Back in 79 I stopped and looked at a 55 Chevy 2 door sedan that had 73 tags and this 100 year old guy came to the door and said it was his wifes car(probably died in 73),he also had a 55 to 57 chevy p/u he said had a automatic trans but would not sell it too. Came by there a few weeks later and it was a empty lot with no vehicles and no traces of the house or barns,I hope the family done something with the vehicles but probably went to the scrap yard. The same year I stopped by another 100 year old guys house to ask about a 53 to 55 f100 which I was told it had holes in the floor and I could not fix it,he would not sell anything as there were other trucks there too and the next time I went by there all the trucks were gone along with the shack he was living in and someone was finishing the nice house that looked like was started to be built in the 50s and never completed.
I've only had 1 instance so far where the guy actually did something with a vehicle I looked at. I drove by his house about 6 months after trying to buy it (a '62 VW single cab truck), and found it sitting in the driveway with new tires and current tags (after sitting for about 20 years). I'm going to look at another old VW in a few weeks, and I'm hoping the old guy will budge.
There was an old lady only a few blocks from me that I mowed her yard when I was a kid. She had a 1948 Ford woody wagon in her garage. She was always dirt poor, but the car was her dad's and she would tell everyone she wasn't selling it because it was her dad's. Tons of years went past until about 2006. I assumed the car was long gone because I couldn't see it any more in her crazy cat lady hoarder garage. She called my Mother and asked her if I could haul her fathers old 1970's station wagon off for scrap iron. She needed money badly to repair the rotted house. I went by thinking I was pulling out a 75 Dodge or something. I unearthed a nice unrestored 1948 Ford woody instead. She was wanting to have it hauled to the junkers. She said some guy had offered he a $1000 for it ten years before and she should have taken it. I put the car on Ebay and she sold it to someone in Kansas for either $26,000 or $36,000-- I can't remember because I didn't get any of it! She sold that pig stall of a house and moved out that month to a decent home. Have any of you seen a 48 Ford Woody that was bought on Ebay and went to Kansas? I wonder what it looks like now. The guy had a pretty nice inclosed trailer and seemed to be the right guy for the job.
There is a fella North of here with around 100 old cars from the 60's back. He has plans for each of them, and they are all worth a MINT, even with all the trees and mice.
This thread is funny because I have six HAMB-friendly cars I have to move from the old place to the new one, and would be more than happy to sell them to a car guy and not a scrapper, but it looks like only the scrapper is willing to buy right now.
I've probably posted here before. my take is I have a car in the back corner of my shop. it's been there for 19+ years and it's not For Sale I'm going to finish it some day. it's mine and really it's my decision not yours whether it should be sold.
A man had a 31 ford coup built a garage.Put the coup in it ,the car was runing.gave the car to his grandson.The grandaddy died car same place garge rotted down car still on blocks nothing left. Not for sale.No car left fenders doors top all rodded off
Around here many yards have old junkers in the backyard. And they're all nondescript crap with no value, even if they were fixed up. And $100 a ton as is. But...they're gonna fix them up one day. The dream is what they want, not the reality. The Bullitt mustang is the same way. The guy who bought it from the studio wouldn't sell it to McQueen, and it's still rotting away today.
LOL This thread is the old hoarders Verses the young snot noses who cant find good project cars! (I am a snot nose BTW ) I have been trying to buy a decent project car for about 2 years now. All I ever find is almost too far gone. Some have become that way in just the last few years. I understand the "MINE, MINE, MINE." attitude I have had grade schoolers But come on. I need Just one! I want my grand kids to see the cars from the 20's - 60's when they are adults. Not gonna happen, when so many future projects are turning to dirt in Hoarders yards. The ones that are done will all be in "private" collections. But it has always been this way, and always will be. Private property is private property. Even though you KNOW 90% of these hoarders stash will NEVER be on the road again. They still can say "I have one of those" When they die, (and they ALL WILL) some one else will destroy the cars, or live it up on the money they get for them! I always tell my wife and kids, I aint dieing to leave anyone rich. (both kids are grown) You want it, earn it yourself. I am spending my extra money on ME!
It depends how bad the hoarder is. Then it's a blessing. If you can be patient and persistent there is gonna be a relative who would be happy to get rid of all the "junk" when their crazy car collecting uncle kicks the bucket Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
Sometimes life gets in the way of old cars and they lose. I've had lots of old cars in my life but since I was 20 there haven'y been many years I haven't had at least one around me. Sometimes they were drivers, more often projects or dream cars, and at one time I had seven of them around the house. All of them eventually got sold and I have scrapped just a few. But everytime I wanted to I could get out in the yard or garage and play with an old car. Right now I have a wonderful old T bucket in a pile in the garage, enough parts to build another along with it. I have the 57 for sale in the driveway and the 28-29 Tudor up in the country under a shed. I have 3 kids and would be ahppy to be able to leave each of them a car when I'm gone. I've decided lately to give them to the kids as(or if) I finish them so they can have some enjoyment from them and I can enjoy watching them and their kids enjoy them. Sure, I'm gonna fix them up someday.
I go along with that. If its mine and not for sale its my business. If you want the car than talk money,dont look for a buy or a steal, talk cash. If I hadn't saved it it would be a Honda by now. There is a lot more out there find another. Stop whining about what another man owns.
funny thread, i have a few old cars and trucks that sit out back of the garage,that are for parts only,had a guy call me to see if they were for sale, i asked him how did he know i had them , he kind of stuttered and was beating around the bush and said he saw them recently, kinda strange cos you cant see them from the road unless your snooping around out back, he never did show up
Funny thread. Back in the late 80's out in Tracy California, there was a 57 2dr Chevy hardtop sitting in a field right next to highway 580. I kept thinking that I needed to stop by and ask if it was for sale. Well one day I noticed a large sign (4'x8') prop'd up against the car with the words "Not For Sale" written on it. I guess it was not for sale. A few years later it was gone.
A lot of us seem to have experience with this issue and of course your particular view is relative to which side of the fence your on. I had an old guy get extemely irrate with me years ago, shortly after I moved to Texas. He had a 51 f1 sitting by his barn in Carrolton, alongside a couple of tractors and a schoolbus. The grass had grown up all around them and they had obviously been there awhile. I passed it several times and each time I got stronger and stronger vibes from the pickup. It was calling out to me. So I finally decided to stop and make an inquiry. The guy who answered the door looked to be in his seventies, had a robe on and was hooked up to an oxygen bottle. He said "yeah what do you want ? " I responded very politely, "yes sir, I was wondering if maybe youd be interested in selling... (and I turned and pointed in the direction of the pickup). In mid sentence I felt something poke me in the chest and turned to find it was his cane. "Hell no they aint fer sale !", he said as he as he proceeded to push me backward off his porch. I was a little shocked but still kept my composure and decided maybe he was hard selling me. So I said "are you sure sir, I really would love to get that pick up running and put her back on the road." He stared at me for a moment and I thought he was contemplating, then he said..."where the hell are you from boy ?' I knew then I was in trouble. After a second I said "well...I just moved here from New York." "NEW YORK !" he yelled, "Git the hell off my property !" and he started swinging at me with his cane. At that point his wife appeared and grabbed hold of him. She wanted to know what was going on so I explained and she was pretty sweet and apologised for his behavior and then told me he had been getting asked about the truck alot. He chimed in and said he planned to fix her up himself and for me to get outta there. So anyway I turned to leave and the old lady came out and shut the door behind her and told me not to mind him much, he was just in a bad mood that day. So I left. Anyhow I had noticed a bottle of Wild Turkey sitting on a shelf there in the kitchen and a couple of weeks later went back with a fifth and set it on the porch, knocked on the door and then ran several feet out into the yard. He looked out, opened the door, grabbed the bottle, gave me a rotten look and slammed the door. I waited in disbelief for about 5 minutes then headed back to the car. Just as I was getting in and he yelled out at me and motioned for me to come in. I ended up buying it from him later that day. Anyhow, heres a toon I did awhile back thats inspiration came from that experience, however I changed the cars to make it a little more interesting.
Truckjunky here on the hamb has a sign on the trunk of his 55 Chevy gasser that reads "it's not for sale I'm going to fix it up some day" . I get a chuckle every time I see it.
Couple come to mind, " I just like to look at it" or my favorite on a huge collection of some very rare cars I have been trying to buy for years "if I was to sell em to ya, then ya might not come back and visit me any more" So there they sit, rotting into the ground....
next time I have a car to sell I'm going to park it in a field or next to a barn then people will come running to buy it. guess nobody looks for cars in the for sale ads anymore
Ha! I can remember when you had an entire quanset hut full of old cars! I about shit when you sold them off including your prized plymouth 2 door hardtop wagon. I guess sometimes stashes of old cars really do get sold..
I missed 2 great buys on a LTD big block /4speed and a 65 galaxie.Lady priced BOTH for $200.00 i said i get them next day.Next day there gone,she wouldnt talk to me on phone or come to door and the guy next door told me she sold them for $250.00.I would have paid $500.00. SO if you find it and price it ,you better get er then...........YG
The wagon may finally get moved to my garage and may finally get a different name on the title. Bloody hell, the pigs must be getting their wings ready.
"I'm a Goin to Fix it up someday" Yea, but really I am. Soon as the last kid gets a job and leaves the nest. Soon as the Income Tax check comes. Soon as I get momma a new washin machine, Soon as I git the other two cars finished. Soon as this bum leg gits better. Soon as I finish remodelin the house. Soon! And I mean it this time! Sent via Dinkleberry on a wall phone.
"I'm a Goin to Fix it up someday" Gee, that phrase comes out of me when my wife wants me to sell a few of my beaters...
Like a lot of us, these cars remind them of better days in their lives or just a time when things were a bit easier to grasp. That being said, I can't comprehend letting history just rot away and denying it to future generations or to us guys in the present who can, and enjoy working on these cars our grandfathers or fathers built. How many guys my age will have some Honda rotting in the yard telling kids someday I'll get to it. Not many, that's why I keep pestering those fools who let greatness rot.
Any time I stop to ask and get the "I'm gonna..." line I tell the owner no problem,I understand then hand them a business card and say if they need any parts just call me.Couple times a year I get a phone call to come pick up a vehicle that were not for sale before.
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