Interesting. Usually the only cars that “old” being used regularly were hot rodders. Stock is pretty rare actually!
If his car was hardly used most of its life it’s easy to imagine just picking it up as a driver. Very nice.
Closest I got to “old” for myself was a ‘60s Dart, in the late ‘80s. Also looked at a ‘57 Dodge more for fun than regular but it could’ve been.
As it is I just sold my Monte Carlowhich will be 20 this next year. Sad but had to be.
It was ‘72-’73.
Even more miraculous was driving me home one night from his place in Seminole, FL in a thunderstorm, as we were turning off park street onto 1st AVE North, a bit east of there a BRIGHT lightning flash had my brother yell HOLY SH!th (John Belushi style) and come to a splashing halt by the curb, then he backed up until another flash of light confirmed what he had seen:
Twin fishtails from a Harley Davidson parked under a tarp next to a garage.
As he worked in that neck of the woods anyway, he stopped by the next business day to find the owner, whose son had died in a crash on the thing in 1957, having fixed the frame (with a length of plumbing pipe) after having bought it off someone who likewise had died in an accident years earlier.
She was hesitant to sell, said it was cursed.
He got it for $200.
long story ensued, much work/detail (I rebuilt the carb and transmission) it ran great. a 1937 FL Knucklehead model, I ALMOST bought it off him for $600 in high school. Came THIS close.
Next owner died on it.
Go figure.