Projects Have you purchased a part and then lost it?

I tend to buy a part, then buy another (forgetting that I already own one)- and this ritual can repeat itself more than once... I have more than a few 56-7 Chevy V8 hood emblems for my panel truck. Downside is I am parts-rich and money-poor, but the positive spin is that I can choose the best of the bunch

 

I went to town the other day and bought a new steering wheel puller and lockplate tool because I couldn't remember where the other one was. That one didn't get put back in the same drawer in the tool box that it has been in for 40 years when it got used last.

 

I said to my wife " I don't know what happened to my 9/16" franzamatazz, can't find it anywhere".
My wife then said to me " Where did you put it ? "

 

I THINK THIS THREAD NEEDS TO MERGE WITH THE SENIOR MOMENTS... What was that thread's name again???

 

I bought 3 cams for my 327 build. I kept thinking I needed to order one. When I finally got around to building it, they were all different grinds. I guess I had different ideas each time.

 

As a vendor, I can tell you this is more common than you think. I've chased plenty of guys down with crap they left on my table. And then there are the "Can I leave it here and pick it up later?" guys that pay and never come back. I always make a point of giving them the booth number, so I figure they just flat out forget. The beer garden might play a role in that.

True story: A couple weeks ago I found a nice tube flaring kit at an estate sale. Perfect, I figured, I'm just about to start on that. Bought it, went to put it on the shelf in my garage--and there I found not one but TWO tube flaring kits that I'd apparently purchased at previous sales. Man, I'm getttin old...

...say, does anyone have a tube flaring kit they want to sell?

 

Resize the pic you want to use as an avatar to 200x200 and save it in "my pictures" on your computer. Then click on the button third from the right at the top of this page, with the little man shaped thing on it. Scroll down and click on avatar. It opens a box that says upload custom avatar, click on browse, and find the pic you saved. Then confirm, should work.

 

I have done it many times and then there are the times when I go looking for a part I know I had that I forgot I sold or gave away but some how my brain still thinks I have.

 

Bought my brother's O/T '80 chevelle wagon and it came with a new steering center link. He said he bought it only to find the problem was a loose nut on one of the joints..tightened the nut and it was all good. So I sold the new center link at the swap meet and then sold the car..
Fast forward to a month ago and I bought the wagon back from the guy I sold it to. I was out cruising it this afternoon and the steering felt sloppy. Checked it out and found a worn center link.
DOH!

 

Too bad you are so far away, I have a new TRW one in the box! Probably cost more to ship than it's worth.

 

I have a flathead dual carb intake somewhere I remember saying I need to put this somewhere so it doesn't walk away with someone..now I wish I left it out at least someone would be using it..looked for about 3 hours one day. ..nothing.. guarantee if I sell my flatheads I will trip over the same day...

 

I have a LOLS (list of lost shit)
so if I find something, I can cross it off.

aaahhhhh... anybody seen my list?

 

After gathering parts for a build came building a new house and two more grand kids. 4 + years later I'm ready to start the build but I can't find all the parts I bought, cleaned, primed and stored in boxes and stuck in the shed, attic and garage. I can't even remember what I have or don't have anymore.

 

I have a "safe space" in the top of my Snap On box. Just a cardboard box I keep crucial hardware in. Another place is the top drawer of the box. So far it works and I label the envelopes I keep small things in. I recently put up an old kitchen cabinet on the garage wall. Anything valuable goes in there. It must work since I'm losing less parts.

 

I lose stuff I've purchased every year. Just found a set of spray guns I bought 5 years ago from Eastwood, just last week. Since I have sold off my last build, and don't see anything out there that grabs me, I may be holding a Garage Sale in the spring. Found a nice pair of 55 Plymouth taillights I bought 3 years ago, in a box during the same garage search last week. These garages have a way of eating stuff, and I just have to wait for it to crap it up. lol

 

Hot rodders need a "safe space" too!!!

 

Did you look in the milk bone box ?

 

After reading all these posts I realized why parts are getting so expensive and hard to find at swap meets. Everybody has two or three of them.

 

My granddaughter is a EMT and she so graciously volunteered me to smoke turkeys for their holiday party tonight so while I was in and out checking the progress of the birds I decided i would resume my hunt.

So far I've found several missing sockets but no heater. HRP

 

Misplaced some four bar stuff I had purchased from Speedway+ bracket to put disc caliper on early Ford spindle. Ordered new four bar setup and found brackets at Carlisle . All found and now I have stuff for another project. I have a NOS radio dash unit for a 38 Chevy purchased 35 years ago for $10. Have seen them on Ebay for 250/400. Can't find mine but going to use it anyway but I would like to sell if I ever find it.

 

I moved about 7 months ago.....while I was boxing stuff in my office a "wall hanger" carb and intake off a 1920 Studebaker fell off the wall and a corner hit me square in the forehead. Blood everywhere....got pissed and threw out the carb and intake in a box........of course the other day someone called about the carb.....can I find it.......NO....I have about 100 carbs most of them separated by type.....went through all of my storage boxes......no deal......

***Unless it is in front of our face we will lose it amongst the other stuff we put away for "later".***
Talk about garage gremlins......I have (9) 9/16 wrenches.....counted them the other day, why??? lose one, buy one, now I have two and so forth...
How come when I need a Phillips screwdriver all I can find in the drawer are slotted...and when I need a slotted, all I can find are Phillips or reed-prince ?????

 

Is this some type of Old Fart qualifying test? Books, sales literature and other paper goods are easy items to move on eBay, they can also grow legs as soon as they are sold. Within the last month I went to get something I sold and found it right away, put it down and looked for another item, I never moved, both feet were on the floor and the first item was gone! I really thought I might be loosing it, looked at everything in arms reach. After about 3-4 minutes of this I noticed I'd placed the item up side down. My personal record is held by the misplaced Moon tank that was lost and walked by every day for 14 months. Bob

 

While working on the Ford in 2015, the car was starting to go back together. I had a bunch of small interior parts I kept losing... I had a copier paper box with the parts all inside, wrapped up neatly. I lost that entire freakin' box at least 3 times. It seems that every search has 45 minutes that went with it.

I was closing my pool after my heart attack and had a lot of help, which turned a 3 hour job into 5 hours. I have one critical piece that blocks off the skimmer, like a big Tupperware lid. That search was over an hour, gutted the shed, nada. It will be interesting to see where that went. Lucky I had a local pool place that was open late on a Sunday.

 

I've been looking for 2 Lime Works 40 steering wheels for the last 6 months and still haven't found them. Maybe the dog buried them! Ya that's my story

 

I've lost it as soon as I open the box. "WTF KINDA JUNK IS THIS SHIT!!!" ready to drive to where it came from and, oh wait a min...

Ok, lemme guess. You didn't mean THAT kind of "lost it", right?

 

All the time. There are so many boxes and such,unless I label the side facing out. I have no idea whats in some of them. I know I have a NOS late 30s Ford speedo to bring to Hershey. I looked and looked and could never find it. It was in a box right on top of one of my shelves,in plain site. Everything looks the same when its in a cardboard box.It is fun when you open a box and get a surprise about something that you forgot you even had.

 

You always find it in the last place you look....
It's happening to me more often, but just the small stuff. 34 grill mounting kits, 32 tank mount fasteners, Hurst steel shifter bushing, small stuff for the hemi. Something to be said for not buying stuff till you need it.

 

I deal with the parts hide and seek thing all of the time also. I was in my parts jungle the other day looking for a box of shifter knobs and discovered that I have bought duplicate parts that I didn't know I already had. The upside is it improves my odds for finding them when I need them.

 

I have stuff in the garage, in my shop, and in the barn. These are separated from each other by about 100 yds on each leg of a triangle. I have turned my lost items into an exercise program as I make laps from location to location looking. However, as I get older, I find myself using this program more often and it requires more laps each year. End result is a senile old bastard with a healthy heart.

 

Fixing a light in my garage the other day and look over at a box in the rafters that said Edelbrock valve covers. Never owned an Edelbrock valve cover in my life. Opened the box and found a pair of 9 fin early Corvette covers i thought i gave to my nephew 10 years ago. Nice surprise.