single Post - What car did you own, and would give anything to have back

Larry Merk · 12-26-2012, 07:42 PM

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.

12-26-2012, 07:42 PM	#5
Larry Merk Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Kennewick, WA Posts: 213 Likes: 47 Liked 314 Times in 113 Posts	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. __________________ Larry Merk