Creative suggestions only please....All my projects are in sincere danger of possibly going to s**** like please don't bother jamming a stick in my wound with tips like sell it and ****... but if you have a positive thought or suggestion throw it out there....I live in one of the most densely populated and THE most expensive areas of my country. I sold my house long before the Asian market centered on our area. Have been a renter ever since and as such subject to the whims of landlords. 2013: my landlord sells property new owner wants to live in my suite, forced to sell my 2 o/t Mustangs at dirt cheap prices due to notice...dis***emble A and T into panels, chop up '54 Buick donor s**** frame, save driveline, and put all into 8" truck box trailer, sell 1/2 and gift rest of stock T parts, put trailer in storage @ $75. a month for nearly 2 years 2015: move onto small farm landlord is car friendly, A & T still in trailer, find flathead/banjo driveline for T (but have to store in small shed as no indoor work space to ***emble car) 2016: find my dream '57 2 dr and a more complete 4 door, plan: drive fordor while fixing up 2 dr., find and ***emble drivelines and most missing parts for both cars.... get 80% toward having one or both as running "beater" cars, run out of cash 2017: off work (back injury), wife is pregnant, landlord's son is getting married and looking for a place to live no notice as of yet but have been verbally "notified" I'm ****ting my pants are all my dreams going up in smoke again???? What would you do?
Sorry to hear of what seems to be a "downward spiral" in your life. Don't really have any kind of answer to your quandary, just wish you the best going forward. Seems like you need some good luck, hope it comes your way.
Sounds tough. Try to sell enough to get one chev going. Keep that. Pray for a suitable place to live. Look forward to the future. Sometimes when times are tough things can only get better. But it takes time. Maybe load it onto a truck and move to cheaper part of the country. But whatever you do, plan. Maybe ask the current landlord for conformation on what you have to do. Sent from my SM-T805Y using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Priority in projects. Buy a used car hauler trailer like 24' to keep best project in with parts. Or have two. Later in life cir***stances may change and you will be able to gather and keep more "shstuff" but for now you can safely keep your tools and cars stored and easily moved.
Sometimes we have to sell our toys, the things we enjoy doing become secondary to the things we must do to get by. I've been there and it's tough to do, but the #1 job is to take care of yourself so you can take care of your family. During difficult times life can become challenging but as you get older and look back, what you consider huge losses today will become memories and you will have put yourself in a position not to be affected by landlords and have your health in order. Hang tough!
43 yrs ago. Happened to me twice. First year after being married the complex sold forcing us out. The second year, after a new baby, the duplex sold and the owner wanted our side. Keep your head up and eye in the target. You will get through this. Good luck. ..
I think you and I are around the same age (circa 1967), and no one in my family/extended family/friends are/were into any kind of old cars at all, and really that's all I care about, aside from my wife and kids. I think you might have a similar history. Anyway, we joined Hamb around the same time, and I'm familiar with your posts, but to catch up, I skimmed through as many of your recent posts as I could. It seems you're getting married, AND having a kid. That's awesome, congratulations. I'm not sure if you have other kids, but either way that's fantastic. If you don't already have kids, I can tell you as an older parent, there's nothing else in life that will happen that will ever be as special or important as being a dad, and it will help you focus on what's important and help you to find creative solutions to problems, and inspire you to find ways to provide for them and take care of business. My kids were born around the recession, and I am a small business owner, and the only money-earner in our family. My business tanked completely and I had to scramble to find ways to bring in some $. It was really difficult, and still is, but out of necessity I am able to do it, (just barely). I am lucky in that I own my own house, and my cars/motorcycles have a place to languish when I'm broke. A few times I've put them up for sale when I was desperate, without success. Unfortunately, it sounds like you might have to move again soon, and to complicate things you thrashed your back and are out of work at the moment. That does ****, and it is a difficult situation combined with other things you've got going on. You might want to try to find a spot for your stuff that's separate from where you live, so any change is your residence doesn't affect the cars. Even if it's out in the boonies. I know if it were me, I have no friends or relatives that would let me store my stuff, so I might look to rent some yard space where I could store cars and putter, or consolidate and rent a garage bay in a residential neighborhood. Around here self storage places rent car spaces. Hopefully in the future you can buy a place and have more control over your cir***stances. The other thing I wanted to say was that I can tell from your posts that you are a good person, you're very gracious with people, supportive of others, willing to contribute and share. I couldn't find one post where you were being a **** to anyone. Sometimes things have a way of coming back to you, good or bad. If you can remain calm, not panic or do anything rash, you will be in a much better place to see and find solutions to a myriad of problems from: "how you're gonna buy diapers and formula", to "where can I keep my Chevies". I have had serious moments of panic and stress over the past 10 years, often times being flat broke not knowing how the Hell I was going to pay all of our bills. (November for instance). I found that panicking didn't help change any outcomes at all, for the better. I find that when I can remain calm, I'm in the best possible position to find/take advantage of any solution that might present itself. Good luck, man, we are all on your side
Great advice @clunker. I have been very fortunate in my mid life years. The part about not panicking and learning to plan is something my Dad taught me. I would definitely go rural. Even if you can't buy a house, living outside of cities should let you find space to breathe and hold onto what you've gathered without having to pay storage on top of living expenses. Good luck and hold onto hope.
Most of us have faced adversity more than once in our lives. Your family is or should be the most important thing,a roof over your head so you got to do what you got to do. You don't want to hear it but you need to sell the cars and parts for whatever they will bring because your are going to have a child that will depend on you for their care. You may have to seek out help from a family member or a organization that offers some sort of aide to familys that have hardships. There will be plenty of time for cars when you get back on your feet. HRP
Thanks so much for the responses guys. I was hesitant to post that, I didn't want to seem whiny or depressed, (because i'm super stoked about the baby) and most other things in life are going fine. Actually just putting my thoughts down here felt much better than having them running around in my head. I was a bit worried I would get some "**** it up princess" or "walk it off" responses but you guys are really a swell bunch of fellas! Thanks for the perspective. Yes there must be "car gods" in charge of all this I wonder what sacrifices they take? goats are fine but not my first born... If I receive written notice at the end of this month I will have 60 days...I've never sold anything that quick my last hot rod that I sold to finance the '57 took 6 months and that was after slashing the price drastically Ah yes time... the bane of hot rodders existence That's what I did with the model A &T put everything (except the frames and subframes) in a 8' truck trailer and canopy. People already hate it can't imagine showing up with two semi trailers going over well....but I've thought a few times it would be a great solution hell I could ***emble that T in a cube van! You're right but it's difficult to imagine finding another deal like I got on these cars ... memories? or deep regrets? i'm sure we all have those Thanks....I know I will but will my dreams of cruising with my family, road trips, teaching my kid my p***ion for old cars? If they were just recent purchases I hadn't spent countless hours working on and gotten 1/2 done I'd be less disappointed Thanks alot brother... great perspective and yes we are alot alike and been through many of the same experiences I appreciate the sounding board Dude I finally just found this place on a farm and it's been great! I got so much done! After 2 years of storing everything it was great to have it near me again. No shop but super mellow landlords who have let me work on my projects and let me park the cars even though they weren't part of the agreement...going to be super tough to find this situation again...space is at huge premium around here and my wallet is low on premium my best hope is that the landlord's son takes pity on the fact we would end up moving a month before our baby is due....but hoping is not planning as others have suggested so it's thinking cap time
Sell everything you have to. If you have room for one car, sell everything but that one car. Do not let that stuff go to s****. The days are over of finding what you have in every junkyard across the country. If you sell it then maybe one day you can buy it back, if you s**** it it's gone forever and nobody gets the chance to make something of it. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I am truly sorry for your trouble.I have been broke with a family and it ****s! I see you are in Canada so I dont guess you can bring the stuff here and just park it on my fence row for as long as you need to. Seriously do you know anyone with a farm or large industrial building that could help you? Raginpin is absolutely right about the difficulty of replacing your cars.
I sold my house about 15 yrs ago, believe it or not it's not really a decision I regret. I felt like I was just "renting" from the big banks, rents were much cheaper than my mortgage, I could never seem to get any actual equity into it, and it was an old money pig. I gave my brother the down payment $ and sold it to him as he had a home based business, was starting a family, and had lots of buddies with home improvement type businesses. Steinauge man I really appreciate the offer (even though you're too far away) it's the thought that counts!...about 10 yrs ago I had a house with a bit of property my uncle who owned a farm (and was always my go to guy for storage) sold his farm and moved to an island. He had a collection of about 25-30 non running cars '50's-'70's which meant he had to move them one at a time! we moved about 20 cars to my yard. Yes the neighbours were thrilled! We managed to get the job done before any major fines were incurred LOL... I'm remaining calm and optimistic til the 1st when i'll know one way or the other. In the mean time I felt it necessary to put up a couple "feeler" ads on the '57 Chevy's just to see what interest and value they have in unfinished condition. I've asked around about off-site storage but it's prohibitively expensive and you're not allowed to actually work on the cars at these places. You guys are right if fate steps in I probably won't be able to replace them in the future .... whadayagunnado?.... fuggedaboudit!
I know it's not what you want to hear, but you're probably best off to sell everything you've got for whatever you can get for it this summer (don't wait around, now is the selling season) and just wait until you have a more solid footing, then buy a driver. Drivers don't need storage, they can just go with you. Might not be possible until years down the road but you won't be able to work on your projects for the next few years anyway and you won't be paying storage either. And if you got great deals on your current stuff like you said, then you'll come out ahead. If you sell them for market price, you'll be able to buy similar stuff back later at market price and the lack of storage fees will offset the increased cost you may have to pay in the future due to inflation/appreciation. I know how hard it is. Selling that stuff means the dream of building it dies with the sale. Every teenage kid with a guitar collecting dust in the closet comes to the same realization eventually. But get your family, home and finances in solid order and circle back around on your old car hobby when you can. There will still be old cars available when you're ready.
* Update: managed to negotiate a compromise, the landlord's son is looking at other options for now but will probably want to have our place next year sometime... - On the plus side that gives me a year reprieve - On the negative side I advertised the two '57's on Craigslist for two weeks without a single bite! ....except calls from most of the main '57 parts hoarders around here (wanting to sell me stuff) who all seem to be liquidating and going out of business right now....Is this a bad sign? could the once iconic '57 Chevy's popularity be fading?
Sell all your projects but keep one. Work your tail off to have enough dough to buy your own house with a garage for your "keeper". Set up a budget and stick to it putting a little away in savings. Buy only what family needs. No beer, tobacco, alcohol or drugs. Let no interest accrue on your one credit card. .
Choose one car, finish it or at leas finished enough to drive. Peddle or store the rest and get on with life.
You haven't said what you do for a living, what your source of income is and how much that amounts to is basically what will determine what you will be able to manage moving forward. In spite of what you think, renting is a dead end street and you will always be lining someone else's pockets and you will forever be at the mercy of someone else's whims and rules. Having your own home and garage workshop is priceless in terms of security for you and your family and peace of mind. You may not regret selling your house 15 years ago, I bet you would change your mind if you took a look at that properties current value. And, at this point you would have 15 years paid into the mortgage, money that as you put it you had to pay anyway for a place to live. But, instead (figuratively) you tossed that money into a trash can every month. In any case, you are finding out a lesson in life, career home and family come first, once those are established then expensive hobbies like old cars can follow. Sorry if that seemed at all harsh, but it is reality.
well the thread was about what to do with the cars but... 1) In 15 years I've had to move twice due to landlord whims... 2) The area I live in you NEVER get to own your home you rent it from the bank at high interest rates we're talking 40 year mortgages here you have to have a minimum $40,000 down payment for an average priced house and if you're older than 25 you probably never own it....but yes you don't have to worry about eviction....oh wait unless you miss a couple payments and lose the whole thing!! 3) I make average income for my area.... my rents are about 1/3 what my mortgage was which actually helps my family 4) unless you buy acreage you probably have a 1 car garage or carport (if that)...keeping cars or car parts outside will earn you big fines and big h***les down here...or...you rent acreage for cheap while the land developers are sitting on it 5) after 15 yrs I probably would have just started paying down the principle wish I lived in Alberta land of the $40,000 farms and rust free cars! ;-)
Don't panic or have a fire sale. Work like a wild man to get the 57 2 door done. Or, since you are going to have a baby, get the 4 door useable. I would sell all the T&A stuff, use the money to do one (or both, if time and $ allow) 57s, then sell the one you don't want. I know from personal experience that you CAN have too many cars. And I would look at moving. Life deals us set-backs. Put family first, but focus on ONE car. If you really do have a year, you can get a good car put together.
sage advise and it looks like the best road at this time I guess i'm not unlike a lot of guys on here I have always been a car "magnet" but never a car magnate lol I usually have a plan involving the purchase of several rough cars at low prices, I part out 1 or 2 or build one and sell it and keep 1 for myself it sounds ridiculous but actually this routine has netted me otherwise unobtainable cars and put extra dough in my pocket on several occasions if all goes right and I commit and follow through....also like a lot of other guys I've been slowly am***ing junk for that 1 "dream car" a ford roadster. Its basically a lot of worthless junk unless ***embled. I do have that stuff crammed into an old trailer at least. I was sort of thinking U.K. or Australia Lol
I think with the help of my buddies here on the HAMB I can do that...the two options I'm mulling over right now are: a) finish tying up all the loose ends on the 4 dr. and get it running in 3 MONTHS so I can go pick up our new daughter in it then sell it and use that cash to get the 2 dr roughly ***embled or b) start swapping every good part off the 4 door (the running 350 etc) onto the 2 dr until it is a mostly complete rough running car (couldn't be done before the baby) make a package of the fordor and extra parts and (hopefully) find a buyer but probably lose money
My recommendation, get you *** in your dd and hit the road. Cruise the farm area and look for an area that isn't well kept. Stop and tell them your situation and ask if you could store some rusty stuff there for a while until you get on your feet. Take momma and the baby with you. It might take a few stops but it will work. Offer to help out if they need it. Fix a car, now some gr***, whatever. There are some good people in this world and you won't find them in the city. The older generation help me the most when friends couldn't. Building these cars will help provide for your family and give you quality of life. You might even make a good friend in the process. Remember you made your choices in life and the little one is looking to you for guidance, above all that is the number one priority. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I am the start over king. I have been all the way to the bottom and back more times than I would like to admit. The stuff always seems to congregate again. Not the same stuff but stuff that I like well enough.
Perhaps there are some Hambers in your area with some extra space they can spare? Why not post a new topic requesting just that? Maybe someone would love that four door in trade for some free storage for "X" amount of time? Good Luck my friend!
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