All My Cars......Ever!

I began driving at age 17 in 1992, and immediately  knew my car would be unique. That driving was such a privilege, I couldn't waste it driving around in some disposable crap-box. No accords or cavaliers for me. Many cars were 'supposed' to be my first car, but fell through for whatever reason. A '78 green on green Nova, a mid 70's green on green LTD wagon, and a mid 80's Triumph TR7. But they didn't work out, and in the end...it had to have been so I would get the cars I DID get. 

But why a list? Who would ever want to see all of my cars besides me? I don't know. But if you're here, You must have been curious to see something. 

I was talking with my dad one day in '03, and we got to discussing the cars we've owned in our lives. I told him even though I was 'only' 27, That I could recall every car I had ever owned. He told me he could as well. But as I began to type up the list, I would find myself forgetting certain cars 'til the next day or a week later.  I realized, by the time  25 more years pass, and who KNOWS how many more cars, I'll surely forget some of them. So here it is, The complete list of cars owned, and any pertinent info that goes along with them, and pictures where available. It may not seem like alot of cars, But since many friends of mine have had maybe 2, 3, or 4......I guess it is alot. 

Some were bought as favors to bail friends out. Some were bought because the price was just TOO right to pass up. Some were bought for the sole purpose of making a quick buck. And some were bought because I simply fell in love with them and had to have them. If I had the room and the money, I'd have kept every one......Well...Almost every one. 

To see JUST the cars I CURRENTLY own, click this sentence. 

First, the Breakdown by make:

·         Buick   3

·         Chevrolet  1

·         Datsun   1

·         Dodge  1

·         Ford  7

·         Honda   1

·         Mercury  2

·         Nissan   1

·         Oldsmobile  1

·         Renault  1

·         Volkswagon  1

·         Volvo  2

And Now, The Complete list.....

1:1973 Dodge Charger, aka 'Tropicana Twister'  -  My first car! bought in '92 sometime, junior year of High school. 400 c.i. Big Block V8. Red in front, Yellow in back, Black on top. Called it the 'Tropicana Twister'. Paid $400 for it. Did a lot of work to it, Yet almost never got to drive it. truly a beat down first car. Frame was bent, and someone had piped a hose from the washer reservoir to the carb.  I assumed this was some hack power boosting technique using some form of alcohol, but who knows. I know when you fill it with washer fluid, It makes your car blow black soot out the ass for a month.  I sold this car about a year later (with the brakes now on the floor)  for $650 to a kid with sparkly eyes , just like I had. I still name my cars and tag the back end, only I tend to be a bit more subtle with it and have professional vinyl graphics made...not Electric Tape.  I still think that was a great car name, and an insanely cool first car. Of course, I realize now it was rather beat down, and the stickers, flags, 'X''ed out headlights etc was all stupid teen stuff...but it was minor compared to the tacky crap  teens do to their cars today. Mine was made of metal, and the tape could all be peeled off...and it didn't run down the whole side of the car....or have bad ground effects. I loved the aluminum slotted rims, The big fat 60 series rear tires, the profile of the car, the lack of grille's. Ugh...I think I'm getting teary eyed!  If I had this car today, I could give it some body work and a black primer paint job and make it awesome. 

2:1978 Datsun 280Z  - My second car. Bought during senior year, '93. I think I paid $1,200 for it, Which would turn out to be a huge rip off. This car had a great 're-sale red' Maaco paint job on it, and was FAST! I fell for it. Too bad I also fell through it. My famous story, the day after buying it, was that I pulled it into my H.S. shop class, and my teacher told me to 'lift my feet'. I did, and moments later, his knife came up through the floor. That's when he informed me that my floorboards consisted of carpet.  IN the months to come, I was able to see that the car was a rebuild of two totaled cars (one brown, one blue). The front suspension was  connected by a piece of Square steel, welded in place to keep it from collapsing. Exhaust would POUR into the car when driving, and you'd have to pull over and get out for air.  I eventually sold it (with the brakes also now on the floor)  to another kid, with those same sparkly eyes, For $1,000. This is the only known picture of it, which was taken at dusk side by side with a friends mustang. IT took major photoshop work just to make it look this good. There is video of it both sitting and driving, so maybe one day....I can still-frame-capture  it and get some good pics up. 

3:1966 Ford Falcon Club Coupe, aka 'Lenore' - 'Club Coupe' is a fancy way of saying 'Bare Bones'. I bought this car one week after graduating High School (class of '93) while looking for something old, decent on gas, Not so rusty. Big mistake! I don't regret it though. I was looking for a 60-65 falcon, but couldn't find one in my price range. When I found this, I bought it up, and my life has been forever changed (see my other websites!). I would go through three 6 cylinder motors, before doing a V8 swap. I finally accepted it as a lost cause  about 2001. But had since bought two more, and the parts from this car have gone on to help many other '66 Falcons, including mine. I even put her ignition and shift lever in my current car, so I could use her keys every time I start and shift the car. Her name came from Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven'.......Ah, for the love of my lost Lenore. How appropriate in hindsight. Quoth the Raven...Nevermore. 

Circa 1994:

4:1986 Renault Alliance - I never officially owned this car. My falcon (above) was in between her last 6 cylinder motor and new V8, and I needed wheels. A friend sold me this car for $260, which I paid for in change. This was probably '94. The car barely made it home from tranny slipping problems. I forced it to a tranny shop, got the HUGE estimate, and drove it to the auto auction. I sold it there for $400, and never felt so guilty seeing that guy in the parking lot trying to leave and not moving. It was still titled to my buddy, so I figured HE could deal with it. (no known pictures)

5:1966 Ford F-150 truck - Another vehicle I never actually 'owned'. Shortly after the Renault incident, someone traded in this truck to the dealer I was working at. He never came back with the title. I was able to track the guy down, and he brought me the keys for $20 in quarters.  Said he would get the title and come back for the rest of his money (I think we agreed on $400). He never came back.  With no title, I was stuck (long story). I sold it to a friend of mine for a vintage movie poster he had. ( no known pictures)

6:1979 Chevy Malibu -   Ah yes! The car I wasn't looking for, That I didn't want, and didn't trust to drive another 500 miles. The car I paid $400 for sometime in summer of '94., sold it back to the guy for $400 the same day, and bought it back a month later for $350, and drove for three and a half  years and almost 50,000 miles, and by that time, had painted it 3 times, three different colors! 268 V8, 350 tranny.  My first daughter came home from the hospital in this car. Bought  mid 1994, sold it November 1997 for $1,250. With the wheels, the paint, and so on...This was one nice lookin' four door Malibu. Had it been a two door, it would have brought good money. Never did name it, Guess I didn't care. Didn't expect it to last long. By the way, I sold the car with 199, 700 miles on it. Why? To buy a Falcon.

7:1974 Mercury Montego LX- Paid $399 for it  sometime in mid 1995 after finding it in the paper while looking for a 302 V8 to put in my first falcon above.  Yes, It was $399...the guy gave me a dollar change. He was using it as a winter driver to keep something nicer off the road. The car didn't deserve it's fate. It ran like a champ still, Road like a dream.  A very nice car except for a rusty left quarter panel.  So nice that I drove it for about 10 days before yanking the motor. Unfortunately, There isn't much desire for a rusted $400 22 year old Mercury with no motor, regardless of how nice the interior was and the stack of maintenance records that came in the glove box. So with no Ebay in existence yet,  it was given to the junkyard two weeks after buying it.  To this day I feel  guilty about taking a reliable well kept car off the road for no real reason. The Motor was put in my Falcon, but the falcon never really became street legal. Eventually that car was parted out, sent to the junkyard as well, and the Montego motor was traded to a guy who did some roofing for me. Another set of very poor pictures. I tried to lighten them with photoshop the best I could.

8:1966 Ford Falcon Futura Sports Coupe aka - 'Creeque Alley'  -   Long story short, I bought it a turd in November '97, Spent countless hours and money fixing it up, Wrecked it in January 2000, Allstate wouldn't give me any money, I have since been restoring it and it is coming along nicely.  Oh, and I brought my second daughter home from the hospital in this. 

After first fix-up, 1999.

Click here to see the complete restoration of this car.

9:1987 Honda Civic s.i. -  A freebie.  My friends mom had this car since I knew her in High school. I'd guess it was in '97 or so that she wrecked it, and gave it to me for free. I put a new door, fender, side markers, rocker panel, and other misc. stuff on it, fixed every dent, repainted the whole car, and then thought...What now?  After months of not needing it, I sold it for $1,000. The owners after me beat the snot out of it, and bumped and bruised every single panel on it. just two years later, it looked like it did when I first got it. Pic on right is much bigger when enlarged. 

10:1966 Ford Falcon Futura - Bought this one as a parts car to fix up my other two cars. What I didn't know at the time was that I would need this car more than I thought, when it came time to fix up my car from the wreck. In fact, I put the grille from the parts on my my driver 'in case' something happened in the winter. Well, What an omen.  The good news, My good grille will be back on my good car when it is done. This parts car was the most rusted beast I have ever seen that was still drivable. Nothing left of the car, yet it started, ran, drove, and stopped when I bought it. The brakes failed after just a couple weeks of doing nothing more than sit in a parking lot. It was sent to the junkyard an emptied shell about 1.5 years later. 

11:1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme - Bought in late 2000 for $400.  The intent was to drive it during the winter and restore my wrecked '66 Falcon, But being a painter, I just couldn't leave a beater a beater. So it ended up getting all fixed up while the falcon sat. The winter was so mild, I ended up just driving the falcon again in multi-colors and put this car up for sale. It sold once for $1,800, But the buyer only paid 1/3 of that. I had to re-po the car, and re-sold it on 6/26/01  for $1,500. That buyer never actually not paid off the car. Came up $20 short, but I was tired of chasing the money.  Really wish I had never messed with that one.  Had a 260 V8, and for some reason, was horrible on gas. The pics below left are 'as bought'. The ones below right after a new front header panel, and a repaint to original maroon, with a W-30 mock-up adding the silver two-tone. A sharp looking car, matching rally spare and all.  It now sits alongside my neighbors house (the buyers' in-laws), broken down, rusted, beat-up, dented, scratched, and just overall destroyed. Such a shame considering how it looked when I sold it. 

12:1966 Mercury Colony Park Wagon , aka, 'The Green Mile'  - Ah yes, The Mile. Purchased Oct, 2000.  I saw this car at a service station in '96, and fell in love.  I pulled in and inquired, but the service guy said it was a customer car, not for sale. It would be more than a year before I learned that the car belonged to one of my co-workers! Offers were made, but all were turned down. Eventually that person went to work elsewhere, and I forgot all about the car.  Then one day he showed up, and offered the car to me for $800, but it needed tires. I didn't need another project car, and reluctantly turned it down. He returned the next day, and offered me the car for $700 and came up with a set of tires! I was sold! There is tons of stuff to say about this car and what I have done to it, But I can tell you one thing, I dont think I could ever part with it, and if I did, It would take a substantial amount to make me do so! It has a 410 c.i. V8,  under dash A/C, and is a semi-rare 6 passenger version (no third flip up seat, no luggage rack, no rear step bumper). The car has 250,000 miles on the chassis, but most major mechanical components were rebuilt in the last 50,000 miles.  The following pictures show the car with the roof and side posts redone, tailgate repaired and primed. I do have wood for the whole car, including the tailgate.

As bought, October, 2000

Racin' the 1/8 mile in the Green Mile

Nov, 2003

13:1991 Nissan Sentra -October, 2001 -  Another freebie from my mother in law. Never did title it to myself.  I had painted this car twice for her, Glad I did A good job, seeing as it became my car! I had to put some tires on it, But otherwise, It was a great car, ready to roll, one owner, 100,000 miles, A1 on the gas.  I used it for the winter of 2001, and was finally able to park my '66 Falcon and start it's restoration. But after a few months, I was going nuts driving such a BLAH car. I sold it, my motorcycle, and some other stuff and decided to try to find a nice, rust free, Falcon wagon. A car I didn't have to work on much for a change, something I could just enjoy. I eventually sold the car for $1,000 to my Uncle in South Bend.

1975 Honda CB400F Super Sport - Ok......so a friend, call him an in-law, bought this old Honda CB400F and was going to 'doll it up'. Well, His 'dolling up' turned into a full-on restoration.  I did the paintwork, and I also had all the framework powder-coated and such. I had all the decals professionally duplicated, and all were clear-coated over. Wet sanded, Buffed to glass finish. The bike was done flawlessly because it belonged to someone I knew and I wanted to do a good job on it. Well, It all paid off when he put it up for sale on EBAY, and I shocked him by expressing an interest in it. Once I saw it on ebay, I realized  how much I wanted it. He cut me a HUGE deal at $1,200 just to 'get out from under it'.  It was my first bike, and I basically had to learn to ride on it. I can't recall when I bought it, somewhere in 2001. Everything on it was authentic original Honda brand and NOS only. Museum quality on about 95% of the bike. Well, A year later, I decided it was dumb for me to own, because I didn't want to get it dirty...so I rarely rode it. In that year, I put 102 miles on it. I then listed it on Ebay, and sold it for $2,400 to a guy who lived half the time in Japan and half here. He said it was the nicest he'd seen there OR here. I felt bad making so much money off my bro-in-law, so I gave him a chunk of the profit. He spent so much, He deserved it. 

14:1962 Ford Falcon 4 door wagon, aka 'Ellie' - bought March, 2002 . Well, Once I put all my 'monies' together, I had a decent amount saved up. I won't go into the details of that, But let's just say....I was thrilled to know that for the FIRST time ever, I could buy a car for more than $1,200!  I found this beautiful car on the internet, located in  Monee, IL. It had 28,429 miles on it upon pick up. Yes, Original miles. NOT 128,429! Beautiful rust free car with all original interior.  Its first few months with me, it served as daily transportation . But that was just to get acquainted with her. I put about 4,000 miles on it, including a 600+ miles trip to and from Nashville from Indy for the Falcon Nationals. She now serves as weekend pleasure driver.  

I am 3rd owner of vehicle. Luggage rack and "Ford-O-Matic' Automatic Transmission was only major upgrades on this car. Is is a factory radio/cigarette delete car, and still has proper delete panels installed. No frills body package, which has 'ford' on the hood, 'Falcon' in the tailgate, and two falcon emblems on the fenders. 170 c.i. I6 engine, 1 barrel carb, 2 Speed automatic transmission. All manual drum brakes, steering, and windows. 'western' interior with steer head upholstery, stock for non-deluxe wagons in '62.

I have done some upgrades to the car since I bought it. I have fitted it with the proper original 'bottle-cap' hubcaps and fresh side and roof paint . Some other things too, Like full exhaust including manifold, Restored valve cover and air cleaner, custom built CD player ,completely hidden and undetectable for show, Custom Falcon script floor mats, N.O.S. Grille , and much more too.  

Nov, 2002

Summer  2004

At the local Drive-In, "The Suds" , Summer 2004

Here's my '62 In a print ad for Weber 'Q-Grills', targeted to tailgating and camping etc. An advertising company was turned onto my webpage by a mutual friend, and they "had" to have my car in the ad. Originally, it was supposed to a neat looking beat down, faded red and rusty 40's pick-up. Full add was two sided, and unfolded like a road map. One side showed the Q Grill full size, the other side showed different people and how the 'Did' the Q grille. No, that is not me in the picture. Photos were taken at Northern Illinois University, Home of the Huskies. Funny thing was that they took hundreds of pictures from all angles, and this guy doing all sorts of weird stuff. In the end, they took a very simple shot as the keeper. Funny side note, The empty crushed can, pistachio shells, and tire tracks are all VERY much intentionally placed. No randomness about it. They also didn't like my 'antique' license plate, so they taped a standard Indiana tag over it. They also had me lay down in the front seat and hold the brake pedal so the brake lights were on. Was  quite the adventure.  My two biggest questions were A: Why isn't the Q Grille IN the ad? And B : Where's MY free Q grille? Dang. Oh well, At least I got paid. 

And here it is on the back cover of the FCA newsletter:

15:1983 Volkswagen Scirocco, aka 'Baby Del' - bought August, 2002.   Named for the fact that it looked like a little baby Delorean. Well, The mercury Wagon was killing me in gas charges, not to mention the windows won't roll down and that is quite hot in the summer. My '66 Falcon isn't ready for the road yet, and the Falcon wagon is not for daily driving. SO, I had to get another car. Something reliable, Good on gas, front wheel drive for the winter, And hopefully something different. I just didn't want an Escort or a Cavalier. I was looking for a 280 Z to replace my second car,  but they didn't have back seats. I ran across this Scirocco, Leather interior, Working A/C, Slide in sunroof, Great on gas, Front wheel drive, and for and had 115,000 miles on it. Not bad for a 20 year old car really. Bought for $1,000,  repainted it silver,  Sold in April 2003 on EBAY for $950.00. Quite a shame to lose money after all I did, But I knew going in I paid too much. It was simply in the right place at the right time.

16:1986 Volvo 240 DL wagon - bought November, 2002. 215,000 miles,  but was only $50. After waiting 6 month for the owner to give me a title, I gave up and returned it to him. His reply was 'Ill probably just have it hauled off'. Shame. The body was is great shape, other than the tailgate, and for that many miles, the interior wasn't too bad either. It needed profuse brake work, and the tranny leaked quarts a day. Probably better off it went away, but a great, boxy Volvo wagon.

17:1990 Volvo 740 Turbo Wagon - Bought in March of 2003, for $2,050. Had damage on right rear corner, which knocked the price way down. Otherwise in great shape. 150,000 miles at purchase.

January 2004 update

I decided I would never get around to fixing the wrecked quarter panel (not pictured), so I decided to make a Faux 'Rat Rod' out of it. First step was the DP90 Satin Black paint job. The only things NOT blacked out was the two small aluminum peices near the license plate, the volvo grill emblem, and the headlights/taillights. Heck, I even blacked out the top portion of the taillight...as its a rain light, which my car either doesnt have or they dont work. I had it lowered  it a few inches (albeit Id like it a little lower), added moon discs and a blacked out plate. Eventually sold it after about 2 years so I could get a bigger, nicer, newer wagon. Sold for $1,000 2/16/05. I don't take a loss on cars very often, But decided to sell low and get out of it quickly rather than be in debt and try to get every penny back.

18:1991 Mustang GT - Bought in June 2003 for $3,800 from a friend who was moving out of town on short notice and needed a quick sale. It had 116,000 miles on it, but was totally original in and out. All original paint, and one owner before him. He only owned it for 8 months. The original owner was Brandon Bernstein, who is Famed top fuel drive Kenny Bernsteins son.  Brandon is also a pro top-fuel driver now. The dash was signed and dated by Brandon.  As much as I enjoyed the speed of this car, It wasn't bought to keep. I pulled the CD player, 12" sub, and amplifier all out of the car. I detailed it real nice, and put it up for sale. It ran on Ebay 3 times with no luck, and finally sold locally parked outside of my work in October 2003 for $5,400.  It blew my friends minds when I bought this car, As I simply can't stand Mustangs. At least every mustang built from '70-'04, and especially 'fox body' Mustangs like this one. But owning it did make me appreciate them a little more for the power and handling they had at a pretty low price.

2003 Blata 'Pocket Rocket' Mini Bike - Goofy? Yes! But FAST!  It hauled my 230 pound carcass around just fine! I've seen alot of 'imitation' pocket rockets since I had this, sold at Auto zone and such.  But  none have been as small or as fast. This was the real deal, and cool as heck! I got it as part of a special promotion through snap-on, so basically, I bought  an absurdly over-priced tool box, and got this bad boy free. I rode it for a few weeks, then traded it in on my wife's Saab below. Normally, I doubt I could trade this in, But this guy wanted it for his kid, so he was willing to wheel and deal. So, Even though it listed for $1,515new, A: I didn't pay for it. B: I didn't sell it. The first three pictures were taken from far away, and blown up. so The actual image will be very blurry. 

19:1976 Buick LeSabre Estate Wagon -  Bought June,4, 2004, for $1,100. I found this car through a wagons digest group online. I wasn't really LOOKING for it, it kind of found me. I always wanted a BIG 70's wagon, and this was it. It was 19' 2" long, 5,150 pounds with no gas and no driver, and seated 8 in its three rows of seats. Tailgate was 'clamshell' style, window rolled up into roof, and tailgate rolled down into floor of car....both by motors...not cranks. All power, locks, windows. Had A/C, 8 track, tilt and telescoping steering wheel, full power front bench seat, and a big 455 C.I. V8.  I flew to Kansas City, KS, to buy this hulk, and drove it home 560 miles. The car was a bit rough in the body, but ran like a new car. As neat as I thought it was, I simply had too many cars and it wasn't as nice as I thought it was going to be (not to mention 3 of my cars had major mechanical failures at the time I bought this, and i needed the $$ to make them all roadworthy again).. I had to decide which car to sell of the ones I had at that time (62 Falcon, 66 Falcon, 66 Mercury, 90 Volvo)...and the Buick lost. I put it on Ebay and it was bought, paid for, and picked up just a few days later. I hope to have a big clamshell again one day, but the timing of buying this car just wasn't right. Sold July 19, 2004, for $1,500 ( essentially broke even after gas, airfare, and ebay fees). Initially kept in contact with new owner, who would tell me all the great things he was doing to it. And then one day, I wrote him to ask how it was doing, and was told he sold it to a derbier. What a shame. Wish I had a digital movie camera at the time I owned this to show the clamshell in motion. Its quite unique.

20:1996 Buick Roadmaster Limited Estate Wagon - A 20 year time warp from the car above! Bought Jan 6th, 2005. With the Volvo getting older, and me desiring not only a bigger wagon, but one my wife could drive when hers was in for service. I put myself in the market for one of these wagons (Chevy Caprice Estate 91-95, Olds Vista Cruiser 91-92, and Buick Roadmaster 91-96). Literally, A day when I was in my wife's car taking it to service, I saw this across from the dealership I was at. 24 hours later I drove it home. 

A total creampuff. 94,592 miles.  Big as a boat. "Limited collector edition", A no-wood Buick Estate. I hate to use the word 'rare' on a " '96", but I guess having a no-wood Buick is relatively uncommon. LT1 engine, tow package (tow hitch, transmission cooler, Posi-trak rear, Auto-Leveler), power everything, 8 passenger. Beautiful inside and out, rides like its on a cloud.  Plan to keep this for many many years. Pics were taken on a day of frigid temps and freezing rain, not the best timing. Will post brighter pics come spring! The flash makes the interior look plastic-y and bright red....its actually very dark maroon and luxurious (see pics of interior with open gate, they look right).  First row is the near-spotless engine, second row is the dash and the rear seat 'vista' roof. Third row shows the cargo area open, and then with seat folded up (gate also opens sideways like a door). Amazingly, A factory dimension comparison between this and my 66 Mercury wagon (above) shows them nearly identical in every aspect, Length, Width, Cargo Capacity etc.  Actually just a tad bigger in each area! 

These are the pics that look WAY too red!

These show the true interior color! Deep Maroon. I also straightened out the seatbelts, and all the impressions in the leather have since smoothed out nicely.

21:1996 Buick Roadmaster Limited Estate Wagon (woody) - Bought 8/22/2005. A wonderful story. I paid $1.00 for this car. That's ONE dollar. Actually, It had $4.20 in the ashtray, so in a sense, I got this car free, plus $3.20. It belonged to a race series that used to drive it around the country, but eventually a small suspension problem sidelined it. It sat stored indoors in temperature controlled warehouse space. A VIN search shows it was retitled when the race series was bought by another company, and the mileage listed at that time (6/2003) matched exactly to the day I bought it. I then found an oil change sticker saying the next service was due 10/01. It never got that service. So it may have sat as much as 4 years. 

Anyway, The acquisition details are boring, But a simple inquiry and an 8 month wait, and I got the call to come get it! We got there, popped the hood,  A friend tightened up a loose control arm bolt, I bought a new battery and changed the oil, and fired that sucker right up! Then we aired up the tires, CLEANED CLEANED CLEANED and ended up with the pretty car seen below. It is pretty well loaded, not as much as the one above. But it does have the tow package, so that is a huge plus.

Sold 6/06 for $3,000. I feel I could have done much better on this car, But was selling it to a friend, so I cut him a deal. It all came around eventually when my wife and I bought his wifes 2004 Pontiac Sunfire, which I got a great deal on.

22: 1965 Ford Falcon Futura (Beulah) - Bought 10/14/06. This car actually found ME, not the other way around. A nice lady named Sue from Michigan took her falcon in to have seatbelts installed, and was told it was too rusty to install seatbelts. Sue decided it was too rusted to be safe, and went to the internet to find someone to buy it for parts. She found me, and months later we finally decided to get together and check out the car. So I took a 350 mile trip out to see the car, which was noticeable rusty as described. However, The list of mechanical goodies and the test drive sold the car for me. All brakes, including lines, as well as all exhaust, all fuel lines, carburetor, the tank itself, and the tires were new.  It started and drove so good, That I decided the floor rot wasn't enough to come home empty handed. She made the 350 mile trip home perfectly. After about 7 hours of cleaning and detailing, plus a few hours in buffing out the whole car and getting a fresh coat of wax, and some trim rings on the rims, and I endd up with the car you see here.

I figured as long as I was making the list, Might as well list the 'family' cars we have had since I have been with my wife (whom has been around since my first car).

1987 Dodge Omni (sold  in '94 for $900 when CV joint blew)

1991 Plymouth Acclaim V6 - Got it somewhere around 1995 or 96. Heather's Dad Chuck was kind enough to bestow this great car upon us after he bought a new Saturn. What a great car this was for us. Chuck had bought it used, but it was a former drivers ed car. At some point shortly after we got it, It was caught out in a hailstorm, and within the year, I re-sis the whole car, fixing every dent (fun!) and a total repaint and buff. It was beautiful. The transmission blew while Chuck still owned it, and sometime in 2001 after we got it, It blew again. Following an estimate for $1,800 to replace transmission, we decided to sell it and move on to another vehicle. We sold it for $400 to a friend who was impressed with how nice the car looked. Big mistake on our part. We would end up having a bunch of car troubles with subsequent cars, including more transmission problems. The same guy still owns that Plymouth today, and other than routine maintenance, has had no problems since replacing the transmission. Not only that, But my wife has never really liked a car the same since then. It was just the right size and quite fast with the EFI V6. These pictures were taken after the tranny blew. The interior still looked brand new.

1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme – No pics scanned yet, Totaled April '02

1989 Saab 900 S - Bought April 2002 as my wife's car after her accident totaled out her 1994 Cutlass. We had never owned or even thought about a Saab before, but we both kinda fell for this old car. in many ways, We liked it more then the 1995 convertible we bought. it just had a good feel to it,was unique, a little older, but not 'old'. In fact, Id still love to have a convertible version of that body style one day. In 2002, We paid $800 for it, Did $400 worth of work to make it roadworthy. Eventually put an $1,800 tranny in it, and then sold it in September 2003 for $1,000. The transmission was a mistake to put in, But it was important to have our car back very quickly at that point in time, and we figured we would keep the car for many more years to come. But that turned out not to be the case. We sold to the guy I bought the 1991 mustang from above. He moved back to town, and didn't have the money to buy his mustang back, so he bought my wife's car. The profit from his mustang is what paid off her new car! 

1995 Saab 900 SE V6 Convertible- Bought September 2003, 103,000 miles. I traded in my Blata mini-bike (pocket rocket) on it. I think the list on it was $8,988. We eventually got it for much less, I think $5,800 after we worked out a bike trade etc. This was a great car, and one we will both miss dearly. Great looking, Fun, convertible, black leather interior, wood grain dash, The V6 was speedy enough to have fun but economical enough to be good on gas as a daily driver (and had a 'sport mode which gave it more umph), And ties with my '83 VW as the best winter driving car I have ever owned. We had no plans to sell it, But the 2004 Sunfire below came along for a song, And even though its 'just a Sunfire', It has 105,000 less miles and everything works like new on it. So for reliability and longevity, It was a must. We will probably reminisce about this car for years to come. Sold (?) with 130,000 miles.

4/04, The Saab gets some fresh Fondmetal Rims and Tires.

2004 Pontiac Sunfire Sport - 9/06 - This is the car we didn't want, And weren't looking for, but would have been fools not to buy. We loved the Saab 'vert above, but the simple fact is, This car came along and with 105,000 FEWER miles, Simply made sense to buy. We got it for about 1/3 of its list price two years earlier. We bought it from the wife of the guy who bought my woody roadmaster (listed above). His wife bought the car new when she was single, But in two years time, she got married and had her second child on the way and needed something a little bigger than the Sunfire. I'm not big on the Cavalier/Sunfire line, but if I had to have one, This is it. Loaded to the hilt with every option available acording to the window sticker which totalled $20,995 before texes and such. Just wish it had a little more 'umph' under the hood.

Dad's Cars- This is just a list of cars from the time I lived with my parents and before...nothing after 'moving out'. 

1953 Studebaker, green with gray top and no floorboard.

1961 Ford Galaxie-2 Door, Light Metallic Blue. Aluminum police engine and
glaspak mufflers. My car when I was 18.  Grampa bought it from me when I went in the service. (ed. note: My dad has never looked THIS cool!) Note the 62 Studebaker next to it, also seen in my Moms Cars section below passing the Rambler American. 

1960 basic Ford, ugly green, while in the Service. Couldn't afford the insurance so I sold it to John Collins who twice in a week or so fell asleep at the wheel and hit a telephone pole, twice.  That's him and what's left of the car, and a dealer brochure picture of what this car had looked like. 

1960(?) Opel. Beige (In Okinawa. Painted it camouflaged and
gave it the tail number of PJ44. (44 in Japanese is Shi-shi, or Dog of
Death. It (shi-shi) saved Japan from a typhoon in their myth. This is it pre-paintjob.

1968 Thunderbird Landau - Gold, four door , back assward door, . (That's my dads way of saying Suicide Doors). Monstrous engine. Sucked gas faster than any car on the road. I could outrun anyone
for a block or two but the gas was usually gone by then.

·         1972 Ford Maverick, brown and I loved it like a Falcon.

·         1960 something Pontiac (small one) convertible. First and only.

·         1961 Ford Falcon Wagon - Muffler fell off on way home, Dealer wouldn't fix. Told to 'pick something else off of lot'

·         1968 Ford  Fairlane - The 'replacement' car (read above) - Green, Exhaust leak that poured inside car.

·         1977 - Toyota Corolla,  silver. New for under a grand as I recall.

·         1979 or 80 Pontiac Phoenix - Light Cream sorta with fawn interior.

·         1980-something Toyota Tercel hatchback - Wrecked it when woman ran stop sign.

·         1986 brown/gold Chevy Cavalier

·         1988 Pontiac Grand Am , Black on gray

·         1982 Subaru Wagon, front winch, Third headlight, Plaid interior, 'Sue'

Mom's Cars - This is just a list of cars from the time I lived with my parents and before...nothing after 'moving out'. 

1961 Dodge Lancer- Mom says : "The Dodge Lancer was a l961.  That old Lancer was bought for $200 in Washing State, my first car.  It had a rust area on the left back, about 3" around, but that wasn't the fun of it.  When the car was shifted into second gear, the knob on the shift stick would fall off as would all the radio and all other buttons.  Never in first gear, just second.  No relationship at all, just an oddity.  Eventually it didn't go past second gear.  That car was so excellent!"

1963 AMC Rambler Classic- Rambler is the one on the right by the tree. The car passing is my uncles 1962 Studebaker GT Hawk. Dad said about Mom's Rambler: "It got something silly like 50 miles per gallon on the freeway.  The Sgt we bought it from had extra insulation installed so the car got hot fast or cool fast and STAYED that way.  You could drive in the desert and be comfortable.  It had overdrive and a fuel cutoff button so a thieve would only get as far as the fuel in the carburetor would take him.  We were rear ended in Ellensburg Washington.  The impact drove the steel middle rod of the tow ball through the differential.  Sunday p.m.  Your mom got whiplash.  The cops got folks to open stores and such to get the parts and the gas station attendant got us on our way.  Virtually no charge for anything.  Just helping a G.I. out"

1966 Ford Thunderbird

1972 Maverick

·         1977 Toyota Corolla

1980 Pontiac Phoenix - Mom says "What a Lemon! Rust within two months, and within two years the engine mounts rusted through. Cost $5,500 new.

1983 Toyota Corolla (Tercel?)

 1987  Ford Escort Wagon

1988 Ford Tempo

1992 Honda CRX

My Brother ended up buying an identical car. Now, I Love my Mom, But I know that I wouldn't be caught dead in matching shirts as my Mom. My brother had a matching CAR! I never did quite get that, but to each his own.