Cool cars my relatives had

[retirednow]

Just thinking of cars my parents / aunts and uncles owned when I was a little kid- My mom and dad had a Maroon '52 Henry J. My Uncle Ken had (obviously my favorite) a green '51 Super convertible. My Aunt Jean and Uncle Paul had a maroon over white '54 buick (model unknown) My Uncle Hank had a green '51? Caddy Coupe de ville. Aunt Margie and Uncle Cal had a green '52 Willys Coupe. Aunt Bea and Uncle Buddy had a blue Hemi '53 Dodge coupe (Buddy also had a Indian M/C) Will post neighbors cars that I remember later. Wondering what treasures others on this site remember from way back in their youth?

Edited October 4, 2011 by retirednow (see edit history)

[cobravii]

My dad had a long black 1964 Buick electra convertible with black leather bucket seat interior and a 425 with dual quads.

It's in my garage now:D

[Guest Straight eight]

We had a 1937 Packard with a kid on the hood in our driveway

[Dave@Moon]

When my dad was 17 he had a 1949 Roadmaster convertible with power windows (that he said leaked down every night and had to be propped shut). It was a 3 year old car, and he was working 80-90 hours per week to afford it.

It cured him of expensive, interesting cars. His vehicle choices ever since were decidedly Dullsville!

[Guest Rob McDonald]

My dad had a strong preference for Dullsville cars. Therefore, I don't know what possessed him when he brought home a 1961 Plymouth Fury, white over Autumn Orange. It's now recognized as one of the ugliest cars ever made, one on which the front end design team obviously wasn't on speaking terms with the people doing the rear. However, when this baby showed up in our driveway, I thought my dad with just about the coolest guy ever!

[JohnD1956]

Besides the 55 Special and 65 Electra 4 dr hardtop, I can distinctly remember a late 30's plymouth that he hated, a 50 Special which caught on fire, Then the 55 Special I learned to drive stick shift on, a 53 Special 2 Dr Riviera for my eldest sister , a 60 Olds 98 which he loved to burn out in, Then the 65 Electra which I still love and miss. A 66 Chevy Caprice for another older sister, a 66 Delta 88 with a 425 Cu In 2 bbl carb which my older brother loved to burn out in, a 69 Cutlass S convertible which was assigned to me and couldn't break rubber on a greased road. A 69 Olds 98 4 Dr Sedan which was really sweet till it was rear ended twice and sideswiped by a taxi when dad refused to yield to him. After I moved out he bought a A 72 Olds 98, and a 72 Cutlass which my younger brother drove. As for relatives, I can only recall two uncle John's. One drove a 58 baby blue Coupe deville before passing early in life, and the othjer had a 62 Black Caddy convertible with a red interior. Nothing else stuck out.

[Guest 4buick7]

One of my uncles always drove cool cars. I remember a maroon '39 Mercury convertible and later a black '41 Cadillac convertible with fender skirts. My father drove a couple of dull Plymouths but moved up to more exiting cars after he returned from WW II. A new '49 Hudson was followed by a '52 Hudson Hornet, a black '55 Mercury Montclair convertible, a black '57 Chrysler New Yorker coupe, and a black '61 Lincoln Continental. He then stuck with mainly Lincolns every 2 or 3 years, the last one in 1990. He quit driving about 1993. He particularly like the '69 Mark III. My favorite was the '57 Chrysler with the Hemi. I won a drag race with an Oldsmobile while I was towing my ski boat. The only problem was I couldn't see the boat as I was fishtailing because the Chrysler's tailfins stuck up so high. My grandfather also liked nice cars. He bought a new 1925 Pierce Arrow roadster which he drove until 1931 when it was replaced by a Studebaker roadster. My memories of these two are only from pictures I have as I didn't come along until much later. He saved the Pierce Arrow hood ornament which was mounted on the Studebaker and later a '36 Buick. He drove the Buick until 1948 when he bought a new Hudson Commodore eight. The Buick had over 200,000 miles and had several rebuilt engines installed. During the war years he couldn't buy a new car so the Buick got a new paint job about every other year and each time a completely different color.

Sid Munger

BCA #2257

'47 Buick Super Estate Wagon

[John_Maine]

My uncle sold Chevies for 35 years. He drove some interesting cars but wasn't a car guy himself. To him, a car was an appliance to get from point A to point B. It was the people he was interested in.

[Guest Dans 77 Limited]

Lots of cool cars in my family.My uncle Chuck had a 65 Chrysler 300 L and an 85 New Yorker Turbo that talked to him....he said about 2 weeks after he bought it he wished it would shut up.

My Uncle Joe had a 64 Chrysler 300 K. My Aunt Helen had an old forward look Mopar with big tailfins that was painted pink and she called it "Phineas". She also owned the 70 Impala hot rod that was supposed to be my 1st car before her son totaled it for me. And last but not least a 73 Caprice with a factory equipped solid lifter 454 that I begged her for but she wouldnt let me have it. I think my parents may have had some influence on that decision.

My cousin Jimmy had the coolest 66 396 Caprice when I was a kid.

My cousin Joey (the Impala totaler) had a 66 Charger, a 69 Corvair convertible and a 67 Sportwagon.

My uncle Larry (Bud to us) had a 396 powered 68 Impala fastback painted hemi orange( I think the original color was white.....but it looked good in mopar colors)

And for the Buick guys not only did my cousin Joey have the sportwagon, there was also Uncle Tom. He was strictly a Buick guy.The two that stick out in my mind the most were his 66 Wildcat and his 75 LeSabre. Between the Dugans ,The Hummels and the Georges my family had a lot of great cars.

Dan

[John_Maine]

I didn't really answer this the other day, but one car that stands out is my uncle's '56 Desoto 2 door hardtop. It wasn't an Adventurer but don't remember if it was a Fireflite or Firedome. It was red and white with a black and white interior. I was 6 and he used to let me push the pushbuttons. He was 40 at the time and had traded in a '53 Plymouth Cranbrook for it. I remember that, too.

One of my grandfathers had a '49 Pontiac 2 door sedan, black in and out, 3 speed manual. I remember the pushbutton starter on the left of the dash. My other grandfather had a green '47 Pontiac 4 door. We took a trip to Prince Edward Island in it when I was 4 in 1954 and I remember getting very car sick. At about the same time, another of my uncles had a '37 Plymouth coupe. I was so scared of that car, I remember screaming my head off every time I had to ride in it.

[Dwight Romberger]

Straight eight,

I bet they wouldn't let you mount a kid as a hood ornament anymore!

Was that a factory option for Packard in '37 or was it dealer installed?

Edited November 5, 2011 by Dwight Romberger (see edit history)

[lrlforfun]

OK Buick People: My parents and relatives had poverty cars with what ever they came with which wasn't anything more than a V-8, automatic and later on power steering...until 1960 when they got a new red 60 Lesabre coupe. It was like going from.......... a mousey girl with no looks, no personality or any sense of humor to........ your favorite Bombshell!

And that's how come I'm here. Mitch

[Restorer32]

1940's version of the Classic Era "sliding boy".

Straight eight,

I bet they wouldn't let you mount a kid as a hood ornament anymore!

Was that a factory option for Packard in '37 or was it dealer installed?

[Guest Straight eight]

Not only did it serve as a mount for the hood ornament, it also served as the driver training car when the model got to driving age.

[John_Maine]

One other interesting curiousity - growing up, I lived on a dead end street with three houses on it - and there still are. At one point, my parents had a '59 Impala Sport Sedan, one neighbor had a '59 Parkwood wagon and the other neighbor had a '59 Impala convertible. Doubt very much that you'd see that these days.

[retirednow]

OK, now for the neighbors' cars. I lived in a cul-de-sac and in that court there were 2 Desotos- a '53 and a '50, a '49 or '50 Ford Woody, a '48 Plymouth, a early '50's Pontiac w/ the light up indian hood ornament, a '54 olds, and an awesome black and white '55 chevy. Up the block, I remember a '56 chevy, a '58 caddy, '50 Buick jetback, '52 and '54 mercurys a '57 or '58 dodge, and a '57 chevy.

Edited November 9, 2011 by retirednow (see edit history)

[Guest Skyking]

My father was always a Buick man. I remember the 1938 Special slant back with duel side mounts. I was about 4 years old and I also remember him letting me shift it into gears. It was such a huge shifter to a 4 year old. Then in 1950 he traded the 38 in for a new Super. He didn't like that car as much because of the lifter noise. He traded that in for a 55 Century, the first 4 door hardtop on the block. His brother, my uncle, also bought a new '55 Special. My dad kept that '55 until 1966 when he bought a new Wildcat. My younger brother inherited the '55 Century and kept it till 1993 when he moved to Florida. He now wishes he kept it. My mother bought a 1 year old '68 Sport Fury convertible from an uncle. What a beautiful car that was. She also had a '61 Impala convertible that a drunken priest totaled. That was also a very pretty car........Red with the white insert. The car was mint. My younger brother traded it for two tires. All it needed was an engine which he bought for $100.00.............those were the good old days...... try trading a mint car today for a set of tires.:eek::eek: