I think this is the third time I had this dream, but I keep dreaming that I’m restoring my dad’s car.

No, it was not his beloved 1986 dark blue Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, which kind of looks like the one below.

But it was his 1983 Buick Skylark.  Imagine the car below but in white with a maroon interior.

As a kid, I didn’t have much respect for that Buick because it wasn’t “cool,” but over the years I guess I warmed up to it.  And as an adult, can appreciate why Dad kept it so long – it was functional and paid-off.  In a way, I kinda wish I was still driving it.  It was the car I passed my drivers test in back in 1991, the last year in which Texans had a DPS patrolman ride with you and grade your driving skills.   At the time, Mineral Wells only offered that driving test once or twice a week, but I remember Dad waking up extra early on my 16th birthday and taking me to Weatherford which offered the test everyday.  I didn’t really appreciate that act of kindness much back then, that 16 year old thought that was a right he was entitled to, but looking back at it now it certainly warms my heart.  Just for the record, I passed the parallel parking portion with flying colors.

Well, the dream has haunted me so much that I’ve started looking online for a 1983 white Buick Skylark, just for kicks, but who knows.  As you probably can guess, there isn’t much of a market for those cars.  I think I found price ranges from $500 to $3000, with one description saying it “runs like new, great AC.”