Hot Rods Selling your stash of parts

Some entertaining comments....I have reduced my parts stash by a lot using the 'love it or list it', or in my case scrap it principles. 15-20 years ago, swap meets used to be fun and actually had used parts from private individuals. Now the shows are filled with vendors selling t-shirts, memorbilia, restored Coca Cola coolers etc. and families looking for an outing. Times are changing and there are fewer buyers for most stuff. I moved last year and needed to clear some stuff out. I offered some '49-50 Ford stuff I had for almost nothing or free. Some stuff was in excellent condition, i.e. nearly new brake parts since I coverted to disks, mint splash pans, steerting box., etc. I had lots of lookers on line, one phone call for a part I had not listed. Sadly, it went to scrap. I kept a small stash of rare and valuable parts for potential future projects and thats it. From the great hoarders I knew, once they passed on, their buddies sold the cars for the family, a professional parts flipper made a deal for the valuable stuff and the rest went into metal scrap bins to live a new life as a Chinese appliance.

 

I try to sell parts, but apparently my parts are trash. I even try to give them away, but no takers. Lemme know if anyone needs 49-54 Chevy passenger car rear springs, a 49-54 Chevy sedan delivery/station wagon gas tank, or original, working e-brake cables with no frayed wires. I got those for sale. Or even free if anyone needs them.


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I know this is off topic, but this phone thing has really gotten out of hand. Sure smart phones are handy, but there is a time and place. I see people at work on their phone, not working. People on their phone while driving. People at the bar on there phone instead of actually talking to there friends. For me car shows and swapmeets are a no phone zone. When I go to the bar, I go to conversate and drink. When I go to work I work. And if I need to list something for sale or look up a business or part I have a laptop at home. Facebook is a waste of time. Just stupid meems. Market place is great. If I need to get ahold of someone I give them a real phone call. In fact I will not sell to someone who will not call me on the part. I will not sell over text or email. I've been burned too many times. Do what ever you want. But for me there is no smart phone in my future. I'm going to interact with my surrounds, not an overpriced pile that might last 2 years and has to be charged every couple hours. Flip phones are only 80 bucks, last five years, and get charged one a week. Left more cash and time to buy more junk with.

 

Facebook Marketplace is easy to list on and no fees.
Done a fair amount of Craigslist but sometimes it doesn't get any interest because its local and its a little harder for people from other areas to ever find it. On Facebook you post a few pictures and the person searching can set an area limit to search........but if there isn't much or any results, Facebook will display an extended area below your area and that may make your item more salable. I've only listed one thing (which hasn't sold yet) but I found a bunch of things that weren't on Craigslist. Had to drive a ways to get some of them, but many were close by. I'm not one of the Facebook people who want to gossip all the time. I just got on a couple of specialty car sites and Facebook Marketplace. I really like the Marketplace.

 

If you watched the video the mystery hood sides are Chrysler Model 77. Bob

 

When I go to the Great Beyond to be with my Wife & Son
I have Cousins that Sell Old Stuff on ebay & other Places.
I will let them Have Fun, I gave them the Right to Sell everything
I own.

Just my 3.5 cents

Live Learn & Die a Fool

 

Too much stuff,it all seemed good to keep to me,selling an shipping is a PITA.
There is those things I forgot I had,tell looking for another and those I think I have,but are gone. You don't even need to be 77+ old like me for that !
I have now an then seen some one that needed one of my saved old parts,many times I just gave it to them/but I don't do it as much as in years passed.{ After I find out,they sold the part I gave away,thinking they needed it for there project.by what they told me/sorry that stuff is not cool]
Can't be much view of the value of keeping a part for,like 40 years an sell for $20< how much for storage? LOL.
OK,what I call PITA,may just be I'm too lazy to dig out stuff and deside on sell $,+box n ship,my time adds up to more then $ gained******=just keeps piling up,an do get to used some. But then there is wheeler dealers,the guys in the sell adds,with zero help or input any other spot on the HAMB or other sites. The $ they ask is some times fair,an other times shocking. If I need ,I look around a lot for best value,if it's a toss up,I'll buy from the guy that added help an input to other parts of HAMB then only forsale adds.

 

I just pulled out a 400 dollar part left over from a previous job from this 50 dollar a month storage unit. It will be used. That`s a savings of 350. Plus I`m in and out of this unit weekly. Then theirs the stuff in the garage and the basement. I know what I have and I can find it easily. People say I have to much stuff, But they are the ones who don`t do anything. So they don`t need stuff to finish a job at hand.

 

Wonder what that $50.00 storage unit would cost around here?

 

I've given away way more than what I've sold. If someone can put my parts to use...I let them. If they can't use them I ask they pass them on to someone else who may need them.

 

I have done that many times in the past as well.

 

One thing a lot of folks don't realise is the actual cost of a storage unit. It becomes a habit to just pay the monthly or yearly fee and hey...out of sight out of mind.
A buddy called one day and asked me to help rearrange his stuff in a rental unit. While moving his "treasure trove" around I did some quick calculations and determined he had about $6K worth of parts that he had been paying $1200 a year to store and he had been renting for over 10 years. Do the math.

 

I bought out a couple older gentleman's collections, and now I'd like to reduce my inventory. I'm only 33, but I don't need all this stuff. I'd like to sell a lot of it and focus on building a couple of the projects I have.

 

If I have one you can have it!

Pat

 

I loaded up the spares and unused parts hoard and headed to a 2 day swap meet. While unloading, all I could think was “I’ll have to haul all this stuff home again”. It was a long, hot weekend but I moved damn near everything and had a blast doing it. Folks got parts they needed and I got cash to buy more parts...

 

I think I only made money on a few parts I sold,the rest were sold after I got rid of the vehicle for what I could get out of them and if I could get 3/4 then I was doing good.

 

Well dig that sucker out

 

Actually years ago{ like 25 /30 I made a lot of money buying and selling parts. I use to do a lot of tri five and early mustang builds and there was always 5or 6 parts cars on a rotateing basis behind the shop. Before the internet, after market everything and Barrett/ Jackson . I would take doors, fenders and trunk lids , metal finish repair them without filler . prime them and sell them constantly to guys that could not do the work themselves, and some times take their rebuildable parts in trade and as long as I was covering my materials and shop labor { which back in the early 90's was 35.00 and not the 135.00 you need now to cover cost!} I was a happy camper. Now people tell me ,I can get it brand new on Amazon with free shipping!! I just shake my head and tell them to go for it and have fun! lol Larry

 

Hey 41,

Decades? Wow… Our stash of hot rod parts started gathering in 1956 and by 1960, 90% of the stuff was sold after our accident. My brother had told me that everything I could get out of the Willys Coupe should be under a canvas tarp in the backyard garage. He still had several months to go at the hospital, but wanted to see the stuff that I stored away. By the last month in the hospital, he had a change of heart and wanted me to list everything I took off of the Willys Coupe and stuff we had stashed in the corner of the backyard garage.

I made the list, looked at the Hot Rod Magazine/Drag News Ads and decided on a fair price. When my brother saw the list, he instantly made corrections on the prices. He said he wanted everything gone and my prices were not going to move them at all. The guys at Reath Automotive gave me a suggestion for the 671/6 Stromberg SBC motor and I went with their price. My brother also thought the price was right. $925 for a complete motor, ready to run with all of the speed equipment built in to it. No tear downs or parting out various parts. Complete was the only way it was going to leave.
Similar, but our SBC WAS 292 c.i.
We advertised it in the Drag News local/national paper. Within several weeks, the first item to go was the 671 SBC motor. Some anxious guy from the Midwest called, set up a money transfer and flew out to buy the motor. He sent it back via transport and was happy at the price. When he learned that we were a few ticks off of the national record for C/Gas, he was impressed. We never knew what he intended to do with that 671 SBC motor. It was the only thing that was shipped and we did not have to pay for it.

misprint: (It was a 292 C.I. SBC not a 283)
Jnaki

We did not have to ship anything as the local So Cal drag racers/hot rod builders came to our house. It must have been that we were located in the hot bed of So Cal drag racers and hot rodders. The next several weeks people were calling and streaming over to our Westside of Long Beach house to see the parts. Very little bartering went on as the prices were very low. (brother’s orders) My mom was totally upset at the two brothers and me, especially, for getting my brother hurt, “doing this dangerous thing…” But, my brother said it was no one’s fault and it was just something that happened. He knew that the faster our stuff was gone, the faster our mom would feel better that we no longer were doing that “dangerous thing.”

One thing in our favor and the mention of it during the sales: Our Willys C/Gas Coupe was built to the letter of the safety rules, were getting fast with the new build, and on the last several runs, was impressive with its power. It was the same set up, same power, but I believe it was my brother who was getting better at driving and reacting to the start sequence. It was just one of those unexplained happenings that has no answer or reason. Our lives did what our lives were supposed to do from this time onward.

 

I've been selling for over 50 years. In the last year it's become very difficult to sell , even at " offers? " listings.
Most of what I have left is not desirable , but in the past would have sold because it's " collectible"
Shipping has definitely affected selling in the past year. Add in the current pandemic , and it adds
up to , Why bother.
Costs me on a trip to the post office at some of the offers I've been getting.
If I'm still around next year , I'll give it another try?
Swap meets 20 years ago were very profitable , now if you can find one , they are a waste of time.
The times they are a changing , live in the present , not the past.
Stay healthy.

 

I could not have said it better! Nothing pisses me off more than trying to talk to someone or asking about a item at a swap meet and the person has his nose in the smart phone and ignores me. Last year at Carlisle I stood there holding up a part until the guy finally looked up and asked what I wanted. I told him the part wasn't marked , what was the price, he came back with "what's the very most you would give me for it" When I told him I couldn't sell it and buy it too he said"Well what the hell do you want me to do?" By then I was so irritated I told him to stick his smart phone in his ass, pack up his shit and go home so someone who wanted to sell old car parts could have his space. Yes, I am an asshole sometimes but I can only take so much before I have to speak up.

 

The difference between an antique and junk is whether someone besides you wants it too......and even an antique can wear out its welcome.
I never understood why someone would pay rent for long term storage when they could spend the same money and build their own storage. I knew a guy that built an airplane and he only had a small garage. He built an addition across the back of his house and used it for a workshop. When the airplane was done he had a nice family room. There is almost always a way to increase space.

 

Hello,

We never went to the local Long Beach Swap Meets when we had a stash of extra hot rod/car parts. We never wanted to sit around in the hot sun selling parts. We would go to the big swap meets, but that got old fast. We would rather find what we needed and just go out and buy the thing. Not everything has to be a deal. Locally, most of the parts we needed could be supplied from the manufacturers or speed shops located with miles of our Westside Long Beach house. If not, then the greater So Cal area had the largest supply of dealers and wholesalers listed back then.

Our last foray into the swap meet selling was when we visited my brother and his family in Santa Barbara. He had a big supply of left over car parts, we had some tools, skateboard parts and just plain old stuff laying around. So, it was all gathered up and a family get together was planned for a weekend in the Summer.

The best swap meet in the Santa Barbara area was at the old Goleta Drive-In Theater grounds, a mile or so from the entrance to the UCSB university campus. They had a ton of old car parts, some new stuff and usually, it was “clear out your garage and come to sell…” scenario. The goodies were a lot better than anywhere else we had seen in So Cal.

Our supply of tools and old stuff sold out in a couple of hours. The prices were low and then when some person was really interested, the offer given back, was lower than what he wanted if he would buy something else. That tactic cleaned out our all day supply and we were free to roam around the swap meet to buy something with a new found pocket of cash. An original oak plank Sims Skateboard, Tracker Trucks and Sims street wheels still in wrappers from an old shop in town. That was the start of our own scooter business a few months later. (HAMB story)

Jnaki

Swap meets are full of people wanting the best they can get with the idea of paying next to nothing. That attitude goes so far. Being a seller of items that can almost be given away, gives the attitude that we don’t need to take anything back home. So, my brother ended up giving away a transmission, and some heads at the day’s ending rounds. The day ended prior to lunch as we sold out fast and so did the majority of my brother’s stuff. He had this notion that he could hold out for the transmission and the old heads, but by lunch time, a guy made an offer and we were all done.

If you think about it, those old parts came off of an old car that had something replaced or fixed. So, any amount is a profit. Why hold out so long that you have to lug the items back home again, cluttering up your garage. His wife had something to say about it, too. She said… “Just get rid of the damn things… let’s go to lunch.” Easier than shipping, unless someone wants to pay for total shipping costs. YRMV

 

I sell at Hershey only now, If a buyer askes the price on something and has a smart phone in his hand the price is doubled. If he had a grand to spend on his plastic friend I'm getting as much as I can. Bob

 

I don’t understand this way of thinking...I don’t give a rats ass what or how much money the buyer has, if I’m happy with what it sells for then I’m happy.


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some funny stuff on here - some sad - keep the stories coming

 

My storage units are tax deductible cause I`m self employed. Plus I have a 20 dollar flip phone so I can afford to spend money on storage units for crap I actually use.

 

Before y'all start scrapping those 32 grills, I sure could use one!

 

I go back and forth, somedays I go out and clean house offering things reasonable to those that NEED it, sometimes giving things away to my friends, other days my inner collector takes over and I buy.
I hate flippers that low ball the shit out of you so they can make a bigger profit for themselves so I'll trip over a part before letting one of those unethical assholes buy something. I buy/sale on Facebook marketplace often, most of the time it eliminates shipping so that's a plus and it goes very quickly with the huge audience it has.
I don't have much luck with craigslist at all anymore, if I do have a specialty piece I'll list it on a specific online car group and deal with the shipping, which I always do at actual cost.
Do I have to much stuff, sure, do I want my kids to be burdened with it, no, do I enjoy looking at all my cool 60's speed equipment, you bet your ass I do.