Featured Hot Rods Things I don’t need

We're fixing to move so I'm listing for sale all that stuff I don't need so I don't have to move it.

 

My take is they are like real estate. They aren't makin' any more.
If something comes my way I am always ready and willing.

My 'better' half hates clutter ( as she calls it ). I see treasure, she sees mess.
And yes, I have some metal that has been with me longer than her.
Gets me nuts, when I find her looking at TV shows Talking up the beauty of downsizing.
Did I not know how to enjoy my life?????
Turn around next year and she'll wish we had a P/U truck
Buy things that lose meaning in a few years.
Then call Disabled Vets ( A fine and Worthy organization ) for pickup.
I mean C'mon, I better shut up now.

 

Absolutely no disrespect intended,,,,but that has been proven to be wrong .

Money in the bank ,,,or investment,,,,will accumulate some .
And some parts will as well .

However ,,,it has been the case many times on here,,,,,,after the death of the car guy .
All those Valuable parts are loaded in a dumpster and sold for scrap !
I cringe thinking about all the great stuff that is destroyed,,,,,,someone’s dreams .
But,,,to the relative,,,,mostly junk,,and in the way of selling the old house !
Maybe even,,,,(in the kids eyes ),,,they see the stuff as something that kept our time away from them.
We never had time for them,,but always enough time for our stuff !

I have all the stuff,,, I could never use,,,,,but my son loves it,,,,and he wants it too .
So,,,,maybe my crap is safe for the future ,,,,,one never knows,,lol !

Tommy

 

A lot of years back there was a local guy that collected a bunch of cars, cool old cars. He probably had 100 or so and parts.

There was 1 I always wanted, an old Pontiac, but the engine was bad and laying in pieces in the trunk, the 4-speed was missing and so was the factory 8 lug wheels but not the drums. When he was alive I offered him 800 for the car and he laughed and said no.

A year later he died, kids came in did inventory of the cars but just emptied out the sheds and all the parts went into boxes. Later they had an auction and me and my old boss went cause he had his eye on a car too.

Well the 2 cars we wanted were at the very back and they started at the front of the property, can't say how many cars and out buildings and boxes we'd have to wait on BUT 1 good thing was is the "kids" were willing to do buy it now options so we went to the "kids", I offered 600 for my car and the boss did the same. They said no and wanted almost double. We left..

2 weeks later a good friend of mine came by and he had a salvage yard and bought a bunch of cars for his yard, he won the bid on "my" car for 250. Another yard bought my bosses car for 200. "My" car wasn't for sale, he was keeping it for himself.

He said that parts boxes, engines etc went for less then half of all the starting bids. And most of the cars did too. He did say there was tons of bidders but no one wanted to bid to the prices they were opening with and that they had reserves set but after the first hour they omitted the reserves because nothing was selling and then people started buying at much lower prices....


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@lostone, that's why I always stay to the end, that's where the deals are.

As for the collecting, I'm helping clean out the estate of a good friend of mine who had an insane amount of stuff. We're doing our best to find homes for everything that's worth saving, and scrapping what has little chance of ever being used again. When you think about the amount of time it took to accumulate and store all of that stuff, it's staggering.

But it's like that lady who has 50 cats. She's already got way more than she can care for. But when another stray comes scratching at the door, it's hard to turn away.

 

One of my wife's uncles died several years ago. I helped clean up the farm so they could sell it. Another of my wife's other uncles died, I helped clean up the building his business was in so they could sell it. My wife's father died, we helped clean up the place he was renting so the landlord could rent it to someone else. My father died, and we helped mom gat rid of a lot of stuff from the business he retired from 10 years earlier. Mom is now in extended care and we are cleaning up the house her and dad have lived in for 58 years, so it can be sold to pay for her extended care. We have been working 3-4 days a week, 4-5 hours each day since the beginning of March. I believe we may be able to list the house for sale by May 1st.

Every one of these events required a huge dumpster to be on site so the stuff we couldn't find a home for could be removed in a timely fashion. Some of those timely fashions were only a month or so long. That doesn't allow much time to find homes for stuff while you are trying to sort through it.

For the last 5 years, I have been cleaning up the shop where I ran my welding shop that I closed and retired from back then. Though much stuff has been removed, I think there are no good car parts here anymore, but there is still a whole lot of stuff here (all of it good of course). Its going to take someone months to clean up what is left. My son will take what he has room for, if my grandson (his nephew) has a stable home, he would probably take some, but what about the rest of it? The reality is, it will probably end up in the dumpster.

When we moved from the country into town, it took me 6 months to remove stuff, before the house went up for sale. It sold in 6 days and ownership changed hands in 30 days. Even after 6 months of me getting rid of stuff at fire sales prices, I hauled in over 6 tons of good stuff as scrap. It had to go.

All that stuff that you know you are never going to use? Do yourself a favor, sell off 1/2 of it so someone that needs it can get their project on the road. You will feel better knowing it will get used, and you might make a new friend that shares your passion.

 

All that hoarding and collecting is a disease, signs of insecurity or compensating. How many valve covers, mag wheels, spare anything etc. do you need? I found myself falling into that, mostly with motorcycle stuff, started to unload much of it, keeping only the parts and bikes I realistically could use...it was very liberating.

 

I find two issues being discussed here.
One is, there are times when opportunity comes knocking and you can't, for any reason in this world, say no.
Two is, other players in life don't care or know how to handle the so called 'Junk'.
Number Two does not negate number One.
Number two just stinks because some folks are ignorant.
As my Pops would say, "They don't know their *** from a hole in the ground"
Shameful disgrace ( no I am not being dramatic )
This is my Gut, Heart and Mind saying what I know, and said earlier. Listen.
They aren't makin' anymore.

 

Exactly!! That's why I'd rather get it into the hands of people who will actually use it!

I'd rather jump into the seat of my buddies car and HEAR those 3 Rochester carbs breathing deep at 6200 rpm and see the smile on his face then walk into my shop and stare at them sitting on a shelf. Got to do that in real life and it was a great feeling ! He still has that same car and setup AND it still runs and drives.

The ram air 3 heads went to a gent 150 miles away, him and his young brother was doing a resto on a barn find gto, he had the original ram air 3 short block but the rest was missing. That car turned out beautifully.

I could go on, but no point. I do have a 1 yr only Pontiac 4 bbl intake and when I find someone restoring a 1967 Pontiac they are more than happy to it.....

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Well spoken lostone.

Because "they aren't making them any more" is all the more reason it shouldn't be locked away in my storage space and should be in the hands of someone that can use it.

 

I'd be happy to be on the receiving end of anyone upstate in NY that wants to thin out their stash...I'm a gluten for this shite....lol

 

I've made mention a few times on here about the number of moves my wife and I made over 57 years of marriage. Twenty-two times, always following jobs and very rarely having the time to even consider building a car. I tried once about thirty years ago, but the long-term job I was on was shut down and we moved again. Fifteen years ago, I made what I thought was going to be the final move and started collecting parts to build a T roadster. I hadn't counted on having to provide a home for some grandchildren, so we moved into a larger house to accommodate them, and the roadster got put on hold. The grandchildren left and I started working on it again, all the time buying parts that I thought I might need until I realized that I had much more stuff than I would ever use. After I found the HAMB, I sold several parts in the classifieds and gave away some parts to some fine folks on here who had lost their builds to fires and other natural disasters.

My wife got very sick about three and a half years ago and passed in the early part of this year. During that time, I wasn't able to work on my projects very often. Now that she's gone, I'm able to get out in the garage again, but I'm about to turn eighty and my health is deteriorating to the point I'm looking at surgeries on my knees and shoulders. I'm looking at a year or better of down time and I'm undecided on what to do. Do I get rid of what I have and let someone else have it who could use it, or do I wait to see the results of the surgeries and then try to do something? None of my sons or my grandchildren have any interest in it, so when I'm unable to build any more, it will all probably wind up in a scrap yard. I'm not saying "poor little me" when I write this, I'm saying that I have a problem and I don't want to see what I have simply discarded.

 

It isn't hoarding if it's cool stuff.

 

I’m having to go through that right now with all this stuff that my dad and I accumulated through the years. Yes I’m a car guy and I have no problem with buying more stuff just because and there are a few HAMBers on here that can attest to that because I grab up their parts before the listing is an hour old But I am having to sort and go through the things here that at the time you couldn’t find for the shoebox Fords but now you can pick up the phone and get them sent to you brand new. I have made a couple of trips to the scrap man with a bunch of things that I will never use. Honestly how many sets of cast heads and water pumps for a flathead can you use? I did keep 2 to 3 of everything that I tossed just because but I really need to clean up the place for all of the hot rod stuff that I am accumulating. I will say this what I have tossed has been things that we pulled off of parts cars and nothing NOS. And it was the spare shed that we tossed most of the takeoffs in. I still have the big shed, 2 garages and the attics of the garages to get to.
But yeah it sucks and I know dad is saying the same thing…..They ain’t making it anymore!

 

Several years ago, I was big in air cooled VW's. I was known by a lot of people in the area as "the bug man". I had several parts cars in various conditions, several transmissions, a couple of complete engines ready to bolt in, a couple of running and driving cars of my own and a customer car I was doing a frame up resto on. I had spare heads, short blocks, generators, exhaust systems, wheels, you name it, I probably had it. Every time I found a parked car that was sitting, I tried to buy it, many of them I did get. It was like a part time job, I'd get off work, go home, and play with VW stuff until bedtime. Then I had to get a new job. I went into trucking. About the only thing that paid anything.
Every day turned into a couple of evenings a week and weekends. Had to turn down some work because I wasn't at home enough to take it in. Got frustrated. Couldn't finish the restoration car, my two needed work I didn't have time to put into them. Got tired of seeing my cars and stuff collecting dust.
A local guy who was in the VW hobby stopped by one day looking for some parts. Wife called me, told me what he needed, I told her where to look. Guy wanted to know if I'd sell all of it? You betcha! He made me a price that was more than I figured I had in all that stuff, told her to rip his arm off and beat him with it if he backed down! Made it home a few days later, the yard was strangely empty. No cars parked there, no parts cars, my little parts shed was empty. Felt empty myself, until we went out and got a steak supper! Said right then I'd never collect that much stuff at one time again, and haven't.
The buyer? He's in his early 80's now, still playing with VW's. Probably still has some of the same parts he got from me 30+ years ago.....

 

Get rid of all the stuff that doesn't belong to the car you are building. Then wait until after your surgery and recovery to make a decision.

 

Is it the chance to build the ride that you want, or is the finished product what you want? Would you rather have a chance to build something you might never get to drive, or would you rather just have something cool to drive? If the actual build process isn't what you are really looking forward to, maybe you need to sell your collection and buy something running you can make your own. If the build process is what gets you excited, maybe you can spend a few hours a week in the garage doing something between now and the surgeries.

Like someone earlier said, get rid of anything that is not part of this project. Then consider the reasons you are building the ride, and see what happens after the surgeries. You may have a different perspective after that.

A nearly complete car is easier to sell then a pile of parts. There is probably a better chance of a car getting put back into circulation then there is a pile of parts, but if its that build process that is the dream, what happens to it after you no longer can, doesn't really matter.

 

My stuff has mostly been saved from scrap, it occupies some space in a former cattle barn, it is a better “investment “ than cattle because it doesn’t eat and it doesn’t die. My stuff is mostly available to anyone that can use it. My family knows to list it with a good auction company if I should exit this world before my final act in this hobby is done. I don’t have any ardun or hemi or even edelbrock stuff, but there are wheels and frames and lights and sheetmetal and windshield frames and cowls and projects. Makes me want to go out to the shed…

 

If this is the Tri Cities swap, I’ll be there with an empty trailer. I’ll pull along side yours so we can just transfer

 

I’m glad that some people have the addiction of purchasing and hoarding all these parts. I figure if they want to hang onto it or sell it that’s their business.
Although, there is one thing we should all consider, we aren’t going to be around forever. If we leave this earth and have a mountain of stuff that our family or friends don’t have any interest in, or know what to do with, then there is a likely chance that many of those things will get turned in for scrap metal or thrown in the trash. I’ve seen it happen, and have several older friends who I could see this happening to soon. How much better would it be for these parts to be sold or given to someone who will likely put them to good use? Of course you want to vet those folks you are selling your possessions to, but if they check out why not let these wonderful pieces see the light of day on someone else’s hot rod? That’s where their going someday anyhow… or to the scrapyard.

 

I have had the obsession of collecting extra parts, back when I was younger I was into Model A's and bought everything I thought was reasonable, them 1940 Fords found there way into my life and in the last 40 or so years it has been Deuce parts and pieces, I bought everything I could afford.

In the last few years I have started to let go, I had several '32 radiator shells and I'm down to one extra just in case I am ever involved in a accident.

I am still addicted to ephemera, collecting old automotive books and magazines. HRP

 

Deuce parts are, and probably always will be, out of my price range. I could probably afford to get into them, but never the cost of building one.
I might add to this discussion that my post was a light-hearted one. I’m pulling flatheads from equipment headed to scrap and collecting banjos that have equal odds of being full of water. It’s not all 97s and 4 inch cranks. Also, I don’t mind truck water pumps and EAB heads. If the block is crack free it’s chicken dinner at my house. One more thing, I like looking at old speed equipment. If I ever get anything good, you guys can have it when I die.

 

the fun thing about gathering up a bunch of junk is when it comes time to sell it. I started clearing out junk about 3 years ago on craigslist. I bet I sold $5000. worth of junk that I don't even miss, not just car parts but tools, and other misc. junk. I sold at 2 swap meets a while back but that was too much work. I've been selling on ebay for over a year it is amazing how much crap I had in my shop. it is still amazing how much crap I have in my shop.
I plan on moving when my lease is up in February. I'd say I'm about 3/4's away from being able to do so.
I better get back to work.

 

Getting to your neck of the woods from mine is a nice drive through backroads. Just let me know if you need a hand organizing, cleaning out, or working on your projects.

 

Again, just like my buddy I've mentioned before, if he sold just the 55 to 57 Chevy cars and parts he has he could probably take that money alone and buy one totally done AND nicer than anyone he could personally build.

But with his mind set he has the cars, the parts and most know how to build his own car but he will never get around to finishing it because he is too busy with life and chasing more car parts. But I guess the bragging rights are more important to him than actually driving one...

Down side, he is late 60's, no real family. Wife is a sweetheart but cares nothing about cars and sees most of his cars as large yard ornaments and the parts as clutter. If he'd pass away I'd bet she'd sell to the first person that knocked on the door and had trailer to finally get it out of her yard, driveway, garage and shop......

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could you give her my number please?

 

I guess I'm fortunate in this regard. After paring down as I have, both my wife and my oldest son have interest in old cars. I've never had to lie or hide what I paid for parts. My son has a car one year newer than mine and already has free access to whatever I'm not using. The wife and I ran a parts store for a number of years, she's no fool when it comes to this stuff. By the time I'm no longer around, I suspect it will all end up in my son's hands but he won't just throw it away.

Devin

 

I've got the same problem. When I was building my 41 Willys pickup, I had 7 big block Chevys, 3-427, 4-396. Then I started building my 47 Chevy sedan, that started the 472-500 Cadillac craze, I had 5 big Caddys, 3-500, 2-472. I'm over that now I have a 500 Caddy in my Essex, and a spare 500. Also have a midely built Chevy 350 under the steps as a spare for my 65 C-10.

 

@Zax, thanks for that, I really appreciate it. What's your schedule like for the next few weeks? One day on a weekend would let me see what I've got through someone else's eyes. I already know I'm not going to need 4 cast iron flat head intakes.

 

I think I'm past the piling shit in the corner type hoarding. Recently came across a nice lady selling off her dear ol dads lifetime collection of cars and parts. I needed some tidbits for my 27 T roadster project.
At first I couldn't get past the garage doors. Two garages full. Went back several times. Always left empty handed. Saw a lot of cool shit that I did not need, so I passed. As the buildings cleared out some, I did find the few little things I needed. Last time I went they were pretty much cleared out. But there, over in the corner, was a Ruckstell two speed axle. Offered her $300, she took $400. It's now, on a shelf, in the corner of my garage.