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another barn find..."not worth the effort"

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by hillbilly4008, Sep 22, 2010.

  1. bryan6902
    Joined: May 5, 2008
    Posts: 1,137

    bryan6902
    Member

    If you really want it, keep trying or ask his wife, if he has one. Maybe putting a bug in her ear will get her riding his ass about it. Nothing worse than the wife taking someone else's side on something like this.

    I tried to buy a 56 or 57 big window Chevy pickup from a guy that I had noticed sitting for years. Knocked on the door and a 400lb guy with an o2 tank answers the door. Says it's not for sale, they're going to fix it up. Yup, its gone, scrapped, crushed whatever, some people just don't know when to let things go or need time to understand that they will never get around to "fixing it up".
     
  2. Truckedup
    Joined: Jul 25, 2006
    Posts: 4,661

    Truckedup
    Member

    This is a photo of a 56 ish Chevy PU that's been sitting in the same spot for at least 20 years.It might be moved back and forth but I pass it often and never see it move.It's in plain site on main road on the outskirts of a nice western NY suburb.How many guys do you think have stopped to ask about it ? Oh yeah,the late model Chevy to the right has weeds growing up all around it,be the truck for future generations.
    And to tie in with the junk car post here,this town only allows one vehicle in plain sight without a current NY registration.There are three in the photo and no one seems to care.
    [​IMG]
     
  3. johnboy13
    Joined: May 1, 2007
    Posts: 1,072

    johnboy13
    Member

    You must look at things differently than I. I'm too busy to be wasting time on some schmuck, that I don't even know, that can't take no for an answer. There's nothing I hate more than having to climb out from whatever I'm working on, wipe my hands off, and walk out to see what some stranger that's walking up my driveway wants. The OP should have just left his number and said call me if you ever change your mind.


    You get my wife against me, you'll be the last person on earth I'd sell to. When you were a kid and your dad told you no to something and then you went and asked your mom, how pissed off did your dad get? To the OP, DO NOT ASK HIS WIFE! BAD IDEA!
     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2010
  4. oldcarkook
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 60

    oldcarkook
    Member
    from Bahstin

    One of our oldGMCtrucks.com forum members just scored this 1928 GMC T11 beauty in a Bay area basement garage.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    40 years sitting in the same spot in San Francisco and one day on Craig's List was all it needed to see daylight again.
     
  5. When I was 15 in 1975 I ask a farmer about a 31 Ford tudor,he showed me the car but he wasn't ready to sell.Every year faithfully I would stop and talk to the old farmer about the old Ford and shot the shit for awhile. This past summer I thought I would stop one more time and after 35 years of trying to buy the old Ford I was thinking it would NEVER happen. We stood around and talked for 20 min and he said to me when I was getting ready to leave why don't you come out tomorrow and get the Ford-I just about fell over backwards. I said how much money should I bring with me tomorrow and the old boy looked at me and smiled and said you have been asking along time so I'm just going to give it to you.So the next day out to the farm I go and WOW was it worth waiting for-he gave me the 31 Ford tudor and a 41 Ford tudor with a columbia 2 speed rearend that I did not know he had in the barn and a 50 Ford moredoor that was in an old garage. SO KEEP TRYING you just don't know how its going to turn out.Next summer I am going through all the buildings and the tree grove to do a clean up for him.
     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2010
  6. Damn.
     
  7. Von Rigg Fink
    Joined: Jun 11, 2007
    Posts: 13,418

    Von Rigg Fink
    Member
    from Garage

     
  8. Andrew Williams
    Joined: Feb 20, 2007
    Posts: 223

    Andrew Williams
    Member

    the wife or mother can make him give it up. my neighboh had a jeep wagoneer in the yard for about 6 months. I asked what he was going to do with it and he said if you want it you can have it free. his wife and mother kept on him to get it out of the yard.
    about some others, they will only be sold at the owner's death some people just will not part with stuff no matter how rotted out or useless it is to them. my uncle let the 48 ford i got set and deteoirate in a leaky barn for 46 years and would not sell. after he died my aunt sold it to me. it made some others who wanted it not too happy but that is how she wanted it.
     
  9. I have to side with Samuri Mike & partsdawg here. I keep most of my stuff hidden from the trailer dwellers up at my weekend place. Recently I had moved my 62 Ranchero driver to replace a brake line when a local strolls up my long driveway asking if its for sale as he saw the corner of it from the road. Granted it has typical east coast rust but is a good driver with new clutch, tires ect. Told him $600 and drive it home, I have the papers. Too much? Must be as he said he'd have to think about it with no counter offer. I directed him back toward his trailer and its not for sale now. I had stopped the work I was doing and he wasted close to an hour of my time bs-ing. I'm another of those mid-50's guys who is tired of wannabe buyers who think they can buy $50 cars from you and waste your time. On the plus side, he inspired me to move the car up the list of projects and I've got 1/3 of the body done now. Here is the car as he looked at it...
     

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  10. hillbilly4008
    Joined: Feb 13, 2009
    Posts: 2,924

    hillbilly4008
    Member
    from Rome NY

    Allright, some of you misunderstood me when i said the guy was 52. I didnt mean that he was an old fart, i know a few guys in there 80s that make me feel lazy. I mentioned his age because of the fact that his nicest car is a POS, and by that age you'd think he could get something better.

    I understand where some of you guys are coming from, and how i look like a pain in the ass. But realize that he did not actually come out and say its not for sale, and he did say its just a junk car. I plan on stopping back in the spring, maybe he takes some of the stuff out for the summer? Hopefully the barn is still standing.

    On a related note, i found another one. '53 Belair ragtop, one owner, 30k miles. Its sitting in a shack about 10miles from my house, the front end is covered in loose hay, and the shack is leaning so that when it does fall all the weight of the building will be on the car. Owner is in his early 80s and wont sell because he willed it to his daughter. I can understand that. However, i know his daughter lives clear across the country, and im guessing she could care less about it...
     
  11. brad chevy
    Joined: Nov 22, 2009
    Posts: 2,627

    brad chevy
    Member

    These idiots saying go behind the guys back to his wife,that is a sure way of getting your ass whipped.That is a pussy move and there are 3-things you don"t mess with,a mans wife,car and money and thats just the way it is.
     
  12. slefain
    Joined: Apr 6, 2009
    Posts: 229

    slefain
    Member
    from Atlanta

    Just wait for the estate sale.
     
  13. The sight of cash as in crisp benjamins works better than "asking someone to name their price".

    Asking an owner to "think" about it requires interest and effort of his part.
    He doesn't care (if he did it wouldn't still be there). I think I may have pulled $300 in crisp benjamins out of my right pocket (I know thats a stretch on sight unseen) but cash talks, BS walks and the old guy would rather be gardening.

    Even if it didn't play out that day, he might forget the conversation but the next time he was paying for a repair I'd bet he'd remember seeing the cash.
     
  14. silversink
    Joined: May 3, 2008
    Posts: 916

    silversink
    Member

    good idea--- his wife will sell them for what he told her they were worth. I always get a good buy when I pay 4000 and tell her its worth 12000;)
     
  15. oldcarkook
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 60

    oldcarkook
    Member
    from Bahstin

    Ahm..you forgot "a man's dog". Don't mess with my wife, my car, or my dog. My money is worthless so you can have that.
     
  16. Southfork
    Joined: Dec 15, 2001
    Posts: 1,465

    Southfork
    Member

    Hey, sometimes it really IS impractical to get an old car out of a barn! If the guy says it's not worth the effort, he probably knows exactly what he's talking about. What I could get for a '29 Model A sedan delivery and a couple other old Fords out in my barn wouldn't come close to compensating for the probable damage to the barn and other barn contents that would result from the attempt.

    While Henry Ford had to tear down a portion of the wall of his rented shop to get his first drivable prototype car out in the light of day (if memory serves), not everyone is willing to do that.
     
  17. So you're saying these cars will stay there forever or till you die and your next of kin will sell it all for way less than it's worth is better?
     
  18. Gigantor
    Joined: Jul 12, 2006
    Posts: 3,823

    Gigantor
    Member

    I missed the part in the story where there was a For Sale sign.
     
  19. bryan6902
    Joined: May 5, 2008
    Posts: 1,137

    bryan6902
    Member

    Let me clarify my original post. I in no way endorse waiting around for the guy to leave and sneak in to talk with his wife, that is not a great idea. Just keep it in mind and if you happen to be in the area and they are both out it may not be a bad idea to stop again and inquire again, with both of them present.

    After reading the original post I wonder if you maybe took the guy by surprise by coming to ask about something that has been packed away since 8 years before he was born!? Sometimes it takes awhile to have things sink in. Most likely he has no interest in doing anything with it if it hasn't moved in 60 years. I would stop back sometime this fall to ask again. He's probably thought about it some more now and may have changed his mind or be a little more receptive to entertaining offers. Worse thing he can say is "no".

    He's probably on some gardening forum and has a post going for "What's it Worth, old car in the barn?"
     

  20. Yeah if you ever want to pay waaaay to much for an old car, go to an estate sale
     
  21. The way I read this is you want to make an offer on a car you can't see that's been sitting for years and you're upset because he won't sell it to you. I think The guy knows what shape it's in and does'nt want you digging around and moving shit just to be dissapointed. I see your point but I think you have to try to see his point. I think the idea of kind of getting to know him is the right approch here. That's what I'd do.
     
  22. Von Rigg Fink
    Joined: Jun 11, 2007
    Posts: 13,418

    Von Rigg Fink
    Member
    from Garage

    Maybe he's a cool guy worth getting to know..maybe helping him get it running so he can enjoy it would be bringing another one into the fold..spread the gospel;)
     
  23. xpletiv
    Joined: Jul 9, 2008
    Posts: 938

    xpletiv
    Member
    from chiburbs

    fix his brakes for free(first) and then offer up some $$$
     
  24. If the barn's full of shit, either buy all the shit in the barn and flip it to an antiques guy, or just take the planks off the back where the car is and pull it out the back, assuming it doesn't have to drop down like 10 feet to do that.

    Some people are funny when it comes to moving things around, though. A guy I know offered to give me two early 60s Buicks he'd driven years ago - they've sat at his mother's farm since the 70's. One has a rebuilt 401 in it. But his mother, who must be like 85, didn't want to hear of someone coming in to move them, you'd have to cut a path into them where the trees have grown up and all. I guess it's better they werent in the barn - the barn fell down a couple years ago and she doesn't even want to bring people in to clean that up.
     
  25. screwball
    Joined: Mar 5, 2001
    Posts: 1,761

    screwball
    Member

    Call the guys at American pickers and tell them the barn is full of real cool stuff but the car is yours let them knock on the door. If they can get in your 1/2 way there.
     
  26. randydupree
    Joined: May 19, 2005
    Posts: 667

    randydupree
    Member
    from archer fl


    yeah,they could spend all day fucking around and buy 1 item.
     
  27. eddieb
    Joined: Apr 6, 2009
    Posts: 52

    eddieb
    Member
    from Sharon SC

    It's kills me the way some of y'all think it's cool to plot and scheme to try to get these old cars from their owners. If you can't afford to pay a decent fair price for something, then find another hobby. I collect old radios. Some of which are very valuable. Nothing thrills some collectors more than ripping some widow off by giving her 1/10th of the value of a valuable radio. Couple of points here....It's their stuff. They can do as they please. Second, I still think you have some obligation to your fellow man to be forthright in your dealings.
     
  28. Southfork
    Joined: Dec 15, 2001
    Posts: 1,465

    Southfork
    Member

    I certainly hope not. I'd especially like to get that stored '29 Delivery and a '35 pickup out of the barn and work on them, but FIRST i've got to get organized and have a place for everything to go that gets moved in the process, and I also must have the means to fix the barn wall/roof etc that will get damaged. All that translates to time and energy. Right now it's not worth the effort, but some day I'm confident it will be.
     
  29. hillbilly4008
    Joined: Feb 13, 2009
    Posts: 2,924

    hillbilly4008
    Member
    from Rome NY

    Heres an update: I went back to the man's house earlier today, he wasn't home. I remembered that his sister lived two houses away, at the same property where the barn is, so I thought I would give it a shot and stop in to see if he was there. Unfortunately he was not there, BUT his sister was. When I told her why I had stopped she asked "well, have you even seen the car yet?" I told her no, the last time I was there he just opened the door and pointed in the direction of where the car is. Then she said "well come on, i'll show it to ya"

    This time she took me around back of the barn where there is a window that you could look in and actually see in. All I could see from the open window was the rear driver corner of the sedan, but it looked mint and still had paint. Then I noticed that the around the corner of the barn part of the wall was gone, so I asked her if I could go in. She let me go in, and I got a good look at the car from the rear passenger side.(the entire front of the car was covered in junk) Everything on the body from the cowl back is there and appears to be rust free. Woods still in the top, floors seem to be there, no seats but I could care less about that. The unfortunate thing is the rear axle shaft on the passenger side is gone, nothing but an open axle tube sitting on a block.

    I got the man's phone number and called him about an hour ago and told him that "I gotta have it! Whats it gonna take to get the car from ya?" I made him a cash offer AND offered to bring in a small dump truck and haul away any refuse AND that I was willing to do 100% of the labor. He agreed to my offer, BUT went on to say "Thats not the problem. The car has absolutely NO sentimental value to me, it was put there before I was born." "Are you willing to sign a paper saying that your not going to come after me when the barn falls on you?" I told him I'm not one to sue over my own stupidity, and that I will take extreme caution while making the extraction.

    After than he came around and said "It would be nice to get that junk out of there so I can start bracing up the barn" Then he said that he was willing to take apart some of the barn to get the car out. JACKPOT!!! He wants me to call him a week so he can think about it, but I think I'm gettin it.

    A little perseverance may have payed off.
     
  30. captainjunk#2
    Joined: Mar 13, 2008
    Posts: 4,420

    captainjunk#2
    Member

    great news i hope he decides to contribute to your automotive addiction , please let us know if you score a new project
     

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