The Most Impressive Vintage Item You Wanted but Could Not Afford?

[vitanola]

A beautifully restored Chickering-Ampico reproducing piano in a Harpsichord-style Italian Rennaisance Art Case.

 

[Panadora]

 

[Panadora]

 

[Stearmen]

That's a great one!

 

[Stearmen]

This is high on my list! A friend of mine actually had an SS100 Alpine, given to him by Otis Chandler after he passed away. Like a dummy, I did not ask if I could ride it, I was just thrilled to bask in it's shadow! [video=youtube;VdhgDvc2AWo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdhgDvc2AWo[/video]

 

[Hat Dandy]

How about a 1912 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost...

 

[1mach1]

1937 Cord

 

[Atticus Finch]

I'd like to own a known acoustic guitar from the golden age of country music...preferably one that was used to compose a well-known song or two. I wouldn't want it to to be a flashy stage guitar...or one that was signed. Just a humble D-18 or J-45 that its owner used when he or she was alone, working out the chord structure to a new song. Kinda like the way Neil Young owns Hank Williams' D-28...and Tony Rice owns Clarence White's D-28.

AF

 

[St. Louis]

I'm desperate for a 1930s kitchen. The rest of my house is just about right for the era, not counting a few hidden things, but the kitchen has modern appliances. I even priced a stove like this one -- locally you can find a working gas stove for a few hundred dollars -- and talked to a carpenter about installing it. But the whole job, which would include removing cabinets and replacing the fridge, would just be too expensive and probably too risky if I have to sell the house. I'm normally very independent about most home fixes, but this one is too much for me to undertake by myself.

 

[Fading Fast]

I'm desperate for a 1930s kitchen. The rest of my house is just about right for the era, not counting a few hidden things, but the kitchen has modern appliances. I even priced a stove like this one -- locally you can find a working gas stove for a few hundred dollars -- and talked to a carpenter about installing it. But the whole job, which would include removing cabinets and replacing the fridge, would just be too expensive and probably too risky if I have to sell the house. I'm normally very independent about most home fixes, but this one is too much for me to undertake by myself.

That is a gorgeous stove. I understand both the renovation-budget challenges and concern about resale value you are facing - I wish you the best of luck.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Wait till the modern fridge dies, and then grab a pre-fifties model on Craiglist. While a monitor top will cost you an arm or a leg, you can get a good GE flattop or thirties-era Westinghouse or Kelvinator for considerably less than the price of a new modern unit. You might not be able to physically fit that particular stove with your cabinet arrangement, but there are others that likely would fit without major structural alterations. Take the job incrementally, and it won't seem quite so overwhelming.

As for resale, when I bought my house last summer, after renting it for ten years, the fact that it had an "intact period kitchen" was considered a plus when it came time for the appraisal. Don't let the real-estate trendies fool you.

My appliances have come with me everyplace I've lived since I was 25.

 

[scottyrocks]

There are any number of cars that I could name. The first that comes to mind would be a 1948 or '49 Cadillac Series 62 2-door in black.

But the main thing I cannot afford that is at least in the realm of possibility a bespoke suit identical to the one worn by the nice man in my avatar.