Sunday, January 23, 2011

One that got away...kind of

You know the stories you always hear where some schmuck 's neighbors uncles best friends sister's old boyfriend built a hot rod in the 50's or 60's, stored it away in a garage for the next 40 years, eventually passed on, and left to car to the uninterested family? I heard one such tale, working in the school shop when I was getting my undergrad at CCS in Detroit. The shop manager came in one day and said, "Chris, you like old hot rods, right? My wife's father had a 32 ford roadster that's been sitting in the garage for decades. He passed away, and they are getting rid of the house, so they wanna get rid of the car. It' doesn't run, but it's got a hemi. and they don't want much from it"  Every hot rod geeks dream right?

Well it turned out to actually be a 29 Model A coupe-cut down to a roadster of sorts. Most of the modifications were home made, including the headers, and most of the structure. The car looked pretty much like it does in the last photos taken of it some time in the early 70's. Deflated that it wasn't a deuce, and moreover that even though it was a period car, it was more cut up than i would have liked as a starting point, and i would never be able to leave some of the more bogus aspects of the build alone, i decided to pass on it, though i know they sold it pretty quickly after.

I'm sure with enough time and money, neither of which i have an excess of, the car would have been sweet, but i guess you cant save em all.


2 comments:

  1. Well, perhaps "pass on it" is a bit strong.. i still woulda loved to have it.
    More like - broke college student bank account and not able take on trying to beg, borrow and steal the money i'd need to purchase it, just to sit on it because i wasn't be able to afford to do anything with it.

    Alas... i cant help but to think sometimes that i should have snagged it though. (sigh)

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