Projects How long do you hold onto parts before you finally decide it's time?

Whenever I have ever got rid of anything, I need it a few days later.

 

Riiiight, I said the very same thing 3 Model A's ago.....Somehow, a '29 roadster project just mysteriously appeared overnight in my nice cleaned out shop......Gonna be my last car.....

 

My stuff hangs on my wall or lays around somewhere in my stuff until I hear that someone needs it. THEN I get rid of it. I pretty much have enough parts for my two rides, I just save stuff for others. That in itself is a hindrance, but I remember when I was looking for parts for my '31 Dodges and hardly ever found anything for them.

 

The other day I dropped off a brand new kitchen sink I wasn't going to use at the Habitat for Humanity "Restore" store. They somehow got it onto the sales floor and sold while I was still in the store, for more than I paid for it. The place was packed with shoppers.

It made me wish there was a similar place for old car parts, you know the stuff that "someone" could probably use, but to you isn't worth the hassle of advertising or hauling to a swap meet, or that someones kids would otherwise just toss after dad kicked the bucket.

 

If you're not using it, could you send me that cab, to the Boston MA area? Could use it as a spare for my '46 Dodge COE.

 

As a general rule, I'll hang on to stuff until I am sick of tripping over it and/or moving it! That's usually 1 month before I need it!!

 

Funny....kinda waited some 35 years to finally get the stuff - dated Beth the girl right next door starting in Jr. High about 1970.... been at my place maybe 7 or 8 yrs now after the estate sale....looking to move them on to be used on another guys project that's in motion for the drags next year.........have lots of silly stuff like that but I know I need to start moving em'........

 

...but they told me that when I die, it all goes with me!

 

No, he who dies with the most toys still dies.

 

nearing age 68, I've been bummed out since spring, wishing there would be a way to get rid of tons of stuff and a few hopeless project cars. I had no idea where to start, or how. I want to move at some point, and could not if I was stuck with all of this.

A month ago, my son ran a few vague ads on Marketplace, and each time somebody came to buy something from me or my son, they wanted to tour the whole property and all of the outbuildings. Some paranoid people here would never allow that, but each person said "I have a friend who would buy that other thing if you want to sell". It snowballed beyond belief. Another huge load left today. Local people found out that I now would rent that indoor space as storage for project cars. I now have room for 5 rental spots, and 3 are already rented.

Why waste indoor space on stuff I or my son would never get to and were never going to gain in value, especially if you gain a few bucks extra per month for each rental space.

 

Never seen a Uhaul behind a hearse......

 

I still have the272 and the Ford-a-Matic I took out of the 55 Ford I put a 430 Mel in back in about 1964/5. I have always collected cars and trucks and tractors and parts and stuff associated with anything mechanical. I have four barns full, my shop on the ranch is packed as is my shop at my house , just like my two car attached garage. Plus about 75 “ things” parked out side. Have started selling some things that I know I will never get to. But I’m keeping most of it and my son says he’s going to fix some of it up....... but like they say about that apple........lol









Bones

 

All of my projects that I've actually managed to finish have been of the OT late 60s variety. The early 40s projects got aborted due to,well, grown up life type stuff. I've parted many a vehicle that today would be considered viable builders. I feel as if my luck and timing is the same as others though. Whether I have parts that seem to be a dime a dozen or oddball parts I've held on to both myself and seemingly nobody else needs them. Within hours of getting rid of the item somebody calls me and wants it. Out of the blue,newspaper ad expired months ago parts were used as a wheelchock or bondo stirrer. I think that the mindset that makes a person build something from a rusty bullet ridden shell also instills the hoarder mentality. You just never know when you or somebody like you is going to need that 1 part. And you've learned from experience if you let it go it could have gone to use elsewhere. Recognize the finite availability of parts but hate to let anything go but the reality of finite space to store parts kicks in. At least for me.

 

Two years ago in the Fall I had a series of garage sales so I could clean out my garage in order to insulate, sheet & heat it.
I'm hip deep in my latest project & the parts keep piling up.
My nice clean orderly garage is a mess.
Old habits die hard!

 

Never needed any of it...UNTIL I got rid of it!

 

Everything I own has a price. The more I like it, the higher the price. That's all.

 

Gotta lot of stuff been collecting in shop and sheds for 60 years . Wife says I must get rid of all my stuff !

 

If you do decide it's time, contact me

 

I've been collecting parts and pieces for years. Over the years, I, or someone else has been able to make use of a lot of the stuff I've collected. A few years ago it seemed that I never had what I needed anymore, not for me or anyone else. I went out and bought some more stuff, parts cars mostly, and ended up with more stuff that ended up being useful. I've been working on the '50 Ford I just bought and the last couple of weeks I have found a lot of stuff that will help get it the way I want it.

I'm not getting rid of my parts stash anytime soon.

 

Hello,

The aftermath of our Willys story was a mixture of sadness and relief. It was sad that it took from late 1959, as our first real hot rod/drag race build, to get torn apart, run well, then be taken apart again almost a year later in little pieces. Relief in that my brother, as bad as it looked the day after, took over another year to get rolling back into shape during recovery, to get active again. It was a long, hard, recovery road and it probably continued on until much later in Santa Barbara as an older adult/family man.


How does a bad accident turn into relief? We were all on pins and needles when visiting my brother in the hospital. The topic of conversation for us was always stay away from drag racing information until asked. But no mention of the remnants of the Willys, until asked, too. We were happy to talk about rebuilding another hot rod for the street/drags as he knew we needed another car. I was already driving legally, but did not have a car of my own. So, we talked about another drag racing car that could possibly be turned into a daily driver and local cruiser.


Ideas like a street legal altered coupe, with no front bumpers and straight headers coming out of the side instead of going through the mufflers. For daily driving, 4 in one headers would be replacing the open headers for street driving, etc. (since the mufflers would already be mounted and ready for the exchange.)

There was even mention of another gas coupe, this time with all of the stuff we had on order and had to cancel. The car? The Model A coupe he originally wanted to build, when we dragged the stock Model A out of a field in our neighborhood. I am sure that has always stuck in his mind. But, the rest of the drag racing stuff we did together, put that notion to the back burner.

Jnaki



Then finally one day, my brother surprised me by saying … “sell all of the stuff in the rumpus room, except for the hydraulic jack, tools, welder, and stands.” Wow, that was a surprise. He instructed me to go back and make a list of stuff that was sitting under a canvas tarp out of sight of our mom. By the Spring of 1961, it was all gone and cleaned out to make room for another project, what ever that would be for the two brothers. (surfing and desert motorcycle racing?)

I had already started a small surfboard repair/shaping/glassing shop. It included accessories, using part of our business license from drag racing. $2.00 per hour = $17.36 in today’s minimum wage battles. The customers buy the parts and materials. I had already fixed my brother's surfboard and did several others as well. It was a new direction...

So, the rumpus room had to make room for all of our new adventures:

Excuse the typing errors made by the Drag News AD lady.

 

it's ALL for sale!

 

I took the "pay it forward" Route. Last April (2019), I gave 95% of my stash to a local high school senior who is building a steel T roadster. I told him, no strings attached "you can trade any/all for stuff you need". It felt very rewarding. I am at an age whereas I have decided not to pursue anymore ground up builds.​

 

At The Age Of 71 I Decided To Sell Stuff To Finance My Last Car Knowing That Our Heirs Would Not Know The Value And Grampa Gets To Drive Their Inheritance...So I Did..

 

Lou-nice ElCamino! I have lots of 40 stuff and if I don't find another soon I'll be getting rid of it. At 77 kinda slowing down.

 

Big house, big car, back seat, full bar.
Houseboat won't float. Bank won't tote the note.
Too much stuff. There's just too much stuff.
It'll hang you up dealing with too much stuff.

Hangin' out on the couch puttin' on the pounds.
Better walk, run, jump, swim. Try to hold it down.
You're eatin' too much stuff, too much stuff.
It'll wear you down, carrying around too much stuff.

Hundred dollar cab ride, fogged in, can't fly.
Greyhound, Amtrak, oughta bought a Cadillac.
Too much stuff. Too much stuff.
It'll slow you down, fooling with too much stuff.

Well, it's way too much.
You're never gonna get enough.
You can pile it high
but you'll never be satisfied.

yup. Nice ElCo

 

I have a major purge about every 10 years. It gets so crowded I can't get anything done except for "stuff management". When I quit driving my old cars because it takes a half hour to dig it out of the shop, I'm done! A load of stuff fills up my 28' trailer and goes to the swap meet and comes home empty, I don't care how cheap I have to sell stuff.
Then about every 5 years I have a small purge by running ads to get rid of stuff.

 

Not that I refuse to get rid of anything, I just hate dealing with buyers and the whole selling process in general. So I guess the answer is I hold onto everything forever.

 

I was tallying up stuff I had that I probably won't ever do anything with the other day including a couple of what are no doubt interesting engines and a stack of parts that I bought for projects that are long gone or I changed my mind mid build.
My trailer may have a load on it for the local swap meets this year to as others said raise some money for the actual project and clear out space. It's just time to clean out and sort out.

 

I buy lots of stuff that I figure I'll never use myself, but it's such a score that I can make a killing. However I never try to sell anything, because it's such a hassle advertising, dealing with prospective buyers, shipping, etc.

I keep everything until there's so many newer acquisitions piled in front of it, I can no longer access it. Then it's too late.