Yesterday I bade a sad farewell to an old friend that has been holed up in my shop for the last twenty or so years.Financial considerations dictated something had to be divested and he won the toss. When I first brought him home in the spring of 1997 on a wild trailer ride from Massachusetts;landing in the driveway at about 3am and dropping him in front of the garage to be cleansed of the 17 odd years of dirt accumulation I envisioned having a garage partner for my 55 Safari I had purchased several years earlier. Getting it running and realizing it was going to require a lot more work than I thought to convert it into a streetable car once again.It had previously served as a race car only and had much removed from it. Then my wife decided she really didn't want to be driving around in an old station wagon that rode hard and made a lot of noise. so I vowed to build it for myself. Unfortunately about that time I was diagnosed with a rather aggressive form of cancer and went through a long and painful recovery lasting nearly two years.After that experience my desire to work on any vehicle had cooled considerably and so he was relegated to a spot in my shop up on jack stands;gradually accumulating dirt and dust and serving as a storage unit for all manner of materials. Several people had attempted to purchase him over time but I had refused;thinking I might get the ambition to finally finish it up. A situation has presented itself that required coming up with a substantial amount of money and so it was decided to put him up for sale. Several people were very interested and one came up the other day with a trailer and a fistful of cash and the deal was consummated.And so I bid goodbye to you old friend;I hope you will be happy in your new home and once again roam the streets. The first picture shows him the day I dragged him home and gave him the first bath in 17 years. The last couple are of him headed out of my driveway.
I know exactly what you're going through. I had to 'liquidate' my project Bronco, Eddie, because my heart went bad, but what was worse was that I had no other place than my apartment house's back yard to store him while he waited for me to heal up enough to work on him; the city was pressuring my landlord about it. Not to mention, I also needed money to help me live on (the Eagle may s#!t regular, but the Eagle don't s#!t much). The great thing was the back story of the buyer, who was looking for a parts rig, and as he and his four-year-old daughter were looking through the local C/L listings, my ad pops up, and apparently she exclaimed, "That's him!" So I told the buyer that even though my rig would be a good parts truck, it only needed an engine, transfer case and column to get him back on the road. So I hope that Eddie still lives, because every time I see a full size Bronco, I get a twinge of regret.
Safariknut good luck with your health. It's best to see the old wagon get another chance in life. I'm at a crossroad in life too. Had my '55 Chevy wagon and other cars shipped to our future home back in our hometown a year ago this January. I've only looked in the little garage door a few times and wondered why I even brought them back. My health and my wife's is the only reason we left Florida. Without ambition and desire any hobby becomes stagnant. I don't know anyone with a fist full of money and don't have the patience to listen to grown men cry about paying too much for an old wagon. Add to that my best friend's wife just passed away and he now wonders what will become of his restored '56 T-Bird and two nice old Oldsmobiles. With a sick wife he wasn't able to drive them and now lost interest. Old cars and old people don't seem to interest young people in a hurry to get to the mall for software.
Safariknut Wish you the best as you move to a new chapter in your life, out of all the cars I have owned the only 1 that I have ever regretted trading in was my Navy 89 Colony Park wagon, which is why I bought the 85 CP in Dec. traded my 1st car a 70 GTO convertible or a Alfa - and have never looked back. Remember all this is just "stuff" Good luck and have some fun
Safariknut , Life gives us all sorts of curved balls and you survived the hard yards . Sometimes stuff happens ( always loved Nomands ) and I am sure ModelT would give me heeps for this comment . Good luck in the future and things change so keep the buyers details from Downunder
