Cars aren't like what they used to be

Originally posted by FMF
Let's share pictures of cars we had - or our families and relatives had - in the 1960s and 1970s.

Ugly URLs can be dealt with here http://tinyurl.com/

My wife, in the 70's:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/MarignyMay07KarmannGhiaFrontSide.jpg

Originally posted by FMF
Simca 1501 Special Estate

My family's car 1972-1974

http://tinyurl.com/h5kfpya

That looks a lot like a '69 or so Fiat 124 wagon that I had. The starter motor died and I found a Vauxhall brush I filed down to fit.

Originally posted by FMF
We had an off-white/cream Wolsey for a couple of years in the mid/late-1970s like this one

http://tinyurl.com/gr8ogv3

Despite the totally neutral nature of this thread and its contributions, every one of yours and mine posts have received a single thumb down. Why do you think that is?

Originally posted by FMF
My Auntie Ena had a Hillman Imp like this one when we still lived up in Manchester in the late 60s:

http://tinyurl.com/zlsb8gn

My first car, 1961 Buick LeSabre.
Two door hardtop, sea mist green.
Loved that Biff Mobile.

Here's a YouTube walk-around:

YouTube

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
My first car, 1961 Buick LeSabre.
Two door hardtop, sea mist green.
Loved that Biff Mobile.

Here's a YouTube walk-around:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtJlNiembjw

I think they are talking about what your family car was, not your own personal car.

My own personal car was bought for $4🙂 I was working at Reeses Music Co. in Escondido Calif, age 17, fixing radios, record players and was the official Lowry organ tuner. So one day I notice in the back room a room filled with TV's.

I asked Mr Reese what was that all about. He says he takes in TV's on trade but more as a gift for the customers, he sold TV's, radios, phonographs and pianos. So he said he did not want to be in the used TV business so there were these dozens of TV's just stacked up.

He said, you want to sell some on the side, I'll take 5 bucks for any one of them.
So I started putting some of them together, one in particular a console model, 21 inch, big for 1960. I found the only thing wrong was the speaker grill got pushed in so I went to some place that sold speaker grills (Radio Shack?) and got a grill for something like 50 cents. Glued it in and there was nothing else wrong with the TV, worked fine.

So I am walking at this point. I see at a local grocery store a sign up, 'wanted, 21 inch TV, trade for car'.

I go, Hmm, I think I can do that🙂

So I got in touch with those folks and looked at the car, a 1948 Buick convertable.
A real tank but it had one great feature: IT RAN! The top sucked, all torn and such and there was this hydraulic switch that ran the top mechanics that was leaking hydraulic fluid. So we got the TV to them, we made the trade, I said, hey this thing doesn't have any gas in it. Could I have a buck for gas? Sure, they gave me 1 dollar. So the TV cost 5 bucks, and 50 cents for the grill, total cost to me, $4.50!

Nobody did insurance or safety checks back then so I drove it for 2 years and it ran fine.
I was able to fix the leaking hydraulic switch with a new glue that had just come out, Epoxy. It glued the thing well enough so it didn't leak and I could put the top up and down at will.

A trip to Tijuana to a top shop, they said sure, new top, $50. Sounded good to me.
So I wandered around TJ for a few hours, came back and the owner said,

Senior, I put this new guy on the job and it came out a bit crinkly' It seems the folds showed a bit on the front.

He said, I can rip it all off, start over with new or you can have this one for ten dollars.

I said I can live with that🙂 So total cost with new top, $14.50

Pretty good deal I thought🙂

Originally posted by sonhouse
I think they are talking about what your family car was, not your own personal car.

My own personal car was bought for $4🙂 I was working at Reeses Music Co. in Escondido Calif, age 17, fixing radios, record players and was the official Lowry organ tuner. So one day I notice in the back room a room filled with TV's.

I asked Mr Reese what was that all ...[text shortened]... said I can live with that🙂 So total cost with new top, $14.50

Pretty good deal I thought🙂

OP opened it up for both.
I know yours didn't look like this when you got it, but here's a shot of one gorgeous Roadmaster, same year as the one you had.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1308/4610598172_6a232ec3c4_o.jpg
Hell of a deal, either way: mine was $500 for a (what was then) nearly 20 year old car.