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

I have to add that this approach didn't work to well for me.
When I was 13, I came across a 1956 Ford 2 door sitting behind a house about 2 blocks from a ball field where I played ball. I knocked on the owners door and asked the old folks that owned it if they would be willing to sell it. They politely said no but told me about why it was parked. It simply overheated one day (in 1961) and he drove it out there and parked it, then bought a new car the next day. They let me look at it and found it to be amusing that I liked it so much. The grass was tall around the thing so I offered to mow their yard. I cut their grass regularly for the next 4 years in hopes of getting the chance to buy that car. They didn't budge one bit. They were sweet old people and I would have done anything for them but for some reason, they just wouldn't part with that car. 1977 was the last year that I cut their grass before I moved away. I went back in 1985 to visit. The husband had passed away and I made the offer to buy it once again, and again, was shot down. She said that she didn't want to part with it because her husband didn't want to get rid of it before he passed, so she just wanted to respect his wishes. At that point the rockers were getting a little crusty and it was sinking a little closer to the ground but it was still in good condition. Fast forward to 2000. I went back to visit friends in the area and found that the woman had passed away a few months prior to my visit. I drove by and the car was still sitting there except it was about 3 inches into the dirt and the passenger windows had been broken. It looked rough, real rough. I got that knot in my stomach and just drove on. Before I left, I contacted the daughter and made one last effort to buy it, no dice! In 2005, one of my high school classmates bought the house where this thing had been sitting. He knew the entire story and emailed a short video to me. The daughter hired a guy with a backhoe to come in and remove the car before she sold the house and the video basically showed him crumbling up what was left of the car with the front bucket and dumping it in his dump truck.
I have to admit, I have bought and sold dozens of really nice old cars over the years and I have missed few, but this one is THE one that just couldn't be bought!

 

I spend most of my time working and doing other things other than working on my cars, so I have really not touched most of them in a long time, and when I do get free time I would rather go searching for more than start tearing one apart for restoration. I have never restored a car before, I am not sure where to begin on my 37 Mercedes, as finding parts is showing to be a painstakingly hard task. I may consider an engine swap, aslong as I keep the body and interior original. It may be hard to tell, but I have about 7-8 cars in the large garage attached to my home, it definitely tricks the on-lookers and looks like a 2 car or similar, but indeed it is quite large, and I do have the cars packed quite closely. I have a matching rear door and it leads to a another garage in the rear, a real unique set-up I must admit.

I store most of my other cars in various locations, one place imparticular I rent to store a lot of the ones I don't forsee me getting to anytime in the near future, so they are crammed in there, and the door is shut.

I actually am at a standstill currently with the whole car situation. I've purchased and saved so many cars that I have ran out of room and storage spots. I actually try to sell off some as often as I can but due to a, what I feel is ridiculous Ohio law - a private owner is limited to the number of vehicle title transactions, and I have at this point, reached the limit. Even vehicles I am selling for next to nothing, or am giving away do still fall under the case, so its quite hard to get rid of some of them, and I do not dare send to the crusher what can be restored or saved.

I also keep some cars at my father's shop, he owns and runs an engine machine shop nearby, and has been very agreeable with letting me keep several cars inside where I can work on them when need be, as my garage here at my home is packed. When I was younger, I had the early stages of 'car-buyers' disease, inwhich I always wanted a new toy. I would buy one, and sell the other to make room for the latest addition, and my father would always ask me why I would want to own so many cars? I can't explain it. Whether it is the 'thrill' of finding something interesting and being able to purchase it, or just the 'hmm, I like the way that looks, and I think I'd enjoy driving one of those' no matter how indepth I try to explain it, I can't. I think now that I am older, my family has realized that there is just no way I can settle with having one vehicle. Recently, it made me very happy to hear my father tell someone 'you should see the cars that my son has !', I felt quite proud. I am always very excited to say ' Hey Dad, check out what I just got ! ', and occasionally I'll get a 'wow' out of him.

I know I'll probably never own my dream cars, but I am very satisfied with what I have currently, and I am very thankful that I have been blessed with the opportunity to own such vehicles. I feel that somewhere, somehow, all of the cars were meant to be, and that I did not find them, rather they found me.

Sorry for rambling..

 

This was at a well-remembered auction in southern Indiana. Just a good photo.

 

good luck to you, and keep collecting

 

did you ever get the popcorn done? if not i'll take butter on mine please

 

I'm 33, and when I was younger than you, Paul, I learned a very important lesson: don't mess with old school. Petejoe chose his words very well. "Every young fellow I know..." doesn't mean every young person, just the ones he knows. The experience that people aquire in their lifetimes weighs heavily on their opinions. Most of the time this works out favorably. It's like playing the odds. Just like a casino, the house always comes out ahead...so does old school. Don't argue unless you REALLY know what you're talking about. The subject in this instance being your life; something I knew nothing about, and you know everything about. I made an assumption based on my experience. I was wrong and I apologize.

Back to the quote, though. I share Petejoe's experience regarding young people and their respective hoards.

I'll leave you to your opinion of me. I couldn't care less. The people that I know and respect have a high opinion of me and that's all I need. You should feel the same about yourself and ignore anyone who says otherwise.

I no longer think you are other than what you say you are. I do declare shenanigans, however, if you claim that you had no help on your collection. After 10 minutes of a little research (hey, it's slow at work) I have found that you buy and sell used cars and parts. Your father does the same. Here I will speculate and say that your father started or aquired a used car recycling business and you naturally grew into it. You started your collection using his contacts, business license, etc. maybe your own money, but...this is what my experiences lead me to believe.

If your skin isn't thick enough to put up with the mild jabs that I have read in this thread, I say good riddance. I find myself reading online forums less and less every year in general because I'm sick of the overly-passive atmosphere slowly eating away every site like a cancer. Every freakin post nowadays seems to start out "I don't want to offend anyone, but I prefer Fords...no wait I take that back I have no opinion at all...please don't hurt me, mods please delete this post if you feel like it...not saying you have to or anything or I'm ordering you around or anything, oh god I'll just go shoot myself now if that's OK with everyone...sorry, sorry, sorry"

Every single person on this site has had to put up with people not taking him/her seriously when he/she was young. Some got over it and enjoyed their youth while they still had it. Some stayed bitter like you currently are until they just got old. Choose your path, grasshopper.

Tom

Edit: just read your last post and realized all the parts your dad sells are engine parts. Sorry, but like I wrote, I was speculating

 

This is (was) a real Duesey: Same thing crazy owner, won't sell

 

Givin' you shit bro. Allgood. Congrats on your stable!

 

Awesome thread. I got family up in Youngstown OH. I was there once, but was only about 8 or 9 at the time.

 

That does look like a Model A Duesenberg which would be a very cool car when restored. I stated before that all Duesenberg Model J are known and accounted for, but I'm not sure about the Model A cars which are not really in the same league as the "J"s.

 

Kreal,

Hang in there buddy. This crew is rough and crude sometimes.

I am almost old enough to collect Social Secuity and when I tell folks about just some of the stuff I own, they roll their eyes with that "you're full of shit look". Especially when they find out I was just a regular work for someone else kind of guy (read that as not independently wealthy).

At your age it has to be much worse. My advice to ya' is this. Keep a lot of what ya' know and own private. Hang out with select folks that can keep their mouth shut about your personal stuff.

If you aren't a BS'er, ya' don't need to associate with doubters and the such.

 

Very well stated impalabuilder. Over the years we all seem to learn from our experiences and mistakes. Our decisions are based on that about 95% of the time. My trouble, I just have alittle problem in the learning aspect of my mistakes.

 

Hi Paul,

Welcome to the HAMB,in all its glory...

Happy Birthday and collecting.....

Ya need tuff skin for this site but in a minute they will be on to someones else's ass and off of yours.......

Thats just the way boys do each other on the HAMB...............................

 

hey welcome to the HAMB im also a young guy, 24, and live in Los Angeles. I too always look over fences and would rather spend the day in a junk yard than most other places. I know of some amazing classic cars in my neighborhood that I've found simply by peeking over fences. I know of a 37 ford and an old t bird that are in a bard an hour north of me. another example is there was a guy about a mile from my house that had a P-51 Mustang in his backyard. out in the open. I told a buddy of mine who restores warbirds and he was really interested. he told me to go make an offer on it, so I went back and I couldnt see it anymore. There are still amazing finds out there.

 

Great advice...can you blame us, though? It's nothing personal, Paul. With so much bullshit to wade through every day especially in this industry, this story just fits too well in the bullshit category. I do wish you well...again, just trying to tell you like it is.

Some people do the best for themselves building skills in bullshit detecting

 

Wow thats really sad....wonder if Leno knows about it??

 

Kreal - great stories, good finds. This kept me entertained for an hour. I believe you, but real or not it was interesting.

 

Nothin' wrong with a good story. I enjoy 'em as much as the next guy. Now if you want to make it an account of what actually happened, this is the oughts. If you can't get some pix or someone to corroborate, I guess you must put up with the naysayers.

Great stuff, keep it comin'!

Mine buried in the garage. Nope, it ain't for sale.



I work on it when I can.

 

Also ain't a Duesy, Cord or Tucker!!!

 

But it is one of 1547 and I am the original owner.

 

Kreal,

I feel your pain.
I have been where you are many times in the past.

My only thoughts are; if you have the cash and space to keep hundreds of cars and actually can take care of them all (like Mr. Leno) then heck more power to ya. But what burns me are the individuals that horde restorable classics only to watch them rust away. That is just plain greedy and wicked.

 

I know of a few around my house. One is a 69 Z28 camaro, it was stolen and the motor and tranny and hood were took. The owners got it back and put another sbc in it. It just sits there under the weeds, I was told buy another guy that the floors have done fell out of it. A friend of my dad has 11 55 chevy pickups that he let rust to the ground and e has 3 327/365 horse engines setting in the garage. Then there is a guy with a 30 sedan, a 27 sedan, a 30-31 convertible, and a 36 coupe. He bought them a long time ago and tinkers with them every now and then

 

Feel for ya', I'm 35 with 70 + cars and own my own home, with no help. Worked 2 jobs plus a lot, and usually would buy cars or parts before anything else.

Stopped by a guys house about 10 miles from mine one day to ask about some '69 firebird parts cars he had sitting around, and he ended up showing me 2 '37 cords sitting out under a tarp. Wouldn't sell the Cords, but he did sell me some Firebird parts ( I was driving mine when I stoped there). He was probably in his 70's, turns out his daughter had been one of my English teachers in High School!

I stopped at another spot one day to ask about a late 20's car in the weeds. Turned out to be a '28 dodge fast four coupe. The guy let me go out and look at it, while I was looking, I took the time to role up the windows, shut the drivers door, and put the hood down. The old guy saw the respect, and ended up selling me some other cool old parts he had.

The old stuff is still out there, you just have to know how to look for it. It also helps to be polite, inquisitive, and respectful.

 

How did this tread get so big i am amazed

 

I grew up in Youngstown, although I've been away for 25 years. There is a lot of oddball stuff piled up in strange places. I've been to the house he describes in the post about the alledged Duesenberg. It was built by a man named Grover Griggs. He has since passed on.He was about as odd they came, but seriously into cars, mostly sports cars. Grover came up with the concept of the tire wall used at road courses to corrall cars that had gone off track. The car Kreal refers to wasnt a Duesenberg, but I dont recall what it was. There were literally dozens of cars stashed on his property, but they were for the most part Triumphs and MG's and other assorted English stuff. At one time he owned a McClaren MK 8 that he wanted to unload for $3500.00 bucks cause it had a blown engine.

I was once let into a warehouse that was filled with Corvair engines. Nothing else. The guy collected Corvair engines. When I asked him why he said he thought they would be valuable someday. There is a barn in Youngstown that I built for a Doctor who kept every car he ever owned. There were 39 in there when I last was in it. I built another barn for another doctor in Youngstown who collected Double Decker buses. There were a lot of eccentric people there.

As far as Kreal owning his own house at his tender age, you got to realize that Youngstown real estate aint exactly the priceiest. A 22 yr old could easily swing it. If I had not been introduced to the delights of Gin at the age of 15, I would have owned the entire city of Youngstown by now.

 

I know where Buck Owens 1959 black Cadillac Coupe DeVille is and its just rotting away. The asshole who is supposed to care for it calls all of Bucks old cars junk. There is also some strange custum Steve Martin gave him along with a few other old Cadillacs such as a 1979 convertible with pistols mounted on horseshoes on the front fenders and parts of hacked up Cadis. Makes me sick wondering the fate of the 59'.-Weeks

 

I don't give a shit wether he's lying or not.

What I find interesting is why some kid with a bunch of old german cars is posting on a site devoted to traditional rods and customs.

Until you have some information to share about these types of vehicles, find another home on the internet.

Sincerely,
Rich

 

His whole story is entertaining, if anything call it entertainment. Maybe he is practicing for his new book.

 

When I was in school, there were two brothers in the SFV SoCal area, Dieter and Howard, both younger than me, that owned countless old cars between the two of them. The idea that youth and the ability to ferret out old cars are mutually exclusive is nonsense. All you need is a keen eye, some contacts, a glib tongue and a few bucks.
Most of the flaming is sour grapes. "Who does that snot-nosed kid think he is, anyway?" It pisses a lot of people off to see a young person or a chick or a minority with things that they "don't deserve". Yeah, maybe it wasn't a Duesy, but the crazy old guy and the cars seems to be a true story.
When I was a lad, I was visiting my cousin in Hemet, CA, I was yakking on about old cars and he told me that a friend's dad had a bunch of old cars. So we walked over to the house. The first thing I saw was a huge Locomobile touring car under a large carport. There was an extra engine and tranny sitting in front of it. There were two barns on tha property, filled with high end 20s and 30s cars. Cads, Packards, Pierces, Lincolns, you name it. Didn't see any Dueseys. Also didn't see a single Ford, Chev, Plymouth or any other low priced car. The story was that his grandfather had bought them for pennies on the dollar during the depression and stashed them away, knowing that they would be valuable some day. Sounds like an old story, but I did see and touch almost every one of those cars. Next time I see my cousin, I'll have to ask what happened to them. I know the dad was into the old car scene and wasn't one of those crazy hoarders.

 

Surely has been an interesting thread, and I join those who cheer Paul in Youngstown on. Why? Because truth is -- at least some tmes -- stranger than fiction. Ask me some time to tell you about THE MODEL T, NOT IN A BARN BUT IN AN ATTIC!!! You can say bullshit, but it was (perhaps still is) for real. That someone else may not believe, well, that's human nature AND their right (maybe, loss, too). Furthermore, I don't recall if Paul said what year the Duesenberg was, but Duesenbergs were built as early as 1913, folks. I don't think many cars made that early had all-steel wheels. So why would anyone question so-called wooden "artillery wheels" on a Duesenberg? Pictures of the Tucker rear end and engine are on the internet. The Tucker name is in plain sight on top, so if Paul says he saw it was a Tucker, this must have been his indication. (As for the '50 Studebaker Starlight Cruiser, et.al., I myself originally marveled at the general similarities between Lowey's car and Tucker/Tjsarda's. But if Paul looked in the engine compartment -- in back -- the engine would have been boldly marked Tucker.) I appreciate that the old man in question was an eccentric car hoarder, but the variety of stuff present would seem to support the possibility of some pretty rare cars in there. Sure, the Tucker -- with only 51 built, incluidng the prototype Tin Goose -- takes a lot of faith, but, the Duesenberg I can believe at face value, artillery wheels and all. That Paul wasn't able to provide perfect provenance on everything supports his respectfulness of the old man's privacy and sensitivity. I've met plenty old folks, and if you want a look at their cars, don't even appear to be pushy! But, then, some of my fellow HAMBers probably would say BS if I mentioned that one of my best friends, a Vietnam vet, was such a fan of 442s, W-30s, W-33s, Vistacruisers and Cutlass parts cars that he had close to 20 on his farm, not including numerous other cool machines. I knew him well and I know what I saw, sitting still AND racing. This is America, and we still have a right to our own beliefs. So, I say, more power to Paul and his collecting passion! And God Bless the HAMB!!! Jimi'sHemi291 -- FNG