When I was about 24 I read an ad for a 1954 XK-120 Jaguar roadster in the Tucson Citizen.  They wanted $399 for it!  I was the first one there the next morning...even before the employees.  The big metallic blue roadster (it was originally "apple green") was a sight to see in that fenced yard.  It had been purchased by an auto-parts and repair shop, but (god bless them) they thought it was too good to tear down for parts.  It had a few issues...it needed some trim pieces here and there (a grill, bumpers, and the windshield was a mess), but it was a solid car...and I could drive it home!  I loved it!

The car needed lots of parts and I had a limited budget (I was in the Air Force at the time). I began the search reading every national publication I could find.  It became very discouraging...I was beginning to think I'd never be able to get the parts I needed....until one day I spotted an ad for a complete parts car in an auto magazine....and it was right there in Tucson.  I looked up the guy and he still had the car and hadn't sold a part.  When I got there I realized it had all the parts I needed and then some (like a set of chrome wire wheels from an E-type Jag).  He was tired of trying to sell the parts from the car and offered it to me for about $100.  I hauled it home that evening.  

I had the car painted not long after that; The Painter couldn't find Ferrari "Man-o-War Yellow" so he substituted Buick "Sissy Girl Yellow" or something like that.  I told him he never should have told me!  I drove and enjoyed that sweet roadster for 14 years after that.  I reluctantly sold it when Diana was about 12...and Jeff was just about 6 (he still dreams of getting a car just like it).