Kinda like the last 409 QC block I had that I told a buddie to just come get - I only had $25 in it.....then it went the other way.......
Tried to give away a cherry 57 Chevy fender. Not one PM, not one taker. Would give away a cherry hood as well. I saved them as they were heading to the scrapper. Guess I just delayed their end for a bit. Tired of them taking up shelf space. I guess people want the new crappy Asian metal for panels. A reality check for sure.
I tried for 10 years to sell or give that old rear axle away, I still have a 9" Ford Bronco rear axle but intend on using it someday. HRP
I had a 30 year accumulation of parts in my garage. It was so bad I couldn't walk thru there. A year or so ago I decided to sell off all the stuff I didn't need for current projects. Sold enough to buy a Pete and Jakes rolling chassis, New Age Motorsports '32 5 window body, Rootlieb hood, Brooville shell and insert, seat, steering, gauges......everything needed to build my '32. I have about $3000 out of pocket, the rest is old parts sold. SPark
I have 2 large piles of scrap metal on a distant farm where I collect truly junk for a trip to the scrap yard. I just haven't gotten around to taking them there yet. Guess when the next price rise on scrap metal comes around I need to load it all up and get rid of it.
Farmers used to take very early Model T rears and cut them down like that to make milking stools. The value of early rear axles made it worth while to restore them using later outer ends of the housings. Bob
Everything in this trailer except the big block chev motor went to scrap after I tried to sell it at the swap meets. 3, 283s, one 389 Pontiac, a dana posi mail jeep axle etc etc. I was paying storage on all of it and had no plans to use any of it for myself. Oh, I heard about it from my fellow HAMBers but nobody stepped up to buy. I believe I made $128 for scrap. Or maybe it was $8
I tried giving away parts one time. Responses ranged from “ I’ll take it....will you deliver? “ To “ I’ll take will you ship it to me for free”.
Ive noticed the past few years with more and more onlune classifieds, buyers have gotten ridiculous, they act as if Im doing them a favor by offering something for sale. The BS you have to deal with to even sell something anymore. Makes hauling off for scrap a more attractive option i agree on the Free comments. Will you deliver, etc.
If I trip over something 1 time too often, out it goes. My buddy owns a repair shop and he has a scrap iron pile going all the time, I just add it to his. They cash it in to buy breakfasts and lunches. I save cut off ends of steel and aluminum stock for machining jobs, that stuff comes in handy. I used to save old lifters, timing chains and crap like that. Not any more.
About 30 years ago when we built our home. There was an old farm house on the property, so since then I've filled every room, with old car parts, { junk }. I've even started my own little junk yard behind a 40s styled service station that I built. Just for storing more parts, { junk }. I tell my friends to come and pick anything they want or can use on their projects. Even if I'm not home, I said just go and help yourself. The bad part is, when I need something, I know that I have it. But I can never find where I put it! Lol Just Too much stuff. { JUNK } A photo of My uncle's old Ford, in front of the garage. Ron...
I recently just moved 45 loads of stuff. There's well over 100 pallets (22 pallets is one 53' semi trailer. I could have scrapped 1/3 of it and not even missed it. Still might do that but scrap is so low it doesn't pay to haul a load in. I know what Everything is, what it's from and why I kept it or it's intended new purpose. The problem is I have so many projects that I'll need diapers before I can get to them all.
WOW!! I cant believe you moved from the farm, How do you find your way around in the dark in new environment.. How many years did you live there. hope things are going well for you. Johnny an old customer.
What I don't need I sell to purchase things I do need for my projects. What doesn't sell either gets given away or scrapped. I can't stand to have stuff laying around and find that when things get too cluttered up it impedes my ability to make progress on anything in my shop. I've been to other peoples "shops" before that you could barely get the door open for all the junk piled up. Their "projects" were so buried under the rubble I wondered how they could possibly get anything done. It can get out of hand quickly.
I don't have a lot of stuff left but there comes a time when it's got to go! This spring I will clear out the last of it. Not leaving it for my wife to clean up.
I guess you can include me in the “ hoarder” status. I’ve been collecting cars, trucks, tractors, junk, for 50 years. Have three barns full of junk, over 100 things with wheels, 5 things with tracks and three current projects. Funny thing is everyone says I should get rid of it all, but if it wasn’t for people like me, where would anyone get a start on a project. But no one wants to give any thing for my stuff, but then I see people sell stuff for 10 times want I want for mine. Example: I offered a complete 1950 Mercury 2 door for $2000, no takers... saw a guy advertising a hood only for $1500. Seems funny to me. But I have tons of room, lots of land with trees on it to hide my hoard and they don’t eat anything. Bones
About 5 or 6 years ago I did have a guy inquire about the axle on the Ford Barn, and he ask if I still had it and was it indeed free and I told him I did have it and it is free, he then ask me would I be willing to split the shipping to California. HRP
Pallet racking is your friend. Im sure you have an organization plan, Ive had good luck buying pallet racking out of industrial auctions. Even built roller carts to fit under the rack for heavy stuff rear ends, blocks.
I am doing the same now with a 6 lug rear end. I have it listed on the HAMB Pay It Forward and have it listed on Craig's List for $200. Still in my garage after wanting to get rid it for three years. I would really hate to roll it to the curb. I have trashed and rolled other parts to the curb to get rid of them. I really hate doing that.
I posted a huge lot of parts like a 28 ft trailer full loaded to the top...FREE ..you would not believe the idiots..I stated all or none...must of been a dozen people wanting one part...several responded if they were closer..what good is that statement.Can you deliver ?,came up a few times? I stated no pictures availabe but listed 90 percent of what was there,and said so much more...One idiot said he wanted pictures to see if it was worth his time. Crap it was all Free! I just couldnt see myself scrapping all this ...motors, interior, transmissions, glass, sooo much more. But just to rid myself of the idiots I did.Then weeks later I get call from one last idiot wondering why I never got back to him..Looking at my PM's I see he said he would get back to me. Finally I got rid of all of it all and glad I did .Giving stuff away free puts you in contacts with some real dandy's.
The longer it sits, the harder it is to get rid of. My prediction is, it is only going to down in value, scrap prices included. I have stuff here that has been for sale for years, and not even an offer has been made on 99% of it. Now I freely admit, none of it is '32 or Hemi car stuff, but you would think someone would need a fender for a '64 Ford. Standard old drivetrain parts seem to be even worse. It's an LS powered, patina styled world out there nowadays.
I’m looking for some stuff for my Buick ( hood, gas tank and a few odds and ends) Had a guy offer me a complete car with new parts for 2 grand ....... but I don’t have room to park it or part it out,a real shame on my part as there is more that I need then I can think of and it’s a great deal BUT .... the no room thing for me is a deal breaker and he won’t part it out so there is sometimes two sides to the coin.
In reading these experiences I don't know whether or not to laugh or cry. Hrp's deal with a guy wanting him to split the shipping is a hoot, what is this guy thinking, god I hope he is not on the HAMB.
Yeah, sometimes even free isn't cheap enough... LOL I used to hoard stuff, but about 15 years ago I decided enough was enough. I'm one of those guys that rather than go to the boneyard and buy just the parts I needed, I'll buy a whole vehicle, strip off what I want and used to store the rest for sale 'in the future'. But after 25+ years of doing this, the future arrived and the sheer volume finally filled all available space. Hit CL and eBay for the excess, actually did pretty well when the smoke cleared. I still tend to buy whole vehicles, but now anything I don't need goes on the block right away. Whatever doesn't sell within a few months is off to the scrapyard unless I know that it's a rare and desirable part if only I find the 'right' buyer. That's very rarely true anymore. The market for old mechanical parts (pre-muscle car) has shrunk almost to the point of invisibility; the restorers are fading away rapidly and lets face it, the hard-core 'traditional' hot rodders and customizers are very small sub-set in the overall hobby. Between the availability of repo parts and the desire of most owners to upgrade to more modern parts for cost/serviceability reasons, the 'real vintage' parts just aren't wanted by that many people anymore. Add in the difficulty/expense of shipping large parts, and that chases away most potential buyers. When shipping that vintage axle costs $150 or more (and will likely need to be rebuilt when you do get it), that $150 Ford Explorer axle looks pretty good...
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