The thrill of finding an old car tucked away for years..but

Hi all,

New guy here. One of my favorite things to do is to drive aimlessly through any area and just look to see what type of vehicles are stashed in someones yard, field, garage, barn, etc. If I find something interesting I usually stop right away, knock on the door and ask some questions about it.

Most of the time the people who own the vehicle in question usually are ignorant and are displeasent about someone asking about their old car, and of course 90% of the time the old car is ' not for sale '.

I think the worst factor in this is because of my age (22), and think that the owners assume I am just there to either waste their time or to scope out stealing or vandalizing their vehicle! It is quite rude to come to such assumptions as I am solely there to inquire about a piece of history that has been sitting, rotting away for years and quite possibly I am the only one in the last decade who has paid any kind of attention to it.

In the past couple of years in my travels I have found some various very valuable cars laying dormant and in various states of decay and of course the owners say they will never sell them. Such cars as a 1920s Deusenberg, a 1930s Cord, 1930s Rolls Royce, Shelby Cobra Mach 1 Mustang, and what I believe to be a TUCKER! etc. Just sitting, collecting dust, and the ones outside are rusting and turning to junk just because the owners have decided to neglect caring for them. Believe me, I have tried and tried to purchase these cars, even showing cash to them in person, but to no avail.

Two years ago I found an old private farm about 20 minutes from where I live, he collected cars from 1920s-1980s, just bought them and put them on his property. I went to visit, and found some amazing vehicles, in barns, large run down garages, and outside in fields. While inside one of the dilapadated barns there was junk piled on top of everything and it was quite hard to make out what types of vehicles were there. It looked like a chinese rug was draped over a large pipe sticking out of a 'truck', when we walked around the corner I noticed the truck had dozer tracks on it and when questioned the owner said ' oh, thats a Tank from the war ', with some light shined on it there infront of us was an Army tank with furniture and trashed piled up on it! I spent atleast 2 hours there and offered to pay the owner for his time showing me everything, I made some offers on some cars and I agreed to purchase a Mercedes that was suposedly owned by a famous actor. I left, and the next morning the owner calls me and tells me he decided not to sell the car to me and that it was a mistake showing his collection to me. I asked him what I did to offend him and he said nothing at all, he just does not want anyone to know what he has and fears that I will tell people. While I'd never disclose information I was told not to, and haven't to this day, I feel very sad about the whole ordeal because just a few months ago I stopped by to check up on things and noticed nearly 300 out of the 600 vehicles I had seen before were gone! He said he took them to the junkyard because a helicopter noticed everything and he was sent violations. He still said he would not sell anything to anyone for any amount and quickly pushed me off his land.

There are many places like that one in which I have visited, and it is very sad knowing those vehicles, the stories they have, how they came to end up where they are - - will never be told, known or even cared about because the owners chose to let them rot to dust..

Sorry for the long post. If you have an experience like this one, I'd love to read it, so please - post!

Paul in Ohio

 

I've pounded a door or many in my day too. 95%is my no number but i have got some deals and dare I say flipped a few to fund my keepers . The search goes on !!!!

 

You and about 10,000 of us have had that experience . There was a lot in Oceanside Calif that had cars stored on it for decades . When the owner died most of cars were beyond repair due to the salt air . I went to the auction and tried to buy another Allard (aluminum body) but got outbid . There is something about guys that old , maybe the depression , that makes them keep this stuff until they die .

 

Belive me you are probibly not the only one in the past decade to stop as most of the people on this site and many others do the same as you. Some times you win some some times you loose.

 

Depression mentality is a good spin on it.I went to look at a bike.I had to walk sideways throught the house to get around. He wouldn't turn loose of anything.He said he was a by-product of the depression.The bike,a Vincent had been sitting since 71.Motor was worn out but he was going to rebuild it!!!

 

Come pound on my door, everything I own is always for sale....but if a group of Craig's Flakes left 5 min. before you arrive...I may run you off too. Ol timers don't like 20 Questions, and I'm getting the same way. WANT A HINT? Keep your mouth shut about their cars, and offer to cut their grass or something...start a relationship, insead of acting like the Auto FBI.

 

to damn bad. i feel for ya. who knows, maybe he'll come around.

 

Welcome to the hamb! I found my current ride the same way. noticed it and finally talked to the owner, he had it for sale, but I offered a trade for my 55 willys pickup. I left my number and awhile later he called and had reconsidered, so, keep trying you will find one eventually. since then I have swapped in a smallblock, friends have painted the flames and the red paint, I had painted it john deere satin black first, it was purple when I acquired it. don't give up, help your friends and they will help you...

 

What do you guys think goes on in the minds of people. I know some I have talked with are going to fix'em. But the others act like its a bother or I have seen a sing on the window, NO FOR SALE....I dont understand people sometimes. I'm sure I have my hang ups but Its hard watching the tin rot....

 

I was bit by the bug when I was 17. I'm 19 now and its been almost impossible for me to get my hands on any old iron or get to look around in private yards. There is a 1953 Chevy 5 window AD truck sitting under a car port full of garbage. Its not even half a mile down the road and the owner wont even budge. He is going to hold on to it till its ready for the scrape heap. I've just learned to move on and find something else.

 

i call BS...come on, a duesenberg a cord a rolls and a tucker no way

 

A Duesy thats not already in someone's million dollar collection....have to see it to believe it

 

I just want to see a Shelby Cobra Mach 1 Mustang like he says he did.

on the subject at hand - persistence pays off. Try the 'aw shucks' approach and don't look too anxious. Tell them you're restoring a car similar to that one to its former glory and you'd just like to look at it to make sure of how the chrome is attached, or how the seat adjusters are installed, or any other lame excuse that opens the conversation but does not lead to the owner thinking you're just after his "treasures". And if you're actually genuine enough, things could start to happen. If you're allowed onto the propery, look around for things not auto-related to ask about. "Wow, is that a hand-made quilt?" "Gosh, I haven't seen a TV with only 13 channels ever in my whole life". You may be right about the perception of your intentions based on your young age. Most seniors are inherently distrustful of youngsters. I'm getting toward my December years myself, and have been blessed with a decent ability at communication, so it's actually been fairly easy for me to score a car or two that were supposedly 'unavailable/not for sale/etc'. Even before my hair turned white, I took a relaxed approach with anyone with "tin apples" strewn in their pasture. Find anything BUT cars to discuss - helps if you know a little bit about whatever his/her property is/was used for (ranch/farm). To reiterate, patience will work sooner or later, but you need to work at it to avoid being 'sniped' by someone else. You cannot find family members - "my son gets it all" - even if you know the son is a dipwad (and the owner knows too). There's as many ways to make a friend with these people as there are "those people". Be smooth, don't act anxious. Don't talk too fast, and don't broach subjects that you're not familiar with. If he catches you BSing, you're finished.

dj

 

Aint it fun.....

 

Drop the guy off pics of your projects (or someone elses less offensive ones, lol) and Christmas cards. He'll come around.

My buddy and I found a Challenger and an F1, turned out to be a young guy. Real cool. We pop in once in a great white to check out his progress. I'm usually happy to see old tin.

 

Its all just the thrill of the chase.

 

They are still out there, did you see the special they had on a late twenties Duesenburg that Jay Leno found just a few blocks from his studio? Sat there since the 40's in a garage doing nothing but collecting dust. As far as the Tucker there is one in Ohio that was wrecked (totaled) that some guy has with some factory left over parts he is trying to restore, and there are a couple of Tuckers still not accounted for so who knows where one will turn up.

But if your going to tell a story like that one make sure it isnt your first couple of post. Welcome to the HAMB!!!

 

I HATE stories like these! Don't give two rats azzez about people having the "right to own stuff, and it's theirs to do what ever they wish"! Good build material NEEDS to be put back on the road. Period!

 

The Shelby Mach 1 was an interesting find. It is not even a mile down the road where I grew up, driven past the house hundreds of times, never saw the garage door open until one day I noticed the garage door was up, and in the garage under a pile of boxes and junk was a bright orange (what I thought was a Camaro.....) with wide slicks on the back from the '70s. I stopped because there was a car in the driveway, a woman in her 40s, I asked her what year the Camaro was and she said ' oh, you mean the Shelby ? ' She imformed me it was her brothers, bought new many years ago and stored in the garage for over 25 years, he lived out of state and might consider selling it. She let me open the door (passenger side) it looked & smelled like new, and there was a plaque on the passenger dash with Carol Shelby on it. I left my phone number and never heard back. Suposedly her parents live there, but no one is ever there or answers the door, even when lights are on inside. The car looked like it was in top condition, bright orange and black paint, black interior.

The Deusenberg is a very odd story! Out near where my girlfriend parents live (farm country) she told me when she was younger she drove past a house that had a homade rocket ship out infront of it, and some weird airplanes, I always thought that was really strange. One day while out in that area I drove past what I did not know was the house she spoke of, and outside was lots of 1940s-50s cars and trucks, some barns, and a WEIRD looking house. I pulled in, and had my friend with me. We parked near the house which was 3 stories tall and had a 4th story made out of glass like a greenhouse on top, only it wasn't good quality at all, it was junk thrown together. There were old doors used as walls, so on one side it looked like there were 20 doors leading to no where and if you opened one of them you'd fall 2 stories ! Some of the walls didn't even line up and you could see right through cracks into the house ! You'd really have to see this house to know what I am trying to explain here. It was a coddled together mess, out of any building materials he could find. I knocked on several doors which I thought were actual doors, but no one answered. I went to a type of attached garage made out of junk and knocked on a door and it swung open and flew back at me, in the glimpse I saw a HUGE headlight, and a 4 door convertible car from the 1920s with a large glass windshield and extremely large wooden wheels, covered in dust. I knew it was not just any old car...

We hear loud honking of a car and look about a 1/3 mile down behind the house to see someone sitting in a beat up blazer honking the horn. My friend encouraged me to drive back there to see what was up, so off we go. As we went down the road we saw weird old cars with wrecker booms on the back of them, CARS.. and all kinds of strange vehicles. On our right was a large lake/pond that dried up and inside of it was a dumping ground for old cars, boats and an airplane with floating pontoons on it, just piled on top of each other in the mud. In the far distance were large boats sitting sideways on the land and other junk, we didn't get close enough to see what else.

We reach the person in the Blazer who is a guy in his 50s, the owner of everything. He has a shotgun in hand and a dog with him, in the back of the blazer is stuffed with leaves, branches and wood. At first it wasn't a friendly greeting and we were told to get out of there right away - but my friend thought quickly about one of the cars and said 'I have a 1940 Lincoln just like yours, have any parts to sell? ' and suddenly this guy started sharing EVERYthing about his life with us. He told me if he ever caught us near the car in the garage attached to his house we had better watch out, I asked him what it was and he blurted out ' Do you know what a 1921 Deusenberg is kid? Because that is what I have in there. ' His wife passed away in the fire that happened to his house, burnt it nearly all down but he used what scraps he could find to rebuild it, hence the weird stuff used as walls and roof. The leaves and branches in the back of the run-down blazer he said he was using them to keep a fire lit in the house to stay warm (it was winter time) He said he's built air planes, boats and all kinds of contraptions, and refuses to sell anything at all. He even wanted to buy my friend's suposed Lincoln. He told us we could check out his Lincoln if we promised not to touch anything in the building, we agreed and left.

We got up to the large bulding next to his house and acted like we were looking at the rusted out Lincoln when my friend exclaimed 'look at that Barracuda convertible !' and there inside the building on the ground were 1960s-70s convertibles, Barracudas, Firebird, Trans am, Camaros, all sitting with open top frames and tops half up in the air, a 1940s Cadillac, and all kinds of other interesting things -- then we saw the ultimate ! Above in the beams of the building were air planes made out of wood, metal, and all kinds of weird materials. Just now as I am typing this I went through my cell phone to make sure I still had the few photos I took, and I visited there 11-24-07. It is odd to think this guy is hauling leaves and branches to heat his home while he has such valuable cars just sitting !

I have never been back to his place, but I plan to this spring.

 

One highway 100 through Baxley Ga there is a big old house that sits on the edge of the highway...around back there is about a acre of old cars...what it is ...is a trap. The old man doesnt want to sell anything but he will keep you there talking about his shit forever! He stepped out the front door right in a pile of dog shit bare-footed...he took a stick and scrapped it off and didnt miss a beat. Quite a character!

 

Kreal sounds like you where on the right track with him if he let you look around on his lot. You need to stop back by there and try to get to know him better and maybe he might consider selling you one of his cars or parts off them. Once he knows there not going to waist.

 

i have a 51 merc coupe right around the corner from me sitt for about 30 years. guy has owned it since 1953. 95% rust free, bought a new car so he parked the merc. 51 skirts sittin in the worn out back seat. he has a list of numbers but i try and bug him the most and i didnt low ball him with a price. he told his granddaughter if something happen to him to give me a call. i told him HE needs to sell it to me so i can get it running and take him for a cruise!!

 

BINGO!!!! That's the idea....

 

Duesenberg's didn't have wooden wheels, A mach 1 can not also be a shelby.
Are there any unaccounted for tuckers?

Fairy dust is for sprinkling, not snorting through ones nose.

 

I was thinking the same thing!

 

I appologize for not knowing such details. Here is a link to an ebay car which is a clone to the Shelby Mustang, -

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford...d=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65:10|39:1|240:1318

-when I mentioned Mach 1 I assumed it was that type of body style of Mustang, as I am not too familiar with them, however it was definitely a 'Shelby' Mustang.

I was unaware of Deusenbergs not having wooden wheels, however I haven't done any type of research on them yet so perhaps it was not wooden, but in the quick glimpse I saw, and the heavy dust coating I felt it looked wooden. I stand corrected.

 

"......I asked him what I did to offend him and he said nothing at all, he just does not want anyone to know what he has and fears that I will tell people......."



Chalk up another bullseye for the COF's.

 

I am not sure what you mean by 'COF'? Can you elaborate a bit? Thank you.

 

I know guy who lives in his car but pays $1300.00 for storage spots full of junk. he does have some good stuff like tools and such, but typical items would be the entire stock of wet sandpaper he got from a paint store that had a fire. or case after case of brass fittings he bought when orchard supply hardware changed vendors and put the old stock up for cheap.

he won't sell any of it and won't throw any away either, and a lot of it is just plain trash. this is the same mindset many of these car hoarders have. thier timing chain is just a few teeth off and nothing we say or do willl change thier minds.