A few weeks ago I decided to give away approximately 1200 hot rod type magazines. The usual collection, on going through the mid 70's till now. Street Rodder, Rod and Custom etc. etc. Because of my somewhat extensive collection of magazines, over the years, more than a few of my Hot Rod buddies had inquired, did you have this article in Car Craft about this car or that, or an article about converting from a Mustang 2 power steering pump to a GM power steering pump, etc. I'd look it up from my archives and pass it on. 10 years (or more) ago the computer and sites like the HAMB changed all that. Thanks to the internet and sites, such as this, easy swaps are explained in detail and more difficult jobs are made MUCH more doable because of well detailed explanations and examples and pertainent PICTURES. So my library just wasn't all that important any more. OK, time to move on. Easy enough to just give them to a library, sell them at swap meets, etc. NOT SO MUCH. My local libraries simply did not want them and even FREE at swap meets, folks wanted to look through the magazines in search of what they wanted. It's easy enough to simply bundle them up and take them to the recycle facility. I just couldn't bring myself to just dump them. There's a lot of history and prime examples in all those pages. A lot of stories, and great pictures also. So I posted the whole works on the HAMB for sale section, under misc. -----1200 magazines FREE. FREE. FREE----I received a bunch of inquiries, and 4 serious folks. First one got them all, We exchanged them today. Went well for both of us. Interesting part of this story. 1200 magazines, any kind of magazines, takes up a lot of space. Remember Uncle Joe's collection of National Geographics or Mechanics Illustrated? Mine were all in my basement (a well ventilated, dry basement, on a very good large bookcase). How to get them all out of the basement, up18 stairs, into my truck and transported? They were all in titled groups, Street Rodder, Hot Rod, Rodders Digest, Car Craft, Custom Classic Trucks, etc. etc. So I bundled them up in groups of 15 to 20 or more, tying them up with nylon string, weighing 8 to 12 lbs each bundle. About 80 or so bundles. Thats a lot of stairs and weight for an old guy to do. Took a while. About half way through I had some "What were you thinking" moments. All in all I think it was worth it and they went to a guy who really seemed to appreciate them. Now on to the other 600 books upstairs. Bill Rinaldi
Good for you. I too, have a collection about the size of yours. Treasures back to the '50's. I can't bring myself to give them up just yet, but when I do, I hope I can be as lucky as you were to find the right person who appreciates what a huge amount of hot rodding information is in there.
I moved about 6 years ago, moving the magazines and filing cabinets that house them was a NIGHTMARE. promised myself I would never have to do it again, now we may be moving again. Man, I hope this is the LAST time...
Yeah, I told the wife that I was done moving...but that was like three moves ago! This last time, we moved with 30 boxes of books, plus 4 boxes of magazines.
I just emptied my storage unit back to the house, about 200 priority mail sized boxes were just magazines. I feel your pain.
Bill, I am very glad that you found someone to care for your collection...at least I hope that is what will happen. I have a collection similar to yours. However, I am approaching 5000 at last count. Just about every conceivable title all squirrelled away in my dry, well ventilated basement. Many are in plastic sleeves in 3-ring binders. The rest are all in plastic sleeves in magazine specific boxes. They take up a LOT of space. I'm well into my geezer years and thinking of downsizing and a warmer climate. The thought of what to do with my treasures has made for a lot of restless nights. What to do, what to do...
When I posted them on the HAMB Misc. For Sale site as FREE-- FREE-- FREE-----I was surprised as to the number of inquiries I had. I did establish, from the beginning, that shipping was simply not a logical option. The young guy who got them lives about 300 miles away, but was going to Indy for the 500 (apparently an annual family ritual) I loaded the magazines up and drove about 80 miles south and he drove about the same north, then taking a different route home. I made the most of my 80 mile trek, spending the day with friends in the area. oldandkrusty---if you are willing to give up the the magazine containers in the deal, I'll bet you will get a LOT of people interested in your collection. The HAMB really does help!!!! Bill Rinaldi
I kept everything [even filling in a few early missing HRM] untill 2000, started taking up too much space..I could only find a home for up to 1972, storage being the issue..So keep for a year or so and throw out, give away and not look back...
I read stories like this and shudder at the future of the magazines and books. My only smiling thought is, maybe all this hi-tech bullshit will fail. I imagine 1 year would be long enough for the message to get across. I smile at the thought of all these people walking around sad, because their tablets and lap tops won't work. I laugh at the people walking around, trying to find a signal for that Smart phone they're clutching. And there will be none. Tragic. They'll just go insane. But my best laugh will be at the people we all thought were so smart, when in reality, all they knew to do was Google it and repeat it, as if it were their thoughts or ideas. I use hi-tech shit every day and a lot is useful, but I'll always love looking and reading a book, magazine or catalog. If cared for, there's a feeling of forever about them. Something tangible. Something.... real. My favorite commercial of late, are the ATT series about a family that's lost the internet and how lost they are without it. Makes me smile every time I watch it. I wish I would have been able to take every one of your magazines. Chances are, they would have kept me off the HAMB for a long time. And I would have been smiling.
I hope to do the same with mine someday Bill,I have some late 50's to mid 60's for sale in the classifieds here and haven't got an inquiry. I guess no one is interested in seeing photos of what we now call "traditional" here,more fun to bicker and question it.
Same boat here also, just so many memories to just recycle them. The only people really interested anymore are the flippers who want the collectable ones. Buy them for cheap and put them in a plastic wrapper and sell them for $20 each. Anyhody know if the Boy Scouts still have collection programs, would be a worthy cause. Maybe we should take them to the doctor offices and hospitals, at best all I see are Popular Mechanics and Motor Trend, yuck.
A couple of months back I offloaded some 1980's magazines to a couple of doctors waiting rooms and the local hospital waiting rooms. Hopefully some kid will have a look, and get inspired enough to want a rod in the future
Being a vet, and noticing on my visits to my local VA hospital, there were no automotive magazines to peruse, after my last divorce, I took 25 years of hot rod magazines, and donated them to the hospital. Now when I visit there, I can find something to read, that I can enjoy!
Local car club gives their magazines to the VA. I gave most all of mine away three years ago. Kept the first one I saw as a kid. Visiting in Phoniex with my sister her next door neighbor kid had a roadster. He took me for a ride. I was ruined that day. He gave me an early hot rod magazine with a pickup on the front. Kept that one.