Gary's Planes, Motorcycles & Automobiles

Over the years, I have owned a whole lot of cars, a few motorcycles, one boat, and five airplanes. I often tell stories of one or more events in these cars, motorcycles, and planes. In 1985 I wrote them all down. I updated them for this web site. Here they are:  Click to go back to "About"

1. 1952 Oldsmobile 88. (1965-1965) Paid: $25.  Sold: $25. I was 14 years old.  I couldn't drive it, but, I could work on it.  I learned a lot about working on cars.

2. 1949 Oldsmobile 88. (1966-1966) Paid: $15.  Sold: salvaged. I had planned on making this a keeper.  I didn't have the knowledge to restore it.

3. 1949 Chrysler Windsor. (1967-1967) Paid: $15.  Sold: Salvaged. I bought this car from a neighbor down the street. It had a flat-head 6 and a semi-automatic transmission. 

There was enough room in the back seat to walk through.  It was huge. I blew-up the engine by driving it 90 mph on I-15.  Blew the two center pistons through the crankcase.

4. 1966 Yamaho 100 TwinJet. (1967-1967) This was my dad's motorcycle.  I drove it all over the place that summer and fall.

5. 1958 Plymouth Suburban Station Wagon. (1967-1967) This was given to me by my mom.  I rebuilt the TorqueFlite trans with my uncle's help.  Sold it for $50.

6. 1954 Buick Roadmaster (1967-1967) Paid: $35.  Sold: Salvage. My mom stopped when I spotted a car parked in a field.  The owner said he thought it just needed a battery. 

We got a rope and my my towed it home with me sterring the Buick.  The trans gave out after about 2 months.  I towed it to the junk yard. Got $30 for it.

7. 1957 Dodge Coronet. (1967-1968) Paid: $150.  Sold: $50. This was my first "real" car.  My mom helped me get it.  I did a lot of driving in this car.

8. 1956 Ford Ranch Wagon (1968-1968) Paid: $50.  Sold: $125. You can read about this one on the "Great Race of '68".

9. 1956 Ford Sunliner Convertible. (1968-1968) Paid: $175.  Sold: $50. I bought this car for the 460 and three-deuces.

10. 1961 Chevy Corvair #1. (1968-1969) Paid: $150.  Sold: $150. This would be the first of "9" Corvairs.  It was a 4-door with a PowerGlide.

11. 1961 Chevy Corvair Monza #2. (1969-1969) Paid: $150.  Sold: $150. This was a nice little 2-door with a 4-speed.  Lots of fun to drive.

12. 1961 Dodge Polara (1969-1969) This car was given to me. It didn't run. I used it for a tade-in on the Roadrunner.

13. 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner A12 (1969-1970) Paid: $3888.  Sold: $?  4 days after I turned 18 I went to the Chrysler-Plymount dear to look at the new cars.

I liked the Roadrunner because it was a stripped down muscle car.  BUT, I wanted the 440 that was in the GTX.  I told the salesman that I'd buy a Roadrunner if it had the 440 in it.  He said, "Well, we can order one for you."  My eyes must have been wide open.  We walked into the office and I ordered an A12 Roadrunner.  I raced everything in sight.
I never lost.

14. 1954 Chevy Bel Air. (1970-1970) Paid: $30.  Sold: $35. This 4-door BelAir had an automatic, power windows, and power seats.

15. 1950 Oldsmobile 88. (1970-1970) Paid: $30.  Sold: Salvaged. I painted this with 10 coats of hand-rubbed Black Lacquer. The transmission gave out.

16. 1963 Volkswagen Bug. (1970-1970) Paid: $900.  Sold: What a piece-of-shit this was. Literally everything failed in the first 2 months. I gave is back to the dealer. 

17. 1966 Chevy Corvair Monza #3. (1970-1971) Paid: $1200.  Sold: $1200. Thia was a factory 4-carb 140 horsepower.  I put a single 4-BBL on it.

18. 1959 Oldsmobile 98. (1971-1971) Paid: $30.  Sold: $50. It didn't have any brakes, and, I was too poor to buy $7 brake linings.  I got a $30 loan to buy the parts to fix the brakes.

19. 1963 Chevy Corvair Monza Convertible #4.  (1971-1972) Paid: $5.  Sold: $150.  A guy I knew was going to haul it to the junkyard. I gave him salvage value for it. I towed it home.

Then, I went to a junkyard, bought a muffler, side windows (the owner had broken the windows and cut-up the top), and a convertible top for $30. I bought a new clutch, pressure plate, and throwout bearing for $20.  I cleaned it up and it ran like a top.  That car was a lot of fun.

20. 1972 Ford Pinto Runabout. (1972-1972) Paid: $2600.  Sold: Gave it to my ex-wife. I ordered this also.  4-speed, AM-FM, and 2 liter high performance engine.

21. 1964 Chevy Corvair Spyder #5. (1972-1972) Paid: $50.  Sold: $250. I found it abandoned on a side street. I rebuilt the carb. It ran just fine.

22. 1966 Chevy Corvair Monza #6. (1971-1971) Paid: $150.  Sold: $Trade-in on #23. I bought this while I was in Tech School in Biloxi, Mississippi. USAF.

23. 1973 Mazda RX3. (1972-1974) Paid: $3200.  Sold: $ ?. I was fascinated by the rotary engine.  I drove one in SLC before I joined the USAF. I liked this car.

24. 1969 Chevy Corvette, 427. (1974-1975) Paid: $3500.  Sold: $2000 after I drove it into a river. I do like big blocks and 4-speeds.

25. 1962 Chevy II. (1975-1975) Paid: $60.  Sold: $100. I blew a head gasket driving back from SLC to Merced.  It took forever to get back.

26. 1965 Chevy Corvair Corsa 4-carb 140 hp #7. (1975-1977) Paid: $500.  Sold: $750. One of two Evening Orchid Corvairs I owned at the same time.

27. 1965 Chevy Corvair Corsa Turbocharged 180 hp #8. (1975-1977) Paid: $750.  Sold: $150. This was the second turbo Corvair I owned.

28. 1969 Toyota Corolla. (1976-1976) Paid: $200.  Sold: $300. Right hand drive.  I bought this while stationed in Japan. My wife and I stripped and painted this in the shop on base.

29. 1975 Oldsmobile Starfire. (1977-1977) Paid: $2400.  Sold: $2000. Red on Red with a 4-speed. 

30. 1976 Yamaha 650 Vertical Twin. (1977-1980) Paid: $300.  Sold: $300.

31. 1966 Chevy II Super Sport. (1977-1979) Paid: 4300.  Sold: $2500. My first major restoration.

32. 1975 Oldsmobile Starfire. (1978-1980) Paid: $2400.  Sold: $2000.  Yes, I had two of them.

33. 1970 Chevy Impala. (1978-1979) Paid: $300.  Sold: $300.  I was working in a body shop. I started sanding the car to paint it at 7p one night. I drove it to school the next morning.

34. 1967 Chevy II Coupe. (1978-1979) Paid: $300.  Sold: $300.  I should have kept this car.

35. 1971 Volkswagon Micro Bus. (1977-1980) Paid: $300.  Sold: $1200. I put a 125hp circle track race engine in this bus. I raced a 280Z and beat him.  Hahahaha.

36. 1976 Honda Civic 1200 (Not a CVCC). (1980-1981) Paid: $2000.  Sold: $1500.

37. 1976 Honda Civic 1200 (Not a CVCC). (1980-1981) Paid: $2600.  Sold: $1500.  Yes, I had two of these, too.  I drove and thrashed this little car.

38. 1965 Chevy Corvair Corsa Turbo #9. (1980-1996) Paid: $200.  Sold: $7700.  I put a 1977 Oldsmobile Totonado 403 engine and trans in this.  A real sleeper.

39. 1980 Chevy LUV truck. (1983-1989) Paid: $2000.  Sold: $1500.  I beat this a thrashed this also. I had to replace the engine and rear end. I put over 100,000 miles on this truck.

40. 1977 Grumman-American AA5A Cheetah. (1984-2000) Paid: $10,000.  Sold: $41,000. My first plane. I did a lot to this plane to make it fast. From 132 Kts TAS to 140 Kts TAS.

41. 1987 Dodge Omni. (1988-1991) Paid: $2400 (14,000 miles).  Sold: $1500 (109,000 miles). This was my daily commuter car for a 54 mile one-way commute.

42. 1989 Chevy S-10 truck. (1989-1994) Paid: $15,344 new.  Sold: $6500 with 105,000 miles on it.

43. 1994 Chevy S-10 truck. (1994-2001) Paid: $16,220 new.  Sold: $6500 with 176,000 miles on it. It was a black-on-black extended cab. I made it look like an S-10 Super Sport.

44. 1978 Grumman-American AA5A Cheetah. (1995-1998) Paid: $28,000.  Sold: $47,000t. Second plane. Second Cheetah.

45. 1975 American Champion Citabria. (1998-2002) Paid: $13,000.  Sold: $85,000. Check out the "Wood and Fabric" pages under TeamGrumman.

46. 1978 Grumman-American AA5A Cheetah. (2001-2001) Paid: $23,000 new.  Sold: $40,000.  I sold this Cheetah two weeks before I bought it.

47. 1999 Chevy S-10 Blazer. (2001-2004) Paid: $17,000 with 19,000 miles.  Sold: $6500 with 204,000 miles on it.

48. 2004 Chevy Tahoe. (2004-2019) Paid: $25,000 new.  Totaled with $5,600 worth of damage.  It had 241,611 miles on it.

49. 1978 Grumman-American AA5B Tiger. (2004-Present) Paid: $62,500.  Sold: .... It had 1116 hours Total Time Since New. It's been in restoration since 2010.

50. 1996 Grumman Patio Boat. (2008-2009) Paid: THis was my Dad's boat.  I inherited it when he died in March 2008.  I sold it to Hero Dave.  I never used it.  I'm not a boat guy..

51. 2004 Chrysler Concorde. (2009-2010) Paid: $3,000.  Sold: $5,500. This was my Mom's car.  She bought Clytie's 2009 Toyota Camry and sold us her car.

52. 2001 Kia Sportager. (2010-2015) Paid: $1,500 with 119,000 miles on it.  Sold: $3,500 with 176,000 miles on it.  I think I had a total of $2,500 invested. 

New cam belt, water pump, front suspension. We drove the hell out of this litle car. 

53. 2017 Cadillac XT5. (2017-Present) Paid: $45,000.  Sold: .... This is a very nice car.

54. 2000 Chevy Astro Van. (2019-Present) Paid: $6,000.  Sold: .... We bought this van with 70,000 miles on it in Louisianna and drove it home.  It's our daily driver.

55. 2021 Chevrolet C8 Corvette. (2021-Present) Paid: $78,800.  Sold: ...  Clytie started saving, secretly, for two years after I saw pics of the new mid-engine Corvette.  We paid cash.