Is this the worst sentence you have ever heard when trying to buy and or save a nice ride ? Come on lets hear some.
Lawman, I agree, the worst is when its just rotting away, totally unprotected from the elements, and garbage pilled all over it and inside of it. And they are gonna fix it up someday, right...................
Sometimes Karma happens. Middle age Farmer who had been to a few car shows told me he was going to fix up an old 34 Ford truck someday. I stopped and asked about it a couple of times. Nope, gonna fix it someday. Showed him a parts list of what it would cost to rebuild his old truck into the car hauler he had seen. One day I got a call from the bank asking if I'd be interested in cleaning up some old wrecked cars on a property they were going to repo. Farmer Brown was there when I loaded his gonna fix it someday project. Neither of us said a word. Truck did finally get restored.
lol, on the flip side of this, how many guys here have a hoard of tin they are gonna fix up some day, but have 20 projects already cookin?
What if you really are goingto fix it up smoeday ? Ive got some cars waiting in the wings for thier turn at a new life. Ive told people the same thingbut I mean it..at least for now I do!
Theres a 35 ford I been trying to buy for a couple of years now. The old man that owned it died. Some of his kids say they would sell to me, some say they wont. Getting 6 people to decide to sell is aggrevating. I have been told I will get first chance though. I check in about every couple months. I WONT GIVE UP!
When I was a junior in high school some 41 years ago I asked to buy a 39 Ford that was sitting behind a building across from the school. I got the "My son is going to fix it up some day" response. Last time I looked a few years ago that car was still sitting there rotting away.
I have one like that. It's in the garage now actually. But the car in my avatar got recovered after it was stolen so work on the car in the garage has stopped. I will finish it tho, I promise
This sometimes leads to the inflated selling price when they finally decide that they'll never do anything with it. I was recently made aware of a '34 Ford body that comes with numerous extras, but a huge selling price. Really? If it's worth so much, then why is it sitting outside the pole barn?
Yes...would much prefer hearing, "Sure, just take the thing." lol Really can't hold it against 'em though. It's a dream for them just like many of us. And ya never know what kind of history they've had with the vehicle. Some of these cars were the old guy's deceased wife's or son's or daughter's. True, a lot aren't, and some will just turn to dirt, waiting to be restored, but we have to respect their decision. Edit: Though I will share this...My aunt had a '57 Chevy 2-door sedan sitting on the farm for years when I was a kid. I asked her a few times about it, and always got, "No, your uncle Danny's gonna fix it up when he gets back from Vietnam." Danny came home, and never did anything with it. A few years later, I drove out there, and the car was gone. My aunt said, "Oh, I sold it to a man for $300. I had a tough time "respecting" her decision. AAAARRRGGGHH.
On the other side of the coin...... I have a 46 Chev p-up that I lost motivavtion to build, so decided to sell. I get a prospective buyer, very interested, and my price is super cheap....I know he won't find one for less. I don't hear back from him. Then 4 or 5 months pass and he emails me that he wants to buy it now. By this time I have decided NOT to sell it, I will build it myself. He should have bought it when he had the chance!!! Am I an a-hole for doing that? Are you one of those buyers who hum-haw around, want to haggle, think you can just wait a while and then buy it for less?
63 grand prix in old ladies back yard across the street from (now ex) Sister in laws house. Been there for ever. I go talk to her about it, tells me she bought it brand new when she retired. Willing to sell but had a broken frame, turned out old lead.foot grandma broke the rear trailing arms and new ones were in the trunk. House looked like an episode of hoarders and she couldn't find the title. Left her my number in 3" tall numbers and also told her where my sister in law lived. About a week later sis in law calls ex-wife at work and says " oh guess you Have a new addition to the family , tow truck is across the street hooking up his grand prix" I get home and get that story, well I went back to the old lady and her son helped find the title and They junked it because, ,,,Wait for it,,,, I didn't know what I was talking about and offered too much" 500 for a 63 gp. 8 lug rims, trial power 36,000 mile car. Perfect interior and the vacuum gauge.
It's the fourth great lie. 99% of them will never fix them up. The first three are: -I'll still respect you in the morning. -The check is in the mail. -I'm from the government and I'm here to help. There is a third alternate but I won't post it.
Not again......... Do a search. There's no point to this thread-who wouldn't cringe to hear this phrase??
I dont think I could have let that one slide...........a screaming match followed by a bit of arson seems like it would have at least been understood by the authorities if not condoned.
Let me tell you a story from real life The rumor is my father an i wont sell anything bla bla bla This guy shows upp and say hi i want to buy your 49 mercury coupe Okay i want ( whatever sum i said)realistic price... naaa.... he hageled a litle on the price and i said its a deal ehhh ooohh well im just going to sell my two stroke saab so i get the money beacuse im broke just now (The saab is a wortles pos. Hard time to get 100 dollars for it he still has it 10 years later sitting outside rotting) Okay you got a buyer for it? Nooo......but easy to sell that Okay come back when you got the money for the saab 2 years later a guy With MONEY shows upp i sell it to him The Saab guy still wander the face of eart with no money telling oooh i wanted to buy the mercury coupe but they wount sell anything just let it sit and rot and say they going to fix it up later Another fool told my dad he realy wanted a 36 Ford and if he found one for sale hi buy it on the spot. He said he know of one but the owner dont sell anything just let it sit and rot and his son is the same way ......Turns out hes talking about us with out knowing it My father say. But i got a 36 Ford for sale buy that ohh... realy.... yes i come by looking some day He never shows up .Dad se the guy with his wife in a store walks up to him and asks when he is coming to buy the 36 well ....eeehhh ....im.... ohhhh wife stares at my dad... There not going to be any junk cars in my home thats final And that guy still walks araound and tell people Ahhh i wanted to buy that 36 ford but he dont sell anything just let it sit and rot................................ Fools like that show up now and then 11 out of 10 dont have any money,wife dont let them, Want to trade in a rusted out Toyota beacuse its got so rare colour And all have the same story to tell...Tey dont sell anything just let it sit and.................................... And i suspect most of you who post in this threads about sit and rot is just that kind of fools
Look at it this way, which one is better? "I'm going to restore it some day" "Look at this cool rat rod I just built" after it's flat black with red wheels, covered with iron crosses, spider webs, and crap and built with shoddy engineering at best....
It can happen http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=358553&highlight=norm+monette+57+chevy...
Hell I say it mself. Of course it is usually true. Most of the time it is said with good intentions but you know what they say "the road to hell is paved with good intentions"
5 window, don't read it if it upsets you to see the thread pop up again... I know of a few guys who have numerous parts, many duplicates who aren't selling. LaSalle trannys, (3), columbia rearends, (4), flatheads, (lots), loads of axles, tin, etc. They are just as likely to use that stuff as the guy will restore the rusting hulk in his yard. With that said, I can see their reluctance to part with their stuff. I will just keep asking and perhaps one day I will get to score some of their prizes.
In my area of Brooklyn some people (like me) have a garage under their house. Due to the lack of space most people have their's fill to the top with crap. The owner of the house across the street is like that and though she rents the apartments in the building, she stores here stuff in the garage. FILLED with crap! One day I'm in front of her palce as she's moving some crap around and I see a round headlight sticking out. Then under a whinny the pooh doll and some boxes I see FORD. I ask her about it and she's not very interested in talking but it's a woody early 50s I think. Was her dad's who last drove it 30years ago when he parked it in there. Since he's died no one's look at it but she's not gonna sell. - it was her "dads" Even though it's covered in junk, it's all clean household junk. The garage is headed from the house boiler and I doubt there are any mice there. I have a feeling this car is in great shape. Too bad it's all but forgotten. I've lived there 15 years and only dicovered this thing last year. I hope when my Chevy is done she'll see my interest in these cars and allow me a closer peek...
I've got an older friend in his 80s that has buildings FULL of NICE 28-31 Model As,Model Ts, and numerous other old cars. We have been buds since the late 70s and I have never been able to buy even a nut or bolt from him. The story is always the same I'm going to fix it up some day.Well I still stop and visit,help open up doors on buildings that need some fresh air,pump up tires and just shoot the breeze a couple times a year when I'm in the area. Then it happened about a week ago I bought a set of artillery wheels I had been eying for the last 30 years and have plans to buy some cars and pickups soon. So its is possible that someday you could hear the words YEA ITS FOR SALE !!! Another older friend had a couple As sitting on his farm 7 miles down the road from me.Every time I would ask the story was always the same NO THERE NOT FOR SALE. So for 37 years I would stop two three times a year check on the As and shoot the shit and be on my way. Well last year I stopped and talked for awhile and just never brought up the A's as I had pretty much given up on owning them.So I'm getting ready to leave and and the old boy says you still want them old cars - I bet the look on my face was priceless. The next mourning I show up with truck-trailer and several thousand dollars in my pocket as he never did give me a price. We were putting our loading strategy together and I say to him I need to pay you first. The old boy looks at me and smiles and says you been coming around here asking about these cars for ever and you just keep coming back year after year. Then he say's the wife and I talked about it and we are going to give em to you.Who would have thought after 37 years of asking-hoping someday that I would get these cars-ONE WAS A 31 COUPE !!! So if you see something you really want KEEP ASKING you never know what might become of it.
My dad once said: "I would rather have and not use it, than not have it"! He was a collector of anything old with a piston(s). I grew up surrounded by old cars, trucks, motorcycles and engines. From this I can understand why some old guy would like to tell his cronies: " I have a '36 Ford coupe I've been fixing up, out in the barn". Truth is they may not have worked on it in 10-20 years, but they still get satisfaction out of owning it! My .02
Sometimes, if I'm in an "mood" I tell the guy.....that's O.K. I'll buy it at your "Estate Sale". Then I usually get the "look". But I have realized my limits...I'm good at one project at a time, and some guys can handle multiple projects that take years to build. It takes all kinds of people to make the world go round. I've had the pleasure to own some very cool stuff, so I can't complain too much. Gary
It hurts bad just to read that story. If you find something that cool that you have a shot at, you almost have to set a 24hr watch on it until the decision is made. Sometimes people who don't know what they have can be worse than people who know what they have and want too much.
The Jalopy Journal
