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Classic cars I've thought of buying

Sherlock77

Sherlock77

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
This goes back a few years now, between 1998 and 2004 I semi-seriously considered buying a classic car, I didn't really have the money then, and have realized since then that I don't have the money

Here is the car that started it off, a 1962 Envoy Sherwood, a car sold under that name in Canada, which is essentially a Vauxhall Victor, this was when I spotted it in a local scrapyard, I looked at it when it was for sale at someone's house (in better condition then)

Classic Car 01.jpg
 
I did consider some other cars after that, I drove hundreds of miles to look at a 1969 Ford Cortina in northern Alberta, the sake of a trip, never came that close to buying this one

Classic Car 03.jpg


While I lived in Ontario, I did consider this 1970 Peugeot 404 station wagon, had to buy it along with a similar 404 sedan, merely another thought and that's all, I do live in Canada but have an interest in unusual foreign cars in case you're wondering...

Classic Car 06.jpg
 
An insanely expensive hobby.

Something I concluded some time ago in paying great attention to mass car auctions like Barrett-Jackson. Where enthusiasts have paid fortunes to restore and modify classic cars, only to do so at a loss given what they ultimately get in these auctions.

Sadly this is a game only for the rich. Best to just step back and appreciate such vehicles from a distance as a photographer and spectator rather than an owner.

MPF_0427.JPG
 
I also considered buying this Hillman Minx, it wasn't in this condition (in this photo), someone else purchased it, and I did see the car a few times between 2005 and 2010, but not for many years now, I'm not sure I even want that Ferrari

Classic Car 05.jpg


And sticking with Rootes Group corporation, a 1969 Hillman, sold here as a Sunbeam Arrow, actually I knew the guy who owned this and he wanted me to buy it, I didn't think that hard about this purchase, I didn't buy it...

Classic Car 04.jpg
 
After I moved back to Alberta from Ontario, I considered buying this 1969 Ford Cortina from a friend, it looked nice but wasn't running, I tried with help from a friend, but never did buy it...

Classic Car 02.jpg
 
One last post in this, I really did fall in love with this 1967 Triumph 2000, a rare car to find in North America, they were sold here by Triumph... I knew the person who owned it fairly well, even took a test drive of it once... Long story short, I never did buy it, but did purchase the Dinky Toy diecast toy of it... I still remember the first time I saw this car, the only car in a very snowy parking lot after a big winter storm, the owner lived close to where I grew up, one photo I wish I could have ever taken looking back... This was late 1990's well before cell phones and their cameras...
Triumph 2000.jpg
 
Sherlock77 said:
I also considered buying this Hillman Minx, it wasn't in this condition (in this photo), someone else purchased it, and I did see the car a few times between 2005 and 2010, but not for many years now, I'm not sure I even want that Ferrari

View attachment 65721

And sticking with Rootes Group corporation, a 1969 Hillman, sold here as a Sunbeam Arrow, actually I knew the guy who owned this and he wanted me to buy it, I didn't think that hard about this purchase, I didn't buy it...

View attachment 65723
Click to expand...

My father had an older Hillman similar that one, from 1963 to 1965. It was like a stately four-door MG. Though my mother hated driving most any manual transmission car. I still recall when she had to drive it just to help my brother with his paper route...lol.

In those years my grandfather drove a two-door Sunbeam Rapier. Loved riding in it as a kid, as I did my uncle's TR-3. Too bad my cousin got that car, and turned it into something only suitable to run on a drag strip. Oh well...

How did this little boy learn so much about British cars? Like so many young boys of this era, I was an avid collector of the original Matchbox Cars. Learning about all kinds of vehicles I would never likely see in my own country. ;)
 
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Judge said:
An insanely expensive hobby.

Something I concluded some time ago in paying great attention to mass car auctions like Barrett-Jackson. Where enthusiasts have paid fortunes to restore and modify classic cars, only to do so at a loss given what they ultimately get in these auctions.

Sadly this is a game only for the rich. Best to just step back and appreciate such vehicles from a distance as a photographer and spectator rather than an owner.
Click to expand...

Any cars I've ever looked at weren't high end, as you can tell :rolleyes:

I still sometimes feel inferior, as I go to so many classic car events but have never had a classic car yet, I am aware of the costs associated, even with my more modern cars, and I've only owned one car at a time... This may sound obvious, but in my car circles I know lots of people who own multiple cars...
 
Sherlock77 said:
Any cars I've ever looked at weren't high end, as you can tell :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

The car may not be high end, but much of any serious re$toration no matter what the model will make you go bankrupt unless you've got money to burn. Especially if you have to forage for parts.

Reminds me of the tv show "Counting Cars". Where Danny Koker encounters so many people with "projects" in their garage or backyard long since abandoned because they couldn't financially afford to finish a restoration.
 
Judge said:
The car may not be high end, but much of any serious re$toration no matter what the model will make you go bankrupt unless you've got money to burn. Especially if you have to forage for parts.

Reminds me of the tv show "Counting Cars". Where Danny Koker encounters so many people with "projects" in their garage or backyard long since abandoned because they couldn't financially afford to finish a restoration.
Click to expand...

I know that, I still get envious at car shows and events, and I go to lots of them... People with their classic cars, me with nothing very special at all... Maybe never... :(
 
Judge said:
My father had an older Hillman similar that one, from 1963 to 1965. It was like a stately four-door MG. Though my mother hated driving most any manual transmission car. I still recall when she had to drive it just to help my brother with his paper route...lol.

In those years my grandfather drove a two-door Sunbeam Rapier. Loved riding in it as a kid, as I did my uncle's TR-3. Too bad my cousin got that car, and turned it into something only suitable to run on a drag strip. Oh well...

How did this little boy learn so much about British cars? Like so many young boys of this era, I was an avid collector of the original Matchbox Cars. ;)
Click to expand...

Being a kid growing up in Alberta, I'm not sure what made me interested in strange import cars, certainly wasn't anything related to my family background...
 
Sherlock77 said:
I know that, I still get envious at car shows and events, and I go to lots of them... People with their classic cars, me with nothing very special at all... Maybe never... :(
Click to expand...

Oh, I get that- in spades!

Truthfully I suspect your best bet in acquiring such a vehicle may lie not in pursuing a restoration, but rather being in the right car auction at the right time. That is possible. You wouldn't believe some of the bargains that can be found, even in high-end auctions like Barrett-Jackson.

The trick is to pay great attention to examining cars prior to auction, to make sure you know most or all of the potential problems that may be associated with an otherwise gorgeous looking car.
 
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Judge said:
Oh, I get that- in spades!

Truthfully I suspect your best bet in acquiring such a vehicle may lie not in pursuing a restoration, but rather being in the right car auction at the right time. That is possible. You wouldn't believe some of the bargains that can be found, even in high-end auctions like Barrett-Jackson.

The trick is to pay great attention to examining cars prior to auction, to make sure you know most or all of the potential problems that may be associated with an otherwise gorgeous looking car.
Click to expand...

Money... Don't have the money right now, haven't had the money for years... o_O

I have realized from talking to lots of different people, many people who even want to get into a classic car just don't have the money (I'm not the only one), and when I look at classic car collectors they are really a minority of the entire population... And stating the obvious, most people probably don't even have the desire to buy a classic car...
 
Sherlock77 said:
Money... Don't have the money right now, haven't had the money for years... o_O

I have realized from talking to lots of different people, many people who even want to get into a classic car just don't have the money (I'm not the only one), and when I look at classic car collectors they are really a minority of the entire population... And stating the obvious, most people probably don't even have the desire to buy a classic car...
Click to expand...


It's just another "money pit". Leave it at that and you'll sleep better. ;)

But you can still look without buying. I could go out and buy something like that in cash, but it's precisely why I wouldn't as to why I have that cash in the first place.
 
I still want a Bentley, which will never happen.:(

We have a 1999 Toyota Pre-runner truck. There's something wrong with it, per hubby, like it is stuck in gear or something. I love that truck; it is my farm truck for hauling potting soil, bricks, firewood, etc on our farm. I can't motivate hubby to fix it or take it somewhere to be fixed. Should I just donate it to our local public radio station for the tax deduction or ask the dealer to send a tow truck to pick it up and fix it?
 
Mary Terry said:
But I'd look so grand, cruising to Kroger or Walmart for groceries!
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LOL...yep. :cool:

Had me recalling the tv show "Burke's Law". An entertaining but preposterous show about an uber-wealthy L.A. police captain who rode in a chaufferred Rolls-Royce. I guess his chauffeur was not on the city's payroll. :D


As a kid I used to always get out my Matchbox Rolls Royce to watch the show. Same car color, same model. :)
 
I've only been really interested in a couple cars, both low end. When I was in college somebody on the south side was selling a 1973 Ford Pinto, yes the infamous "bomb car", in great condition and had the recall issue fixed but I couldn't find the $900 the woman wanted. Then somebody in my grandpa's neighborhood had a rare Volkswagen Beetle Automatic Stickshift for sale, he wanted only $300 but I didn't even have that pittance. I've only seen one or two other Beetle Autosticks in my entire life, it's a very rare car, and that is because the clutch sensor was in the head of the shifter, and Americans like to keep their hand on the shifter while driving. With this car, that meant the clutch sensor was quickly destroyed. After a few very expensive clutch repairs, the cars were abandoned.

My interest is old tube radios, I am very particular and buy mostly pre-WW2 plastic cabinet civilian tube radios, those are pretty rare since radios were considered furniture then and plastic was seen as tacky and cheap. I just love the Streamline Moderne cabinet designs in the plastic radios though. I have only FOUR of them after six years of looking, that's how rare they are!
 
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