What is the oldest car you own?
We truly hope everyone in the Hagerty Community enjoys participating in this series, According to You, in which we amplify the contributions of our loyal readers and commenters! Your responses to our various questions are often both enlightening and—dare I say it—heartwarming. Last week’s answers were no different, as we asked a very open-ended question that led to some fantastic answers. So, in the interest of balance, this week’s question will be far easier to answer: What is the oldest car you own?
Here’s mine. Well, not exactly, because the above image is a manufacturer press shot; I neither have a picture of my Continental Mark III, nor can I remember if it is a 1970 or a 1971. And I really should have a picture of it, considering what I do for a living and how enjoyable these cars are for Lincoln enthusiasts.
The Mark III has sat for months, mostly due to a bad front main seal on its 460 big-block, and I haven’t had the time to do it myself. I probably could, but it’s gonna require some training on my end, and I’d prefer if someone else did it. Finding someone has been harder than expected, or perhaps I am asking the wrong people. It is a very nice car, drives well, and even has a new Magnaflow exhaust with just a little rumble. Sigh.
The more words I type about my Mark III, the more depressed I get about its current state. Anyone want to teach me how to do a front main seal on a big-block Ford? Just kidding (sort of). Anyway, let’s answer the question at hand:
What is the oldest car you own?
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I currently have a 35 year old car, model year 1989 but according to the sticker in the door jamb manufactured in 10/88 in Bowling Green , Kentucky.
I own a 1995 car, also built in Bowling Green.
I have a 93 c4 30 years old I bought new now with 165,000fun miles on the clock. It has no nannies and is still faster than 90% of what’s on the road today.
I own a 1942 Willys MB, and a 1955 Willys pickup.
I have a ’55 BelAir Convertible, numbers matching, a very nice driver. I too had a Mark III, a ’69, which was the cream of the crop as it didn’t yet have EGR and an air pump. Also had better cam timing than the ones that came later. Great Car. Maroon with a black vinyl top and red leather interior. It caught fire in my driveway due to a short almost 50 years ago.
That front seal is a big job because you have to remove the radiator, AC compressor and power steering pump to get at the timing cover bolts. The seal goes in from the rear of the cover. It’s a job for a pro.
That’s what it looked like when I crawled under there, thanks for the confirmation. Now to find a local mechanic I trust who is actually inclined to work on old cars.
There is a long bolt that goes through the alternator bracket, the water pump and the timing cover. If that’s a rust belt car, that could prove to be a full afternoon of entertainment getting it out.
I think it would be interesting to see who has the oldest car relative to their current age. For example, my oldest car is a 1956 Chevrolet Handyman wagon and I am 12 years younger. I suspect there are others who are much younger than their oldest car.
65… 10 years younger
I have a 1956 Jaguar XK140 MC Fixed Head Coupe. It is currently waiting for my broken foot to heal so I can finish (with a more experienced associate) the process of installing a newly rebuilt 4 speed with electric overdrive and everything else necessary to replace the poorly functioning automatic It currently has. I bought the car 2 years ago and am looking forward to being able to really enjoy this beautiful car.
9 years older.
Well thanks to Sajeev’s peevishness about fixing his seal, I now know that the rules don’t just include cars that run. My oldest car (although the term car is sorta loose here, since about 50% of it is in boxes and on shelves, waiting for me to go back to work on completing it) is a 1931 Model A 5-window coupe. It’s gonna be a hot rod (late ’50s/early ’60s style) true to what I remember from my “young man” days. Top is moderately chopped (3″) and it’s got a rumble seat, Ford 9″, 283 Chevy (I know, I know – save it, you purists), Muncie 4-speed, and will run pie-crust whitewall cheater slicks with skinnies up front. I think I’m done with patch panels, so the next major task is building floorboards and body mounts. I do all my own work, so it’ll be far from a show car – just a weekend driver. I’ve wanted a fenderless hot rod, ever since a buddy had a primer grey Deuce Coupe when we were in high school, so this is kind of my dream build.
Wow, that Model A sounds sweet! You need to build that.
Oh, I will, Mr. Mehta…I will. But it’s kind of like the t-shirt that says, “If I say I’ll fix it, I will – you don’t need to keep reminding me every six months”.
I actually finished up rebuilding the rear diff a few weeks ago – put in a Yukon Dura-Grip posi and new gears and axles. Now I need to build a few more bucks back into the project bank account so I don’t get stupid and run up the credit card (Mrs. DUB6 is BIG on paying the way with cash, and what Mrs. DUB6 wants, Mrs. DUB6 usually gets 😃). The local steel store will see me in another month or so for floor and other internal fabrication materials.
Glad to see that progress is indeed being made. So many projects never get completed!
1950 Dodge B-2-B pickup. Learned to drive my grandfather’s 50 Ford farm truck. Mine is a flatty 6 manual. What I like best – it’s a truck. Simple and utilitarian beyond transportation. A little more power would be nice (56 DeSoto Hemi block ready for rebuild may help that once complete).
65 Impala… under construction but it does run and move under its own power. I will occasionally sneak it down my local back road minus front sheet metal and most of the window glass… and trunk lid…
Functional driver would be 74 Vette. I generally don’t go too far south of the 70s because I prefer cars that do more than 70
I own a 69 Mustang and 69 GMC and they are older than me.
I’ve “claimed” a basket-case 1959 Pontiac Strato chief (name is correct –it’s Canadian) that’s been in family storage for 25 years, but we’ll see how long that takes to make true.
1969 Ford F100 pickup truck. It was my father’s truck; I learned to drive in it, and took my driver’s test in it, after spending about two hours cleaning out and cleaning up the interior. What can I say, it was a working farm truck then; it had a good half inch of topsoil on the rubber floor mats, and my father’s entire filing system for the farm on the dash, before I started. It’s definitely a farm truck, 240 ci six, no power anything, no radio, the only options being an automatic transmission and camper springs under the rear end. I’m 12 years older than the truck, by the way.
Sounds like a great truck.
Also sounds like a lot of young guys (compared to me) read this column. 🤣😆😂
My oldest is a completely stock 1958 MGA, 3 years older than I and far from being a show/trailer queen, gets driven frequently including taking at least one big road trip every year. This year was an 1100 mile trip to parks in SE Utah in June…….
No AC and few modern amenities, it provides the exact experience that is the reason for owning/maintaining it.
1986 Mazda 626GT that I’ve owned since new. It was my first new car.
Just a fun car to drive.
1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 2 door hardtop. I’ve had it since 2011, and my Dad had owned it since 1998. It’s an older, early 90’s refresh that is showing it’s age. However at 20′ and 20 mph, it looks great. Only power option is the brakes. No power steering, heat or ac. So it handles like a bus but it looks and sounds good. One day I intend to redo the paint and fix some rust, but not wanting to open that can of worms anytime soon.
I have a 1981 Porsche 911SC coupe that I bought new in 4/81, so it’s 42 1/2 years old.
I own a 1962 Impala that I bought in 2002 from the original owner, to be my kids’ shared car in high school. Manual 4-speed, floor shift. My son got frustrated grinding gears and wanted no part of the car. My daughter took one look at it (trust me, it’s in great condition) and said, “I’m not going to be seen driving around in that BOAT!” Fine, I love it and kept it for myself.
Cool car, my mama taught me how to drive about 50 years ago in a 67 Impala, 3 on the tree, 283. I guess in the old days about everyone knew how to drive a manual transmission.
Pretty much! We had a 65 Valiant…
I bought an 85 GL Wagon with a 5 speed in my younger days… by the time I got it home (~20 miles) I knew how to drive a stick
Even though I no longer have the car: 1955 Thunderbird. I bought it in 1978, kept for 37 years, but sold in 2015. It was time to either restore her or sell her. She was sold to a gentleman looking for a solid TBird to restore………..
A 1959 Chevrolet Apache 3100 Fleetside. Pandemic project that is still underway…