One cool November day in 2013, while cruising e-Bay, I spotted a listing for a 1966 Galaxie 500 convertible. It was listed with no reserve and a low starting price. Even though the car was partially disassembled, it did not worry me because that meant part of the work I would need to do was already started. Even though I wasn’t really prepared to purchase the car, I did place an opening bid for $5.00 more than the starting bid just for the fun of it.

What is didn’t notice before placing the bid was that this auction was for 3 days in the middle of the week instead of the normal 7 days. On the third day, I was still the only bidder. I suspected that someone was just waiting until the last minute to bid so they could avoid a bidding war. I called my wife at work and told her the situation that no one else had yet bid on the car and that there was a possibility we might win the bid. As the last seconds counted down, no one else bid and suddenly I had a big decision to make. Had it been a 7 day bid, I suppose I would not have won the bid.

After the bid was over and I was the lucky winner, I called my wife again and told her the news, that I had accidentally won a Galaxie Convertible. Joyce and I had only been married for 3 years at this point and I did not know what to expect. After telling her what happened, she said, “Well we were planning to buy one some day, I guess it’s today.” Most people, including myself, believed that most wives in this situation would have been extremely upset and mad. I was so happy that she was and is so understanding and supportive.

The car was located in Kansas City and we lived in north Texas. Plus, I did not own a truck and I had no idea how I was going to fetch the car and bring it back to Texas. Having a service pick it up and deliver it would have cost more that I could afford. So, I added a trailer hitch to the Lincoln and rented a tow dolly at the local U-Haul. Later that day I drove to Kansas City and spent the night. The next morning I went to the home where the car was located. After loading it on the dolly and paying for it, I asked the previous owner why he was selling the car so cheaply. He said that he and his father-in-law were working on the car together as a project. But mid-disassembly, he and his wife got a divorce and it was a forced sale.

The drive home was eventful with a little rain and the car trying to come off the dolly from time to time. I made sure to check the tie downs on the dolly every hour or so. Late that night I arrived at home and was able to unload and drive the car to the back of the driveway. I returned the dolly the following day.