Neatest old car you got for FREE?

There has to be some good stories here on this subject. In the mid 60's my buddy and I were on the way to the drags with my drag bike in back on a trailer. Driving down a state hiway in upstate Vermont we see a Fiat Topolino Coupe body sitting on the side lawn of this house. We go back and pull in and you could just tell it wasn't a car persons house. We knocked on the door and a lady comes and I say "We were wondering about that car setting there?" She said she ran a kindergarten and her husband had brought it home for the kids to play in. A couple of kids had immediatly got cut on the metal edges and she wanted it OUT of there. WE immediately volunteered to help her out with her problem and unloaded the bike and lifted the "Little Mouse" body onto the bike trailer. THEN we asked her if we could leave the bike in her garage till we came back later that weekend for it. We didn't make the drags that weekend but made a real good score. I've seen some restored Topolinos recently but back when they were popular drag cars I never saw one that wasn't already made into an Altered or Comp.Coupe or wasn't a fibre glass body. Where the steel ones even came from I could never figure. To just find one was unheard of. Lets hear what else was out there.

 

I stopped to ask about a car in a yard once when I lived in Atlanta, a 1971 Buick Skylark "California" with a fold back sunroof, buckets, console, horseshoe shifter, nice buick wheels etc. Car was in nice shape but covered with leaves. When I knocked on the door a woman came out and started to get in her car and leave. She told me she was in a hurry but I asked about the car. She told me if I could have the car outof the yard before she got back I could have it! She told me she would get me the title when she got back and handed me the keys from her key ring. I went and bought a new battery and some hot start and went to work. It started right up!! I drove it down the street and came back and waited for her. Sure enough, an hour later she came back and gave me the title!!

 

No free cars for me but I did score a 98% complete Honda CB750 motorcycle. Saw it on craigslist, was the first caller. Got the guys address, swung by and grabbed a friend to help load it. It's now in my house finishing wiring, a cafe racer now

 

Several years ago a lady I worked with asked me to help determine the value of a 59 El Camino her husband had used as a shop truck for his service station years earlier. They lived quite a ways from me and I really did not want to get involved so I kind of said somethig like just advertise it at best offer over some figure and see what you get offered. A few weeks later she came and said that they wanted me to have the car, I said I really had no extra funds to buy any thing. She said they did not want to sell it, just give it to me. Well, my rule has been to never refuse a free vehicle, this was the third by the way. Previously a 53 ford more door that I drove for a year in college and a 61 T Bird I sold for a few bucks. Anyway I borrowed a trailer [it had been sitting for many years] and went to pick it up. I was really surprised that it was as nice as it was [wish I had a picture]. It was a 283 three speed and the body was pretty nice with only a couple of pieces of trim banged up. the down side was a broken passenger window and shag carpet. the panel behind the seat was almost completely gone. I stored it at a friends storage yard untill he called and said he was selling the lot. I could not find another location, and finally gave it away myself to a guy needing a parts car. I wish I had been more tenacious at finding a way to keep it. Joe

 

How about the best free tech advice you ever got for free??!!??!!

Vote for tech month winner!

 

Free? Hell you have to pay a junk yard to take your car here!

 

In about 1960 my older brother gave me his first car now my first car a 47 Ford two door. Needed some work. the steering had about 1/2 turn play, the tie rod had rubbed a hole in the pan because of 6' lowering shackles he had installed. Mom wouldn't let me drive it until I had it safe. Thanks mom. Drove it all through high school as he had. Sold it after graduation and bought a better car. Of course wish I had it back now.

 

This one..

 

Count me out. Only cars I ever got for free were a Plymouth Arrow and a '74 T-Bird...

 

Well I am sure some will hate me for this but, when I got out of the Navy a buddy and I were paid to remove a bunch of old cars from the Cabazon Indian reservation. The newest car we took was a 49' Ford woody wagon. I remember several model A's and a bunch of other 30's era cars. All went straight to the scrapper in Fontana. Of course technically they wern't free we were paid to take them.

 

I forgot about the black 50 Merc coupe that I got for paying the tow bill.

 

When I was high school back in '80-81 I stumbled across a farm about 30 miles outside of Calgary. It was littered in vintage tin and the old drunk that lived there gave me permission to take anything I wanted for free. I scored a complete front clip for my '50 Chevy p/u, including hood. I also dragged out the body and box for a '27 T roadster pickup, as well as a decent '33 Ford tudor sedan body. There was even more stuff there but I didn't have room for it. I don't have pics, but I sure wished I'd hung on the the '33.

 

Not free ,in 1966 or 67 ,1951 ford woodie near mint but wouldn't start ,5 dollars !

 

I got this one for free from my father.

 

worked at a texaco near i-40 at night in high school.many cars limped in and the owners walked off after giving me the keys. back then paper was easy to get. 62 impala convertible,55 2 door,many volkswagens,56 pontiac,i once got a 48 buick used it for a dog house....man,we were dumb back then.

 

Only stuff for free was a 70s ford wagon (460 baby!), my dad's Fairmont, and a Dodge D-50.

 

You want a good story? this aint BS. Around 15 yrs ago a buddy called me up and asked if i wanted a 32 2dr body? A guy we both new had died and that was some of what his family wanted to get rid of, and my buddy was asked to sell it all. Well yep, I got it, and a couple more 2dr 32 shells,a 34 2dr bod,and piles of fenders,firewall,grille, sheet metal etc. to fill up a 20ft trailer, and longbed pickup.All for $1500. Went into it with another bud. He provided the money and storage. He agreed that when we doubled his money then I got whats left. wotta deal. I still have the 32 2dr bod and parts for it, way more than free! Waybak in the day,[in 50,s] I got a 32 2dr with parts for $75, and then a 32 pheaton body filled wth pts for another $75, 2 model A tub bodies for $25. But the estate deal was the best I ever made out on and i,m no wheeler dealer, it was always thru friends.

 

hey billy, do you have naything left from that car?

 

This

 

Still waiting for something decent. Lots of junkers passed off my way over the years, but....maybe

 

In 1953 my uncle gave me 2 plymoth coupes a 1933 and a1934. Both were perfect.
Put a Chrysler spitfire 6 in the 33 and drove it.

 

I was given a 34 5 window. With a crunched roof. I gave it to a friend who made a roadster out of it.

 

when i was 12 i was given a '33 ford tudor sedan. It was just the body and some rough front end pieces. Was planning on collecting some parts for it and building it, but being a typical kid, i made the wrong choice of selling it for some quick cash. still kicking myself for that mistake. The body changed many hands over the years and now its on a rolling chassis and should be on the road soon enough

 

Back in the 80’s, when I was in high school, an old farmer gave me a 33 Chevy 2 door sedan body. No fenders or hood, just the body, doors, and dash. The frame had been made into a cotton trailer. I had to buy the frame for $50. The front axel was still good; it had not been welded solid. Bad news is my mom sold it when I went off to college. It had sat behind our house for a couple of years without me doing anything to it and a guy offered her $100 for it. She thought that I would be happy that she had not only gotten my money back but had doubled it.

A couple of years back a friends father/farmer gave me part of a model T (the dash was good) and the front cowl to a 23 Studebaker. Two weeks ago another farmer/acquaintance gave me a model TT frame, axel, front fenders, rear end, and steering to haul off. A year or two ago the same guy gave me a model A frame that had been made into a cotton trailer. Bad news was it had been in a pasture fire and was bent badly. The only thing I was able to salvage was the rear spring perch and a couple of rims for wall hangers. The front axel had been welded solid and was bent from the fire.

I have also had 2 VW bugs given to me to haul off as well as a 1979 Cadillac Coupe de Ville. All were junk without titles that I use for parts and then scraped. Someday maybe I will score the big one.

 

Back in the 60's I was given a 54 Buick 4 door for free. Had factory air too! I was in high school,no place to park it.I left it in a church parking lot until the local cops arrested the Buick and put it in jail.

 

I was given this 1933 chevy 3 window coupe someone tried to section and didn't know what he was doing
I have a 5 window to take patterns off of and the machines to fix it. It's just on the back burner right now





I made this 33 Ford at Lazze's class I just wish I had the chevy at time I would have made it instead

 

A 55 Chevy 210 tudor..kept it for 15 years...still wish the fuck I had it.

 

Most recently a `79 International Scout II...have gotten several others,just can`t remember em all.

 

A neighbor had a 1935 Ford pickup sitting along his farm fenceline, so one day I asked him if he'd sell it. He said if if I'd haul it away, I could have it, so i did. That was about 30 years ago.

 

My 1930 Model A Ford Roadster body was the best free deal ever. FREE but I had to clean out all the other parts in the barn, that was the start of my lifetime as a fleamarket vendor.