What was the biggest mistake you made,auto wise?

[my65riv]

They say hindsight is 20/20 and we should learn from other people's mistakes so just what is your biggest mistake you have made in the auto hobby?My personal one was not buying a 1957 Lincolin MkII that was a steal of a price.I bought a 1960 Cadillac instead.for the money i sunk into the caddy i could have finished the Mk II WITH ALOT LEFT OVER.Oh well.

Jeff Mealer

Mt. Juliet,TN.

[Guest ZondaC12]

Well so far I would have to say jacking up the rear end of the '38 with the front end on ramps, resulting in the front wheels rolling off the ramps, sending the car into the middle garage door! It bowed it out like 3-4" and it had to be replaced. Mom was not pleased to say the least.

Granted thats not the kind of mistake this thread is probably talking about, but I guess I'm fortunate in that it's as bad as it's gotten for me so far!!! I'm far too young and I have 2 years' experience in the hobby, and with a daily vehicle and the Buick in my possession, the money I spend on them is plenty, not to mention the universal issue of space, so I'm not exactly in a position to acquire anything else right now.

I soak these stories up like a sponge, and I couldnt even try to count how many I've heard in just two years! I pay close attention so that maybe someday I might not have too many "the one that got away" stories to tell. The stories have truly scared me enough by now that I have an absolute death-grip on both of the cars I have right now, and it won't ever let up.

[Guest Skyking]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ZondaC12</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Well so far I would have to say jacking up the rear end of the '38 with the front end on ramps, resulting in the front wheels rolling off the ramps, sending the car into the middle garage door!

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Paul, that same thing happened here in RI to a guy that wasn't as lucky as you. He was under his 1964 Chevy when it rolled off. He's not with us anymore.

[nearchoclatetown]

I'd say not buying the red '65 SC Cobra for $9000!

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Swapping a strong #2 56 Chevy for a RAT '71 Corvette.

[Guest Johnpaul Ragusa]

Believing this sentence:

"Dont worry, getting seats for this 30 Woody Wagon is a cinch. They are a dime a dozen"

Six months and $3k later.........

[Guest ZondaC12]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Skyking</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ZondaC12</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Well so far I would have to say jacking up the rear end of the '38 with the front end on ramps, resulting in the front wheels rolling off the ramps, sending the car into the middle garage door!

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Paul, that same thing happened here in RI to a guy that wasn't as lucky as you. He was under his 1964 Chevy when it rolled off. He's not with us anymore. </div></div>

I think I remember you mentioning that in another thread perhaps a few months ago or maybe closer. I couldn't believe what I read. I mean I KNOW it's certainly possible but you'd think the odds would be much weaker, enough that you wouldn't hear about a case of it actually happening. Between my own mishap and reading that I've changed my habits and slowed down when I'm out there in the last year or so. No one's indestructible and that includes ME.

[MCHinson]

Probably, trading my Black 1980 Buick Riviera in on a new Black 1986 Buick Riviera in 1986. I really should have kept that 1980 Riviera. I have never found another one in as good a condition as that one since then.

[1937hd45]

Over the years I've sold a lot of parts, engines, and cars, at the time of the sale I got what I wanted and was happy to be rid of the item. Looking back there is A LOT of stuff I'd like to have back! Big mistakes were the deals I didn't get into, GP Bugatti project for $15,000., Lotus 11 for $750. Maserati A6GCS for $1,500.are a few that come to mind.

[Dandy Dave]

The worst one that I ever owned was a 1975 CJ5 Jeep. Some fool doubled the leaf springs up in it and put quad shocks on it all the way around.

It road like a stoneboat. My back still hurts!

The day I brought it home, it wandered all over the road. The spring bushings were non existant. I wonder why??? LOL

Also the thing would quit occasionally while driving down the road. Just backfire several times and die. I would get out, open the hood, and beat on the electronic brain for the ignition several times and the thing would start back up again and run.

I almost bought it in it a couple of times. Once I ended up doing 360's on an icy road. Lucky no one was comming! It was a rag top and the windows were hard to see out of. I almost pulled out in front of a car once because I could not see it comming. That was enough for me. I got rid of it after that and took a loss on it but was happy to see it go.

And no, I don't care to ever own one like that again. Dave!

[Shop Rat]

Not me, but Bill did this.

He was using a piece of straight round firewood to slowly get some pistons to move after soaking them with a mix of old gasoline and used motor oil. (The engine had been sitting for years after someone poured a Coke into the gas tank after the boy had work so hard on the engine. He didn't have the money to fix it again so he sold it to the junk car dealer in Pa. that we bought it from.)

Welllll....it got late, he was VERY tired and losing his patience with that last piston. Rather than walk away and "try again tomorrow" he gave it a tap that was a little too hard and broke it.

It took years to find another one and it is not a perfect match. But it will work.

[michel88]

In 1969 I stopped at a Mercedes dealer with a friend. I had a '67 Austin Healey 3000 at the time. My friend had seen a '62 300SL roadster advertised and he wanted to take a look. They let us test drive it and it ran and looked excellent. The price was only $5000 and I could have probably traded the Healey and paid about $2500-$2000 for the car. I didn't do it and I still kick myself about that one. I did keep the Healey for 10 more years and shouldn't have sold it then.

[Twitch]

I let go of a 4 dr. HT 98 in this exact color to have the scourge of the planet- Satan's own piece of crap Limey Triumph TR-3 which broke something every week. That's the car I regret not keeping the most.

[Steve Moskowitz]

How do I count the mistakes? They all were the "worst!"

So, I will pick my first in the hobby. As a 23 year old kid I bought my first antique, a '36 Olds coupe. Ugly paint job but ran good except that it smoked like heck. Being the brilliant mechanic that I was I replaced the head gasket as I had 2 spark plugs fouling. That did not work so I dropped the pan (in a small one car garage) and ended up replacing two pistons and the rings, made my own gaskets, etc. Still smoked.

Then an old timer asked if I had checked my fuel pump....before I committed suicide over this my ex-wife's lawyer took the car in partial payment of the divorce. Ah, such fond memories...

[R W Burgess]

That's funny Steve!

All my first wife wanted was for me to leave! Of course every young truckdriver in the neighborhood just knew she'd clean me out and get all of those early model Peterbilts to resell to them at a steal!

My first new car(my second overall) was a 1968 SS 396 Chevelle sport coupe. It had the 375hp engine, four speed, and a trunk full of engine oil(one gallon per thousand miles). My dad traded it in on a '71 Impala, while I took his '67 Impala as a replacement. At the time, I was worried about gas mileage with the (then) wife driving 30 miles a day each way to work. That was really the only car of significance that I ever let go. I still have most everything else here, there, and everywhere. I did sell my '55 Chevy hardtop, so I could get more garage space for my anticipated new collection.

Wayne

[Guest edalfa]

I've got to say not buying the 73 Cutlass Supreme with a factory 4 speed. Man, that car drove great. And there was the 22,000 mile 340 Duster and the 58 Chevy-a solid original car except for a repaint.

Ed

[boler76]

Biggest mistake I made was selling a 1956 Monarch for 75$ in 1963 because the exhaust manifold was cracked and the motor mounts broken, Hindsight better than no sight I guess

[Guest Sheldon Rody]

Just because I did not have garage space to keep it I sold my red '64 GTO convert with all the power options for $1800.

in 1977, I knew it would be a special car to keep, but thought I would just find another. Also sold my '52 Hudson Hornet that was my first car and had for 22 yrs. Maybe I can buy it back someday.

[61 Sport Sedan]

I sold a 1956 Chevrolet BelAir 4dr sedan in 1991, 265, powerglide,electric wipers, rustfree car. Sold it because it was a 4dr. It was the best old car I ever had and have been regretting ever since. Brendan.

[Dave@Moon]

My worst mistake was selling a really nice '69 Dodge Coronet 500 hardtop in 1991 to buy a TR6 project car that turned out to have a bad frame. It was years before I was able to do any more than wearhouse the parts I saved off of the TR6.

However, I have a friend who really screwed the pooch on a deal once. In 1971 he traded in a <span style="text-decoration: underline">1965</span> SS396 Chevelle on a new Mach I Mustang. They made less than 200 of those in 1965. It's easily a $100K car today.

[my65riv]

Jeff(pitt64)just yesterday they showed a beautifully restored bronze 63 Grand Prix on Spike TV's 'power block".I've seen the car personally at a car show a week ago.One word to describe it would be,WOW!

Jeff Mealer

Mt. Juliet,TN.

[Ron Green]

Not buying (locally) a superbird for $6,500 and a authentic 2 seater Shelby AC cobra less the drive train for $4,500 years back. Even then I knew they would be collector items some day.

[Bill Stoneberg]

Buying a new Vega back in the early 70's. I abandoned it in he middle of Illinois after it melted the head and had no compression 22 K miles later.

By then I had had way to many problems and GM had given up trying to fix this total piece of junk. I didn't buy GM cars again until I started collecting Old Buicks.

Talk about a lemon.

[Clipper47]

Why didn't I think of that! I bought a 1971 Vega in 1973. What a disasterous car. I traded my '69 Plymouth Fury with the 440 Magnum engine thinking I would get better mileage with the Vega. The 440 gave me 18MPG at 55mph and the Vega 21. My dad borrowed the car to take a holiday to the east coast and brought it back with tales iof woe about overheating and burning oil. It looked like a mosquito fog machine going down the road with only about 30000 miles on the odo. I filled up the crankcase with STP and unloaded it for what I still owed the bank and bought a 66 VW. I've never owned a GM car since.

[Jim Bollman]

My worst mistake was listening to my Father and buying a 1966 Mustang in 1968. I could have bout a 1963 Avanti for the same money and he said, "they don't make them any more why get something you can't get parts for". Granted I was getting rid of a 1962 Metropolitan that had been laid up for a couple of weeks a few months earlier waiting for brake parts, so he was probably right, since I needed dependability.

Probably wouldn't have been as bad a deal accept driving a 66 Mustang in the rust belt does not have a happy ending. An Avanti would have tucked away somewhere when it was time to move on to the next daily driver.

[Terry Bond]

The one I remember most (yes, there have been several) was <span style="font-style: italic">not</span>buying a 36 Ford roadster. I think it was about 1967 and I was looking for a Model A. Spent a lot of time out in the country chasing down leads, and eventually ended up at a farm with a field of old cars out back. I looked at a couple of good Model As but they were overpriced. About all I had gathered up in old car money was $350. Well, at that price, I was offered a package deal - a pretty well worn leatherback sedan that had been outside about 25 years, and a 36 Ford roadster with a tree growing up through it. I laughed and went down the road to look at a nice original 32 tudor sedan (that I didn't buy either).

Terry

[TexRiv_63]

The biggest mistake was not keeping all the muscle cars I fixed up and sold in the 80s when they were worthless - 69 Hurst Olds, 70 AAR Cuda, 70 GS Stage One, 67 GTX.

Second biggest mistake was not bringing the cash when looking at a 67 Shelby GT350 for $1750 and trusting the owner to hold it for me.

Third biggest mistake was not begging, borrowing, or stealing the $1300 for a running and driveable 1930 Rolls Royce Limousine.

I'd go on but I'm crying too hard.

[Guest 1926pack]

Gotta be when I bought my grandfather's 61 Corvair in 1982 to use as a daily driver. Sorry Corvair lovers, that car tried to kill me in more ways then I can count.

[Restorer32]

Sometimes I think my biggest mistake was getting involved with antique cars in the first place.

[West Peterson]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jim Bollman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">My worst mistake was listening to my Father and buying a 1966 Mustang in 1968. I could have bout a 1963 Avanti for the same money.

</div></div>

Jim

I would have done the same thing. Actually, given the opportunity today, I'd still do the same thing.

[Guest brh]

Two mistakes one caused by the other. Listening to my dad "don't worry that car would have sold by now if it was in that great of condition" Drove several hours to see a mint 65 Riv loaded. Sold it an hour before we arrived!!! Which lead to the biggest error of all--purchase of a 1970 Chrysler New Yorker, loaded. Every week something went wrong with that car, after 9 months I dumped it at a loss, vowing to never purchase a Chrysler product again, and if that was not bad enough Dad left the plates on it and the guy who bought it robbed a gas station!!!! Guess who's door they came knocking on!!!

[ex98thdrill]

There's two that I can remember....

1. 20+ years ago, my father's best friend had a black 1961 Corvette with silver inserts, both tops, low mileage and had never been driven year round that we could've had for $8,500. My dad was going to buy it, he changed his mind at the last minute and my dad's friends sold the car to someone else. After a couple of other owners, the guy who currently owns the car now is a member of my region and every time I see it, I cringe. At out last region event, my wife got to talking with the wife of the current owner, they started talking about husband's cars, and when the corvette owner's wife mentioned "'61 Corvette" I told my wife, "you know, it's the car that my dad and I always kick ourselves for not buying."

2. We had a shot at a red Amphicar (running) that needed a paint job and had part of the windshield missing that could've been bought for $400, my dad had a $50 deposit on it, but took the deposit back because my mom didn't like the car.

[Guest AntarcticDave]

Biggest mistake for me was buying a nice little import. Had there been an Internet then, I would have learned there was nothing nice about owning a Triumph Stag. I got to know my British Leyland dealership way too well. It was constantly in, electrical issues, broekn sway bar mounts, head gaskets blowing, finally when a connecting rod started to go I sold it to them at a big loss. It was a fun car when it ran, but at that point I didn't want to ever see it again. A friend from Lopndon was once complaining to me about our view of British cars. When I told him I had owned a Stag he said 'well, even we Brits will admit there are a few that really do deserve that reputation'.

[Guest windjamer]

Im sure we have all heard the story of the killer motorcycle,you know the one about the farm boy that was killed trying to climb the inside of a silow with it. I dont know how thw boy was killed but my story was true. In 66 I heard of a harley davidson that was supposed to be in a barn. Took me about 3 mo. to track it down but I did find it. Farmer said no sir nobody will ever ride it again. Im going to sell it for junk. Took me anouthe mo to convince him to let me see it and after a whole lot of ice tea he agreed to let me have it. I paid $15 for a 1929 harley. Problem was it wasnt in a barn. It was in a chicken coope, had been for nearly 20 years and the coupe was oucupied. (I know its spelled wrong). Big brother said if it will turn over it will run. We took it to a quarter car wash on the way home and gave it a bath. Every bit of leather, plug wire and cloth covered wire just disinagrated.Long story short brother got it runing for me and I took it for a ride. Truth be known,it took me for a ride. I sold it right on the spot for $35. to a frend of my brother that was there.Brother got mad as he-- at me, till the day he passed every time the frend saw me he put his hand on my shoulder and asked Got any more bikes for sale Dick?? Wish I could slap him.

[Dynaflash8]

The worst was my first NEW car, a 1972 Ford V8 station wagon without power brakes. It wandered all over the road, needed a large anchor to stop, and was eventually wrecked when a guy pulled out of a side road as I topped the nearby hill on US 50 west of Fairfax, VA. At 55 mph there was no stopping it. Got it fixed and immediately traded it in on a 1973 Plymouth Scamp Slant Six. That wasn't a great car, but a pretty car that was pretty good for 100K miles. Lost the spider gears around 70K.

The best car my family ever bought, in its day, was a 1972 Buick LeSabre my Dad bought new and that a friend in Warsaw, VA (no, not Wayne, but "Big John") still has. Mileage is unknown, but it's somewhere near 250K miles, and the engine has never been opened. It still runs good he tells me. Stepping up to a more modern car, my Dad's last car, a 1991 Buick Park Avenue is still going strong for my daughter with 200,000 miles on it.

[Willy]

While I was in the service, I traded a 1958 Edsel Ranger (blown motor) for a 1934 Cadillac, cheauffer driven limosine with a rebuilt V-12 engine. Papers were in the glove box. No wiring, but car was in great shape! Someone talked me into selling it, because the wiring would have been too much. Wish I had either of them now!

[Guest Dave Wyatt]

I swapped an overheating 68 4-4-2 with the Turnpike Cruiser option and a broken air conditioner, for a burned out 66 Mustang. It would have been a whole bunch easier to fix the overheating and A/C than it was to resurect that burned out hulk of a Mustang.

[JohnD1956]

In 1972 I bought a 57 Buick Special convertible with 55K for $30.00. Dad, God rest his soul, was to'd. True, it did need a new roof, some seat work and mufflers, but the car ran like new and the body, paint and chrome was all good. I argued to keep it but I was talked into selling it for $100.00 and a 69 Cutlass convertible with 16K and lots of power options except AC. I was only 19 and this looked like a good deal to me. But that car was never in my name and after our elderly neighbor gave me his beat up 56 Roadmaster in 74 I gave up all claim to it.

But all's well that ends well, the Roadmaster lead to my current 56 Super which I did manage to get for the very reasonable sum of $75.00.

Other than this, in 1987 or so, I lost out on a fully loaded 67 Buick sportwagon ( even had the AM/FM radio and tilt wheel) when I balked at the $150.00 price without a title. But I got skunked on a 63 Corvair spyder once when there was no title and the old owner was uncooperative.

JD

[Guest GRANNYS 70 SKYLARK]

I have a couple of "DOHs":

My dad was getting rid of his pristine '79 Electra coupe and neither of my sons wanted it and I had no room for it. He gave it to his God son who pimped it out and then wrecked it.

I bought an '85 Vette instead of the '87 GNR my wife wanted me to buy. Today, I can still afford to buy an '85 Vette- but not an '87 GNR.

I deserve a GIANT slap in the head.

The good news is after selling the Vette I got my '70 Skylark which I will never sell.

[Guest windjamer]

I think it was about 1948-49 I hung out at a local gas station and salvage yard. A man pulled up to the pumps and asked me fill his rad. with water.I grabed the can and started to fill it. As I was pouring water in I noticed that the car had two Rads. I sat the can down asked why, thats when I learned where the gas tank was on I think it was a model a.