In the late 70's, my family went to my moms home town for a family reunion. Port Lavaca, TX. So, after we check into a motel, my mom decides to give the town a look see. She hadn't been home in a while. Well, we're driving down different streets and my dad stops the car. My dad liked working on cars, but never got to finish any. Well, parked on the lawn of a house was a '37 Chevy coupe. Surface rust and four flats. The people who owned it were all sitting on the front porch, watching thier 3 kids beating on the '37 with sticks and boards. My dad walks up and asks the man of the family if he'd consider selling it. My ears are just waiting to hear, "Yes". The man says, "Nope. The kids are playing with it." My dad and I just turned around, got in our car and we drove off. That was the last time my dad even spoke of getting a project car.
I hate that phrase...especially when you know it isnt true. But what can you do except leave and go find something else.
This is great. I am laughing my ass off. The man says, "Nope. The kids are playing with it." now that is country I don't care who you are.
55 Chevy 2 door that I pass twice a day. In a back yard, not even covered with a tarp. The owner told me a hundred people have ask me, but its not for sale. Im going to fix it up one day. That was 8 years ago and its still there. I even stopped by and ask if I got a tarp, would he cover it up? He said it was his car and if he wanted to let it rust to the ground, it was ok. The world is full of them, and he is at the top of the list!!!!!
1984. I had just run the first tank of gas through my new to me 71 Torino and found where "E" really was. I was walking down thwe street with my gas can and saw the rear of a 57 station wagon hanging out of a garage. He said "Not for sale", she said " How much will you give me for it"? I said "I have $200". After he left for the afternoon all upset I told her I could get AAA to tow it away. Original owner title, 1957 Country Sedan 4 door wagon. 56K original miles on a 312 that had blown a head gasket and was taken apart by Jr. on leave from the Navy. Never reassembled but all there on card board in the back. Class 3 towing hitch, with trailer brake, Factory A/C. I rebuilt the engine, all new brakes, basic odds and ends, Daughter was born. I totally plan on rebuilding the engine and redoing the brakes and not having another daughter.
Two doors down from me growing up was a OT 68' Superbee that sat for at least 20 years with every Mopar fan around stopping by on occasion to see if he would sell yet, always the same answer "NO, I'm giving it to my son when he's old enough!". Well he did eventually give it to his son after years of sitting in the weeds. Now his son (33 years old) is slowly restoring it but the years of sitting really did a number on the frame and quaters.
I didn't know a 68 Superbee had a frame. And if his son is working on the car, I'll bet you'd have a hard time convincing the guy he did the wrong thing.
I had been passing this 56' t-bird in this old guys driveway for about a year back in 85'. Sitting with a shade in the windshield to keep the interior from dry rotting. I stop to inquire about it and the guy says he's restoring it. I still drive by it and now all the tires are flat, the shade has rotted and fallen on the dash, bird shit has eaten through the paint to the metal and all those spots are now holes. Looks like it has been peppered with a shot gun. It's damn shame.
It had bumps bent into the floor boards. There was a '70 Merc Cyclone over in Wyandot County that set in the front yard of this old house from the early '80s that I know of, the body was pretty solid and it was an original FE car. It was missing half of the front suspension. Beautiful car if you like that sort of thing. I stopped and asked about it several times over the years, never any pressure just inquiry. Never for sale always going to fix it and drive it. I even left my phone number just in case and had coffee and cookies there more than once. About a year or so back a friend of mine is at the shredder in Wyandot county with a couple of old car bodies that he needed to dispose of. he knew about the car and my desire to lay my hands on it. He calls and says you will never guess what is in the line up here, the Cyclone. I guess they decided not to fix it after all. It happens, they are just old cars after all. I guess it bothers me when I don't finish one which has happened more than once in my lifetime. I just don't have the time to worry about someone else's car.
Found many of these. The two best ones are a 1970 Plymouth Superbird. Original car-Petty blue white interior. SOLID, stored inside. Has been going to fix up for the last 35 years. Won't sell. Took load of cash last time and still won't sell, but gonna fix it up. The other one is a 1970 Shelby GT-350, original owner moved close to me with car. Totally dissassembled it in his garage so know one would steal it. Thirty years later car still sits there. Won't sell. Gonna fixer up some day. Don't ya just hate that?
Theres a barn not 10 minutes from my house that has an A coupe sitting on deuce rails built in 1960. At first I didn't believe it existed untill one day I saw someone outside, so I stopped to ask about it. The owner was there, when I asked about it he said "It's in the barn, wanna see it?" There it sat, buried in stuff, stuff piled on all 4 sides of it + the roof. The story goes he had it built for him in 1960. Its a '31 coupe filled roof, on '32 rails, chopped '32 grill, '39 Zephyr front end. Originally had a 327 with 3-2bbls backed by a 4spd. Last tagged in '63, because the engine blew. When I asked if he'd sell it he quickly said "NO, I'm giving it to my son" Now the last time I spoke with his son he had talked about putting a twin turbo Mazda engine in it. Made me sick...
I'm not sure which is worse, I'm gonna fix it up someday or the new classic, Well you know there bringin 6digits on Barrett Jackson so I'll keep it for now and sell it in a a year or two.
It's sad, really. While that auction does have it's good side, the amount of people fooling themselves with those over-inflated prices is astounding. There's folks who actually believe that rusty 4dr Belvedere is almost as rare as a '68 Hemi Road Runner. It's crazy sad.
He did the wrong thing alright, the car was in great shape when parked and just parking it in a different spot with a tarp could have saved the kid a ton of work and money. Of course, if the Dad would have sold the car and invested the money wisely the kid could have bought 2 Superbees!!! That thing sat for years!!!!
OT truck but I talked to an old lady about a S10 pick-up that has sat idle for years in front of her house. I thought it would be a good work truck and save me some gas money. She explained that she would love to sell the old truck and that it had not been driven in years but it was her husbands pride and joy. I guess he was to sick to drive or even walk but she felt it made him happy to still own "that" truck. That S10 is worth more money than any 32' as long as it makes an old guy happy in his last years! Maybe that explains why so many are not willing to sell.
you guys are just jealous! I've had cars for 25+ years that are mine, bought and paid for. I've even cut some up for parts. I can build cheap cars by using parts laying around rusting. some of the free ones like a solid 55 chev or Cad ElDorado have alot of good metal. the 54 GMC I'm building has sheet metal from a 53 Chev coe and the roof came from a solid 55 Chev. Hey I might build them some day!!!
WTF....i don't give a damn , i said i was going to fix it up ......damnit. GET OFF MY GRASS ...YOU WANT TO DIE ???? B.B.
My uncle has been saying that for as long as I can remember regarding his 60 Wagon (See Sig). Swears up and down that he is going to restore/rod it. It sat untouched in storage for 35+ years until I moved it to my garage. Im claiming 9/10s on it. The only reason I bought the 65 was that I was tired of waiting for the 60 that he says will be mine some day. Well that and I couldnt beat the price of a dollar.
Recently a young guy stopped by my house and made a comment about the old sedan in the side yard and said a couple of years ago his friend had ask if the car was for sale and I had told him "I'm gonna fix it up someday." HRP Like a lot of other older guys,,the car belongs to us and most really do intend to fix it up someday,,unfortunately as time fly's we get older and eventually it will be for sale,,by a family member or an estate sale.
After many attempts to buy a 59 el camino, the owner told me had an offer to rent it for a movie...they wanted to take the wheels off and have it laying around!!!!!!!
I bought my TT frame off of a guy that was bugged for years about the Ts sitting in his yard. He'd constantly tell them "He was going to get to them eventually." I'm sure most didn't believe him. When I met him, he was already retired and pretty well halfway through restoring his collection. I think about that guy whenever this topic comes up. As for me, I haven't been asked to sell anything (benefit of out-of-sight and orderly storage) but since I'm stalled and not working on anything I've been saying it to myself. However, like the man I got the TT frame from, once I return to 40 hour weeks and a finished remodel I will be digging in. Actually, I am really eager to do so but it may not be for another six months. If I put the same effort into hot rods that I've put into work and our home remodel all the projects will get done. I'm fairly certain it'll happen (it's another way to say I'm going to fix it up someday).
Sometimes it does change from i am going to fix it up someday to i am ready to sell. I have an uncle that bought his '66 GTO in 1972 and drove it until 1975 and parked it in 1975.I started asking him at every family function about selling it to me about 1990 and he would always tell me i am going to fix it up. Last summer I drove my freshly done '63 nova to the family july 4th picnic.He walked around the nova for about a hour so i walked over to him and said "you know i could make the gto look like this.Are you ready to sell yet?" His answer was "you do really nice work.I am thinking maybe." So I am figuring well, probably another 2 years and he will be ready.Imagine my suprise in Oct when he calls me at work and says i am ready to sell do you want it? I went up to his place that weekend and hauled it back had it running that afternoon.I asked him what changed his mind about selling it and he just said he walked by it one day and thought i am never going to get to this and it's time to let it go.So I asked about the old coke machine in the corner he said not yet but soon.
short version. drove past a 52 caddy in a field in iowa near the iowa state campus off a main road for a couple of months and EVERYONE said it couldn't be bought and that it had been there for 30 years. I finally stopped by one cold autumn afternnon (in a t shirt). was greeted at the door by an indignat woman who said "you're here about that stupid car aren't you--we'll it's not ours and it's not for sale." After some prodding I convinced her to at least call the owner (she woulnd't give me his name). She left me freezing on the porch for about 15 minutes then return slackjawed. She said "he sold that peice of land yesterday and the car has to be gone by the end of the month. Here's where you can find him..." Drove the 1/4 mile to meet the guy chatted a bit and threw out what I thought was an absurd offer since all I really wanted was the hubcaps and air cleaner. Needless to say I bought the car. sometimes it's just about being in the right place at the right time
Still there is a very old house back in the hills that, way back about 30 years ago, a couple of friends and I approached because the whole back yard was FILLED with 20s-30s coupes. A lot of them. A friend really wanted a model A 5-window that was sitting there, but no sooner did we step out of our car when an old codger came out of the house pointing a shotgun at our face before we could even say hello. We immediately offered good money - he offered to blow our heads off and stated the classic line 'Ima gonta fix em up' (The dude looked like he was already 120 - not sure when he intended to get around to it, but he sure as hell looked like he could have used the money). I think he died not more than a couple of years later, as I happened to be driving by and noticed a bulldozer cleaning up the place by pushing all those coupes up into a big mangled pile where they still sit to this day. I occasionally drive by there and can still see the big dirt pile with twisted fenders poking out.
Ive owned a car now for over 15 years that Ive hardly touched..drove it a few times, and parked it in my shop..oh its going to stay..and I am going to work on it..Ive had other projects to work on and other prioraties.. I guess its all in how its treated with me, at least my shit isnt sitting out pissing anyone off.., that it isnt theirs! hahahahaha.."The kids are playing with it" .. classic
Used to be a '55 Chevy 2dr hardtop sitting behind an old house (Hwy 78 near Lithia Springs, GA). Been there so long it had sunk down to almost the rockers. Local car guys said the old woman who owned it was pretty seriously crazy and wouldn't talk to anybody. Stopped by one afternoon to see the if shit was for real or not. The aforementioned crazy old lady about tore the screen door off coming after me with a broom, yelling something about I wasn't taking her car away. Guess she was serious about not wanting to sell. Few years later I noticed the car was gone, and a week or two later the house was too.
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