Ones that got away...

[qdeezie]

'65 Mercury Comet Caliente 2 Door - When I was a teenager in the '90s, I was offered a very good deal on one and had the funds to get it. I didn't want it because it was red (was not fond over the color red and within recent years just now warming up to the color for pretty much anything) and as a teen, I thought the car was "ugly" so I didn't want it. It was a classic back then. I was a stereotypical teen that was oblivious to the opportunity.

'66 Dodge Coronet 2 Door - Another one back in the '90s during my teen years I could have had. Only thing that was wrong with it was it needed a new carburetor and the reverse was out in the transmission. Once again, those oblivious teenager years.

I ended up buying a 1986 Oldsmobile Calais 2 door, which coincidentally had a red interior, but the material was a plush red velour and went together well. It was a clean car, but c'mon.............

 

[Benzadmiral]

When I lived in Denver, the local small dealer which specialized in clean used Mercedes had two I liked:

A '67 W111 or W112 250SE coupe. These are the ones that in convertible form are running into such high money now. A ragtop features in the movie The Hangover, I think, and Ron Leibman steals one for use as a getaway car in The Hot Rock. This one in Denver was a smooth dark olive color with golden brown leather for about $12K. Two problems: a manual shift, and no A/C. So I passed.

A year later the same dealer had a fine silver W113 250SL with a dark chocolate interior, with auto and (I think) A/C, about $22K. I sat in it and was impressed. Both were pretty reasonable in price and in great condition then for 30-year-old cars. But again I passed, as it was, and still would be, too small a vehicle to be my only car.

Both of those models are astronomically priced now.

Oh, and a guy at a local classics car show about 10 years ago had a '66 Ford Galaxie coupe, not the 7-Litre, in dark blue with a light gray vinyl interior he was looking to sell. And in the days of the great old World of Wheels auto show in the early '80s, a local had for sale his bronze and white '65 Cadillac pickup conversion, which he called the Caddi-Mino, with a white vinyl interior. A beauty for sure. Either of those would have been verrry nice. . . .

 

[Jarlaxle]

Chrysler Cordoba. 1976, dark green over charcoal gray (cloth, unusually), 15x8 Super Coupe wheels...and factory 400 4bbl. Guy wanted $1100. I flat didn't have it at the time.

If I did...I wouldn't have my Caddy.

1981 F-100. I needed a truck, this was a truck...and as basic as any F-series I ever saw: six and 4-speed, manual steering, manual brakes, I even think radio delete. Only options seemed to be the stepside box and hitch bumper. I called and left messages, guy never got back to me.

1980 Dodge Mirada. This car was an obscure one, a Mirada CMX, with buckets & console, "Tuff" wheel, 15" alloys, A/C...and the 4bbl E58 360 police cruiser engine.

 

[tiger862]

I passed on plenty but one I wish I had was a Model T for 1000 at a garage sale. I didn't have money but begged my boss until he gave in about an hour later so we went back only to see a bid war going on. You see it was all original with wooden wheels. I even hand cranked it. Don't know how much she got but it was more than advertised as 2 people with trailers who collected them bidding on it.

 

[marine65]

1953 Corvette for $1500
Had a choice of two different ones.
This was in 1964.
I thought the price was nuts.

 

[MCompact]

In 1979 I passed on a pristine Isetta 300 for only $1,000. In 1980 I had a chance to buy a Torino Talladega for $900. Around 1992 I passed on a rough E30 M3 for $8,000. In 1998 I let a 1972 Jensen Interceptor get away- the owner was asking just $7,500.

 

[ThirdeYe]

A 1990 Nissan 300ZX and a 1993 Acura Legend. Both in great shape, relatively low miles, and a decent price. Unfortunately this was when I was still in high school and couldn't afford them. I think about both of those cars all the time!

 

[KlooksKleek]

Fun topic!

Mine was not very remarkable, but my first new car was a 1978 VW Rabbit and I really wanted a Scirocco. Alas, it was $900 more and I simply didn't have the extra money.

 

[rat]

Forgot one.

Friend of my dad had a junkyard when I was in my teens. I was wandering around while him and dad were talking and found a 74 Firebird Formula.. The decal on the dual scoop hood said SD-455. I walked away because it wasn't a Trans Am and I had my heart set on a Trans Am with a shaker hood. I had absolutely no idea at the time how rare that car was.

 

[nitecop]

My first car a 66 Mustang fast back. wireing harness melted (No Fire) and I was 17 and had no idea it could be fixed so it was sold.

 

[fdcg27]

Lots of then cheap and now valuable Italian exotics back in the early eighties.
E-types were quite cheap then as well.
I also recall a nice Turner that I probably could have bought for not a whole lot more than the money I had on hand.
I wonder whatever became of that car?

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I have no idea what that Chevelle would be worth today. And I'm not sure I want to know. From what I've heard convertible 4-Speed 454 LS-6 Chevelle's were among the rarest.

What u hear about the convertible 454 LS-6 Chevelle is TRUE. Not only super rare but boarders on mental illness the price people are willing to pony up to own them. Your mention of those Chevelles reminded me of one night of flat out crazy buying and selling of classic cars. I can never forget. A classic car auction where a convertible 454 LS went for an incredible price to someone with too much money to maintain sanity. I would have NOT wanted to listen to his wife's reaction when she heard what he not only paid to own it, but then the explosion when she heard what he sold the same car for a few years later. YIKES. The car was raced as "the Ray Allen champion drag Briggs chevelle". It is very rare to see or even hear of convertibles on the drag strips. You have to read its story since you mentioned what they must be worth or sell for these days.
From: Hemmings Motor News:
One of the icons of the last decade's muscle car price lunacy was the Ray Allen/Briggs Chevrolet/Truppi Kling 1970 Chevelle LS6 convertible--a former NHRA championship-winning Super Stock drag car.
The eyebrows of the Chevrolet faithful were raised in unison when the car sold for an unheard-of $1.2 million at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale in 2006. Then, just over three years later, you could almost hear a collective "I told you so," as the car changed hands at RM's Icons of Speed and Style auction in Los Angeles, this time for $264,000.
The 1970s were prime time for drag racing, and during that time period Mopar reined supreme. That is, until Ray Allen entered the scene. He decided to bring Chevrolet to frontline with all-powerful LS6 build, and in the process he created an icon.

Easily one of the most well known vehicles to vintage racing fans, this 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle was piloted by Allen, and the already established Ralph Truppi and Tommy Kling. The trio sprinted their way to an unbeaten season in 1970, setting a national record at that time of 11.33 seconds, clocking in a half second faster than the Mopars across the field.

The car was then purchased by Allen personally in the 1980s, where the car was completely restored, and all LS6 documentation and papers are on file and ready for inspection upon your interest in the car. The car sold for $1.2 million in 2006 after Allen himself slapped a for sale sign on it, upon completing the time-period look with correct hand-painted lettering and extra performance parts.

 

[CharlesInCharge]

I was probably 19 or 20 when a friend's dad came into a very nice Gran Torino. I don't know the specs, year, or specifics but I knew it was so nice I did not want to even look at it because I could not even hope to scrape together the $5k they wanted for it. I remember being told it had been gone thru carefully, and much of it restored and all the rubber replaced. It was pointless to even go look, but I got to see it parked by the road every time I drove by, until one day it was gone. I could not even hope to scrape together $5k for a car back then, it may as well been a million dollars. But I sure wish I could have. Granted, $5k then was probably about $25k today. I don't know how much those cars are now, and I'd have probably driven it into the grave by now, all these years later. But it was a sweet looking car, that's for sure.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I was probably 19 or 20 when a friend's dad came into a very nice Gran Torino. I don't know the specs, year, or specifics but I knew it was so nice I did not want to even look at it because I could not even hope to scrape together the $5k they wanted for it. I remember being told it had been gone thru carefully, and much of it restored and all the rubber replaced. It was pointless to even go look, but I got to see it parked by the road every time I drove by, until one day it was gone. I could not even hope to scrape together $5k for a car back then, it may as well been a million dollars. But I sure wish I could have. Granted, $5k then was probably about $25k today. I don't know how much those cars are now, and I'd have probably driven it into the grave by now, all these years later. But it was a sweet looking car, that's for sure.

There were so many models and body styles of the Ford Torino / Grand Torino / the Torino Cobra Jet / Torino Talladega that it is hard for me to chose my favorite. Even Mercury (part of Ford motor company) got in on the act and named theirs Mercury Cyclone Spoilers. The photos are of my favorites that Ford / Mercury put out there to chase down and beat the Mopars on the NASCAR Super Speedways and for a brief time they did just that. Richard Petty even jumped from Dodge to Ford he liked the Torino so much until Mopar shocked the racing world with the Dodge Dayton and Plymouth Super Birds. I have seen some of these Ford / Mercury's up close at car shows and they are something else to see in person.

 

[marc1]

Three in particular, bear in mind when I was a kid buying these cars they were a dime a dozen and cheap, I never thought that would change:

1 - 1969 Barracuda 340S with automatic transmission, I was 16 working in a tire shop, this car came in frequently. When the owner decided to sell, he dropped by the shop to let me know. He wanted $600. I politely declined, at the time I wasn't keen on the body style, I preferred the 70 'Cuda styling.

2 - 1968 Roadrunner 383 4 Speed - This was the typical muscle car around, everyone likes to dream of Hemi and 440-6 cars but the reality when I was 16 was this was all I could possibly afford, these entry level muscle cars. He wanted $1000 for it, I didn't like the color (yellow), so I passed. It was a plain bench seat car in perfect original condition, beep beep horn and everything.

3 - 1970 Buick GS455 - base 455 engine car automatic, not a Stage 1... again these were the everyday cars, the fancy muscle everyone talks about today was rare and expensive, even back then. It was a $1600 car and was the roughest of the 3 mentioned, but still in good condition. I already had a nice Buick GS400 at the time and although moving up to a 1970 GS455 was a step up, I passed.

There were so many choices, these were the highlights. Unaffordable cars that I looked at were a 1970 LS5 Convertible Chevelle $6500, 1974 454 Corvette (last year for the 454), I don't remember the price but a Corvette wasn't even on my radar at that age, no room for friends, girls, incongruent for a 16 year old to have one etc. That was another tire shop car.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Three in particular, bear in mind when I was a kid buying these cars they were a dime a dozen and cheap, I never thought that would change:

1 - 1969 Barracuda 340S with automatic transmission, I was 16 working in a tire shop, this car came in frequently. When the owner decided to sell, he dropped by the shop to let me know. He wanted $600. I politely declined, at the time I wasn't keen on the body style, I preferred the 70 'Cuda styling.

2 - 1968 Roadrunner 383 4 Speed - This was the typical muscle car around, everyone likes to dream of Hemi and 440-6 cars but the reality when I was 16 was this was all I could possibly afford, these entry level muscle cars. He wanted $1000 for it, I didn't like the color (yellow), so I passed. It was a plain bench seat car in perfect original condition, beep beep horn and everything.

3 - 1970 Buick GS455 - base 455 engine car automatic, not a Stage 1... again these were the everyday cars, the fancy muscle everyone talks about today was rare and expensive, even back then. It was a $1600 car and was the roughest of the 3 mentioned, but still in good condition. I already had a nice Buick GS400 at the time and although moving up to a 1970 GS455 was a step up, I passed.

There were so many choices, these were the highlights. Unaffordable cars that I looked at were a 1970 LS5 Convertible Chevelle $6500, 1974 454 Corvette (last year for the 454), I don't remember the price but a Corvette wasn't even on my radar at that age, no room for friends, girls, incongruent for a 16 year old to have one etc. That was another tire shop car.

LOVE them all but really lust over the 1970 Buick GS455 and Buick GSX Stage 1 or Stage 2. One of the few GM cars to beat Roadrunners and Super Bees at drag strips. The Buick GS were some of the highest cui and horse powered machines ever sold by the General.

 

[JeffKeryk]

What u hear about the convertible 454 LS-6 Chevelle is TRUE. Not only super rare but boarders on mental illness the price people are willing to pony up to own them. Your mention of those Chevelles reminded me of one night of flat out crazy buying and selling of classic cars. I can never forget. A classic car auction where a convertible 454 LS went for an incredible price to someone with too much money to maintain sanity. I would have NOT wanted to listen to his wife's reaction when she heard what he not only paid to own it, but then the explosion when she heard what he sold the same car for a few years later. YIKES. The car was raced as "the Ray Allen champion drag Briggs chevelle". It is very rare to see or even hear of convertibles on the drag strips. You have to read its story since you mentioned what they must be worth or sell for these days.
From: Hemmings Motor News:
One of the icons of the last decade's muscle car price lunacy was the Ray Allen/Briggs Chevrolet/Truppi Kling 1970 Chevelle LS6 convertible--a former NHRA championship-winning Super Stock drag car.
The eyebrows of the Chevrolet faithful were raised in unison when the car sold for an unheard-of $1.2 million at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale in 2006. Then, just over three years later, you could almost hear a collective "I told you so," as the car changed hands at RM's Icons of Speed and Style auction in Los Angeles, this time for $264,000.
The 1970s were prime time for drag racing, and during that time period Mopar reined supreme. That is, until Ray Allen entered the scene. He decided to bring Chevrolet to frontline with all-powerful LS6 build, and in the process he created an icon.

Easily one of the most well known vehicles to vintage racing fans, this 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle was piloted by Allen, and the already established Ralph Truppi and Tommy Kling. The trio sprinted their way to an unbeaten season in 1970, setting a national record at that time of 11.33 seconds, clocking in a half second faster than the Mopars across the field.

The car was then purchased by Allen personally in the 1980s, where the car was completely restored, and all LS6 documentation and papers are on file and ready for inspection upon your interest in the car. The car sold for $1.2 million in 2006 after Allen himself slapped a for sale sign on it, upon completing the time-period look with correct hand-painted lettering and extra performance parts.

Before my '68 L36 Corvette Roadster, I had a 1970 Corvette Coupe Automatic with a '70 Chevelle CRR engine. That's the LS6 450 HP with TH400 transmission. I had no idea what I had at the time, but that engine must be worth a small fortune now. I had the Turbo 400 rebuilt and my brother put the correct carb linkage in. I replaced the worn timing set. That car was crazy fast. 4 mpg.

 

[PF52]

Back in H.S. there was one kid who had a real nice 1970 Chevelle. Not an SS but not a six-cylinder either.... Real nice, perfect paint, etc. I would have found some way to buy it given the chance, probably sold a kidney or something if necessary. One day, the kid showed up at school on his bike. I asked, where's the Chevelle? "Oh, I sold it.... A guy was driving by and stopped, offered $100 over book value, so we sold it." Totally nonchalant, like selling a bag of tomatoes at the vegetable stand. Shame on me I guess for not making it known I'd be interested if he ever decided to sell it.

 

[CharlesInCharge]

There were so many models and body styles of the Ford Torino / Grand Torino / the Torino Cobra Jet / Torino Talladega that it is hard for me to chose my favorite. Even Mercury (part of Ford motor company) got in on the act and named theirs Mercury Cyclone Spoilers. The photos are of my favorites that Ford / Mercury put out there to chase down and beat the Mopars on the NASCAR Super Speedways and for a brief time they did just that. Richard Petty even jumped from Dodge to Ford he liked the Torino so much until Mopar shocked the racing world with the Dodge Dayton and Plymouth Super Birds. I have seen some of these Ford / Mercury's up close at car shows and they are something else to see in person.

Yeah, that stings a little. lol. As best I can recall this is pretty close to what this one I missed out on, looked like.

 

[Shel_B]

It was James Dean's Mercury that he raced in Rebel Without a Cause. I saw it for sale in Hemmings sometime in the late 80s or early 90s for $17,000. I didn't have the cash, and at the time, I didn't know it could be financed, so, although I wanted it, I passed. A few days after seeing the car I learned that it could be financed ... leased, actually ... and I called to make the purchase. Unfortunately, it was sold.

A few years later I was exploring Bill Harrah's collection, and there she sat. Now Harrah's collection has been broken up, but various remnants of it can still be enjoyed.