Technical Where have all the junk parts & Parts cars gone?

There are more than a few HAMB builds that started with less than perfect parts, and have had other less than perfect parts added to the build. Were are all these parts coming from? I've run a want ad for several months looking for junk Model A closed car doors that may have a good top to cut off and use to fix mine. Coupster tops that get cut off would be perfect, maybe people junk parts and never read Parts Wanted ads, it is a mystery to me. Bob

 

Weekend drives around county roads,word of mouth.Ask old farmers etc.

 

A couple years ago scrap well over $10/hundred lbs. A lot of the farms and hoarders of metal things cleaned up their properties. That is where all the "why am I saving this" stuff went.

 

Also seems that a lot of the previous donor cars, are now turned into project cars. So result is more project cars, and less donors.

I know stuff I parted out prior years that I would not go that route today.

 

Part of the problem is nobody wants to pay anything for parts so it's not worth the hassle to the seller. Taking pics, writing descriptions, finding or making a box, calculating shipping, taking to the shipper, then hoping the shipping costs actually matches what you expected is a lot of time and a risk. Then throw in all the flakes who never follow thru or decide shipping is too much. Would you do all that for a $15-$20 door top? Unless it's a very small item or worth over $50, I really don't want to deal with it. I have a warehouse full of 26-48 Ford stuff I'd like to sell but won't ship.

 

I'd mail you the flat rate boxes and pay for the postage + parts cost if you have a Saws-All and half an hour of your time and the door tops I need. Bob

 

I built this 34 truck from individual parts right here off the HAMB and contacts in SoCal I made here on the HAMB. The only dual item sources were :
all 4 fenders - Early Ford Store San Dimas
Cab and Grille shell - Minnesota grain truck (it does have doors)

I did have the luxury of being able to rocket over west and pick up a load of parts without having to pay shipping. That way you can hand pick every piece !

 

Sadly many have gone to the great crusher in the sky. HRP

 

China

 

I've been collecting 28 to 36 Ford parts for 35 years and it gets harder to find them every year. You can't wait until you need a part to look for it. You have to decide what kind of car you want to play with for the rest of your life and find and collect anything you'll ever need.

 

My parents lived 100 miles away... brother and I would take the back roads to visit as we had seen all on route #3 .
found a '30 coupe, farmer with a sauce pan full of fresh eggs tells me it was his boy's car, went to Korea in '51 did not return... asked if it was for sale... he said for me to stop by from time to time and one time he would be gone, said his wife will "sell" it to me...
stopped by months later, a tree fell and crushed the car to the beltlines... I asked if he would sell it...
he said for me to stop by from time to time and one time he would be gone, said his wife would "give" it to me !
I stopped by a year later and both were gone, not for sale, grandkids were gonna RESTORE it...
... PARTS CAR gone...

 

I agree with 38Chevy454. You should see the absolute pile of parts I'm starting my project with. One of my doors is a door with the top cut off but enough of the window frame parts to make the top are included. I was glad to find that door. Cars that used to be parts cars are now considered "project cars", sometimes in defiance of all logic. I know where there's a '40 Ford four door, floors rusted away, no doors, no front sheet metal, no engine or tranny, no front suspension, no dash, no interior parts, no glass, and front of the frame buried in the dirt. The owner considers it restorable and wants compensated accordingly. Who knows, maybe someone out there would agree with him.

 

take a look at current thread by Chris "Bought A Model A Roadster For 25.00 Yesterday"

 

check www.partsofthepast.com after the website google maps satellite view the address

 

the demise of all the vintage tin has been going on since the 70's. I remember reading about it in Rod Action when I was a youngster. sooner or later it will become true.

 

Barrett Jackson auctions didn't help buying field iron...
owners think if BJ's is worth $ssssss then mine must be worth $sssss...
I see tiquer's parts cars are now coming up for sale... not cheap.

 

I made a 400 mile round trip drive last Saturday to pick up a cut down 36 Ford hulk with a workable firewall and front axle/wishbone for my 36 coupe .
I missed another one last week. I pulled up just as someone was loading it onto his trailer.

Only 200 miles round trip on that one, and the guy knew I was on my way.

Guess he doesn't know about cell phones so I could have turned back. Found both on C'list, one in the next state.
They've still out there, but you have to be lucky.

 

Hey Kid,
Just a possibility.
This guy is on here or the Barn.
I don't know him, have no connection.
But he drags stuff out of the woods all the time.
Maybe he could help.
Here is his link:

http://oldtindealer.com/mainpage.htm

 

Yeah, but if everybody did this, there would be NO parts around to find. You may think what you're doing is collecting and saving parts for the future (ie, I'm going to use that someday). Other folks may see what your doing as hoarding. It's all in the eye of the beholder, but it doesn't make parts available to someone who needs it now.

 

Your probably sitting right next to it at a stoplight, just now it looks like a Kia.
Around here there use to be tons of old tin around out in the country but thanks to high scrap prices and counties "clean up campaigns" it's pretty much all gone. Even the old farm machinery is gone from around the old homesteads and we know how old farmers are horders.

 

I've got around 40 of those parts/builder cars. I've advertised them here off & on for over 10 years for prices far less than most of the other comparable listings. I think asking too little scares people ...

 

I have owned 239 fords from 1928 to 1934, 1/2 the body or more...
in the '80s lots of them were free, but take it all piles...
bought a local $50 rear half of a '30-'31 tudor last week...
I found it talking to a older guy in line at the bank... 3 miles from home! ... you never know where they are hiding...
if you have a pick up, troll the thing in your truck for a week before you unload, someone will tell you where there is one "just like it" ... 1 out of 10 is...

 

The are still out there. You can find most of them on the shelves at your local harbor freight

 

Exactly, take a look around. They are in all the el-cheapo consumer goods on our shelves, from dishwashers that die after a few years to bottle openers that bend in half the first time they are used.

 

A couple years ago I picked up a crappy closed car Model A cowl and doors from Hitchhiker; got it for a few bucks, which was all it was worth. Every panel thin and rusted through, a couple hinges torched out, rot rot everywhere rot. Only reason I wanted it was to have an eye-catching "sign" at our Portland booths that announced "We have model A parts!" Put a STUPID price on it, because I had no intention of selling, figuring we'd use it as an "advertisement" for several years. It sold in an hour.

Sometimes I wonder if we've reached the tipping point and old stuff will become impossible to find. Then I see Chris's $25 roadster! So then I wonder if the people who care about this shit are "aging out" (that's another thread) and we're about to be flooded with all manner of good stuff that the upcoming generation doesn't want.

Who knows. Whatever happens, I'm along for the ride. The Monroe swap meet is next week. I'll grab what I can. In the meantime, good luck Bob. Hopefully something will come up.

 

I'm pretty sure I can help you out Sir, PM sent.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Bob,
Unfortunately there are no more JUNK doors. The one I have (front doors from a fordor sedan) nice no rust out but no wood either, match up to a 28/29 cabriolet cowl I have. (also rough) Been offered $500 for the doors and cowl by someone who wants to build a custom pick up out of it. I had a nice door with crushed top I, needed a door top for last year. Local older model A club member gave me a great price for nice door top - $100 !! Been dealing with him for years. Last door top was $10, asked why the increase. Was told "these kids are literally kick down my door for ANY sheet metal"
PS Your request is still posted note on my computer. Still looking out for you
PSS @Tony Martino Thanks for the kind words.

 

Hey Pusher, I think we talked once or twice,
but I have CRS! I see your ads all the time!
Glad I could remember, glad to help if I can!
Tony

 

good luck....last 30/31 nice doors I sold were under $300 for the pair....less hinges.....

 

My brother paid 600 for a pair of decent 31 doors about a year ago.
I was gonna blame the lack of parts on the rat rodders, who will use anything and everything, cutting and grafting along the way. But I'm probably wrong.