I love your story and for me it was a one eighty because my dad was drunk mean and if it didn't help him more than everyone else then it wasn't going to happen. I built my first car at a neighbors house cause he knew what kind of man my dad was. Selfish was giving him credit for human. He stood six foot seven and weighed three hundred seventy plus pounds and was a bully. All his life he was a bully and he was too big to go in the service. I was going to get drafted for sure cause school and me didn't mix. Kids teased me for the way I dressed but it was all I had. Hand me downs from goodwill boxes. So at seventeen and a half and setting in front of a judge looking at time for fighting, he told me five years in the pen ought to cool me down or join the army for three. I took army and went to vietnam where I fit in good. I wasn't so much afraid as worried about joining my buddies who got hurt/killed. I got out of the service and my car was still there so I worked hard to get it running. A black on black 57 ford fairlane with standard transmission. The guy who I parked it in his yard had drove it while I was gone and put a couple of whiskey dents in it but they were easy to get out and the rust was worse than when I left cause the drivers window was gone. I fixed the floor wrong the first time getting in a hurry but the neighbor had a welder and torch so I cut it back out and welded a new floor in it. I knew he wanted the car and then just after I finished the body and engine work, and some wiring, I was going to paint it but they offered me a job in alaska and since we were snowed out where I lived and they wanted me to open this big camp with a guaranteed job for summer I took it and it was a good job that I liked doing… Mechanicing! I told my neighbor that I knew he would drink and wreck my car so what would he give me for it.. he jewed me down hard then only had half the money but I needed that job and it wouldn't be on me when I got back. Long story short, I got back ten months later and my car was hurting from the looks of things so I asked him do you have the rest of the money and he said he spent it on the car… come look. I grudging looked out and then at the car and found out the reason the front fenders were off the car was cause he found a 427 with four speed and bucket seats setting in the car. And it was all done good. I turned the key and it sounded good. I asked him what I owed him and he said are you going back north again? I said probably. He told me to help him finish what we started and it was mine while I was at home and his when I went north. The next time I went north I spent three years in a row working and had some money saved in spite of wasting some. It just wasn't my dream car no more so I signed the title over to him and he was going to pay me for what he originally owed. I told him paid in full but my next car goes in his garage and he can't drive it. I bought a R code 63 1/2 two door hardtop with a,, the trimmings and parked it up in his garage. After I got back from alaska the next time I wished that I had let him drive it cause that car was hurting from setting. I got it out and cleaned it up to take north then thought about the rust from where I would be and asked my buddy what kind of money he had. he told me he had five thou in the bank but he would try to get me more. I sold it to him for three thou and a half and left him with money. I heard he had fixed it up nice and I was happy for him and when I came south for a visit the car was gone. I told that was okay cause it was his and he handed me an envelope. Inside was ten thousand dollars and he said it was my half!! I about fell down and I never bought any more that was on a share system but it was nice that he was honest. I'm 72 now and had several nice cars but that 57 still haunts me, it was super nice.
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