Could I ever have a "forever" car?

This is Carhenge. photo source: one journey.com

If you go to many car shows you may have spoken to several owners who will tell you that they have owned their car for years. I remember speaking with owners that had bought the car in highschool, now the guy I'm speaking with is in his Sixties. Why and how did he keep that car? Holding onto any old car for a long period of time is a lucky combination of desire, determination, and happenstance.

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be, maybe it never was.

I'm not picking on Hot Rod magazine specifically, current trends are what they cover.

I just received  my latest copy of Hot Rod magazine. It only took me a few minutes to leaf through the issue. "No more boring cars!" was boldly proclaimed on the cover several years ago. For awhile this seemed to be true. I bought a multi year subscription. Then the cars became the same old "resto-mod" muscle cars, Do I really care what the Ring Brothers are doing? Does this magazine even have any relevance to my interests anymore?

Sometimes you just have to do the work. Where have I heard this before?

photo credit: steam dry.net

Just getting started can be the hardest part. I have posted that I had obtained a replacement transmission for my XJS last Summer. I had been putting off the job, I had things to do with my other cars. Last weekend I was going to switch spots with the Mustang which is parked at the curb, to finish the front end work. After I fired up the Jag, I found that the trans had completely given up the ghost.

The 1973 California 1000. Epic Ride Number One.

All loaded up and ready to go! On my way to adventure.

I mentioned in an earlier post, that this was the first long motorcycle trip that I ever took, and I did it solo. It wasn't just a ride, it was a rally. For me of course, it was more than a run or rally it was an adventure. There were checkpoints, route maps, and a time limit, fourty five hours. There was that distance- one thousand miles! Hey, this was the equivalent of the Mille Miglia, and I finished it successfully. The very definition of epic.

I'll bet you wish you never sold that car! (Insert the vintage car of your choice.)

Photo source: Mustngbeginnings.com
My own '66 was not this rough, but I'm sure many guy's first cars were.

If you are a car guy and have owned a whole lot of older cars you may have heard this statement from some well wishing person. I would say that most of these people have never purposely owned an older collector or hobby car. They may have owned an older car back in the day when it was the only thing that they could realistically afford. There wasn't anything that was especially special about that car, it was just a car.