Why Did You Get The Car(s) You Have?

[plymouthcranbrook]

I have owned so many cars in the last fifty years I cannot remember them all.  
Muscle cars, sports cars, family cars, trucks, you name it. My current Plymouths are my 52 Cranbrook four door sedan that I bought in 2002 from a guy in Naperville, Il.  Never met him, only met his employees. The story was they were all in Illinois on an assignment and the Boss, being a car collector had bought this one to use here. However the assignment was ending and his wife had told him he better not bring home another car as he had enough already.  So I went there, looked at it and drove it.  We dickered over the phone and came to a deal.  Had it towed home and here I am. my 1980 Plymouth Volare came about because I was still working on my 52 and wanted to have a car to take to POC meetings.  Four door sedan, slant six, automatic and not a lot more. A special it was called.  On E-Bay before it went to bleep(2007).  Only had 8400 miles.  After the auction we drove from Chicago to Cincinnati on a Friday night and brought it back the next day. After doing 20 years of deferred maintenance I have driven it ever since as a daily summer car.  Since I left to POC the 52 doesn’t get as much use but I still enjoy it. 

Edited January 21, 2021 by plymouthcranbrook

[Hamilton]

Of the 84 vehicles I've owned, six have been Mopars (eight if you count an original-style Caravan and a new Ram P/U).  They were/are, in order:

 

1) 1949 Plymouth Suburban

2) 1964 Plymouth Fury 383 4spd

3) 1971 Plymouth Duster 340 Wedge 4spd

4) 1977 Dodge Mirada

5) 1949 Plymouth Special Deluxe Club Coupe

6) 1949 Dodge Meadowbrook

 

Of these, I still have only the Club Coupe, having purchased it from the original owner in 1989 and presenting it to my father as a gift.  We had a 49 Plymouth four door when I was a kid (imagine cramming two parents and six kids into one in the middle of summer and driving from Portland to Los Angeles and back). 

 

Even after that bit of folly, the old man had a soft spot for the `49 Plymouth.  One day as I was driving home from work I spotted this one for sale on the side of the road.  I pulled over and gave the owner a deposit on the spot, then gave it to my dad.  It had 32K miles on it then, and sits at just over 39K today.  Unfortunately, it became mine again after my dad passed in 2012. 

 

So, although owning 84 cars and trucks is pretty solid evidence that I have a tendency to not keep them, this one never leaves the family, at least not while I'm alive ...

 

 

Edited January 21, 2021 by Hamilton
typo

[Art Bailey]

Last month, for the first time in my life, I bought a car that wasn't for hauling my butt and my work gear around, a 1948 DeSoto Custom Coupe. 

 

I've always been a car nut. I'm almost 50, and when I was a kid in the late 70s, early 80s, you'd still see rolling stock from the 40s and 50s on the street, sometimes even earlier vintages. I knew the makes and years from obsessively looking at the Motors manual grill identifications, so I was able to identify on sight a lot of what I saw. 

 

My work and living conditions made it pretty impossible to have a car for fun, but I knew if I ever ended up getting a house with a garage, I'd waste no time filling it up with a bitchen car. As a kid, my opinion of what a bitchen car was, was a '40 Ford coupe. I've since matured, and decided it had to be a 40s Mopar--I really dig the lines and styling so much more--, but it'd be up to the Gods of Rust to decide whether it'd be a coupe, sedan, and how many doors. Turns out they were in a very good mood one day, and pointed me to a Facebook ad for a '48 DeSoto COUPE (never thought I'd find a coupe in my general neck of the woods that I could afford). With an actual floor, actual rocker panels, actual paint, and running engine. And now, it's mine...MINE, I tell you. Bwah ha, ha, ha, ha. 

 

Here's a pic of its best side, since I don't have the grille on yet. 

 

Edited January 21, 2021 by ratbailey

[Marcel Backs]

Is that de Soto a 3 widow? You lucked out there man! Congrats! M

PS all mopar coupes stand out. de Sotos are something else! Steering centre cigarette holders, hide away headlights and all!

Edited January 21, 2021 by Marcel Backs
more info

[Art Bailey]

1 hour ago, Marcel Backs said:

Is that de Soto a 3 widow? You lucked out there man! Congrats! M

Thank you! Business coupe? Nah, I've got kids, need a back seat. 2 door coupe, which is just fine with me, though the business coupe is sexy as hell. And yeah, the '42 with the disappearing headlights, POWER, no less! I don't think I've ever seen one of those in person.

Edited January 21, 2021 by ratbailey

[Plymouthy Adams]

1 hour ago, Marcel Backs said:

Is that de Soto a 3 widow? You lucked out there man! Congrats! M

PS all mopar coupes stand out. de Sotos are something else! Steering centre cigarette holders, hide away headlights and all!

three per side if you count the vent glass.....

[Plymouthy Adams]

12 minutes ago, ratbailey said:

Thank you! Business coupe? Nah, I've got kids, need a back seat. 2 door coupe, which is just fine with me, though the business coupe is sexy as hell.

the bz cp trunk has more than enough room for a dozen small kids...no odor, less noise...?

[Marcel Backs]

More room in my coupe trunk than my pickup truck's box! Ideal cars for smugglin them into the drive in with! lol .... or filled with mason jars for a helluva party!

Edited January 21, 2021 by Marcel Backs

[Rodney_Hamon]

When I was 17, my first vehicle was a ‘48 3/4 ton. It’s how I learned to drive stick... double clutching in 1972. My dad found it for me. Loved that truck but my mother made me sell it as a mustang came my way also. I still have it.  I missed the ‘48 so much I found the ‘36 1/2 ton in the paper in 1974. A biker dude used to haul his trash to the dump with it. Nice guy.  I drove it home and took over the garage fixing it with my dad’s supervision. He was a mopar guy in his youth. I bought the ‘35 desoto coupe with good intentions but had to sell that as I moved from CA to NM in 1986 for grad school. Boy I hated seeing that car go as well as my ‘72 el Camino and ‘74 international 4whdr truck.  I still have my ‘36 dodge truck. Love the big curvy fenders. 5 years ago I rescued a p-23 in Craig’s L. The owner did not understand mopars. 3 years ago I rescued another p-23 parts car from somebody wanting to crush it. So I have always had that soft spot for mopars. I also have owned a lot of different kinds of vehicles but there’s something about that flathead 6 that ultimately wins. Ha

[Rodney_Hamon]

And here are my rescued plymies waiting for me to whittle on. I have managed to finish a garage space finally so I can work on them properly. Just need work benches. Waiting for the spring!

[Andydodge]

My first car at 15yrs of age was a 1938 Ford Standard 4 dr Sedan in 1969, paid $30 for it, soon discovered it had a bit of rust so sold it a few months later for $20........I decided that as I was going to be a hotrodder then I needed a raodster or coupe........bought a 1940 Dodge Coupe in 1970 for $40 and as all 16yr olds do, I pulled the car apart and wrecked a few things in doing so........BUT in September 1971 I saw an advert for a 1940 Dodge 4dr Sedan for $40.............after pestering my Dad we went to se it.........a knock on the inner Sydney terrace house brought a young guy to the door........."we've come to see the car"............Err....."yeh man, you mean Sebastion, man" ...........err "who is Sebastion?"..........."the car man, the car".............after finding out that Sebastion was a couple of streets away parked in front of a friends house we were also told that he had 6weeks rego left but couldn't be started as a few ignition wires had burnt..............so we went around to se Sebastion..........he was all I needed but in fact was too good to pull apart for parts, back we went to the owner and I left my Dad do the talking............."how much do you want for the car?"................"$40,$20, man"....."well it will have to be towed home so how about $15.00?"................"yeh, O/k" ...........and it cost me $20 to get it towed home............lol..................the pic of the "Dodge Story" shows MY car, this pic was sent by someone of the car before I bought the coupe and published in an Oz magazine, Custom Rodder and shows the dented front end which the car had when I bought it, the pic of just the body on the chassis is after I'd pulled the car apart, the other pic was taken soon after I bought it and the one showing the car coming out of the garage is its first run around the block when I installed the V8/auto .........this was around September 1973..........and thats me, young & silly at the wheel..............still silly..........and still driving the car...............Andy Douglas

[Rodney_Hamon]

I love that story. Prices were so cheap back then. Wow. In 1972 when I was 17 I bought the B1-b for $500. In 1973 I bought the 64 1/2 mustang for $750. In 1974 the ‘36 dodge truck for $450. All vehicles ran good. In 1975 I bought a perfectly good D-30 that I parted out for the engine etc. I should have been put in jail for taking apart a perfectly good ‘49 dodge in good shape. That engine is in my ‘36 truck. Boy, prices were good down under back then!!  I love seeing old photos of  everyone’s stuff

[Andydodge]

And after buying the 40 Dodge I still have for $15 I continued paying $15 for another 3 or 4 1940 Dodges over the ensuing 3 or 4 years...........that was the going rate for a 4dr sedan back then.............lol..........nobody else wanted 1940 Dodges in the 1970's........I was IT.........lol........but prices were relative I suppose.....if it had of been a 1940 Frod then it would probably have been $150..........nowadays, the 40 Dodge is worth maybe $35-40K........if a 1940 Frod it would be $50-55K.......its all relative........but being a 4dr sedan its not the "sporty" look.........but I can live with it............andyd  

[MackTheFinger]

My other post in this thread was only about the Mopars I have. My first car was a 1958 Ford 2-door sedan. I gave $100-150 for it. Like most of us I've been through a bunch of cars and trucks since then. I've hung onto quite a few but the only one that I have any attachment to is my 1966 Chevy II. I got it in 1973 after my wife and I were in an accident that totalled my 1965 Mustang fastback. The insurance company offered me the choice of a couple of Mustangs or the Chevy II. Both the Mustangs were automatics and the Chevy II was a 4-speed so that's the one I took. I can get enthused about other cars for a while but they really don't mean all that much to me. 

[40plyguy]

Ever since I was a kid I wanted a ‘40 Ford. I still have a picture of one from a mid 60’s Hot Rod magazine that I was enamored with in high school. Unfortunately I couldn’t afford one. By chance I found my ‘40 Plymouth for sale. I had money burning a hole in my pocket from a boat I had just sold and the rest is history. That was over 25 yrs ago. Still working on it every once in a while. I think I made the right choice. I very seldom see a ‘40 Ply. at car shows whereas there’s always a Ford. Actually I very seldom see any pre 65 Mopars at any of the local shows.....

[laynrubber]

I bought this 52 because it was affordable $2400 and in town.

[53 B4D]

Wanted to restore my first vintage or classic car during the pandemic so I found this 55 Royal 6 months ago for $1800...

[53 B4D]

The next day I found this 53 B4D truck for $2700 and I couldn't pass it up...

[53 B4D]

So now I have these 2 "pandemic projects".

 

This site is a great resource for a newbie like me. Thanks!

[Merle Coggins]

7 hours ago, 53 B4D said:

So now I have these 2 "pandemic projects".

 

This site is a great resource for a newbie like me. Thanks!

 

That should keep you out of trouble for a while.... or bankrupt you... ? ?

Looks like a couple of good projects. 

[HotRodTractor]

In 1996 I was 14 years old. My dad and I had been talking about finding a 5 window Chevy pickup to restore/modify for my first vehicle. I was always into old iron of all kinds - dad was into antique tractors and just went with it. We had barn/shop space and I was already doing most of the upkeep mechanical work on the farm equipment, antique tractors included. 

Anyway - one day we went to an estate auction where the individual had owned several John Deere dealerships. Tons of parts and literature from decades ended up his farm and that was really why we were there. Sitting in "junk row" in the fence line of the farm was dozens of old vehicles, mostly trucks, going all the way back to the 1920s. There were 3 B-Series trucks there.... all in rough shape, one clearly had a head on collision with something... one had a stack of junk in the bed, and the third was a well rotted flatbed. All 1 ton trucks. I looked them over close enough to know they were mostly good for parts, but there was a lot of good parts.... and I noticed something that no one else bothered to look at... under all the junk in the bed of that truck there was a porcelain sign - it could only be seen if you were under the truck looking up through the rotted wood. I bought all three of those trucks for less than $100 dollars that day. It took a couple of days to get them drug out, loaded up, and hauled home - and then some farm chores took precedent for a couple of weeks (I think we were baling hay at the time...). Once I cleaned out the bed of the truck I found there wasn't one porcelain sign... but 3 of them... one John Deere and two Caterpillar Tractor signs... all good size. I trade those signs for a fully restored 1934 John Deere GP, and enough cash to pay dad back and then some.... By the end of the year I had another Pilothouse truck that was a runner - and I spent some time fixing it up mechanically and drove it through most of high school.

 

Along the way I picked up several other parts trucks, stripping them down and saving the good parts and junking anything that I didn't feel had value. This continued through my college years - but I stopped shortly after my dad passed away in 2003. Fast forward some to 2011 - I needed a change and liquidated most of the family tractor collection as it was just sitting without time to even properly maintain it - while doing so I decided I was going to sell all of my Pilothouse stuff and buy a finished truck to enjoy. 

I looked at a lot of trucks - and I almost bought one until the guy decided not to sell it.... now I am back to having a huge stash of parts and 4 trucks - two good for parts, one good "original" and one that is blown apart in the middle of a restoration/update.

I also picked up Don Coatney's P15 before he passed away - partly because it was modified in a similar fashion to the Pilothouse I have been slowly working on - partly because of the memories of reading the build thread as he was building it and him and Blueskies bantering back and forth about The Big Race. 

I like all things old and vintage. I really like old Mopar. I love the old flathead six. 

[oldodge41]

In my book having a "Don Coatney" flathead Mopar ranks right up there with having a Roush or Shelby if you are a Ford guy! Congratulations! I never met Don in person, but he left an impression in our conversations.

[rtferguson39]

Well, there are a few reasons why I ended up with a 1949 Dodge Wayfarer two-door sedan. We'll start at the beginning.

I was probably 12-13 years old walking through an antique store in southern Delaware (where I grew up). I saw a stack of old car adverts sitting in the corner of a booth, so like any young Mopar fanatic, I started flipping through and finding every DCPD ad I could. The one pictured below caught my eye. So ever since then, I've been obsessed with Dodge Wayfarers, specifically the styling of the first year offering. I swore one day I would eventually own one. 

 

Secondly, about two years after that, I learned the story of my grandfather's first car. It was a 1949 Plymouth DeLuxe fastback. My family has driven nothing but Chrysler products for four generations, but I just found it amusing that my grandfather's first ride was essentially the same as the Wayfarer I dreamed of owning. He mildly hot-rodded the car, with a 2bbl carb, split manifolds, true dual exhaust with dual Dynatone mufflers. My favorite story of his is how he got pulled over on the 404 in MD on the way to the Delaware beaches. When my grandfather asked the officer how he knew he was speeding without ever tailing him, the officer responded with, "Boy, I heard you coming long before I ever saw you." 

 

Lastly, when I could finally afford to begin my search for a Dodge Wayfarer, I stumbled upon what I consider to be a very well-documented example with a bit of notoriety attached to it. The Wayfarer I own is the green car used as an example in the allpar.com writeup on what is a Dodge Wayfarer (https://www.allpar.com/threads/1949-1952-dodge-wayfarer.228193/). It was extraordinarily fun to validate all the small details on the car from the photos in that 2007 article I linked above. Most of the history chronicled in that article is correct. A friend and I spent many hours on the phone and interwebs to validate it all. Its been a challenge to fill in some of the later history (2011-2019), but hey, that's all good fun. 

My goal is to return the car to its showroom-like appearance from the 2007 allpar article (she's been run hard and put up wet since then), and maybe rod it just like my grandfather did his Plymouth, just as a tribute and nod of absolute respect for him. 

 

 

 

Edited February 23, 2021 by rtferguson39

[kridgleyud]

For me, I was in the market for a new project.  I knew I wanted it to be pre-war and my wife said it needed to be 4 door.  So my 1940 D14 fell into my lap and it's been a loving relationship ever since getting it ready for the road.  First tags under my ownership coming in the next few weeks.

[CaptainGTX]

I currently own an all-original 53 Dodge Coronet convertible Red Ram Gyro-Torque bought locally from the family of the original owners in 2009 and a 69 Plymouth GTX 440 4-spd bought in 1998 and since restored.  Like many of you I bought these particular cars in a futile attempt to reclaim my youth (lol).  You see, my first car was also a 53 Coronet with the Red Ram albeit in a 4 dr sedan because that was all I could afford at age 16 in 1964.  After that car and a 59 Chevrolet Bel-Aire, came my first new car.  It was a special ordered 69 Plymouth Sport Satellite 2 dr 383 auto with A/C (same body as the GTX).  Ironically, the Sport Satellite's MSRP was higher than the GTX, but also more reasonable for a college student to insure and feed.