I spent over a year looking for a first gen Camaro. When I responded to the ad for this car, it turned out that the owner lived about a mile from my house. He had owned it for over 20 years but I had never seen it before. It has been mine for the last 5 years.
I bought my first convertible in 1975. It was a 1969 Camaro 307 auto with 70,000 miles and it cost $700. I have since own 26 other mostly 1960's ragtops over the years and currently still own number 20 and 25. I bought my 1964 Comet in 2002 from a one owner estate. I took me 2 years to completely restore it including its original 289 4v 4 speed. It is a heavily optioned car including dealer installed dual rear antenna and dual spot side mirrors. Number 25 is my first custom rebuild. It is a 1965 Comet roadster that started life as a 4 door sedan with 28 inches of its rear seat section removed. I'm rebuilding it as a funny car tribute to the Jack Chrisman and Don Nicholson era cars that set NHRA records in the mid '60's. I've owned some very nice cars and think I still have a couple builds left in me. I have never restored an import but show no bias to the big three car makers here in the Motor City. My Mercury stable keeps me busy in my retirement and I enjoy the time driving and showing them.
I’ve always loved sports cars and had never driven nor owned a convertible. Yes I had 3 kids young, got 2 through college, and as impractical as a 911 is, I finally got one. Dream finally came through at age 48. Here is my 2008 911 Turbo Cabriolet. Great to drive in WA state during our wonderful summers.
1972 Triumph TR6
Buckeye Arizona
Purchased in 1987. Still sports the original paint. Excellent running car that has yielded years of fun. We recently relocated from Washington state to Arizona. The car lived in Washington for the first 47 years of its life. Now it is happy to rise to sunshine everyday and the opportunity to drive rain-free! Even in Washington, the top was never up😎
While in Florida working as Electrical Engineering Manager on the Titan III-C program, I purchased one of the first big Healey's imported from England, a BJ-8 Mark III, red with black interior from the Merritt Island BMC dealer. I loved to rip across the causeway entrance to the Titan III facility at 110 mph (every work day). The guards knew me and my Healey and would wave me through the gate without having to slow down for a badge check. That gave me a running start on accelerating to top speed. What a blast in the morning air in a beautiful state! Great memories!!!
Of surprising interest, the added suspension element provided by the wire wheels allowed the car to handle the same over the speed range of 70 to 100 mph. It's a great car.
I still own the car (original owner) and will be selling it now as my wife and I want to sell out of California and travel the country with a trailer (behind a Toyota Tundra) starting within a few months. The car is on blocks, stored in my garage for over a decade now. It has 99,000 original miles on it.
The pictures show a tow bar I installed when I thought I was going to transfer the vehicle to another storage area, but I never did... vehicle has never been towed. I will put the original bumper back on which is in perfect shape (chromed bumper). The hood latch was also open at the time I took the pictures; hence, the gap in the front of the hood.
Had six e30 BMW 's. Four convertibles in the mix.. A mauritius blue with grey leather upholstery was a favorite standout... We were going to a Who concert two hours away at a Connecticut casino, gambled a bit ,saw the show and proceeded on our way home... Cruising along at 65 mph we struck a deer in the cars right front corner.. Air bag deployed, in shock we rolled ahead and pulled off the road to survey the damage... Radiator was touching the fan but the car still ran... Got us flatbedded home to the tune of $400... Next day I pulled the radiator support forward and she was back up and running, after I washed the deer dung off. Never lost a drop of anything and a/c still operated... Did not have a collector policy and was SOL ... Learned my lesson
