Car stories..

[KUZMIN]

Hello guys, girls.
I would like to hear some of your stories on some rare cars or even unique car stories that you guys have had....I am a little bored and these are entertaining (LOVE www.carsinbarns.com).
Here are one of mine (I am not going to list locations, sorry)

197x XA Fairmont:
My little brother is 1/2 italian, and his comare and compare (I have no idea what it is in eng, but its some kind of relative....grandfather/mother i suppose), I was at their house when I was a few years younger (15-16 years old) when I got bored.
They lived on a BIG block of land full of grape wines, and had a few large garages.
As I am abit of a sticky bastard I had a glimpse in their shed's, found a car under a tarp that is covered full of rubbish and YEARS of dust.
I asked the owner (joe-compare) what it was, and he said his son's first car.
He asked if I wanted to take a look and I said yea.
After about an hour of moving rubbish off it (fishing gear, tool's, peices of metal, milk crates, etc)
The car only had a tarp on it....He ripped it off and I found a 197x (sorry dont remember year) XA Fairmont.
It was an all origonal car, no rust, stock 302 clevo with auto and LSD.
Car only had 65,000 origional miles on the clock, as Vince (origional owner) only drove it for 6years from new, then he moved to Adelaide and bought a Ute, and parked the XA hoping to come back to it in a year or 2.-but he never did, and it has just been sitting there collecting rubbish and dust.
Joe asked me if I liked it, and when I replied "I LOVE IT" he asked if I wanted to go for a spin around the block in it.
The car hasnt been started since it was parked around 78, but after he drained the fuel from the tank, put new fuel in it, put some down the carbo, and stuck a fresh battery on it...It started after about 10 turn overs!!
He let it run and it idled like a brand new car, as he pumped the tires up.
I didnt know how to drive then, so he drove the car out of the property and floored it down a straight road...the car rached 120 very very quickly, when he slowed down and it was time to return.
When we came back I knew I had to have this car as my first.
I asked if he knew if Vince wanted to sell it, he said he'd give him a call.
Turned out Vince forgot about the car years ago and no longer needed it, so he handed me the keys and said "its yours!".
I washed and vacumed the car, and it looked brand spanking new...everything worked in it and it would pass a roadworthy in a glimpse of an aye!
As it was in the middle of summer, I decided to leave the car outside over night.
When I woke up, my worst night mare came true!...the car was gone!!!
Turns out someone must have been walking past and saw the car, broke the window and jacked it.
I reported the car as stolen, but found it about 3days later on THE SAME FARM (in another old barn about 7km away) completely stripped.
All that was left of the car was a dash, rear boot, tail lights, rear bumper, and bare block.
The heartless theives even jumped on the roof and boot denting them in (however the roof poped into place when punched).
They took all intirior, box, and diff.
front end (guards, lights, bonnet, etc) was also stolen.
I called the police to tell them I found the car, and they met me there an hour later.
Took a quick glimpse over it and told me that it is probably aborigionals as they are well known to steal cars in the area and told me that there is no point in checking for prints, etc....just filled out a report and went back to base.
The car had way too much work on it (considering I didnt know a think about cars then), and I had to say goodbye to it and leave it at its final resting place.
Months later it was dragged out of the old woodern barn outside as the barn was being used, and as far as I know it is still sitting there rotting into the ground.

Such a shame that it started out to be a such a nice day, and within 24hours it ended up being so horrible where another beautiful XA lost its life and glory.

I am planing on going back to the area around Sep. This year (I am now 2000km away from it) and may bring it back home, to restore this machine into its final glory.

anyway,
Sorry about the long post and probably boring story, I have plenty more but this one is most interesting to me as it was my first car.
Anyone else got stories they wanna share?

thanks.

[StookEB]

Well that's a hell of a story, well that's what happens near an aboriginal mission. I have a short story of the stupidity of some of these people, i'm not saying their all stupid. a couple of aboriginal mates found out about a well looked after VL turbo and decided to steel it for the turbo and other parts like that. they stole it without a problem drove it about 50km back to were they keep it, but guess what they couldn't touch it was too HOT, so they decided to trash it, well how bloody stupid can you get.
These guys eventually got caught, were taken to the police station, there government lawyer came and got them right off, well that's just unfair. They had a record for trouble as well.

[XRated]

That's a story I think most of us dream of (until the theft :(). I was picturing it perfectly! Life's not fair.

[16wantsI6]

Originally Posted by EArulz

Well that's a hell of a story, well that's what happens near an aboriginal mission. I have a short story of the stupidity of some of these people, i'm not saying their all stupid. a couple of aboriginal mates found out about a well looked after VL turbo and decided to steel it for the turbo and other parts like that. they stole it without a problem drove it about 50km back to were they keep it, but guess what they couldn't touch it was too HOT, so they decided to trash it, well how bloody stupid can you get.
These guys eventually got caught, were taken to the police station, there government lawyer came and got them right off, well that's just unfair. They had a record for trouble as well.

i could swear and say things that would probably get me booted off the website about people like this. what a shame about the xa it sounded so perfect untill the end.

[BENT_8]

When i worked for my brother in NSW we were sent to clean up this old ladies yard near Camden as she was too old.
Myself and two offsiders were slashing the long grass around her shed and looked through the window only to see a American dodge or something and a HJ Kingswood just sitting their covered in dust.
We went into the shed for a closer look and discovered both had less than 30,000k's and were immaculate with books.
The next thing we knew this old lady was standing there with a .22 rifle asking what the hell we were doing.
We tried to tell her that a snake had gone into the shed and we were trying to kill it but she took one look at us clowns and said she doubted that we would have the guts to chase a snake.
She then went on to tell us they were her husbands cars and he had died in the late 70's so the cars just sat there as she couldn't drive.
Apparently the last time they saw daylight was in the early 80's when the neighbouring properties kids washed them for her.
We tried to buy the HJ but she wouldn't part with either.

[KUZMIN]

sounds abit similar to another time where I located a 56? Ford custom line in a old lady's front yard.
I went and asked her about it and she said that it is her husbands car and shed never sell it as she said it was his pride and joy before he died.
I asked if she would ever sell it or maybe get someone to restore it and she said no, said it will sit here for as long as she lives, rusting away. (mind you the tires were already half under ground and the body was LITERALLY sitting on mud).
The car hasnt moved since the early 70's when it was parked for a resto that never went through.

She did say that he had another customline as a parts car out the back and took me there.
In her backyard I found a Genuine torrie XU1, a LC V8 manual torana, and a few other cars which i couldnt quite make out what they were as they were WAY too far gone.
The custom line had a full sized tree that grew through the motor, the roof was caved in, the car was sinking into the ground (sills were already below sea level) and when I opened the door it fell off from their hinges.
The car was FILLED with engine parts and MILLIONS of little screws and nuts.
She laughed when the door fell off and said perhaps its best it doesnt get moved after all.
I asked about her XU1 torrie and she said it was her sons car, he left it there after he had a slight accident in it causing the front to be bent in, then got married to a woman the lady didnt like so she had a big fight with him and havent heard from him since.
She hated looking at that car every day because she remembered all the bad things that had happened to her and her son, so she said she only wanted $100 for it.

I smiled and said: sorry, not really into Holden.

I wonder what has happened to all those cars she had and if she is still alive (she was maybe 70 and was a big time smoker).

[ZEDAYE]

Bloke I worked with lived in country SA in his youth (late teens/20's) his best mate showed up at the pub one sat arvo with an almost new xw gt (red/blk int/man). It was used for roo/rabbit shooting,thrashed over dirt roads,used in the paddocks on his old man's farm to service machinery/repair fences, had numerous offroad excursions due to sessions at the pub! After 3 or 4 yrs of being thrashed everywhere the old girl went 'bang' flat out in 3rd one day (dropped valve), it was towed home and put in a machinery shed up on blocks covered by an old tarp and left there! About 6 months later same bloke after a trip to Adelaide shows up with another GT! This one was a red xy blk int/sunroof/wing on boot/mag wheels. My mate reckons this one was better than the first because he could stand through the sunroof on shooting trips! The xy lasted a lot longer than the xw but ended up in the shed up on blocks next to it in the early 80's. The bloke still has both GT's and knows how much they are worth (started collecting parts to restore them mid 80's), say's it's his retirement fund! Lucky *****!

[KUZMIN]

LOL!
Why do that to a relatively new car anyway?
Even if it were a 20year old car back in the day...still dont do it to an GT??..a falcon/fairmont maybe, but why GT?

Great story!

[HLC]

some awesome stories in this thread!

i got one short and sweet.

i wrote off my ED falcon in uni grounds leaving a carpark. went to quick through a shicane (sp?) not concentrating, lost control, crashed into some trees.

the catch? EVERYBODY doing Industrial Design, and Engineering saw me. 200+ people. how embarrassing. :

[Buddykin]

Originally Posted by KUZMIN

I asked about her XU1 torrie and she said it was her sons car, he left it there after he had a slight accident in it causing the front to be bent in, then got married to a woman the lady didnt like so she had a big fight with him and havent heard from him since.
She hated looking at that car every day because she remembered all the bad things that had happened to her and her son, so she said she only wanted $100 for it.

I smiled and said: sorry, not really into Holden.
.

$100 for a genuine XU1 and you knocked it back because your not into holdens??
that has to be the dumbest thing i have ever (EVER) read on any forum - period!.

[TUF_302]

Originally Posted by Buddykin

$100 for a genuine XU1 and you knocked it back because your not into holdens??
that has to be the dumbest thing i have ever (EVER) read on any forum - period!.

Yes it is, youd give her the $100, sell it to some idiotic holden nut, for $40k and put down a deposit on a new GT, simple!!

[red_hotxr6]

Originally Posted by Buddykin

$100 for a genuine XU1 and you knocked it back because your not into holdens??
that has to be the dumbest thing i have ever (EVER) read on any forum - period!.

Now that,s going to make 2 of us, you could not give me any make of holden any day of the week.Try greg murphy he will have it.

[Paxton]

There is a MKII Jag in a street not far from me. It has rust in places that I didn't know could rust, and its wheels have flat spots on them from not being used in years. I spotted the car about 18 months ago, and I have been watching it since, as the majestic thing slowly rusts away. The interior is spotless by the way.

I took my Dog for a walk past it about a fortnight ago, and managed to strike up a conversation with the owner, who basically said that the car was his father's, and that his Dad wouldn't have parted with the car if his life depended on it, so he wouldn't. The car, along with his Daily driver, a VN with the same amount of rust as the MKII, will be his cars until the day he dies. Such a sad thing to see when you are on the lookout for a MKI/MKII Jaguar to tinker with.

[Boss 260 Ute]

WOW this thread is good and evolving quickly! Some of these stories are sweet!

Cheers,

[apolloxbgt]

About 6 years ago I bought an xt ute off a local mechanic.It had had the body done up in the late 80's and had been painted the most orange variant of vermillion fire,and was still in awsome condtion (and I mean awsome I'm a panelbeater by trade).

His wife was a yank,so he would visit her parents in the states at least once a year,and when he did he always bought somthing home for the ute.

He took it off the road to put new front brake lines on it (god knows why,bloody mechanics),and ended up builing up a new 302w with 4v 289 heads,stud mount RR's,strip dominator intake,gilmore belt drive etc etc.He spent $8k on the engine without any labour.Then rebuilt the toploader,9 inch,front end,rewired it,replaced all the gauges with autometer pro comps (very very ****y at the time),retrimed the seats it went on.

All up he had spent $25k,without any bodywork as before mentioned it was almost mint.I brought it off him for $6k,trailered it home,and fitted the new brake lines and intierior,and drove it to work the next day!

He'd spent the money,built the engine,kept the rego up to it,and never even drove it out of his shed.

I rate that car higher than either of my gt's,but due to personal problems at the time I only managed to hold on to it for 6 months,need less to say I got my 6g back!

[ZEDAYE]

I know an old codger who has a 1971 De Tomaso Pantera, an Italian designed American Ford 2 seat sports car for those that have never heard of one. It's bright yellow, waist high, mid engined (351/4v clevo) 5 spd. The bloke bought it BRAND NEW off the show room floor in California in '72 ($10,000US). He brought it back with him in the early '80s and it has sat in his workshop ever since! Apart from some minor shipping/storage damage and 2 10 cent piece sized rust spots in the door corners it is immaculate! I offered to help him get it back on the road (lhd reg) but he reckons he's too old and could'nt drive it! He said the biggest problem with it back in the states was speeding tickets and the front end gets airborne at high speed over bumps! Iv'e sat in it and the thing is mental, he gave me a price to buy it (heaps cheaper than a GT) but i'd still have to sell my house!

[Jock260]

Originally Posted by Buddykin

$100 for a genuine XU1 and you knocked it back because your not into holdens??
that has to be the dumbest thing i have ever (EVER) read on any forum - period!.

HOLY ***** 100$ for an xu1 v8 manual torrie, mate!!! big mistake, u should of taken the thing off her hands, lol

[wadi]

Just a few short ones from the Gold Coast:-

Theres an Aston Martin DB9 down the road. His plates are 007.

A blue Bentley (I don't know if its a GT or continental). Works at the Salvation Army (I'm gathering as its parked right outside it).

I saw a u-beaut bright red ferrari last weekend that had the old man in the passenger seat and get this: a young lad driving it, and in the corner, BIG BRIGHT YELLOW L PLATE.

[normxb]

Originally Posted by ZEDAYE

I know an old codger who has a 1971 De Tomaso Pantera, an Italian designed American Ford 2 seat sports car for those that have never heard of one.

Yep know the Pantera's .
I used to keep my race car at "Penrith Dyno Centre" (closed years ago) in Kingswood and Gary (owner of Dyno Centre) had a customer with one & said it needed "a tune-up" because there was a "miss" around 140 ! ! , so Gary checks it over , bit of a tune , goes for test drive , beeeautiful .... couple of days later the owner brought the car back in and say's "the miss is still there" ? ? ? so he takes Gary for a run up the Freeway to Emu Plains "See there , hear the miss" ... It had a speedo with Kph & Mph ... a Very white faced & shaking Gary said " I thought you were talking Kph" ......... :

[XRCIST]

Originally Posted by Paxton

There is a MKII Jag in a street not far from me. It has rust in places that I didn't know could rust, and its wheels have flat spots on them from not being used in years. I spotted the car about 18 months ago, and I have been watching it since, as the majestic thing slowly rusts away. The interior is spotless by the way.

I took my Dog for a walk past it about a fortnight ago, and managed to strike up a conversation with the owner, who basically said that the car was his father's, and that his Dad wouldn't have parted with the car if his life depended on it, so he wouldn't. The car, along with his Daily driver, a VN with the same amount of rust as the MKII, will be his cars until the day he dies. Such a sad thing to see when you are on the lookout for a MKI/MKII Jaguar to tinker with.

Funny you mention that, my dad and i are actually restoring a 1964 model MK2 Jaguar. Its got the 3.8L motor and auto gearbox (with overdrive). My dad bought the car off an old bloke when he was in his early twenties for about 4G. After about 7 years of ownership he took it off the road to rebuild it completely. The body was completely stripped and was resprayed in Monza Red (originally it was grey) and the motor was taken out and rebuilt by his mate who is a mechanic. He didnt get around to finishing it then so he just parked it in the garage and it stayed put for 20 years. Finally this year we pulled it out to finish it. Needs alot of work and money, probably about 15G, to get it all finished but the end result will be worth it, its a fantastic car. I remember starting it for the first time this year after 20 years and let me tell you it sounds horn. Here's a pic.

[superroo]

Best one i herd of was a report was driving somewhere to do a story. Stopped in a small country town, to fill up with petrol. While he's filling up, this immaculate phase 3 HO pulls up. An old lady hopes out, dressed in her bowls uniform, fills it up with petrol, then drives off.
Needless to say the reporter was just speechless the whole time. He wasn’t sure but reckons it was the husbands car from new. The husband died, and the lady is still driving it today with no knowledge of cars or how much this thing is worth.
Imagine that, $100,000+ car just to go to bowls in.

Cheers

[Interceptor]

what? you've never heard of the little old lady from pasadena? :

and kumzin..... you're an idiot