Dave,
Don't worry. There are a lot of us out here who are just like you. I've gone
through at least 25 running cars in the same time, and probably hauled home
half that again in parts cars. I would imagine there are others who have the
disease much worse. As far as I know there is no cure. My wife just humors me
since I buy her the cars she wants, then I don't mess with them.
Bruce Clough
Current stable:
61 Newport - almost too nice to drive
61 Fury - rolling restoration
65 Polara (for sale - don't have the room)
65 Coronet convertible (for sale - wife wants a TR8)
62 TR4 - Wife's car, I'm the crew chief
95 Blazer - We must be able to get out of our driveway in the winter
>Geesh!
>
>Every neighborhood has a nice old lady who takes in all of the animals
>who, for whatever reason, can no longer stay with their families. I am
>the automotive equivalent of that old lady. People seem to just bring
>me their cars when they no longer can keep them, but still want them to
>have a good home. I guess in a way, it's an honor, but it can be really
>distracting from my work on The Duchess when I have to move 3 cars to
>get her out of the garage...
>
>In the last 12 years, I have acquired the following:
>
>1) 1986: A 1979 Monte Carlo from Mom. She loved that car, and
>couldn't bear to trade it in when she bought her new Mercury Grand
>Marquis. I still own this car, and hope next year to get her back on
>the road.
>
>2) 1990: A 1974 Dodge Dart from my roommate. I told him I wanted to
>buy a shed to keep my tools in. He told me he would sell me a nice shed
>-with wheels- for $50. I gave him the money, and ended up with the
>Dodge. Some shed, eh? I drove it off and on for 3 years, and never put
>gas in it once. Gotta love that Slant-6!!! When I graduated college, I
>gave it to a guy who needed the rear seat. Present whereabouts unknown.
>
>3) 1991: My boss gave me a 1976 Olds Cutlass for a case of Heineken.
>It needed a water pump. I ended up trading it for a motorcycle. The
>cycle I traded for a beermeister. The beermeister's compressor died, so
>I traded it for a case of Heineken. At least I was back where I started
>from. (At least until I drank the Heineken.)
>
>4) 1995: My brother-in-law gave me his dead 1981 Monte Carlo. I
>stripped out parts I could use for my '79 and had the rest of the
>carcass hauled away. My sister gave him her '87 Thunderbird to drive.
>
>5) 1995: I bought an '86 Monte Carlo SS because the price was great --
>$1000! I wished I had kept the '81 for parts for the SS. My
>brother-in-law loved the SS so I sold it to him, and he parked the
>T-Bird.
>
>6) 1996: I bought my 1958 Plymouth, "The Duchess". My brother-in-law
>parks the SS next to the T-Bird and buys a truck.
>
>7) 1998: The '79 Monte Carlo died in February... My brother-in-law
>gave me his T-Bird, which had been parked for years, and was about to be
>towed away as abandoned. At least I have a way to get to work. He now
>wants me to buy the '86 SS back from him, as he needs the money, and
>can't bear to see it go to anyone else. My mom wants a new Grand
>Marquis, but can't bear to trade in her old Grand Marquis. As a favor
>to her, she wants me to keep her car and maintain its good shape, as it
>has been part of the family.
>
>Now, if you have been keeping score at home, here is what I have
>presently / soon will have:
>
>1) 1979 Monte Carlo
>2) 1958 Plymouth
>3) 1987 T-Bird
>4) 1986 Grand Marquis (soon)
>5) 1986 Monte Carlo SS (soon)
>... and to make matters worse, I want to trade in the T-Bird on a 1973
>Mustang Convertible I just saw today for $5500 (I know, I know... Go
>ahead, start up the FORD jokes... I'm ready...).
>
>That'll make 5 cars total. I have 3 parking spaces. Ugh. Does anyone
>else have this problem? Saying "NO" to cars that is? I see that most
>of the list members have more than one Forward Look car. I'm interested
>in the psycholgy behind this. What are the reasons that so many of us
>have so many cars? Can anyone give their reasons?
>
>Or maybe we need to start up C.A. (Cars Anonymous). Anyone want to
>write up a 12 step program?
>
>-Dave
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