# Classic Car Lovers Thread



## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Got a classic car, or just a yen to own one? Here's the place to talk about your particular favourites.

I have always loved shoebox (1949 - 50 -51) Fords/Meteors/Mercurys and still own one today'

I also still own a 1970 Monte Carlo, and both it and my 49 Meteor are "year one" cars as being the first year ever manufactured.

Over the years I have collected and sold many cars including a 57 Chevy 2 door HT, a 55 Mercury 2 door HT, a 61 Triumph TR3-A, a 32 Ford Deuce coupe, an 80 Buick turbo Riviera among others.

Here are pics of the two I currently own, but have for sale:

The 49 Meteor:










The 70 Monte Carlo:


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## gwillikers (Jun 19, 2003)

I mentioned in a past thread, that I always wanted to restore and upgrade a '72 Jimmy 4x4 into an everyday driver, go-anywhere truck. Well, here's a really bad picture of a '72 Chevy pickup I used to own, that sparked that idea...









I'd still (despite gas prices) like to have something like this...


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## audiodan (Sep 26, 2005)

I am a big fan of the old Mercedes.


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## imactheknife (Aug 7, 2003)

My Dads old car (Red one) he bought brand new...1968 Firebird 400 I wasn't even born yet! 

My Dad and I bought the 66 Pontiac and restored it...we sold it years back but I always remember the fun I had driving it around Red Deer. All the older guys used to come up and run thier hands all over her and say how much they liked her! She had the guts to! 327 4BBL with powerglide 2 spd tranny...


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## gwillikers (Jun 19, 2003)

imactheknife said:


> My Dad and I bought the 66 Pontiac and restored it...we sold it years back but I always remember the fun I had driving it around Red Deer. All the older guys used to come up and run thier hands all over her and say how much they liked her! She had the guts to! 327 4BBL with powerglide 2 spd tranny...


Now that brings back memories imactheknife. Here's another bad photo of my first car, a '64 Parisienne, raised up, big tires, loud mufflers, man those were fun times (and man am I getting old :yikes: )...


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## imactheknife (Aug 7, 2003)

gwillikers said:


> Now that brings back memories imactheknife. Here's another bad photo of my first car, a '64 Parisienne, raised up, big tires, loud mufflers, man those were fun times (and man am I getting old :yikes: )...
> 
> View attachment 2658


thats a nice pontiac as well! my Dad when he was younger had a 62, 63 and 64 pontiacs all 2dr and the 62 was convertible...he loved his Pontiacs!


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## imactheknife (Aug 7, 2003)

very nice cars Sinc....must be fun driving around Edmonton and area...in Red Deer they always had the old car show at the westerner grounds....Saturday night would be all old cars downtown Red Deer....it was great!


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## imactheknife (Aug 7, 2003)

gwillikers said:


> I mentioned in a past thread, that I always wanted to restore and upgrade a '72 Jimmy 4x4 into an everyday driver, go-anywhere truck. Well, here's a really bad picture of a '72 Chevy pickup I used to own, that sparked that idea...
> 
> View attachment 2654
> 
> ...


that is the truck I learned to drive with at my Grandparents farm is Saskatchewan! it was green and white...


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## Apple101 (Jan 22, 2006)

SINC said:


> Got a classic car, or just a yen to own one? Here's the place to talk about your particular favourites.


Well SINC ive gotta admit you are a man of your word!!! By the way I love your Monte Carlo very nice!!!! Thats one car that I would be proud to drive for sure!

My personal favorites are the 67 Corvette 427 roadster, 1970 Chevelle SS, 1966 Ford Thunderbird, 67 Corvette Coupe, and the Volvo P1800.


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## imactheknife (Aug 7, 2003)

Apple101 said:


> SINC said:
> 
> 
> > Got a classic car, or just a yen to own one? Here's the place to talk about your particular favourites.
> ...


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## SkyHook (Jan 23, 2001)

>


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## Apple101 (Jan 22, 2006)

imactheknife said:


> Apple101 said:
> 
> 
> > My Dad wants that Vette! he has always wanted the 67 Corvette with the 427 and porcupine heads! Nice picture too!
> ...


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

SkyHook said:


> Hey Sinclair, is there a definitive year that the two-flapped engine cowl plus joined sheet metal fenders gave way to the one-piece front end with quarter panels and a hood? It looks like your '49 is just past that, but I don't know how dependent of the manufacturer that evolution was. Did it evolve slowly one model at a time as the crease between the fenders and hood flattened out?
> 
> Easy to find details seem hard to come by right after WWII, like everybody was only making tractors for a couple of years. I'm hoping you'll know if you were customizing after the war.


The year most likely to answer your question is 1955. Actually, my 49 is not "just past" that at all. It has been highly customized and those seams were removed, filled and given the look of one piece. Here is a shot of it the day I brought it home:










compared to now:










Here is the story on the car and the mods it has undergone:

The car is a 1949 Mercury Meteor and is the first model ever produced. This particular one is a Deluxe Club Coupe.

I bought the car in 1990 from the second owner, a young married man who needed the money for a down payment on a house. He purchased in from his neighbor, a single school teacher who lived with her parents on a farm in Saskatchewan, Canada who bought it new in May of 1949. She developed cataracts and parked it, no longer able to drive in 1966. At the time it had 16,000 miles on it. The young man bought it in 1986, but the engine was seized. He had engine rebuilt and it had 21,721 miles on it when I bought it from him.

I handed the car over to Egbert’s Collector Cars and Street Rods Inc. in the fall of 1992. Egbert’s have built two of the tope 10 customs in North America in the past and you can read about it here:

http://www.egbertsstreetrods.com/

If you click on “Our Cars” on their web site, you will see mine listed under “1949 Meteor”.

The car was finished in the spring of 1994 and was a trophy winner eight times at local car shows.

The car still runs the original 239 cubic inch flathead V-8 with a “three on the tree” standard transmission and currently has 24,000 miles on the odometer. Here is a list of the modifications to the car:
- converted to a 12 volt system with an alternator, electric fuel pump, and a modern stero with tape deck hidden into the glove compartment to keep the dash original.
- all fender seams filled to give the car a unibody look.
- interior stripped to bare metal, repainted and body undercoated.

This shot will give you an idea of just how stripped down the car was taken:










- head lights and tail lights have been frenched and fitted with modern 12 volt lighting including blue dots in the tail lights. A high brake light from a Toyota was mounted on the rear deck just below the rear window.
- the exterior trunk hinges were removed and replaced with interior hinges from a 1951 Ford.
- the license plate holder was recessed into the trunk lid and finished in billet with a proper license plate light.
- the trunk, hood and doors were shaved of all chrome and handles. Bear claw remote open locks were installed on both doors. A remote opening trunk latch and gas door lid was installed from the same Toyota as the rear brake light. The gas filler used to be a simple chrome cap mounted on the outside of the fender. That original cap is now hidden in the well created by the new door.
- an electric antenna was installed on the right rear fender with a toggle switch control to raise and lower it on the left under side of the dash. It was highlighted with a recessed “flame”, place around the antenna and into the fender itself.
- the grill opening was de-chromed and painted. The large V-8 symbol in the center of the grill was removed and a custom painted piece to match the hood crease installed in the center of the Mercury grill teeth. All bumperettes were removed to give it a smooth appearance.
- new glass was installed all the way around with the exception of the rear window. The center “bar in the two piece windshield was removed and the new glass “butted together” for a custom look.
- The original rims were removed in favor of American Torque Thrusters, complete with chrome knock off spinners and radio T/A’s installed. One original rim and spare reside in the trunk with a custom billet holder and the rim painted to match the car.
- the interior was custom upholstered in white naughahyde for the headliner and door panels. The floors and trunk were custom carpeted as well.
- the leather interior is from a 1987 Olds Cutlas International and we used the power bucket seats, the console, the seat belts, the sun visors complete with lit mirror and the rear view mirror with map light and day/night adjustment. Door pull handles are from a 1980 Lada.
- the four stereo speakers are mounted two in the rear deck and the two smaller speakers in the sides of the console.
- The dash and all interior trim are pained a lighter version of the custom paint. I do have pictures of the process in various stages of modification, some of which appear on the web site of the builder if you look around the site.
- the steering was completely rebuilt as were the brakes and the master cylinder. An extra leaf spring was added to the rear to allow larger tires to be used. A custom wooden steering wheel complements the interior along with billet clutch, brake and gas pedals. Signal lights were added and wired to the original indicators in the dashboard.
- two cables were run from the battery to a box under the front bumper complete with positive and negative posts to allow boosting of the battery if necessary due to the electric doors failing if the battery died as the hood is locked and can only be opened from the interior of the car. The emergency brake was also rebuilt.
- a shroud was custom built around the fan to allow additional cooling.


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## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

*Studebaker Avanti*









*Lamborghini Espada*









:love2: :love2: :love2: 

Maybe one day.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

The Doug said:


> Studebaker Avanti
> 
> 
> :love2: :love2: :love2:
> ...


Here is one nice '63 for under $20K:

http://www.oldride.com/classic_cars/710898.html


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## PenguinBoy (Aug 16, 2005)

Lots 'o nice cars in this thread!

I have a 1972 MGB roadster out hibernating in the garage - not much use in this weather, but fun in the Summer.

Don't have any pictures to post unfortunately...


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## Apple101 (Jan 22, 2006)

I bet this thread is starting to bring back some wonderful memories.....

How many of you remember this baby?? The Shelby 427 Cobra....


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## gwillikers (Jun 19, 2003)

Apple101 said:


> I bet this thread is starting to bring back some wonderful memories.....
> 
> How many of you remember this baby?? The Shelby 427 Cobra....


A car just like that fetched the highest price ever at the Barrett-Jackson auction, just a week or so ago. It was Carroll Shelby’s personal car, and it went for over 5 mill! :yikes: 

I found a link...

http://www.speedtv.com/articles/automotive/lifestyle/34919


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## MaxPower (Jan 30, 2003)

*My Dream*

Here is what I would live to have. Unfortunately I don't have that much spare change lying around.










And one of these as well.


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## DANdeMAN (Oct 20, 2006)

67 MB 250S, sold in 2005...rust bucket


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## Apple101 (Jan 22, 2006)

DANdeMAN said:


> 67 MB 250S, sold in 2005...rust bucket


Those things are tanks! How much did you sell it for?


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## DANdeMAN (Oct 20, 2006)

Apple101 said:


> Those things are tanks! How much did you sell it for?


$800...with a lot of work to be done. XX) :greedy:


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## gwillikers (Jun 19, 2003)

MaxPower said:


> Here is what I would live to have. Unfortunately I don't have that much spare change lying around.


You're in luck MaxPower, it may not be a Super Bird, but just make the monthly payments and you can drive the, soon to be released, 2008 Dodge Challenger. 
_(which I think will sell like hot cakes)..._









And that reminds me... I simply must go and rent the movie "Vanishing Point". It's been a while.


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## Vexel (Jan 30, 2005)

Don't own it.. but would love to own one.

1970 Plymouth Barracuda


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## DANdeMAN (Oct 20, 2006)

This is what I have know. 84 928S...on its way to become a classic.


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## MissGulch (Jul 20, 2005)

My father owned a '57 Studebaker Silver Hawk, that he loved as much as life itself. He drove it even past the time it was safe to do so, as the body had rusted and there was a hole on the floor by the driver's seat. You could see the road whizzing by from inside the car. 

He saved the name plate before it was junked, and I still have it.


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## maximusbibicus (Feb 25, 2002)

In times past, any thread such as this would be a shoe-in for a quality Macnutt post. The man loved his toys. He is missed. 

One day i plan on restoring a 1990 Miata from the ground up. Its a little to early now. C3 Corvettes have always been sexy to me as well. So many cars, so little time and money.


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## maximusbibicus (Feb 25, 2002)

DANdeMAN said:


> This is what I have know. 84 928S...on its way to become a classic.


That is a SEXY car. Always loved the shape! The rims give it a nice modern touch, and don't look out of place. To be honest though, i am a sucker for the original rims that came on the 928. So simple but elegant. I also prefer the cleaner front and rear fascia of the last 928 S4.....but any 928 is a head turner. 

Great job of keeping her in top shape!


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## K_OS (Dec 13, 2002)

I own a 1972 Austin Min and a 1989 Mini30 of wich only 3000 were built, I love these small cars there simplicity the way they handle and man they do attract a crowd wherever they go. The '72 is slightly modified with a bigger 1300cc engine with performance bits everywhere it's a howl to drive but despite it's size the car is capable of driking allot of gas. On the other hand the '89 is stock and will stay that way while I own it it's still a hoot to drive since it is a right hand drive and with it's 1000cc motor it's capable of cruising at 130kph, the '89 is also amazing on gas with it's small 7.5 gallon tank last year for the Mini Campout it cruised down to Grimsby Ontario on a Saturday morning cruised allday around the Niagara region and came back Sunday afternoon and only then did I refill the tank.

my '72
http://torontominiclub.com/SNC_2005/SNC_2005-Thumbnails/1.jpg

my '89
http://torontominiclub.com/2006 campout/2006 campout-Thumbnails/22.jpg

Laterz


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## talonracer (Dec 30, 2003)

Honestly I'm not much of a classic car guy, with a few exceptions. Of course the Shelby.. but that's not so much a classic as an icon.

Otherwise, the classic car I yearn for? 
http://www.eclipse-web.com/attention/69/69_body/img_69/69_3_01.jpg
1969 Dodge Charger. Yeehaw, y'all.

Otherwise, give me new, turbo, all wheel drive... and a radar detector.


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