How long have you owned a car?

I have owned my KVA/GTD for 16 years, I have loved and hated it in equal amounts, it's a constant source of sheer excitement and frustration but I can't think of life without it.
 
I have had my 1985 Porsche 911 Carrera for 21 years and 245,000 miles...best car I ever owned. I built my 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder Replica in 1989 and still have it (less than 4,000 miles on it).
 
I had my Pontiac 1965 GTO Tri-power since 1970 (second owner) until last year.I still regret selling her.
Garry
 
10 years with my 1935 Brough Superior drophead coupe, my wife has told me I can never sell her and thinks I am having a mid life crisis building a GT40, which she does not like as it is to modern looking.
 
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I hate to admit it, but the vehicle that I have owned the longest is an old Ford L8000 diesel roof loading truck with conveyor. I will be selling 7-11 soon as I have replaced her. The name comes from the previous owner's employee backed it into the front of a local 7-11 store when new.

On a side note, can a car or truck be renamed by a new owner? The new truck is named Bart and my wife just doesn't like the name at all.

I have owned my 40 for 5 years and yes, alot of joy and frustration. Lately, more fun than frustration.
 
I've had my '72 Toyota Corolla since 1977 . My uncle gave it to me because my cousin had blown it up . I rebuilt it with my paper route money , and have blown it up at least 6 times since then , and put close to 500k miles on it in the process . I stopped driving it in 2005 when I bought a Jetta TDI wagen .
I also bought a '57 Bel Air 4dr in '82 , and just sold it last month .
 

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Dave Wood

Lifetime Supporter
I keep things a long time. I still have the turntable and amp I bought in '73 and the 2 reel to reels I purchased in the AF prior to that. I own a 1965 Marusho that was my first demo bike in 1969( it was an unsold new bike), I owned my '69 428CJ Mach I from '72 until '92, I have a '70 Boss 302 I have owned since '76, a highly modified '77 GL1000 since '82( I just got rid of a 1964 T-bird I bought about the same time), a '68 Mustang convertible since '79, and the newest long term car is the Brock Coupe since 2003. I know what I like and I keeps it. There are literally hundreds of others that didn't make the "grade", as it were.
 
Interesting, Dave, that you have extended the "keeping" philosophy beyond the cars. Perhaps it is a characteristic of the owner more than anything. I'm a bit of a keeper. Been happily married to the same wife over 30 years (when we met Lin was driving an MGA 1500 and I had a 1968 4.2 E-Type Jaguar roadster which I drove daily.

Later I drove a 1969 911T daily for 14 years, including camping trips, carting around our first kid, etc.

I also have a superb reel to reel tape deck, dozens of tapes of all the classic groups that I've recorded over the years, a belt drive turntable, some huge speaker boxes I constructed over 40 years ago, etc. I'm not very good at saying good-bye to stuff that has served me well. I also like to fix things, rather than throw them away. Fabricating a new bracket here, re-wiring a part there, I cannot help myself. I'm not a scrooge (I do buy new stuff), I just hate wasting things, and also get a bit sentimentally attached to good cars.
 
A very good mate of over 45 years still has 5 of the 9 cars he has ever owned. These include an Australian GT Falcon (1972), the family EH Holden wagon (1964), an original Elfin Clubman (one of 13 made, circa 1964), and a Mazda wagon (1990). Also his beloved 1969 Cadillac pillarless.

I enticed him into bringing the Elfin to a car show 3 years ago. On a trailer, as the motor had stopped some time before. It was only when we opened the bonnet that he realised it was over 14 years since the engine had seen the light of day.

The FE Holden (with Repco 'Sports' motor), Prince Skyline GT (what a rocket in a straight line), and MGB were lamented. Not so the Pugeot 403. Absolute crap.

Clive
 

Russ Noble

GT40s Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
I tend also not to change my vehicles very frequently.

20 years ago I bought an immaculate 1972 3.5 four speed 2door Rangie. Sherwood green. Only drawback was no power steer which made it almost impossible to back trailers, so I bit the bullet and spent a couple of grand on some power steer bits. Best money I ever spent. That served me well but I was always being pestered by people who wanted to buy it. After 7 years trouble free hard work I was made an offer too good to refuse and it was replaced.

By a red 86 Vogue 3.5 four door 5 speed which I still have. That was eventually fitted with the Offy manifold and 4 barrel from my TR7V8 which livened it up a wee bit.

About four years ago I was offered a nice 89 injected four door auto in metallic green which had been fitted with the dealer backed 4.5 stroker kit. At 900 bucks I couldn't turn it down. This goes rather well and was used as a tow vehicle by Ross for his 'Team 40 To NZ' trip. This is also a good machine and gets up and goes pretty well by Rangie standards.

Rangies are a great vehicle, they are very capable off road and under arduous conditions and they can also lope along mile after mile at highway speeds that the authorities consider somewhat imprudent. They are very comfortable and also handle quite well once you learn to ignore the body roll and control the oversteer. On top of that you can step out of one after a full day and hundreds of miles behind the wheel feeling totally relaxed.

Apart from normal tyre, pad and battery replacement these three Rangies over 20 years have only needed a couple of waterpumps, alternators, and mufflers. Very reliable, I've never been inside the motors and each of these vehicles has been around the 150-200,000 kms when I have bought them. Great allround vehicles that double as a strong workhorse, tow vehicle and family limo.
 

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