Donate them to the local high school or veterans home,take them to a swap meet and give them to anyone that wants one or two. HRP
I, like you, had thousands of Hot Rod, R&C, Street Rodder, ETC magazines. My local Schools and several other places said that they could not accept them because of "Liability Issues", are you kidding me! I couldn't give then away! On a trip to the Speedway Museum in Lincoln NE, I mentioned that I had boxes of magazines and they said that they would take them all for their library. They even sent pre paid UPS labels.
When I retired, moved, downsized some, same deal, what to do with 30 years of magazines. A friend of mine does volunteer work and has several friends in assisted living, nursing and VA facilities said he would take them over time in his visits, got back to me and stated, made some old car guys smile. Give this idea some thoughts, it makes one feel good to help someone along in their journey.
I have hundreds of old car magazines from the '50s through the '70s too. I went to a cruise on Saturday and taped a sign on the front of my hood (which was open) which said "For Sale-Old Car Magazines-$1 Each-In Trunk" and I had about 100 of them in there. I sold a few that way so give that a try. Good luck....
My wife works in a hosp, she takes a handful every week and spreads them around, every single one gets swiped real fast, I think its a maintance guy, lol.
I gave all my old Hot rod Rod & custom etc. to one of the young guys at work building an A sedan stacks & stacks, he now has started on a '51 3100 pickup...was it my influence or the old Mags? Pass the passion on, we need new blood EVEN if they have building ideas different from our "traditinal" views...
I've always been a magazine guy (big surprise) so I have trouble getting rid of any of them. Can't count how many times I've referred back to an old HRM, R&C, TRJ etc. to find some detail I remember off a car, do some research, etc. Gotta be some weirdo like me near you that would love to get their hands on them!
Last time I moved I decided moving and storing box after box of magazines was not worth it anymore, especially since I hadn't even opened them up for years. Took them to a swap meet, maybe sold 20 for 50 cents to a dollar but they all got mixed up when they were all sorted by title and date. Got back and put them on Craigslist for free, 3 hours later they were all gone. Only thing I kept was my collection of Hot Rod (1957 thru the 80's) all my "little" books and all my Rodder's Journals. Don't miss them at all.
I started buying car magazines in 1972. if I lived in a house where I was going to live until I died I would have kept them. instead I sold them on ebay in one year lots. I got $450.00 just for the old ones from the 50's and 60's, I sold those as "eaches" since they are worth more. probably put $1,000.00 in my pocket. every swap meet I go to has magazine guys selling, I say sell them to those guys if you don't do ebay.
Old car magazines and old race track programs fall into the same category. Both can be sold with an emotional attachment $$ value added, priced so the current owner can have a vacation in the tropics, or sold at a reasonable $$ just to find them a new home. I've seen old race track programs that are worth at most $1.00 each and are being sold for $25.00. That kind of wisdom makes me gag and choke. The current owners can charge what the market will bair, and I just keep walking.
There is always The Nuclear Option---no one will ever profit from this magazine, program, and photo collection, so let's throw them out. I have seen this option used and it is profoundly painful.
I just give em away to whoever wants em. Used to box up and send to the troops too but forgot how to do that-sent many there years ago. Found some little books from 57-58 the other day too-must have stashed em years ago. Also take stacks to car shows and put em out for free.
I'm in the same predicament. My dad cleaned out his barn, and told me to sell everything, or toss it. So now I'm stuck with about four of those cardboard file cabinets full of Street Rodder, Rod & Custom, KKOA, Street Scene, Mini trucking, and other Mustang magazines from the late 80s-early 2000s. And lets just most of them didn't survive sitting in a musty barn, or me and my brother's grubby little hands.
On the upper right part of your screen, click on the envelope icon (it should be red if you have unread items). This should bring up a screen with "Conversations" from other people. PM means private message - like sending someone an email.
For some old guys, re-reading mags from the '50s is part of our history. The mags & models were ways to participate in the hobby when you were too young to own or work on a car. First rod book I ever had was May '56 R&R that I found, first one I bought was Aug.'58 R&R, & both are in the bookcases custom made from 80 year old lumber. I'm pretty proud of my 60 year collection. Rough estimate of total issues would be near 10,000, but titles cover several facets of the auto hobby - SIA, VCCA, CHVA, EFV8 club, etc. I'm confident they will go where they can be preserved & information shared with the future generations. We have some local folks that know what to do.
I still buy or accept free collections.I stopped counting at 8,000 and that was after hauling anything newer than 1971 to the recyclers. I also am sure I have read them all cover to cover. To be honest I most likely have multiple copies of most magazines. I never get tired of reading them. I did refuse a collection of Hot Rod magzines. It was one of every issue from No 1 up to 2015. 5 hour drive each way and the volume was too much since so many were over my 1971 cut off.
I left some 1980's & 90's magazines in my local dentist and doctors waiting room. I guess it may just get a youngster interested in the hobby
I sneak them into the VA hospital, when I have an appointment. They have some sort of limit. When I go to leave, they're all gone. But if I had the room. I'd keep every one of them. In this "hi-tech" world we live in, it's easy to forget the great history of the printed medium. Lest we forget, there was a time when the written word was exclusive to the wealthy and the church. The thought of throwing away magazines isn't an option and burning them should be a crime.
I've given away 2 batches, both through the HAMB----In the vicinity of 2200 books. I would have had a hard time just throwing them away. SOMEBODY wants them. Two HAMBer's did----GOOD for them---GOOD for me. Billl
Had a house fire in my home of 40 yrs - the end of April - actually the day we got back from the Pate Swap meet - so had a lot of stuff - allot was passed down from other guys - guess I just had the extra storage and I like looking through them from time to time....it was the water hose that got some....but still digging thru. The car show or swap meet is a good idea - lots of them at the swap meets though.
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