Hot Rods Estate sales , yard sale buys

Easier to forget the bad unless it was really bad.

 

Sort of an Estate sale- I was doing work for a small apt compound, been doing work there for over a decade. The Managers husband had passed, and she asked me if I was interested in his toolbox. It was
a Kennedy 3 level box, full of machinist tools. I did not need the tools but thought the box was worth the
400 she wanted. I suggested she sell the tools, I would buy the box, she said she did not want to bother, just take it all. I gave it to my nephew who had just finished training as a cnc machinist. The box was full.

 

Definitely, I bought a big air compressor, went to pick it up and it was a finish / trim carpenter family selling off his garage contents. The family had only listed large items. I bought enough nails and screws to last me forever, the kid said how about $20 for that shelf. It was 6 feet high and 6 feet wide with small hardware boxes. He wanted me to take the shelf too.
I also buy bolt bins, saved me so many trips to the store.

 

Moriarity wins.

 

He seems to do that quite a bit!

 

There was an estate auction across the street from our house, an elderly lady had passed and they were selling everything to put the house on the market. The auctioneers had gotten permission to close the street in front of our house to put out the items . I wandered around, looking in boxes lined up on the parking in front of my house and in one box found a Dooling Bros. tether car, the model of the 1935 Ford Indy car. When the Auctioneer got to the miscellaneous boxes I got high bid for choice of boxes for .50. Guess which box I chose?

 

It was in 1976 that I wrapped my first vehicle, 1965 international pickup around a phone pole. Next weekend I went to a garage sale and bought an absolutely mint 1961 Mercury Meteor for fifty bucks. Drove the wheels off that thing without ever needing repair. After a couple years I decided That I wanted to quit being the turtle and become a hare. Now comes a four speed Camaro. Many blurry years go by and here I am, on the Hamb, talking hot rods.

 

Doesn’t he always ?

 

A few years ago a friend called and told me about this mint 32 grill, shell and radiator listed on Salina Craig's list by a man who was cleaning up his fathers farm. The unit had been dismounted in the 40's ans stored in the barn. I made a phone call, had him quote a price so I drove 100 miles and found the most perfect deuce grille and shell I had ever seen. 900.00 at a time they were bringing 2-2500. It's sitting in my museum with all the other shells. Was a good day.

 

Bought my Lincoln SP-125 MIG welder brand new in the box with the Argon gauge for a $100.00. That was probaly 20 years ago and I have been using it since.

Also bought a set of HVAC service man oxy & acetylene tanks with gauges and a cutting torch set up and all tips for $15.00. Used it primarily in junk yards but seldom use it now as there aren't any yards left around here.

 

Like it with the painted wheels and caps.JMO

 

Answered an ad for Cord Engine $400 from the old "ReCycler Paper" and when I got there there was 2 truck loads of Cord Engines, Transmissions, Bell Housings, Hoods and Fenders, and a 30 Ford Roadster with a Cord Front Wheel Drive and Engine. I got it all except the roadster for the $400. From the estate of the man who invented the "Norton Bomb Sight" during WWII. Got the stuff from his wife and her sister from their mansion in Pasadena Ca.

 

as an aside, the glass for the Bomb Sight was made at the Duncan Miller Glass factory in Washington Pa.

 

I have had my share of scores and have been scorched...I was helping cleaning out a old house in the community..well,no one wanted to go down into the basement to clean it out. So I went in did the job,keep in mind I was a fresh lad of 16 yrs old,I was new to old car scene. Well after cleaning out the basement,I came out with a pristine 1932 grill,like 6 sets of huge bubble type skirts from I know now where late 30s early 40s....
Soon after getting the goods home,my neighbor who was in his 30s and in a local club saw what I had and offered me a few pesos for everything and being young and dumb I took the offerings.
Now older(60) and I hope wiser realize I was SCORCHED!....Live and learn

 

Never had great luck at estate sales and such. Always find tools, but nothing amazing
My best was a lady who responded to a wanted ad I posted looking for old lunch boxes. Got there to get it and she was selling off a ton of stuff. Her husband drove a tool truck before he passed. I ended up with tools, some die cast cars some neat beer lights, and 10 dealer promo model cars from the mid 60s. Sold those real easy, paid for my day, and paid my bills for the month

 

/I followed and old man home 1 day and became friends. He ownwd a gas station back in the '60's. He had 6-7 cars. I bought my 1st FL car, a 1960 4DR plymouth Savoy with @ 17k miles. His wife wrecked it early in its life and had a FURY front clip installed' I BOUGHT 2 coke boxes used in his station. ! box had water fountain that was attached to the side. The copper lines for the fountain were cooled by the ice. My next vehicle was a '42 Dodge panel that was converted to carry troops and the panels had windows imstallled. I would go by there when I had time. 1 day I pull up there and a large roll off dumster. I knew the answer. I Crawl into the dumpster and pulled out so much good stuff. Motor parts, Manuals....... The next day I met the executor. Walked in his shop and bought all the old school snap-on, A/C spark plug signs that has little jars that slid into the sign that held all kinds of stuff. I had to borrow money because everything was cheap. I bought his '65 Plymouth Belvedere wagon, A low milega '79 Volare with a Super 6. I went by the yard sale table and spotted the Dog Dish caps that came on the '60 Plymouth for $5. Never been on the car. He was in the navy and there was a baseball and his 2 gloves from the 30-40's The basball had all these players signatures from guys that never fought in the war. I put it on Ebay and it brought $250.

 

A friend in our local club was at a garage sale and noticed a car lurking in the pole barn at the end of the lot. It wasn't supposed to be part of the sale, but I was given the info and contacted the owner (2nd owner - first was his grandmother!). The car was a 1960 Corvair sedan with low mileage and in pretty good shape. The guy was a retired UAW line worker who worked at the Willow Run Plant where the car was built. I bought the car, restored it and now it is on display at the Norwich Classic Car Museum in Norwich, New York!

 

My tag sale home run, Grafton 40s pedal car tag sale find for $100, sold on eBay for +++++$.

 

Do estate auctions count?

 

I bought a beautiful Kent Coffey "Perspecta" dining set, complete with hutch, credenza, table, high backed chairs, and server for a song and dance. I kept most of it and sold off a few other pieces that basically paid for it.

 

Got this at an estate auction, had to run around and buy a bunch of different lots to get all of the pieces but it was pretty cheap. Some of the bits were buried in huge crates (4' pallets with sides) filled with random metal cutoffs. It wasn't all there, but there was enough.

I had it for one day and then traded it for my '51 Merc coupe project. At least I can say I had a Deuce coupe, for a day.

 

Many years ago a coworker and I would spend our Friday lunch hour garage sale-ing, and mostly bombing around in either my 67 Corvair coupe or his VW bug doing stupid 25 year old stuff.

We ran across a sale one day with a pretty good pile of 47-53 AD Chevy truck parts... bunch of nice grilles, a chrome grille guard, interior smalls, etc. and the farmer was trying to sell them individually but having no luck. I asked how much for the whole lot and he just scoffed at me and said" you can't buy the whole lot. It won't fit in that Corvair no matter what!" Of course I suggest that was a challenge and how much to prove me wrong? He ends up offering me the whole pile for $50, and will give me $25 back if I can get it and us in the car and drive off. It took 30 minutes and about 3 refits, but we got all of it in there and even managed to get Ryan in the passenger seat too, even though it was leaned all the way forward where he could barely get in the car. Mr garage sale man was very entertained and gave me my cash and off we went.

I don't recall the exact amount the pile netted me, but between the grilles and the guard I did $600 at the fall swap meet that year. It was worth the work for sure.

 

There aren't very many yard sales or estate sales around my area that have car parts in them for some reason, I guess there just aren't many car people here. But a couple of years ago I went to one about 50 miles away. There I bought both front fender braces for a 34 Ford truck that I needed for $7 each. I thought that was a great deal. I got there too late to buy some 32 stuff, some guy before me bought just about all that was there.

 

I told my mom if she ever saw a old metal pedal car at a yard sale to get it for me. She fines one at a yard sale but it was on a shed roof and not price like it was for sale. My mom asked about it and said if it was too much just forget about it. She got it for me for $4

 

One Wipers Car Club Plaque...$50.00...

 

Full set of the '30s Michigan plates

 

Yes sir

 

Once about 20 years ago, I was given a rare Round Snout air cleaner for a 55 chevy PP, sold it at Carlisle for 600 bucks. most everything else I ever bought either broke or had parts missing, so I stay away lately. The proper spelling is Norden Bomb sight. Ralphie

 

Interesting twist on garage sales, we were having a garage sale the 1st year we moved into our new house when a guy walks into the garage looks at all the car stuff hanging around and says " do you work on old cars" I told him I used to for 40 years but had slacked off a while. He said too bad I have a 62 Belair I though you may be interested in buying, it needs work but runs had it for over 15 years. I closed the garage sale and took a walk with him and bought it same day.