The fellow who bought Daddy's car was so excited to get it that I just know it went to the right person. I'm sure Daddy is pleased. If I think really hard I can almost see him smiling in my mind. He had such a dry sense of humor. There was definitely a reason why Mama called him Sunny Jim!! And I can honestly say I was glad to see him drive off, enjoying the car just as Daddy had all those years.
I'm keeping the web pages I made of the car for myself, so in a way I will always have the car, where it matters - in my heart.
Yes, Daddy always dated every major event in his life by remembering the car he had at the time, and now Daddy's last car has been passed along to start a new life with a new owner who will love and enjoy it, too.
Showing posts with label Daddy's Cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daddy's Cars. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
May Just Keep Daddy's Car After All
We tried putting Daddy's car on eBay twice, but neither time did the bidders come close to our Reserve Price. I did get to write back and forth with one man who already restores these types of automobiles. He sent me some beautiful pictures, and he sounds like the perfect one to appreciate this vintage car. But, he is not willing to pay nearly enough to make it worth our while to sell it. I have it listed on Craigslist, and our own website FOR SALE pages and photos are still up. Also, we will be having an Estate/Yard Sale sometime in June, once I know a little better where I stand with my doctor's diagnoses, and we may be able to sell it then.
I was depressed at the thought of selling it, but then I was depressed when we didn't sell it. Kind of hard to please, aren't I!?
So it's beginning to look like we are just going to be a 3 car family. We do have the garage, so it won't be hard to protect it, at least. Hubby can drive it around here and keep it in good running condition. So far my driving has been limited to following him back from getting one of our cars worked on a couple of miles away and my monthly trip to get a hair cut, which is about a half mile from our house. It's my right leg and left shoulder that jerks, so controlling the gas pedal and keeping the steering wheel straight are a challenge.
In the tradition Daddy started of naming events by the car he had at the time, I guess I can add that the PT Cruiser was the last car I was able to drive. I see the doctor tomorrow, so I will hold out hope that this will turn out not to be true.
I was depressed at the thought of selling it, but then I was depressed when we didn't sell it. Kind of hard to please, aren't I!?
So it's beginning to look like we are just going to be a 3 car family. We do have the garage, so it won't be hard to protect it, at least. Hubby can drive it around here and keep it in good running condition. So far my driving has been limited to following him back from getting one of our cars worked on a couple of miles away and my monthly trip to get a hair cut, which is about a half mile from our house. It's my right leg and left shoulder that jerks, so controlling the gas pedal and keeping the steering wheel straight are a challenge.
In the tradition Daddy started of naming events by the car he had at the time, I guess I can add that the PT Cruiser was the last car I was able to drive. I see the doctor tomorrow, so I will hold out hope that this will turn out not to be true.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Daddy's Car is on eBay this Week
I did it. I finally bit the bullet and put the ad for Daddy's car on eBay for this week. I had so hoped that someone local would buy it, but we don't live in an affluent area, and all that most people saw was an old car. Those who did appreciate what a unique automobile it is can't afford it. So, after having it on Craigslist for a week with no inquiries, it was time to try eBay. After all, we have a Feedback rating of 1187 there, and an excellent reputation.
I don't like the format that eBay uses for selling automobiles at all, and really do think my own website presentation of Daddy's car is a thousand times better. But, it's a matter of getting the right person to see it.
I put the ad together and then spent about a half hour talking myself into and out of and then into pushing the button to submit it. There's no doubt about it. It has been so much harder for me to give up that car than I would ever have anticipated. Much, much harder than the house, since one of our daughters bought it.
You might wonder why I chose to put a photo of the engine on this post. If you have ever taken the time to look at some of the listings on eBay for vintage cars, you would know that most of the time they look like rusty pieces of junk, unless someone has already restored it and is selling it for up in the 20 and 30 thousand dollar range, with some much higher than that.
The contrast between the way Daddy took care of this engine and the way most of the other engines look that are up for bid is dramatic.
So, I really do hope it sells this week. If it doesn't I'll have to go through that emotional struggle again deciding to re-list it or not.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Finally Getting Serious about Selling Daddy's Car
Back some time ago I wrote about getting Daddy's car back in running condition and putting it out in the yard with a FOR SALE sign on it. We posted a FIRM price on it, so we would not be bothered by lots of local folks thinking it might be a $500 car. We have had plenty of people stop, a few who sounded like they would be back with the money almost immediately, a couple who seemed to really appreciate what a gem it is, and some who wanted to customize it and ruin it, as far as I was concerned.
None of the local people who had always said they wanted to buy it when Daddy died have shown any interest in doing so. Wishful thinking.
So, since we will be having a big Yard/Estate Sale next month some time, it seems like it is time to start really trying to sell the car. We still have not put it in the paper, because I just wasn't as ready to part with it as I thought I was. I finally took lots of pictures of it this week. I couldn't resist giving the trunk a parting caress as I came back in the house. It's almost like saying goodbye to Daddy all over again. I have been working the last couple of days on putting up a website about the car, so I am coming to terms with the fact that we really are going to sell it.
It was sad and fun at the same time for me to go back and re-read all of the posts I wrote about some of Daddy's cars, starting with his first automobile in 1914 up to this, his last one, and I put the link to this post in the sales page, so collectors and those who enjoy nostalgia could enjoy reading them, too.
9 Year Old Driver! Vintage Auto Memories Part I
First Driver's License - Vintage Auto Memories Part II
Life Before the Bottom Fell Out - Automobile Memories Part IV
Just Married - Automobile Memories Part V
Daddy's Idea of a Vacation
Burma Shave, Stuckeys & Hand Surfing Memories
The Year Daddy Hated to Drive to Chicago
1969 Chevrolet Caprice - His Last Automobile
Selling Daddy's Car
I am glad I decided to make the website, as I posted almost 60 photos, so I will always be able to revisit it any time I want to, for as long as I want to.
It may have a new owner sometime in the future, but it will always be "Daddy's Car."
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Selling Daddy's Car
If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you probably know that my Daddy, who died at the ripe old age of 102, loved his cars. In fact, he often remembered key dates by which car he was driving at the time. So it's with a certain level of misgiving that we have finally put his car out in our yard, with a FOR SALE sign on it. It's a 1969 Chevrolet Caprice (our younger daughter was born that year, is what Daddy always said), 350 engine, green vinyl hardtop, that he bought new, in all but perfect condition. After all, Daddy babied and pampered it constantly, cleaning off the engine every time he drove it, and keeping it in the garage all its life.
We put the price in the window, because we didn't want to have to bother with the locals who might think this was an old car they could buy for a few hundred dollars. There have been a few lookers who understood just how much of a thing of beauty this one is, and admired it with an eye that told me it was alright to sell it to them. But one fellow has been by twice now, and says he already has a '69 truck. So we know he recognizes its value. He says he'll be back when he gets the money together, if it hasn't been sold by then. I'm rooting for him, as he will be somebody that Daddy would approve of "inheriting" his car. I'm tempted to put the car in the garage and just wait for him to pull the money together! If we can talk to him on the phone and get a sense of how serious he is, I may just do that.
I really didn't want to try to keep the car, but I sure am going to feel sad when we do get rid of it. Knowing she's going to someone who will treat her with the respect and awe that she deserves will make it far easier, though. And then, I, too, can mark an event in my life with a car - the car Daddy had when he died.
We put the price in the window, because we didn't want to have to bother with the locals who might think this was an old car they could buy for a few hundred dollars. There have been a few lookers who understood just how much of a thing of beauty this one is, and admired it with an eye that told me it was alright to sell it to them. But one fellow has been by twice now, and says he already has a '69 truck. So we know he recognizes its value. He says he'll be back when he gets the money together, if it hasn't been sold by then. I'm rooting for him, as he will be somebody that Daddy would approve of "inheriting" his car. I'm tempted to put the car in the garage and just wait for him to pull the money together! If we can talk to him on the phone and get a sense of how serious he is, I may just do that.
I really didn't want to try to keep the car, but I sure am going to feel sad when we do get rid of it. Knowing she's going to someone who will treat her with the respect and awe that she deserves will make it far easier, though. And then, I, too, can mark an event in my life with a car - the car Daddy had when he died.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
1969 Chevrolet Caprice - His Last Automobile
As I've said before in other posts, my Daddy always dated everything in his life by what car he was driving at the time. The last car he had was his 1969 Caprice, which he always said he bought when our younger DD was born. LOL
He babied and pampered that car, wiping down the engine, checking the oil and water, and generally making sure it was in tip top shape before he drove it anywhere. It was always kept in a garage, and the only place there's any flaw at all on the finish is back where he put his hand on the trunk when he filled the gas tank. For some reason that part of the finish faded, so Daddy tried to even the paint out, but not successfully. He had put duct tape on the driver's door handle a long time ago, too, because of a tear. But other than that, the whole car looks like it hasn't been broken in yet, even though it has about 133,000 miles on it.
The old girl has been sitting patiently in the garage for a long time now. Daddy used to start it up every few days, even after I quit driving it, but then one of the brake cylinders leaked. After that, it's just been sitting.
We have several people who have expressed an interest in buying it from me, so I've called the local mechanic to go get it and get it back in good running condition. It's kind of sad to be thinking about getting rid of it, knowing how Daddy felt about his cars, but I don't have a desire to keep it, either.
The car is so old that Daddy didn't have a Title for it, so I called the county license office to see what I needed to do. The clerk said all I needed to do was make out a Bill of Sale for it. So that means I don't have to deal with the State DMV to get a Title for it, and I'm glad of that.
It should be interesting to see if any of those people who have ooohed and ahhhed over the car over the years, who said they would want to buy it, really will be interested. Of course, it will sell for a good bit, since it's so old and in such good shape. In fact, it will likely sell for considerably more than Daddy paid for it!
He babied and pampered that car, wiping down the engine, checking the oil and water, and generally making sure it was in tip top shape before he drove it anywhere. It was always kept in a garage, and the only place there's any flaw at all on the finish is back where he put his hand on the trunk when he filled the gas tank. For some reason that part of the finish faded, so Daddy tried to even the paint out, but not successfully. He had put duct tape on the driver's door handle a long time ago, too, because of a tear. But other than that, the whole car looks like it hasn't been broken in yet, even though it has about 133,000 miles on it.
The old girl has been sitting patiently in the garage for a long time now. Daddy used to start it up every few days, even after I quit driving it, but then one of the brake cylinders leaked. After that, it's just been sitting.
We have several people who have expressed an interest in buying it from me, so I've called the local mechanic to go get it and get it back in good running condition. It's kind of sad to be thinking about getting rid of it, knowing how Daddy felt about his cars, but I don't have a desire to keep it, either.
The car is so old that Daddy didn't have a Title for it, so I called the county license office to see what I needed to do. The clerk said all I needed to do was make out a Bill of Sale for it. So that means I don't have to deal with the State DMV to get a Title for it, and I'm glad of that.
It should be interesting to see if any of those people who have ooohed and ahhhed over the car over the years, who said they would want to buy it, really will be interested. Of course, it will sell for a good bit, since it's so old and in such good shape. In fact, it will likely sell for considerably more than Daddy paid for it!
Monday, April 03, 2006
Just Married - Automobile Memories Part V
Mama and Daddy's first apartment in Chicago cost them all of $20 a month, a lot in 1932. They were more fortunate than most, as they were both working. So many people lost everything during the Great Depression.
And what automobile were they driving when they married? Daddy always had new car fever, as long as I can remember, so he had just bought a brand new 1933 Silver Pontiac, with 6 wire wheels. It was a really fancy sporty car, with 4 wire wheels on the ground and 2 mounted on the fenders. Of course I'm prejudiced, but they really were a very handsome couple, and I'm sure they really cut quite a figure in this snazzy car.
In case you're curious, here's a red one for sale on the Internet for only $30,000. (Click on the picture for more views and information.)
nostalgia, Great Depression, vintage automobiles
And what automobile were they driving when they married? Daddy always had new car fever, as long as I can remember, so he had just bought a brand new 1933 Silver Pontiac, with 6 wire wheels. It was a really fancy sporty car, with 4 wire wheels on the ground and 2 mounted on the fenders. Of course I'm prejudiced, but they really were a very handsome couple, and I'm sure they really cut quite a figure in this snazzy car.
In case you're curious, here's a red one for sale on the Internet for only $30,000. (Click on the picture for more views and information.)nostalgia, Great Depression, vintage automobiles
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Life Before the Bottom Fell Out - Automobile Memories Part IV
As I've mentioned before, by the time my Daddy was 24 years old, he had already owned several brand new cars. Was his family rich? No, not really. He had attended what we would call a vocational high school and worked for a company, assembling radio kits that buyers could then make into their very own radios. He was making good money at the time, and still living at home.
His Dad, my Granddaddy, worked at the Chicago branch of the New York Stock Exchange, but not as a stock broker, as he was an insurance actuary by training. They lived comfortable lives .... until the Stock Market Crash. Daddy remembers his Dad coming home with stories of men jumping out of the windows of the stock exchange building where he worked. So, for a while at least, there were no new cars.
It was during this time that my Daddy met my Mama. She was a Page at the bank where his sister worked, and she introduced them. I asked Daddy what a Page did. You'd have to know how dry his sense of humor is to appreciate the way he replied, "Oh, she mostly stood around and looked pretty."
Falling in love in those scary, bleak times must have taken a lot of courage, and to have gotten married during those hard times would have been almost crazy, but they did it. A simple ceremony in the office at the courthouse, without families there for support, as they didn't approve, near the beginning of the Great Depression, was a very shaky start indeed to a marriage that was to last 'til death parted them in 2001.
nostalgia, childhood memories, Stock Market Crash, Great Depression
His Dad, my Granddaddy, worked at the Chicago branch of the New York Stock Exchange, but not as a stock broker, as he was an insurance actuary by training. They lived comfortable lives .... until the Stock Market Crash. Daddy remembers his Dad coming home with stories of men jumping out of the windows of the stock exchange building where he worked. So, for a while at least, there were no new cars.
It was during this time that my Daddy met my Mama. She was a Page at the bank where his sister worked, and she introduced them. I asked Daddy what a Page did. You'd have to know how dry his sense of humor is to appreciate the way he replied, "Oh, she mostly stood around and looked pretty."
Falling in love in those scary, bleak times must have taken a lot of courage, and to have gotten married during those hard times would have been almost crazy, but they did it. A simple ceremony in the office at the courthouse, without families there for support, as they didn't approve, near the beginning of the Great Depression, was a very shaky start indeed to a marriage that was to last 'til death parted them in 2001.
nostalgia, childhood memories, Stock Market Crash, Great Depression
Monday, March 27, 2006
First Driver's License - Vintage Auto Memories Part II
My Daddy drove for about 15 years before he ever had a driver's license. He had moved to Chicago when he was 14, but never did have to take a driver's test. The State of Illinois sent him a form to fill out in about 1928, as near as he can remember, asking him to state how many miles he had driven, which he marked as 100,000 miles, and they sent him a paper license (no photo, of course).
100,000 miles? My Daddy's first car of his own was a 1924 red Durant cloth top open touring car. He'd also owned a 1926 and a 1928 silver Oakland.
nostalgia, childhood memories, vintage automobiles, Durant, Oakland
100,000 miles? My Daddy's first car of his own was a 1924 red Durant cloth top open touring car. He'd also owned a 1926 and a 1928 silver Oakland.
nostalgia, childhood memories, vintage automobiles, Durant, Oakland
Saturday, March 25, 2006
9 Year Old Driver! Vintage Auto Memories Part I
My Daddy started driving when he was nine years old.And he wasn't breaking the law.
... Because there were no traffic laws in 1914!
It seems like every time I talk to my 101 year old Daddy about anything that happened a long time ago, he dates it by remembering which car he was driving at the time, so I thought I'd try to get him to remember all his old cars, and see where the stories lead him.
Daddy learned how to drive in a 1914 Hudson cloth top open touring car, and he drove it all over the rutty paths that passed for roads around Bessemer, McCalla, and Birmingham, Alabama.
It's hard to imagine a nine year old bouncing along, tightly gripping the wheel, fighting to keep the hard tires in the deep ruts. It wasn't at all unusual to have to stop and get a nearby farmer to use his mules to help pull the car out of a ditch or muddy rut.
These early automobiles didn't go but about 15 miles an hour. They were hard fought, but thrilling miles, for a young country boy, used to riding a mule or walking everywhere.
nostalgia, childhood memories, vintage automobiles, Hudson automobile
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