Well, Norm.....you know how good hindsight is...... As we all know, that two door hardtop Saratoga New Yorker with factory air, hemi, wire wheels, continental kit, etc is worth several dollars today. The only reason I bought it was for the wheels for the convert. I had left the owner a note under the windshield wiper one day when it was parked along our Main Street....."if you ever want to sell, please call me". About a year later, he called. He just drove it back and forth to his work. It was run down, the seats were fraying, the paint was fading, I had to put a new starter on it....and so forth. But it was not in really bad condition.....no major rust and such. Ah well..........
Then for a while I owned this first year (1951) DeSoto two door hardtop with the rear air conditioning. Not a bad car either...... all original......owned by some older people. Another desirable car today. (In the background, my first ever P15 coupe purchased for $35.)
If I had kept all the old cars I bought in the late 60s and the 70s, I would have a nice little collection today. 1954 and 1955 Ford Converts, 1960 Bonneville convert, 1967 Galaxie XL Ford convert, 40 Dodge business coupe, 54 Buick convert, a couple 50 or 51 Plyms, 50 Dodge Wayfarer convert, 54 Plym wagon, a couple P15 coupes, real nice P15 two door sedan. And probably at the prices I paid for those cars back then, may not have had over $3000 invested in the lot of them.