I ate one for a late night snack once. When I was a lad, my mom owned a 1964 Model 62 Cadillac hard top. It didn’t corner well, but it had a Rocket 429 engine; modestly rated at 340 HP and a whopping 475 #-ft of torque. I was out one night and stopped at a light next to an MGB-GT. He gave it everything he had when the light turned green and got a few car lengths in front of me. I decided that if he wanted to see a car go fast, I’d put on a show. I floored the Caddie and passed him. When I got a couple car lengths in front, I let off the gas and let him get in front. Then I put him away again. At the next stop light, he and his friend wondered what I had under the hood.
A two year old 1967 Camaro RS which had been meticulously hot rodded with all kinds of suspension work by a guy who worked at the Chevy Engineering Center in Warren Michigan. I think he was into gymkana or something…he wanted it to really handle like a road race car, and that’s what I wanted. I don’t think I ever saw it up close, but we did discuss sale/purchase. Before the discussion went very far, I decided it was a little out of my price range, by a few hundred bucks. Somewhere I still have the list of suspension mods he had done.
Instead, I bought a beautiful 65 Pontiac LeMans convertible, maroon, 326 /3 speed on the floor. It was so cool having that magnificent convertible. I STILL think that was about the most beautiful car on the road. I have a picture of a very similar looking GTO in a frame, as a reminder of what I had. Now I drive minivans…oh well.
Way back in the early/mid-'70s I almost bought a new Spitfire. I felt I needed something reliable, however, so I passed and ended up (a bit later) with my '76 Corolla. The Corolla was the very definition of reliability, sp I definitely got what I was seeking. But oh, man, that Spitfire was afun to drive! I wish I’d have taken the risk and bought it.
I just remembered one more missed opportunity.
Several months after Studebaker went belly-up in 1966, I recall being in Lakewood, NJ with my family. Across the street from the restaurant that we went to, there was a storage lot for the local Stude dealer, and it contained…probably 10-12 brand-new, never-driven Studebaker sedans.
My brother and I strolled around, looking at the window stickers, considering the purchase of one of these cars. For some reason, we were focusing on the idea that these cars had no warranty, rather than focusing on the investment potential of buying one and storing it for several years in order to make a small profit.
Well, even though we tossed the idea around for a few weeks, we eventually decided that dropping ~$3k on one of these cars was just not a good idea. Although being equipped with Chevy 283 engines and Powerglide transmissions was actually a good thing in terms of maintenance and repairs, somehow we thought that these were…not as good as the earlier cars with “real” Stude engines and transmissions. (Actually, the Stude trans was better for both performance and economy than the Powerglide, but in terms of repairs in the distant future, it was…not so good) So–we opted to not buy one of these Studes.
And, just to prove that my brother and I have an unblemished record of passing-up great investment opportunities, a couple of years later, we discussed buying one of the many Hoboken brownstones that were then on the market for ~$14,000. After mulling it over, we agreed that…how much could they ever be worth…in Hoboken?
Since those same buildings are now selling for a few million $$, you can probably imagine how many dope slaps we have given ourselves over the years.
I had a friend with a 6 cyl duster so proud he blew away a 340 duster, go figure. 6 cyl mgbgt 0 to 60 in 11.3 seconds, not that fast I guess. You were around 9 seconds I suppose? Edit was replying to a post about blowing away an mgbgt, seems to be gone now.
I had a chance to purchase a 1973 Superbeetle for $400 one time. It didn’t run, so I think I could have got it for less, probably $250. My plan was to rebuild the engine. A easonably strong person all by themselves could basically lift the engine out of the engine compartment compartment and put it on a dolly all by themselves! No water cooling and all made it easy to do a rebuild. I wished I had purchased that beauty! But I had no place to park it at the time. I have a place to park one, and I’m on the look-out for one now, but SuperBeetles are somewhat hard to find. Plus my method of looking is limited to looking around in the vincinity of where-ever I happen to go that day.
Back in about 1974 or 5 I bought a '69 Superbee for about 450 bucks. It only had about 40 something thousand miles on it, straight as a pin, was in Spring Green with a black vinyl roof and tail stripe, 383 Magnum with a 4 speed, and Sure-Grip rear axle.
It was a sweet car and one of those that I regret dearly to this day ever selling; in spite of the tendency to shuck U-joints now and then and leave the driveshaft on the pavement. Must be a factory defect; surely not my fault.
I actually think I ran into that car again about 10 or so years ago when I saw a Superbee on a trailer parked in a shopping center lot near a restaurant. Just had to stop and after a careful lookover it appeared to be my old one in all respects.
Someone had been to the drags with it and still had mid 10s lettered on the windshield.
If it’s running mid 10s then someone has done something to it because no stock Superbee has ever been that quick.
I for years had a fantasy of a Bentley or Rolls. My lottery fantasy was to buy one and drive it to Prudhoe Bay.
I falsely perceived them as very reliable. When I asked here in Car Talk, did I learn fast! They said many of them spend more time in the shop than being driven. And, that the company sends a closed truck to take them in, so no one knows it is broken again. One man said he once owned one, and a tail light lens cost like $1,000.
Back in 1957 when I was 16, I found a 1940 LaSalle sedan for $75 at the Oldsmobile/Cadillac agency. I took it for a test drive and drove it home. My dad told me on no uncertain terms that a 16 year old did not need a car and it went right back to the dealer. I thought at that time the car might have potential as a collector car and was disappointed. However, I learned years later that just because the car is an orphan make doesn’t make it valuable. It was probably a good thing that I didn’t buy the car. However, according to Archie and Edith Bunker, the LaSalle was a great running car.
Mine was a 1959 Thunderbird. I was 17 years old and my Brother-In-Law was willing to sell it to me for $800.00 and would let me pay him in my own time, but he had to get it out of his garage / driveway ASAP. (My sister got a new car and that kicked the T-bird out). Unfortunately this was in my junior “Wheeler-Dealer” days and I already had a VW fastback and a Rambler in my parents driveway in a state of disassembley. If only I could have got rid of one of those!
Quoting @Barkydog "I had a friend with a 6 cyl duster so proud he blew away a 340 duster, go figure. 6 cyl mgbgt 0 to 60 in 11.3 seconds, not that fast I guess. You were around 9 seconds I suppose? Edit was replying to a post about blowing away an mgbgt, seems to be gone now. "
It’s still there, back a page or three.
The MGB and/or MGBGT did not come with six cylinder engines. After British Leyland ceased production of the Austin Healey 3000, they had a stack of three liter AH engines laying around. Someone got the bright idea of putting them into MGs. That’s when the MGC and MGCGT were born. An MGCGT is a very rare car. MGBs were never fast in a straight line. The early '60s ones had more power than the late '70s ones due to smog controls, but they were all underpowered. Like they used to say about Packards, “ask the man who owns one” (or six). It’s no surprise the Caddy could out run one in a straight line.
One car I bought that I wished I had passed by was a '58 Thunderbird with a 352/automatic. That car was a garden slug, I loathed it with a passion, and it had a short tenure with me.
Personally, I love the old British cars like the MGBs, Triumphs, and so on and owned a Sunbeam Alpine for a time. Just a ton of fun to drive around in.
@MG McAnick It was a 6 cyl definitely, so it must have been an 68 MGCGT, I seem to recall something about only 4,000 produced. Looks like it goes down to 10 seconds 0-60, felt faster than that. 40 years ago, thanks for the correction.
Other cars I’ve passed on now that I’ve thought about it for a while:
1978 MGB for $800 in 1990. It didn’t run. Instead of buying it, I fixed it for the guy. Then he wanted $1200.
1959 MGA for $200 in 1970. It had a “stuck engine”. The starter jammed into the flywheel. I fixed that one for the seller too.
1970 MGB in 1973 for $400. Exactly the same scenario as the MGA above. It’s a common issue.
1957 T-Bird for $4000. In 1974 it had 11,000 miles and looked new. I let my first wife talk me into paying off our Visa card instead. Note: My second wife knows better. The seller figurd out it was worth more, and upped it to $6000. The guy who bought it took it to an antique car auction and sold it for $8500 six weeks later.
1936 Packard Coupe for $900 in 1969. I think it was a V-12. Gorgeous car. I was a broke college kid. Nuff said.
1955 Nash Statesman for $500 in 1988. It ran and drove, and would have looked good next to my '50 Statesman and '50 Ambassador which I did not pass on.
1953 Hudson Hornet for $150 in 1972. It ran too. See broke college kid above.
2004 BMW R1150RT for $3650, just last week. I was three hours away. He sold it to someone else, sight unseen over the phone before I could get there.
Another category:
1953 Cessna 180 for $13,000 in 1981. Now it’s worth about $50,000.
1946 Piper Cub for $1500 in 1969. See Broke college kid…
!952 Cessna 170B for $6500 in 1988. No wait, I still have that one. Seller thought it was using waaaay to much oil. It was, because the breather tube was plugged with a mud dauber’s nest.
