So I have a bunch of left over parts from my 41-47 Ford's, external banjo parts, banjo drive shaft, front cross members, tranny mounts rear spring, drag link, heat shield.... I'd rather give them away then toss them, but I'm just sick of looking at them, but it's there much demand for these parts Sent from my XT1710-02 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
With luck you will find someone to take it off your hands and store it for twenty years, who will in turn get sick of having it around, and try to give it to the next guy.
@topher5150 ......I am in the same boat..... @Beanscoot .....I think you have it figured out...... Ray
It seems like every time I throw something away, I need it a week later.... But there does come a time when you have to thin things out. Indoor storage takes away working space, outdoor storage means stuff will deteriorate in the weather, eventually converting itself to scrap.
Decided a couple years ago to clean out stuff I'd saved forever. Started selling on CL and here. After 9 months of selling I spent the money on a Pete and Jake's chassis and a New Age Motorsports '32 5 window body. I've pretty much built my avatar from selling those unwanted parts. Almost nothing out of pocket as this point and nothing but (what I feel are) the best parts available. Somebody will need it or want it. I tended yo throw in parts they had an interest in but didn't really want to buy (and I knew were going to be hard to sell). Cleaned out the shop, built a nice new car and still have a few parts and money in my pocket. CL takes work but it was worth it for me! SPark
Post the parts in the Classifieds and sell them cheap or give them away, someone in your are might need them and you could donate them to the project. HRP
I used to let all that stuff accumulate, got to where it was a rather large pile...I sold about 50,000 lbs of scrap in 2010, and also a few useful parts sold on ebay and swap meets and craigslist. I try not to let it get so far out of control these days.
It's a dwindling hobby, despite the false impression we get from the internet. If you have finished cars, those will find new homes as we elderly Hambers are forced to get rid of our stuff. But...who wants all the rest of our stuff on a local sale? If you have big buildings full of parts, tools, machinery, as well as once collectible toys, furniture, knick-knacks etc..you just can't spend the last few years you might have, by trying to sell & ship online. The cost of shipping makes much of it a no sale, and why try to list tons of $10-$30 items on ebay and have to spend so much time listing/packaging, and trips & gas to the post office as well as fees? It's just pointless to me. I used to try to buy & "save" local things I'd see at estates and flea markets "for the good of the hobbies", but now the stuff has almost no local market. I also took my older friends stuff when they were cleaning out! You just have to face reality that things have changed, demand is low and prices are peanuts compared to what once was. I've spent 5 days so far trying to get ready for a tag sale. I know that many collectible things I spent good money on long ago, will only sell if I price them at nearly free. But, I need it all gone...I feel owned by all this stuff. Are any of you reading this, in the same boat as me? I'd like to know. I also have 2 early 1930s rare convertible projects that I probably cannot finish, so it is painful knowing how little they will sell for, if I decide to list them.
The theory of evolution is applying to the old car movement very fast ,I told this to a mate of mine at a coffee catch up chat we have every week as he said did you see this car for sale its cheap etc ,told him you don't need any more cars he is 56 I'm 57 between us some cars are joint owned we have 32 running cars and at least 10 projects on the go , so enough of my rant but share the love don't scrap stuff give to someone who want or needs your parts and enjoy the thrill of seeing someone's appreciation who gives a shit if they sell or dump them at least you enjoyed moving your treasures on
I have plenty of parts and tools and have come to the point of seriously accessing do I really need all this stuff. But , know myself well enough that I would refill the space.
You asked for it. I'm still deciding which door handles I'm keeping Sent from my XT1710-02 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Those steering box brackets are a great piece as well as the trans cross members/saddles. The rear wishbones seemed to be desirable when I sold my last set. Heck even that pan hard/ tie rod/ drag link is good stuff to have. I think that all looks like solid stuff I think priced cheap they’d go pretty fast. They aren’t really hard to find parts but they are things I’ve bought and sold before Second glance: Those grease cups for the brakes look decent as well, and a lot of those handles and echelons would be great for a driver that’s missing them.
After trying ebay, C/L, yard sales, etc. I have taken to setting stuff out in front of my house with a freebie sign. It's amazing what will get picked up. If I can't sell it or use it, I don't care where it goes.
Toughest part is letting go of it. I don't think I have as much as you do, but I got over a 100 years of "stuff" here...stuff my dad grabbed from his dad and I sorta ended up with everything. At it's nice to walk by and relive my childhood, but damned, at 57 YO it's time to give it away or trash it. I don't want to be that guy in a wheelchair pointing his cane at his grandkids telling them "move that there, move that over there". Sorry from rambling, but I feel ya Frank.
Oh..yeah..the Pay it Forward thread...I got rid of something a few weeks ago that I'd been tripping over for 20 years-to another Hamb'r...small steps
"I don't want to be that guy in a wheelchair pointing his cane at his grandkids telling them "move that there, move that over there"." Actually that sounds like it might be okay! A big issue I have with this old junk is that it is really well made. I try to decide what to junk and realize that even if reproductions are made of certain parts, they are inferior to this old stuff.
Man if I was any where near you id take it all. I love raw material in the form of early Ford chassis components. The best steel in the world.
My wife keeps asking when can we take stuff to a swap meet again. She doesn't realize that most guys aren't buying anything at the Sunday morning swaps anymore. They're content to spend five bucks to walk around with their cup of coffee while rubber necking. There are some prospective buyers but you never know when they'll show up. And most all sellers now have visions of making a killing on their "rare" parts. Fortunately, my pile of parts has pretty much been depleted, too bad I'm stuck with so much paper paraphernalia.
I got a big reality jolt a few weeks ago when I went to a good friends auction. He is over 80 years old, in declining health and decided to down size. This guy had collected everything you could think of, cars, parts, tractors, signs, toys, old speed equip., signs, magazines, tools, hubcaps, and on and on. Some items went for good money, most went for pennies on the dollar what they were worth or what he had paid for them. I came home with a truck load of stuff and had to go back for the rest. The dumb part is I am getting up towards 70 myself and have more junk than 6 people ought to have now but some things were going so cheap I could not stand there and not throw my hand up to bid. I do sell on eBay and here on the H.A.M.B. from time to time and set up at a couple swap meets a year. The money I bring in feeds my old car and other hobby interest so I guess as long as I am having fun and enjoying life I will keep on keeping on. I always tell people I am gathering up stuff so my wife can have a good estate auction when I kick off, my kids and grandkids are not amused they know they will probably have to deal with it all someday.
The Jalopy Journal
