Howlong have you had your car??

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many people can say that all the good deals are gone, some would say there are plenty of nice find cars still out there to be had.

How long have you had your car??

Maybe it was a high school car you had since last millennia or maybe its a cool you car you recently acquired now that the economy slumped.

what is your story?
 

brotherGood

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This is a long, slightly irritating story...but here it goes.

I bought my car late January of 2010. Paid 500 bucks for it and drove it home in an ice storm. I initially bought it as a beater while I found a new Hemi to put in my truck. At the time, I was sitting on about 10k cash from my dad's social security settlement..so I was just kinda throwing money around. well, the more I drove that car, the more I liked it. I was soon introduced to dippy.org via Craigslist, and that was my first forum. well, after blowing through the 10k on junk (I literally have four things left from all that money..the car, a guitar neck, pickup for a guitar, and a pedal) I also traded the truck to my dad for exhaust and a windshield. Fall of 2012, I snapped a control arm and shock, leading to the purchase of a parts car, which led me here and aspenandvolare.com

I have used this car not just to drive, but to learn. Beforehand, I hadn't hardly worked on a car, now, I'm not working on it enough ..lol
 

Aspen500

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Bought my car in February 1987 when it got traded in for a new Taurus at the Ford dealer I was a tech at. Never "wanted" an Aspen but it was a sharp car with the Sunrise package (never cared for the red plaid interior though), 72,000 miles and a price of $700..............SOLD! The car had been repainted with a stock Sunrise pattern but instead of silver/red it was silver Panther Pink and had the required for the time Keystone Klassics. Not in my wildest dreams did I think I'd still own it 30 years later. Cars have come and gone but the Aspen has stayed and at no time was it ever considered for sale. Guess we're together until death do us part (my death that is).

P.S. I can only WISH I still had my high school car (class of '82). A 1970 Barracuda Gran Coupe that, oddly enough, I also paid $700 for in 1981. When was the last time you could buy an E-Body for $700???????????????????????

This is it around June 1987 with the 1/4 window louvers not on and some young long haired guy standing next to it :) Sorry, digital picture of an old film print picture.
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Justwondering

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Seems like its been forever... lol
Its been 6 years. Wasn't running when we got it -- had been sitting 2 years.
Had it 4 months before it was hit in the front.
Then waited almost 3 years due to family illnesses before I could free up to start fixing it.
Past 2 years has been my attempts at fixing interior, exterior, and learning enough to get it running and keep it running and have cool a/c.

You should have seen me this past several days ... standing in front of the engine compartment with my service manual trying to figure out where the starter relay was so I could start follow forum advice on no crank, no start issues.

But now I know what the starter relay looks like, where its located, where the starter is, and the solenoid, and sorta what it all does (I'm more a plumbing lady, electrical is like voodoo magic in my brain...)
 

rcmaniac791

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Copied from another post because I'm lazy:

January of 2013 my great-uncle passed away at 90 years old. He was an electrical engineer and a former cop, so I'm guessing he bought this thing because he originally drove a diplomat as a cop. He was the second owner, bought it in 2001. When I got the car, I found a sticker inside the trunk lid that had the names of the original owners on it. I don't recall who it was, but they immigrated to the US from Poland, and bought this thing brand new.

Anyway, my grandmother was in the will for my great-uncle, so the Chrysler was hers. I was getting my driver's license around the same time, so I asked her if I could have the car. She agreed, promising that it was in "excellent condition". Boy was that wrong!

Before I got it, the car was last registered in 2011, and had 51,000 miles on it. It could have been run since then, but not really sure. I know for a fact that from January to August 2013 it sat in a garage, untouched. I got the car shipped to me, and we threw a jumper-pack on it, and after at least a 6-month slumber, the trusty ol' 318 roared to life. Once it had warmed up, I started to notice the mouse-nests crammed all around the carb, so to make sure the thing didn't burn itself to the ground, we shut it off.

Where to start.........the tires were severely rotted, (as in the cords were coming out), shocks blown, steering blown, (my great-uncle slammed into a deer, blowing out the steering box) tune-up was way overdue, carb was gummy and about ready to fall off because of loose bolts, brakes shot, almost every hose leaking except fuel, muffler rotted off, etc.....etc....etc.

So over the last 3 years, I've been driving it to school, on road trips with the family, fixing things here and there as my budget allowed. But even though so many things were wrong, never once has it let me down. It's funny, because it only would break right as I pulled in the driveway after I came back home, never anywhere else.

This is my first car. It's what I learned to drive in, what I took to prom in High School, what I learned how to drive in snow with, and what I'm learning to wrench on. So it certainly has sentimental value, and that's not even considering the family ties.

Last year its sat more than usual because of College, and I didn't have a car at school my freshman year, but I'll be driving it a lot on road trips with friends in the near future. I love it so much. Super comfortable, reliable, simple, and has TONS of class.




Since I wrote that, I deleted the Lean-Burn and replaced the carb with a re-man Carter 2bbl. Runs so much better. Now that I'm in my second year of school, I have it with me, which is super nice. Certainly being driven plenty. The only way I will get rid of it is if the body literally cracks in half.

Chrysler.jpg
 

Dr Lebaron

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Bought my 77 Aspen in 1980 and my 1979 Lebaron coupe in 1997 and still have them.
The rest are 09 and later.
 
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kkritsilas

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First J body (Nightwatch Blue 1982 Mirada) I bought in 2012 (no longer own). Bought the other two (1980 Cordoba Crown, 1981 Mirada CMX) in 2014.
 

droptop

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............How long have you had your car?? What is your story?

You're going to have to be a little more specific about witch one. LOL.
I bought my first car from the original owner in 1976. A 1969 GTX, triple green, super performance axle package, air grabber, buckets, console, disc brakes, 6 way seat, tinted glass with no air, complete numbers matching everything, etc. And yes, I still have it. It is currently on a rotisserie undergoing a complete restoration.
GTX.jpeg

I have had 3 F bodies through the years. Currently still have 2 of them. My first one was a '76 Volare Premier. A black 2 door with white bucket interior and crank open sun roof. Had Keystone Klassics and was a real looker. Only had that car about 3 years. It was stolen from me one night in downtown St. Louis. Never saw it again. Sorry, no pictures of that one.

The 79 Aspen R/T that I have is a very rusty parts car. Even though I bought it from the original owner, it is rusted beyond repair. It sat in a dirt floor garage for almost 20 years. The bottom of the car is completely gone. It had to be a very good looker back in the day. Black with silver stripes and red bucket interior. T-tops and the cast alum wheels.

The '80 Road Runner that I currently have is a very nice original car (with new paint). I am the second registered owner and bought it in 2004. I originally bought the car with the intentions of giving it to my oldest son for his 16th birthday. I had it painted and new decals put on. Updated the mechanical parts, and made sure it was road worthy. Needless to say that I was very hurt when he told me he didn't want to drive it. It wound up sitting in the far corner of the barn until 2015 when Matt told me he wanted to drive "his" car on his wedding day from the church to the reception hall.
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old yellow 78

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Growing up, my family had mostly Buicks and Chevrolets. Definitely a GM family. I broke the trend when I bought a '70 Challenger RT in '72. One of the best, nicest looking cars I ever had. Now I wish I had never gotten rid of it. I kept the Challenger for about 6 years until I traded it in for a two year old '76 Volare Premier wagon with /6 and four speed.
Shortly after buying the wagon, I took it on a several month solo tour of the US, going from Mexico to Canada and everywhere in between, camping in national parks, and living in the wagon when no parks were around. That was literally the best time of my life, and that wonderful four speed Volare wagon was a big part of it. I kept it for years, but it eventually rusted away.
I had several F bodies since that first Volare, all of them wagons, except for a '78 Aspen T-top that I also had for many years. Unfortunately, the T-top slipped into disrepair when I went back to graduate school. Regretfully, I junked it when it seemed too far gone to revive. I still regret that decision. So, the years go by, and I never forgot that first great Volare Premier wagon - the only one I ever had with a four speed. I got into the habit of casually looking on eBay for F body, four speed wagons...for years! Nothing.
Then, completely out of the blue, one day about 4 years ago, I found Old Yellow on eBay. It was a rust free, 27,000 mile /Super 6, four speed, survivor wagon with AM/CB transceiver and original paperwork. It was for sale near Pueblo, Colorado, in a small town that a friend of mine had moved to a few years before. I was amazed at that coincidence, and called my friend to see if he knew of the car, and who was selling it. He said he knew the car, and it was for sale by a friend of his, so I got the sellers phone number from my friend, called, and made a deal with him QUICK! Fair for him, fair for me. I really wanted that car!
That was in January, and I bought it sight unseen on the word of my friend and the seller, and was not disappointed. My friend kept the wagon at his place until another friend and I flew out in May to drive it home to Pennsylvania. It was SO hard to wait for months until I could go get it! The flight out there, and the road trip home was a great adventure too, with only very minor difficulties. Only had to put new front brakes and calipers on it, and two new tires.
Now, OY sits comfortably in its East Coast garage out of the blazing Colorado high desert heat. I have no plans on ever letting this wagon go, they are way too hard to find, and it really takes me back to one of the best times of my life, way back in 1978 when life was much more fun and way more simple.
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AJ/FormS

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Bought my 80 Volare Sport back in 94 with a blown engine and a pretty minty body, for $100.Bought a parts car with a running 225 for $350. Good thing cuz the rear end was gone too. So it was rebuild the engine,the tranny, swap the diff., and on to suspension steering and brakes.Treated her to a color change;silver to shiney black.She was our new car! Sold the parts car for $100. :)
She's still in the carport, and still running and driving, but she hasn't been on the road for going on 3 years now; drove her for near 20 years, will probably drive her again,someday......
 
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