Home > Talk of East Texas > Archives > 2008 > May > 06 > Entry
Old cars
Many people are worried about rising gas prices, but that doesn’t stop old car enthusiasts from dropping cash on restoring the machines.
Longview resident Nelson Bates says, “Restoring one of these old cars is like resurrecting the dead.”
Do you have a relic you’re turning into a racer? What do you think of restoring classic cars?
Comments
By Wayne Warner
May 6, 2008 11:35 AM | Link to this
The only thing I didn’t like about your story of Nelson Bates’ 1940 Packard was the title: “Ready to Roll—Again.” I’ll tell you why. Right out of an Oregon high school in 1951, I bought a 1940 Packard 110 sedan for $435. On a rain-slick road while going to work I rolled it, throwing my brother Lester in the back seat. It was on its side with no windshield, so we crawled out the opening. A logging crew happened by, and they came to our rescue by turning it back on its wheels. It took another $400 to repair it (that would hardly buy a headlight today). And it was on the road again. But you can bet I was a safer driver after that—no more rollovers. When I entered the army in March 1953, my brother tried to sell it for me but couldn’t get $100 for it. Today, I’m certain there would be many people willing to pay $100 for a 1940 Packard—Nelson Bates for one. Wayne Warner, Springfield, MO
By Mrs. Tommy Hayes
May 6, 2008 8:22 AM | Link to this
In 1964, my boyfriend, who lived up the road, had a 1956 four-door Chevy. Not for the need of a hobby, but by necessity, we restored that car. We cut it down the top, cut and welded the front door to back door, and shortened the drive-shaft to make a two-door, two-seater. We would sit in that car in the shed behind his parents and dream of the day he’d have a car. He would drive a tractor all summer for school clothes, lunch money, and car parts. He mowed the church lot of three acres for four dollars a week and used his own lawnmower. For his 16th birthday, I gave him an electric fuel pump. We got the car running after high school, and that was our car. He taught me how to use a cutting torch and do bodywork. When we moved here, we were doing a body-off restoration on a 63’ vette and could only bring one car. I understand a doctor in Brownsville owns that car now, and heard he runs it in parades. That tall, dark-haired boy in a t-shirt and bluejeans? He’s still tall, some gray now, and still wears a t-shirt and bluejeans.