Hot Rods local hot rod rotting away

i have known about this coupe for a while, i just never got to take a picture of it yet. when my dad and i stopped to look at it maybe 2 years ago to ask about it, the guy said a few typical things like, "im going to built it" and "it was my dads, so i cant let it go". well 2 years later, and its in the exact same spot rotting away. it would be a shame to let it sit there, but if it was his father's, wouldnt the guy like to see his father's old hot rod back on the road? it just doesnt make sense to me. every time i go by this shop i just get disgusted, and those words come back into my head, "im going to build it"

sorry for only having one picture, but right after this, the camera died...

 

As has been suggested on these type of threads before...politely let him know if he ever decides to get rid of it you want first dibbs. Then touch base with him every 6 months. You never know.....

 

Still has a plate on it ,whats the last year it was legal ? registered..can ya tell?

 

i could also ask if he would like us to buy it from him, get it running, and let him take it out for a cruise whenever he wants. but he didnt seem like the hot rod type, at the time he was working on an import, so im scared of what the coupe could be if he builds it

 

The "It's just sitting there and he won't sell it" thread gets kicked around here about every other day.
But to me, the only one it has to make sense too is the guy who owns it.
Larry T

 

may have been registered some time in the early 2000's because he WAS going to do something with it, for some reason the green sticker on the plate makes me think '02? dont really know

 

GreenMtn gives you the perfect answer. Stay in touch because things change in a heartbeat. I have also had some old farmers tell me if they sold it to me that guys (and girls) wouldn't stop and visit anymore and they liked the company. Scored some good deals by just visiting on a regular basis.

 

never makes sense that some people would rather let one sit & rot

 

Stop by once in a while to "check on progress" on the car, and remind him that you are still interested in buying it if he decides to sell.. And always be prepared to be able to produce the cash if he does decide to sell.
I have a personal policy that I never go to see if something is for sale unless I can come up with the cash or have the cash on me the time. I'm not going to expect someone to wait while I try to come up with the cash for a deal I made.

With the economy the way it is right now, a lot of things that were never for sale may all of the sudden be buyable.

 

if he does decide to sell it, i would GIVE him my 69 chevy truck right then and there, and grab a couple buddies to help push it home hahaha

 

I have always found if I take what i'm willing to spend, those type of poeple loosen up.

 

If you want it bad enough go make him an offer, you know what the price range should be, looks like he could use a new lawnmower.

 

thanks for all the tips guys, maybe some day i could work ou a deal with the owner

just remembered theres a custom (80's custom unfortuantely) '40 ford that has been sitting for a long time at one place, then moved to a different location and is still sitting there, i'll try to get a picture of it today for you guys

 

Maybe offer him a tarp for it, looks like there's no rear gl*** in it.
And that way other people won't spot it!

Flatman

 

Try to look at it from his perspective. Life happens to people... you just never know the real reason it is sitting. Maybe the guys got sick family he is tending to... or maybe he got laid off and is broke. Maybe his mortgage rate is an apr and he is trying to fend off forclosure.

Then some guy shows up on his door step trying to milk him for one of last prized possessions. Enough to make some people wanna pull out the 12 gage after the 100th person to knock on the door about it. Having an inability to get the time or money up for your project doesn't mean your desire or love for it has gone away. Consider how long the Hirohata Merc sat in that guys garage. Do you think his interest faded over all those years?

On the flipside.... people do change their minds... it best to maybe ask him if you can help him get it on the road and lend a hand because it is such a cool car. Maybe his at***ude would be different then. Maybe it would make him realise that he won't ever get to it... just a few thoughts my man...

 

Keep stopping by. There was a 53 Chevy PU a few miles from my house sitting beside a shed. I had seen it sitting there for years. I stopped by and asked and they said $200.00. I had it home within a hour. Several friends saw it sitting at my shop and said is that the truck that was sitting down the road. I said yes. They said we tried for years to buy that and they kept saying it was not forsale.

 

offer to help him with it, find out where he works and see if you can talk to one of his coworkers, they may know something.

 

i wouldnt just buy the car off him and skip town, i would ask how his father envisioned the car, maybe even have a memorial painting on the deck lid, but i dont just want to take away what he has to remember his father by.

where the coupe is, is where he works. its been sitting outside that shop for at least 6 years

 

2 years really isn't much rotting in the grand scheme of things

 

Why is it rotting away? It isn't sitting in the bottom of a pond. I have people come by my shop all the time asking if some of my cars are for sale, and when I tell them that they aren't, they always walk away mumbling something about them "rotting away". I will get to some of those cars some day, and to some I won't, but I don't want to sell them right now. Is it a crime?

 

What town do you live in in ma? lol I bet if you stop in and asked again it may be for sale . But its all about the money $$$ bring cash everything has a price

 

Just be patient and talk to the guy every few weeks, as suggested. Don't be a PITA, or else you'll never have a shot at it. And, don't be terribly surprised if you stop by sometime and it's gone, when a buyer caught the guy in the right mood to sell there and then.

 

Offer to come over and get it in some sealer primer at least. that way it'll slow the rust down. Maybe the good will act will make him reconsider. Other than that do what GMB said just keep in touch.

 

depends on how bad you want it! haahahaha

 

i would like to just help start on the project, even give him some parts he may need, anything, but i want to see the car back on the road. owning it would be the main goal, but you cant win em all!

 

**** that let it rust then he will sell it . Ive watched cars for years and once they look like **** you can get them easyer and sand blast them , m*** is not good to cars outside at all . Im watching a 32 5 window rot away right now same story hes fixing it . He use to drag race it , It has a flatty and banjo and the guy has an 80s parts car 302 hes putting the drive tran in the 32 5 window coupe for the last ten years the doner car is starting to fall apart now . lol I have offered him so far 5000 in cash in hand then i went back a year later with 5000 grand and a running driving 1940 chevy still no deal . But im going to keep watching

 

My neighbor has some old gold on his drive way, and he always has people stoping by and trying to buy one of his toys. Yeah his old and cranky and replies with " you see a for sale sign?", "I dont need the money so why sell em" Though he is up in age and will never get to all of them, his happy. He tinkers with them more than the lawn. I see my self in his shoes some day.

 

So how many thousand in cash did you flash the last time you saw it? That's the best measure of disgust IMO. If holding 5K-10K cash was easy for you, I'm guessing you woulda flashed it and tried to snag the car. If it's not easy, then maybe it wouldn't progress any faster in your yard.

I've been dragging around the car dad & I built in high school for 16 years. Haven't driven it for 10. Looks like a useable car from the outside but is structurally wasted underneath. It's a "someday" car that people think is wasting away. In reality it was wasted shortly after high school and I've actually been saving it with all this "neglect".

Bottom line, it's his dad's car and you need to respect that connection.

 

I have a few projects around and none of them are rotting away just waiting their turn for me to get them running. If you come across one of them, bring cash I might just let one of them go. Talk is cheap, bring money that will always help change a persons mind. Tire kickers ****, I have enough friends. This is how I bought my wife's 51 Merc. My 2 cents.

 

For what it is worth I have seen 5 window Doors alone bring 5 grand. This thing must be a pile.