[400 4spd.]

One of the neat benefits of my work is when a stranger or someone I know calls to tell me about an old car for sale, but it can also be bittersweet. Lots of the time it's a car that has been squirreled away for a long, long time. It's ranged from an original owner survivor 1970 Superbird in '06 to a '29 Ford.
Before today, the last one was 1960 Borgward Isabella Coupe. The widow of the last registered owner called and offered it to me at a fantastic price, actually at a fraction of the value. Her husband had been murdered in a robbery several years ago and it sat non-operational in her garage ever since. He had taken a great deal of the car apart with the intention of restoring it. I agreed to go look at it, and it was as just as he had last seen it, with tools and parts laying on it and schematics on the table beside it. Turns out only 2 others had entered the garage soon after his death. It was an eerie experience for me, with the reverence you have at a cemetery.
Instead of buying it, I suggested she keep it and let me finish it for her. Two months later I rode next to her as she drove it for the first time in her life. She was in tears with mixed feelings, happy that it could run again, and missing her husband, the last male member of the Borgward family that founded the company in the 1920's. She did it for his memory. That's why I knew she had to keep it. On Friday it gets loaded for transport to the D.C. area.
That brings me to today.
Through a customer, I had the pleasure of meeting a nice, elderly gentleman who owns a 1949 Oldsmobile 88 convertible. Burgundy with a tan tweed power top and brown leather interior, automatic transmission, factory radio and power windows, it also has the wide whitewalls on chrome wires. He had it redone about 15 years ago and it is sweet!
I looked it over for almost an hour and could not find a trace of rust or rust repairs. All of the panel seams and flanges were perfect on the backsides with no sealer or filler to hide a rust problem. The floors were good, as was the frame and suspension parts. He said everything works on the car. It's not perfect but is very nice.
While I looked it over, the owner talked matter-of-factly about his terminal health condition. He realizes that he probably has a very short time left and wants the Olds to go before he does. He doesn't want his wife to have that burden of the car.
Stuff like this makes me pause and think.
Do what you need to do. We don't take it with us, and we don't get out of here alive!

[nytrainer]

Nice stories. A lesson in doing the right thing and a somber reminder of where we're all headed....Enjoy the time god has given us.

[Greg Reid]

Good post Steve and so very true. I was just talking to someone today about how at a certain age (50?) it's time to face the fact that it's probable that more of your life is behind you than ahead of you. Time to seriously start thinking about what you're going to start and what you're going to finish.

[don71]

Nice story. Its an important subject to bring up and often overlooked. It can be difficult to talk about leaving things behind.

Its important to plan.

My wife and I are in the middle of our estate planning. Were down to the last of few visits with an acountant, estate planner and lawyer. Everything is being handled quite nicely. We're also sharing this with the necessary family members. So everybody knows. This is our Christmas present to ourselves.

[400 4spd.]

These are the cars.

[The Boss]

Cool stories, thanks for sharing them.

[carcrazy]

Nice stories Steve. You did good!

[400 4spd.]

Thanks guys.

[poncho-mike]

I like the Oldsmobile. It reminds me of a car my dad had when I was very young.

In the early 60s, dad drove two types of cars: Hudson Hornets and Cadillacs. He was partial to convertibles as well. Dad was a mechanic, so he always had at least 3 or 4 cars on the road at a time. He was especially fond of Hudsons, and he bought dead ones and put them in the field for spare parts. At one time, he had about a dozen Hudson Hornets, Wasps, and Commodores. One of his favorites was a convertible.

He also talked about an old Cadillac convertible he had when I was young, I think it was a 49 or 50 model.

Dad always drove cars that were about ten years old. I wasn't old enough to remember the exact details, but I remember going into town for McDonalds hamburgers on summer nights in his 50s era convertible. I was born in 1957, so that would have been somewhere around 1960 to 1962. That's back when the McDonalds had no inside seating and the restaurants all had the golden arches. I don't remember if the convertible I rode in was the Hudson or the Cadillac, I just remember it was huge and round. Some of my oldest memories are of summer evening rides in the old convertible.

[71GP76TA]

There is a guy here in the area that daily drives a Borgward like that... though not nearly as nice.