Nomad
SENIOR MEMBER
410 posts
Oct 05, 2008
8:20 PM
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---------- Ok folks, risking being charged with blasphemy, I am going to name some cars , that are not Cobra's.
The question that I am posing is other than your Snake, what/which car's have you at one time coveted, but it just "got away from you" for one reason or another?
My list fortunately is short: Henry J, '55 Nomad, ,39 Willy's coupe, '67 427/435 Corvette, and a Turbo Niva Lada. Er, scratch that last one...........
Over to you..............I am just trying to keep this Discussion Forum alive, with new Topics. I was going to Post "How old were you, when you first became aware of your ugliness"?, but I don't think that it would apply to all of us.
There are three kinds of people: those who can count, and those who can't count.
Last Edited on 5-Oct-2008 8:23 PM
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427SnakeSC
Administrator
1262 posts
Oct 06, 2008
2:45 AM
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"Got away from you" I am thinking you are asking which car we had lost control of. If that is it, then the one that comes to mind is my old Corvette. When I bought the car, they were not very popular as the "new" '68 style was the hot one. It came with the stock 327/300 SB. In one of my more stupid moves, I replaced the 327 with a pretty nice 302 Z/28 and finally with a really hot, balanced and blueprinted LT1. From my memory, which isn't the greatest, I can remember losing it twice, with no damage or injuries. Just ended up sitting sideways on the side of the road! LOL! Not something I would try today! LOL!
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 "There is nothing nice about a Cobra. It's stripped down to the essentials, a big engine, a small car, and four wide tires to keep the whole business on the pavement. It's loud, smells like gasoline, and shakes, shudders, and bucks. It makes your arms tired and your feet hot. You nearly crash about once every 10 minutes. It's so damn wonderful that you can't believe it."
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Nomad
SENIOR MEMBER
411 posts
Oct 06, 2008
3:10 AM
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I was actually meaning which car of your dreams that you had always wanted, but for one reason or another, it just never happened. Car was bought out from under you, insufficient funds at the time, or whatever, as fisherman always say, "the one that got away".
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There are three kinds of people: those who can count, and those who can't count.
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427SnakeSC
Administrator
1263 posts
Oct 06, 2008
5:01 AM
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Okay, the one that got away! Too many to mention! I remember being offered a '67 Corvette Coupe with an L88 in it for $11K and a '66 Coupe with a 427 in it for $10K. There was the '72 Dino Ferrari for $14K. Makes you cry thinking about it! Ron's story about the 3 427 Cobras, makes me cry too! LOL!
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"There is nothing nice about a Cobra. It's stripped down to the essentials, a big engine, a small car, and four wide tires to keep the whole business on the pavement. It's loud, smells like gasoline, and shakes, shudders, and bucks. It makes your arms tired and your feet hot. You nearly crash about once every 10 minutes. It's so damn wonderful that you can't believe it."
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Walsh
28 posts
Oct 06, 2008
7:55 AM
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Don;t feel bad in 1970 I walked away from a 66 427 roadster with all the goodies . Asking price 4500. Instead I bought a ram air 3 pontiac trans am. ,now if I had known at the time I could have had a ram air 4 for 300 bucks more I would been very happy as they are extremly rare and worth a lot of money today.
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DobeBob
14 posts
Oct 06, 2008
10:20 AM
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I guess one interesting car that "got away from me" was a 1962 Chev Biscayne two door post- with factory official 6 cylinder insignia on the car- light brown color- very plain and boring sounding right??
Well it came factory equipped with a 409 factory super-stock engine, four-speed transmission, and all the other factory racing/superstock options [suspension, etc.]. The car "waled" big time.
It was purchased new by a guy who raced sports cars at the old track near Vancouver B.C.- he wanted a car with power to tow his sports car LOL. He had overkill!!
I could have bought it for $2200, but with a wife, and new baby just couldn't afford it.
I did take it out for a test drive on a Friday evening, picked up some buddies, and cruised Victoria B.C.
We raced and beat everything on the street that night.
Next day the car-lot was visited by Saanich police, and told "under NO circumstances is that car to leave the lot without a sale-rep present!"
I stil regret being unable to buy that car.... and get "shivers" recalling it's awesome power....
...no Cobra but still a thrill....
Bad Boys we were, LOL.
Last Edited on 6-Oct-2008 10:22 AM
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Joe Wicked
Charter Member
74 posts
Oct 06, 2008
10:48 AM
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My list isn't very long as the value on the cars was on the rise when I got into the game and I couldn't afford to look at most of them. First was a 68 RS/SS Camaro for $1200. Motor was blown (rod through the block), but body and interior were perfect. 2nd would have to be the 68 GTO 454. $1800 was the asking price but the guy on the lot refused to let me test drive it, and I was not about to give him my money when he was rude to me. 3rd would be the 76 Corvette Stingray for $10K. I secured the loan and got back to the lot just in time to see the new owner driving it off the lot. Many others I coveted, but I never was close to them.
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Nomad
SENIOR MEMBER
412 posts
Oct 06, 2008
10:41 PM
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That '62 Chev, 2 door post would have been incredible, and priceless today! Kind of reminds me of the '67 Belvedere FACTORY Four Door with a 426/425 Hemi that sold in Scotsdale about 2 years ago! Also, the Chev that DobeBob described reminded me of the '57 Chev 2 door post, that had a FACTORY Fuelie in it, that was parked next to my Vette one morning in a Hotel parking lot!
In a way, these cars are/were almost "freaks of nature" in the car world.Thanks for responding to this Post folks, now if another 100 or so Readers would add their 2 bits worth, we would have a good thing going. As an aside, the story with the most impat for me, is Ron's, involving having THREE 427 Cobra's for sale, right in front of him, and well................ I guess the rest is History as they say.
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There are three kinds of people: those who can count, and those who can't count.
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DobeBob
16 posts
Oct 07, 2008
12:44 PM
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....Yah, the '62 2 door post wouild have been priceless, BUT the reality is that at that age one or the other of us- likely BOTH would have been destroyed in very short order- I simply was not responsible enough at that age to have survived ownership of a car with that potential LOL...
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cobra25
Charter Member
58 posts
Oct 07, 2008
2:31 PM
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I think I might have already posted this but my father was at Shelby American when the Daytona Coupes had just come back from Europe. CS offered it to him for 5k, Euro-dirt and all. My father turned it down saying those cars were junk after a season in Europe..........
This is a real wise guy...He sold CSX2248 in 1972 for 7k. He was very happy......at the time.....
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Nomad
SENIOR MEMBER
416 posts
Oct 08, 2008
12:00 AM
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"......at the time..... " I like it! But it just proves that not unlike the rest of us mere mortals, his hindsight has 20/20 vision! As far as turning down the coupe, well, it's no big deal. It's value is probably only a million or two today. Pocket change.
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There are three kinds of people: those who can count, and those who can't count.
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Ron75
SENIOR MEMBER
673 posts
Oct 08, 2008
2:54 AM
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When I was younger we used to visit all of the used car lots to see what they had. I remember going into one and they had this plain old white Belvedere with some holes in the roof. The rest was in pretty good shape and I wondered why the small holes across the top of the roof. We opened the hood and it had a 426 Hemi, cross ram, souped up for police use engine in it. Some Police department had ordered it new to use as a high speed pursuit car and it was now on the car lot for sale for about $3K. The engine alone would be worth many times that now.
Those 3 Cobras will haunt me until my dying day. Sad thing is I had the money in my pocket to pay for them any time I was there.Ron
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Ron Widener
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Ross154
Charter Member
44 posts
Oct 08, 2008
6:25 AM
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THis is actually kind of depressing! Makes me think of that Falcon with the hoodscoop,or better yet that 77 trans am, aww man, I coulda been just like Burt whatsit. Thanks Nomad.
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Ross.
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AC Bill
36 posts
Oct 17, 2008
8:35 AM
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Is it the 409 engine in it, that would make that 62 Biscayne priceless? I owned a 62 Biscayne 2dr post. That was my first car. It was a light green, 235CI six cyl, three on the tree, bench seat, totally stock. It was a fun cruisng car as I could fit 5 of my buddies in it, or one cutie for the drive-in movie...big back seat..lol. I couldn't afford the beautiful split window vette I saw at Gladstone motors. It was immaculate and $16,000 in 1972. Also missed out on a AC Bristol for $6000 by a hair. The owner was restoring it, and ran out of moola. I had my eye on the car for months, checking on it every so often. One day I walked in to the shop and it was gone, sold the day before... that sucks..I could have handled the 6 grand. I mention Gladstone Motors, for any of the BC boys, as this was THE dealer for hot muscle cars in the day. They always had a lot full of Hemi Mopars, SS Malibu's, Vettes, Camaros, Shelby's etc. etc...It was on Kingsway by Victoria Drive. Any true car guy driving past there in the late sixties, early seventies, would be drooling for sure..
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DobeBob
23 posts
Oct 17, 2008
10:26 AM
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Hi Bill,
Not just the 409, but the fact that the whole car was basically a Nascar Race ready built car. Factory headers, cam, solid lifters, race calibrated carb, and race ready chassis/suspension. A full on race car from the factory, but with street licensing.
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Nomad
SENIOR MEMBER
436 posts
Oct 17, 2008
11:08 AM
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Sorry to make this Post "local", but ACBill's Post about Gladstone Motor's reminded me of the old Belmont Motors in Vancouver. We used to call it "Belmont Bondo". Nothing but Hemi's, Vettes, etc., most of them wrung out to dry! So, I was just wondering if young Ross159, or DobeBob, or ACBill remembered this outfit. Their radio Ads were almost as good as "36 Funny Cars at S.I.R.!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Be there!!!!! Aw memories, that's about all that remains of my miserable, depraved existance, but at least it's sumpin.
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Rehab is for quitters.
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Nomad
SENIOR MEMBER
437 posts
Oct 17, 2008
11:10 AM
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"Is it the 409 engine in it, that would make that 62 Biscayne priceless"? Yup, the 409/409 being the one, and in a Post, with a bench seat, poverty/dog dish caps, radio delete, heater delete, well, it didn't get much nastier.
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Rehab is for quitters.
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AC Bill
37 posts
Oct 17, 2008
8:32 PM
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Well that makes me feel better, as I didn't end up selling a priceless car. I did run into a fellow at a car show in Bellingham that had a 62 four door Biscayne. When I told him I used to have a 2dr post, claimed that it was a very rare model today. I guess that most of the low end models ended up crushed far sooner than the Impalas, which are about the only restored ones you see at the shows these days from that era. Believe it or not, I still see the odd old car in Vancouver with a Belmont motors emblem on the back. I remember thier radio adds. They sounded like the current ones to the monster truck shows. lol
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Nomad
SENIOR MEMBER
440 posts
Oct 17, 2008
11:54 PM
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Yup ACBill, that was the car lot. It was on the corner of Fraser and Broadway. The Ads were alot like the Monster Truck Ads today, for sure.
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Rehab is for quitters.
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Ross154
Charter Member
57 posts
Oct 18, 2008
10:23 AM
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Before my time Nomad.
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Ross.
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cobra25
Charter Member
77 posts
Oct 18, 2008
12:40 PM
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In the mid-eighties we managed to pass up on a Cheetah. It was one of the original six saved from the fire. The only problem was the seller decided it was so hot, he cut the top off!!....20k
The guy who bought it, restored it and it looks great!
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Nomad
SENIOR MEMBER
441 posts
Oct 18, 2008
8:46 PM
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"Before my time Nomad"???????????????/ Ross154, your Mom said you were off fighting the Boer War. I see that the Cheetah is being revived. A new Company has been formed, and Producton will soon start. One interesting bit of trivia relating to Cheetah's is that they DIDN'T have a driveshaft! My Cobra has one that is 10" long, and I thought that was short! But like the old saying goes, it's not how long your "driveshaft" is........... it's what you do with it.
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Rehab is for quitters.
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cobra25
Charter Member
84 posts
Oct 19, 2008
3:29 PM
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How about another trivia bit....The Cheetah was the fastest front engine car ever to go around Laguna Seca's original layout. Done by Shelby Team driver Allen Grant.
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Nomad
SENIOR MEMBER
447 posts
Oct 19, 2008
3:47 PM
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Well, I will be an idoit. I never knew that! Thanks!
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Rehab is for quitters.
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AC Bill
40 posts
Oct 20, 2008
8:23 AM
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There was a Cheetah in BC for awhile back in the sixtys. It was introduced at a indoor oval racing event they used to have at the PNE. The races were for small import cars, Datsun 510's, Mini's, Toyotas, VW bugs. Lots of fun to watch, even though we were breathing a lot of fumes.. Anyways the Cheetah fellow cruised around the small track a few laps quite slowly, so we could all get a good look. He then stood on it for a second. The car snapped sideways on the greasy track, he overcorrected, and ran head on into the cement wall. Lots of broken fiberglass.. I'll always remember that moment..very sad..
Last Edited on 20-Oct-2008 8:24 AM
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Nomad
SENIOR MEMBER
451 posts
Oct 20, 2008
8:38 PM
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God, what a sad story that was ACBill! I believe that there is a Cheetah hanging on a wall, and in boxes, in Qualicum ACBill. I have heard about it's existance for about 20 years now, but have never followed up on what little info I got. Apparently it is jointly owned by 2 guys with dragcars, etc. It could be an urban myth, but then again, it may be true. I should pursue it sometime. By the way, it's supposed to be located in Qualicum. Have you ever heard anything along this line?
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Rehab is for quitters.
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AC Bill
42 posts
Oct 23, 2008
12:11 PM
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What's a Qualicum?
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Nomad
SENIOR MEMBER
465 posts
Oct 23, 2008
5:48 PM
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Why you I oughta............ I oughta.............., well, I don't know what I oughta, but I oughta anyway.
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Rehab is for quitters.
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AC Bill
43 posts
Oct 24, 2008
9:02 AM
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LOL, I thought that would get you.. I have to admit I have not heard of this story, but it sounds intriguing! That would be quite a discovery, since I think there were only a half dozen or so of these original Cheetahs ever built. It could even be the same car I saw at the PNE Agradome races..
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Ross154
Charter Member
58 posts
Oct 24, 2008
9:02 AM
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" it's not how long your "driveshaft" is........... it's what you do with it" Ha HA Ha snort, cough.... I don't get it.
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Ross.
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Nomad
SENIOR MEMBER
466 posts
Oct 24, 2008
11:00 AM
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Ask your wife...................... and lay off the smokes.
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Rehab is for quitters.
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Ross154
Charter Member
63 posts
Oct 24, 2008
5:00 PM
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She told me to put it back in the car.... Hey!! I think I got it ..... wait a minute???
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Ross.
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