old cars or trucks you love?

I still have a very fond place in my heart for my first car.  I was 14 years old and saw a broken up car in a field behind a farmhouse.  Front end all smashed in and the windows were busted out.  It was a 1980 Z-28 Camaro that they apparently bought brand new for their 16 year old son and he crashed it two or three times in less than a year.  I don't know the whole story, but either way it was just junk in their yard at this point.  I offered them $800 for it and they agreed.  It was all the money I had and I had my dad pull it home behind his truck on four flat tires.

I spent every penny I made for two years and put it in that car.  I took an engine class and rebuilt the engine, I signed up for an auto body class and fixed all the body work and painted it.  I fully redid the interior.  It was perfectly restored by the time I turned 16.  It was definitely the best looking car in the high school parking lot. 

Sadly when I was 17 and in the Navy somebody smashed into it in front of my Dad's house and had no insurance.  I only had liability insurance on it and couldn't bare to see it damaged.  I told my Dad to sell it and he did.  I never saw my baby again. 

I don't have a single picture of that car, but I could tell you everything about it to this day.

Here's a picture I google'd that looks almost exactly like it did.  I painted it corvette white and had the blue Z-28 stripes on it.  I panted the grill black on mine though.

My first car was a 1973 Buick Skylark. This model is a couple years older, but the paint job makes it look just like it. My brother worked for Radio Shack and he installed a new stereo system with speakers in the back. The wires visible running all over under the dash.

My parents gave me WAYYYY too much freedom with that car, and I am surprised I survived the 80's. When I was 17 I slid into my best friend's parents car on a very snowy evening. I just barely bumped her dad's brand new late 80's model something, when I slid on ice at the bottom of a hill. Mine didn't have a scratch. Her dad's car had almost 2000$ worth of damage. 

1. My ultimate, let's buy it to keep it in the garage and drive only on sunny Sundays car: 1959 Corvette. Preferably in red/white


2. 1968 California Special Mustang - I had a friend who fully restored one when he was in high school. Beautiful car


3. 1967/68 Convertible Camero - Also had a friend in HS who had one of these. He was a bit careless and totaled it. Oops


4. 1967 Shelby Mustang Cobra - Had a teacher in HS who restored one. Drool.


5. McLaren MP4-12C - I have been in one of these, and next time I have several $100k just lying around. I am totally getting one

Scouts are awesome, though I rarely see them in the Midwest.

Any pics?

Flip, how did you learn how to work on cars?  Did you grow up on a farm?

A little while back up in the San Juan Islands, I saw this beauty parked out in the rain

That's where it's at.  I really don't know much about cars and neither does my husband, but I would love to have my kids learn by working on a project like that.  Actually, I'd still like to learn:) 

Here's an embarrassing, but true, tidbit, when I got my first car I didn't even know I was supposed to change the oil.  Ugh, that's a lesson you learn the hard way. 

'67-'72 Chevy Trucks.  Here's mine: