Folks Of Interest Collectors Vs Scrappers

Let me guess, the states with scrap yards that don't sell parts also are a the same states with Title BS problems. Bob

 

Yes Scrap Metal Recyclers versus Auto Scrap/Parts yard 2 different entities...but good luck @Fedcospeed...and thanks for trying to preserve history...this sounds like on of those things you may wish you didn't know about as witnessing the loss of stuff kinda sinks the gut a bit...as alluded sitting dormant for 70+ years only to be treated as next years auto production without a second thought...

 

In most states, a scrap yard is a general recycling facility, that does not take cars.

The ones that take cars are automobile dismantlers.

Two different licenses. Two different sets of operating permits. One has to process things through the DMV, the other does not.

 

A recycling business, even if not prohibited by law, may not have a business license that allows retail sales, or a resale permit.

They may not want to deal with the public. There could also be liability issues in selling items, such as car parts, should the cause, or be involved in, causing harm.

Additionally, selling that which is in the waste stream, intended for recycling, reduces the size of the stream. Reduce the stream too much (and the margin is already terrible), and recycling will no longer be fiscally plausible to undertake.

If and when that happens, that which is not purchased by a hot rodder, goes straight into a landfill, and those are already full.

 

Naw I just wapp them flat with the rear bucket of my backhoe. flatten them out so I can haul a bigger load. My hoard is my retirement. I kept that olds for over a decade. never sold one part. Never had anyone interested in any parts from it. I only have three acres at my corner and anything I leave at my other place gets stolen or vandalized. since its my retirement I cant give it away. Before vehicles where recycled old cars & trucks had no value . I bought lot of running $50 vehicles in the 60's and early 70,s. Because they got recycled is why they are desirable today. I maintain that there are lots more potential project vehicles than there are ready 'willing and able buyers for them. I strip off the stainless,aluminum, copper wire , heater cores and radiators ect before I scrap them. I got huge piles of aluminum, copper wire, and heavy steel waiting for the price to get better. And yes I plan to reduce my inventory. and when its no longer setting and rotting at my place I don't want it to be moved to set and rot at a new location. I want it scrapped & recycled. Years ago I advertised the old in the HAMB classifieds. No response. I now have it advertised on the MarketPlace. I feel ive gave others a opportunity.

 

That reminds me of the two old Locke lawn mowers with wings I decided to scrap. Son in Law used a tractor with a backhoe to load them in his dump truck. Once in the truck he semi crushed them with the bucket. I was in a moment of shock but I also remembered I'd decided they were junk, and there was now room for more junk = $$$$$$$$$$$$$. . Bob

 

I'd decided they were junk. Exactly and since you owned them it is your right to do as you wanted. Ive found that quite often other folks are fond of telling Other people what they ought to do. When in fact unless what that person is doing directly adversely affects them or they have power of attorney or are a guardian . The only person who has the right to decide what they ought to do is themselves. Just last month my eldest son who is a lawyer told my wife what he was gonna do with my hoard. So we decided by the time we get dementia or die its all going to be gone or deeded and titled to who we want to have it.

 

is there any early hemi stuff?

 

I've always enjoyed your posts, hope my stuff will fit in Priority Mail boxes. Bob

 

Ok I had a big hoard of old motorcycles. advertised them at scrap price $400. and I got lots of lowballers who wanted to cherry pick. Then the scrap man sent his two employees with a truck and trailer and they brought cash. The scrap man never even came and looked in person. Just had his employee send him pictures with his phone.

 

Yes I can ship the clutch pedals and linkage in a priority box. I sent Tefevered a set of 56 Pontiac parts and they fit.

 

My contact is going to again try and offer a lump sum for the basement and garage items. The 2nd floor is loaded too but that may not be easy. I am satisfied with what I could do at this point. It just kills me to think of what may have been. If the buy out goes, the buyer will sell to me just to unload it all.

Right now I have awards to finish for this weekends local indoor show, get a car there and back and work 2 overtime days. Next Wednesday is my hernia repair. I did what I could as fast as I could.

 

I try to be non judgmental but anybody that intentionally destroys vintage car parts is fucked up.

 

On the one hand I agree that people who destroy the old no longer made stuff are asshats but on the other I just gave away a bunch of 46/47 dash and gauge stuff in useable condition that nobody wanted to pay for. I don't care how much stuff you have you can't keep it all forever, and not everybody wants the stuff which you believe is valuable. I got sick of tripping over this stuff in the shop and gave it away.

 

Yep...been in there with scrapers as well as EBAY sellers just wanting pretty stuff to make money on. Missed out on an old Stude guys stuff as well both of these n the last year.......followed the Stude stuff to the scrap yard and can by from him on weight plus a little. Good luck with your deal !

 

No different than hoarding it until death. Only the methodology is different. The end result is the same.

 

The bottom line is, you can hoard parts, or you can promote the hobby.

You cannot do both.

If you are hoarding parts now, you are preventing future builds. If you hoard parts, you die, and they get scrapped, you prevent future builds, forever.

If it sounds like I am talking directly to you, I am. You need to make a decision.

Are you for hot rodding, or are you against it?

This hobby has a limited time left on this earth. If you are hoarding parts, alive, or dead, you are speeding its demise.

 

My entire hoard is my hobby. I spent the time effort and money to collect my hoard for two reasons. Number 1 is for my very own use Number two is to make money. My stuff can all be bought (for a Price) and when I for whatever reason decide to sell for scrap price I beat or break it to be certain its scrap. Promoting the Hobby don't put any nickles in my pockets. I think Hoarders are a small percentage of the population. You have to have land where zoning isn't a problem. You have to have a spouse who at least Tolerates your hoard of vehicles. You have to have the extra money and time to buy and drag stuff home. You have to investin a two vehicle and a trailer. You gotta Pig Headed stubborn and have thick skin. My hobby has paid for itself and bought grocerys and paid bills many times. Every spring some gus from Wisconsin come and buy two vehicles from me for Demo Derby cars. Mostly non Hamb vehicles. But one Year I sold them a 59 ford Sta Wagon. and a 64 Plymouth wagon. The Plymouth still had the Poly 318 mill. Got paid $400 each. The62 olds if it wasn't a 4 door htp would of long ago been a derby car. Jan ist I bought a 60 Pontiac catalina. I want the 389 mill.I Paid $275. In all probability I will sell the body for $400 to the demo guys. There Hobby is demo cars.

 

Interesting topic here. For me it comes down to the fact that I don't do this stuff for the money. It is a hobby. I have a M-F that pays the bills. So, that said, I have the wiggle room financially to lose money on some stuff rather than haul it over the scales to make my money back. I'd rather lose a little money on it, and see it go to someone who can use it, rather than see it be destroyed. It's about saving the cars, not money. I'm no business man.....If I had to do this for a living, I'd be living in a cardboard box. lol

 

One time I went to a hoarders estate auction at Gainsville Mo. Had to out bid the scrap men. I got the bid $350 on choice of three 57 chevy 4 dr Htps. So I picked what I thought was the best one thinking I could get the other two cheaper. Nope they brought more. I should have taken all three. Any way I had the 57 on the wrecker and stopped at the Thayer Mo. Wal Mart. My wife went inside and a guy came and asked what I was gonna do with the 57. I replied whatever comes first. I priced it at $650. He didn't buy. I took it home made it a roller and washed it. listed it on Ebay and it didn't even get a bid for what I paid. Then I happened upon & bought another real solid 57 4 dr htp body for the same price. And managed to sell the pair to a dealer for $1400. And he has been trying to resell them for over a decade. I see his add on craigslist every once in a while. Even though I never drove those two cars I enjoyed owning them for a time and To me it was fun. What we need to keep in mind is Different Strokes for different Folks. Nothing to be gained by giving what other folks do to & with their very own stuff Free Rent In your Head.

 

Like the old adage, "Money may not be the most important thing in life, but it runs a real close second to whatever the hell else is in first place."
Myself? I don't worship money.

 

My hoard didn't make my living. It supplemented our income. Back a few years ago when gas got $4 per gallon. nobody had any extra money around here. You couldn't sell anything. Rather than buy a used part and fix a older vehicle they parked it and many times tried to sell it. I had to take a job driving a semi truck. and drove that ole Pete 350,000 miles until I turned 62 and began drawing Social Security. That check will pay the bills and living expences. If I want any extra cash I have to make it from my Hoard . And like it or not the scrap man is a ready willing and able buyer who has the cash.

 

I found out over the years that all scrappers are idiots! I pulled into a scrap yard about 10 years, one of the scrappers had his semi trailer loaded with cars and on the very top was a 1934 Ford tudor sedan looked like it was just drug out of a barn, about 2 inches of dirt on it, nice shape. I spoke with the scrapper guy he was waiting in line to go across the scales. I made several offers and the last offer was $2500! He turned me down and I told him whats your problem! Your only going to get maybe a couple hundred dollars at most for that car. I couldn't get him to budge! I even talked to the scrap yard manager and offered to give him $2500 for it and he told me it's against policy to sell cars once it crosses the scales. No respect for those fuktards!

 

I don't understand guys like that. BUT I have experienced it too. Derby guys are like that sometimes too. They take pride in smashing something that someone else would love to have. I honestly think that some scrap guys and derby guys deep down inside hate classic cars for some reason.

 

We have two recycler places here. One is a big corporation that will not sell anything, as they don't want lookers to get hurt out there in the piles.

The other one is awesome..they set things aside that they think might be usable. Prices range from 35 to 50 cents a pound for most things I have bought. But, as you all know, they cannot keep everything that comes in each day, so I've seen cut up early Ford farm trailers made from the suspensions & front axles we use. But very recently they did save a Model T stripped-out doodlebug chassis that sold fairly quick. Not all scrap places are evil.

 

There comes a time when "Collector Cars and their parts" whatever that may be to you are worthless, other than scrap weight value. I've had guys stop by to buy a hood and turn down a second hood in the same condition for FREE. That is confirmed junk, gets folded in half and scrapped. I've always thought the CSRA Swap Meet having onsite dumpsters for unsold metal parts was a great idea. Bob

 

Here the scrap dealers can and will sell you stuff. one has the old drive in movie theater. he takes all the vehicles and parks them there. Its a you pull it lot. after a time he removes the stripped vehicles and crushes them.

 

That's actually really cool!

 

Here's a sale I went to last year in Columbus. Estate of a long time parts dealer and hobbyist, but also a serious hoarder. Only 58 bidders showed up by the start of the sale. Mud everywhere. Stuff was literally thrown out into the rain the previous weeks to make room to get through the garages and sheds. In the confusion, One pile of Stromberg 97 carbs disappeared, along with that 312 dual 4 breather lid in the first photo, and who knows what else.

I'm 41 and most of the guys I met there were in their 60's and only wanted a few pieces. The younger guys are all scrappers and made up the majority of the buyers. I'm a collector but also resell semi-professionally so I'm always looking for more stuff.

Lots of flathead stuff, Model A, 35-36 roadster parts, NOS bits, Y block stuff, even an old Marchant shrinker-stretcher. Auctioneer was sour and in a rush..I got in an argument with him because he didn't like me making side deals with scrappers but he was really reluctant to sell anything by the piece. Everything had to go by the pile. But I saved a lot of stuff. Everything in the garage in the first couple pics below brought only $2 or $3k total and I got just one corner. Took me 3 hours just to sort it later.


One scrapper bought a nice 292 block that had been machined years ago but recently left outside. I offered to decoded the casting number for him and he said, "I don't care, I just put everything out in the yard. People drive by the house and buy it whether I know what it is or not."

The shed cost me $60 and was full of junk but found some treasures - Lincoln Y block rams horn manifolds, 36 truck grille, 60's bellhousings, fulton style visor. Lots of 312 heads too rusty to save. More stuff underneath but impossible to get to without a bobcat. Had to crawl through a hole in the wall to get to the good stuff and throw it out behind me.

There's a second room not visible that was full to the ceiling with bare mini-bike frames - those little briggs and stratton powered things from the 70s. Why? I have no clue









I had to quit bidding because I couldn't take it all and couldn't come back later. Took until 1am to load the trailer with a hand cart, ankle deep in mud.

In hindsight, I should've just bought every pile and made them wait for me to come back and get it later.


Couple of '55 power pack blocks I missed...

 

At another sale...Auctioneer gave up digging out parts and sold shed contents for scrap. A few goodies hidden in the pile.

Owner had passed away but had built and raced several 32 coupes, 60's dirt track cars, etc over the years. Lots of broken '39 tranny cases and early 327 blocks. Thanks to Van Pelt Sales I know more about flathead trannies than I ever cared to know. I own about 15 of them now lol.

This shed was so nasty I got sick and missed a week of work afterward.

This was just the junk, but there was some good stuff there too. Some of you Cincinnati guys got a few really nice '32 grille shells - would love to see where they end up. A whole basement full of shiny stuff I missed when they split into two rings. I'm still mad about that...