My top 3
Guess I'll take a turn or three down memory lane...
1. 1970 Ford Maverick - 200hp in-line 6 from a Mustang, custom shift linkage floor shifter to convert from the 3-on-the-tree. Used to race in the high school drags in that car. Got a lot of attention for the big tires I ran on the back and the fact that I had the front brakes adjusted way tighter than the rears so I could pop the clutch in the burnout pit, stomp the brake and hold it rolling smoke for as long as I wanted.
wrecked it when the big rear tires hydroplaned in a curved tunnel and I hit the wall.
2. 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo (951) - First real sports car. Loved that car a lot! Just about the most trouble-free car I’ve ever owned too. Drove it from 118k miles to 165k miles and did nothing but change oil and tires, and drive it like it was meant to be driven
wrecked it going around a 35 mph corner at 35 mph a few hundred feet from my house. I missed the corner because I had my head turned talking to my son who was in the rear seat. SO STUPID!
3. 1957 Chevy 210 4 door sedan, with BelAir trim. Bought in 1986 for $800 with the original inline 6 knocking really badly. Rebuilt that engine on the floor of my folks garage, and thought I was being really careful, but 50 miles after getting it back in the car, driving home at night flames shot from under the hood and it just quit. Daylight showed the con-rod sticking out the side of the block. Probably a little dirt on a main bearing from an unclean work area. Replaced the I6 with a mildly warmed up 283 and a turbo350 trans. Used to smoke Camaro Z/28s who thought they could outrun the big lead sled. Built with no budget, I installed a Chrysler alternator and wired in a Ford voltage regulator, which had been sitting on shelving in the parent’s garage and available for free. Used to carry a roll of elec. wire with me and when I would smell smoke I would stop and test circuits to see what crispy wire needed replacing. Road tripped with my girlfriend (now my wife) from south of Portland to Seattle to see Madonna in concert at the King Dome. Wrecked it, but fixable in 1988. Traded it for a running vehicle so I could get around, later traded back for it with the idea I would properly restore it, but after storing it in my garage for over 20 years, I finally gave it up a couple of years ago, knowing that if I was really going to put that much work into a car, I’d rather it be a sports car (queue the X-1/9 projects) than a classic. Guy that bought it from my did a great job restoring it. Not the build I would have done, but still pretty. Most fun I’ve had in any car. Used to take my then-girlfriend and her friends for rides a lot, you can fit a fair number of high school girls in a big four door sedan, and the headers and pipes sounded sweet as we would blast down the country lanes. As much as I love my little sports cars, I do still miss this car...
Ahh, sweet memories...