#CarCollector'sCorner

Most car guys dream about the ultimate car deal, but reality is a cruel master in the old car game. These dreams often center around mint, well-stored barn finds with less than 1000 miles on the clock.

The mint barn find scenario is found within the range of “possible.” Read on to learn what usually happens in one of those ultimate car deals.

The first thing that drew us to this 1947 Pontiac was its history. It was originally a paddy wagon or “Black Maria,” where a ride in this police vehicle meant that you were running out of luck in a hurry.

These days a ride in Hugh Thurston’s retro-wagon means a whole lot of happiness for him. He calls it a “Pontota”, because it is a Pontiac body on top of a Toyota 4-Runner frame and power train.

It took Hugh three long winters to forge a bond between the Pontiac body and Toyota frame, and he would not recommend the experience to the faint of heart.

Picture courtesy mystarcollectorcar.com

We like to draw readers in with our titles, so the logical question is “what’s completely different about a 60 Chevy?” The 60 Chevy was in a Bob Seeger song. How unique can it really be?

That’s a fair question, but the answer is really obvious. This is a right-hand drive car and it’s been in South Africa since Day 1. Besides that, the 60 Chevy 4-door hardtop isn’t something you see in a Safeway parking lot every Saturday. With all due respect to Mr. Seeger – it’s a rare sighting.

One of the minefields in an interview with the owner of an old car is the custom side of the vehicle.

I’ve seen tens of thousands of cars and done thousands of interviews. In that time, I’ve seen things done to old iron that I would rank as excessive.

I have to remind myself that old vehicles are a very personal statement. You don’t own them because they’re practical. You own them because they reflect something from your past. A mental cue locked in your memory banks triggered a need for a particular old car, or truck, or a look, and eventually you are the proud owner of an iconic ride. That highly impractical vehicle is for you, not mainstream society – otherwise buy a Subaru.

That’s how I rationalize the “off the beaten path” cars, but this 1963 Plymouth pushed the envelope in a big way.

Sixty years ago, a film called “River of No Return” was filmed in Jasper National Park Alberta Canada. The two stars of the movie were Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum.

To state that they were huge Hollywood names at the time is obvious – what’s less obvious is how they transported Hollywood royalty to and from locations on the film.

In January 1980, Jimmy Carter was in his last year as President, the Soviets had just invaded Afghanistan, and this Camaro was born. A few months later, in April 1980, Robert Mugabe became the leader of Zimbabwe and Alan Kay walked into his local GM dealer to buy this car off the showroom floor.

There were two things that remained constant from early 1980 – Mugabe still runs Zimbabwe and Alan still runs his 1980 Camaro.

So what were those long gone Datsuns that supposedly will come back? Datsun 510s were built for one reason – affordability. They were peppy little cars with a practical boxy exterior that meshed well with a roomy interior.

The Fox-bodied Special Service Mustang probably saved more lives than roll bars at the Daytona 500 for one simple reason: Scofflaws feared these fast little ponies.

They gained a “more fact than fiction” reputation of invincibility in a high-speed chase because they could crack out insane 0-60 times and top out at well over 135 miles per hour. That’s pretty fast in 2012. In 1985,-it was Warp Speed 10.

Gord Holdcraft wants to make it faster.

One of our favorite stories is boy-meets-car, boy-sells-car, boy-finds-long lost car, boy-buys back-long lost-car. George Ouelette was able to make this storyline have the same happy ending in his life. He purchased his 1965 Comet 2 door hardtop back in 1966 when it was a solid courting car that he used on dates.

Sure, beauty is only skin deep, but what car guy doesn’t get his head turned by a pretty set of wheels? Perhaps the most popular cars ever wrapped in a bowtie were produced in three consecutive model years. Which is the best vintage?

The bygone era of Detroit included many very stylish rides. This fact is one of the big reasons that old iron has such incredible curb appeal in 2012. They don’t make ‘em like they used to – and that includes dangerous style choices.

Don’t kill the messenger on these points, but there were several engineering choices that would have Ralph Nader spinning in his grave-if he was dead.

Buying a new car or truck is one thing – buying a mint condition affordable 1951 Studebaker is an entirely different concept.

The basic idea is the same – money exchanges hands for a vehicle. Beyond that, the game is like comparing mud wrestling to chess so don’t use the same techniques.

The easy answer to this question is everyone one of them- from the tranny guy, to the engine rebuild guy, to the auto body technician and all the other restoration people along the path to a completed project. But which one of these trades will figure most prominently into the final equation for you?