Featured Art & Inspiration Small rant Hot Rodder estate sale

That's for sure Larry!

 

I guess as long as some of you guys can p*** happy in the knowledge all the ‘stuff’ you’ve hoarded will likely go in the s**** pile to become a Kia then that fine.

Personally, il collect what I need plus a couple of trinkets and leave the rest for others to enjoy our hobby.

You never know you might actually find some joy by p***ing some stuff on BEFORE you pop it

 

Hoarding , and having more then you need has never made sense to me .
My Dad was a hoarder off everything “ good” while not a hot rodder he was your typical Italian and made everything , wine , cheese , cured meats , tomato sauce , all sorts of canned antipattos etc etc etc etc etc has built all sorts of different machines gadgets tooling and equipment between the 3 car garage with shop and garden shed at the cottage and his 2 car garage in the city . He built a wine room under the garage .

anyways me and my brother a couple years ago probably threw out 5000 - 7000 lbs of “ good stuff from the cottage garage to clean it out , the shelves and rafters where packed with wood , steel and electric motors and all sorts of building and machine materials it was simply overwhelming to go through it all .

his garage in the city we pulled out 6 pick up trucks of junk and got rid of it , garage still looks like we didn’t put a dent in it .

all his wine making , grappa making , meat stuff etc etc . Is just sitting there at this point as neither of us want to or even can get rid of it . But we don’t “ make” any of that stuff nor do we have any urge to make any of it ( except maybe the meats and tomato sauce )
So it just sits right now collecting dust .

mom is 81 this year and aging fast , she has a house full of “ good stuff “

it’s simply a heart breaking pain in the *** to go through , decide , and get rid of stuff .

while different then car stuff , as this stuff holds incredible sentimental value , and is useful , the generation that held it close to its heart and knew its value is aging out and it’s now essentially worthless even to sell or give away . To just throw it out at this point in my life I can’t do it.

horrible situation to be in .

I have tools , lots and lots of tools , but as far as “ stuff” goes I’m pretty minimalist , in this day and age of Internet forums , eBay , Amazon etc etc . Whatever I need is a day or 2 search to find , buy and have in my hands ready to use . I don’t see why I need to hoard stuff and make it an issue for my wife and kids .

im only 47 but in the last 5 years lost to many friends and family around my age that it gets me thinking also .

 

I'm happy as can be collecting what I have and p*** it along to anyone who will pay.
My will has directions that parts I am selling for others go back to where they belong amd those are tagged as such.
The rest go in as s****. All tools and equipment is to be donated to a local trade school.
No garage sale or auction. Here are a few shots of my overflow building.

 

My kids wouldn't agree but I've never been too bad of a parts collector and now that my roadster and '40 are pretty much "done" I've been disposing of the junk parts left over from them. Every time I go up in the loft at my shop I try to find something else that I can carry down and throw out. But, I still use the tools that it took me 50 years to acquire and I don't plan to stop soon. It's going to be a hard decision for me when it comes time to let them go...

 

Sometimes you don't hoard, really. You just wear **** out or tire of it and set it aside. Can't throw very much out, might need something off it. Satellite might think I hoard used tires.

 

There is a reality that I know a lot of the stuff hanging around in my shop are worthless to most people. But when I stumble across some worthless thing hiding in a corner, I often find there was some sort of memory that is attached to it. I may sit and remember the time, the event, and the people that worthless thing brings back to me. Sometimes those memories bring back fond times, or tragic times I and others have survived.
Do I throw that worthless thing away? Or do I slip it back into a different corner where it may turn up again and refresh those memories? There are things hidden in corners of that garage that my son, my daughter, and even my wife have no idea what they represent. Times or events they never knew or would never remember, but I do!
My father p***ed away 15 years ago. There are a few things that have no value, I brought from his garage into my own because they were tied to a memory we both had together. We didn't have many memories together, the few that survived now hold deep meanings in my head. I don't want my family to expect me to rid myself of those memories just because those items may hold no value, while I'm on this side of the dirt, after I p***, they can throw it away.
At the same time, after I closed my welding shop, I got rid of a lot of stuff. I cleared out enough stuff that my two car garage that used to be only one work stall now houses to vehicles with space to walk around both of them. There is more stuff there that could go away, when I'm ready to see it go. Until that time, its hands off.
At our house, there are things in our ba*****t my wife has collected from her family. They will be here until she decides to remove them, or until she p***es and my children (and my self if I'm still around) decide what to keep and what not to keep.
That at***ude runs in my family. After Dad died, we helped mom clean up things in dad's garage and closet, but there were things mom just wanted to keep that didn't make much sense at that time (it does now). When mom p***ed away a year and a half ago, my two sisters and my wife and I cleaned up the house and garage her and dad had for 54 years. There were things we each took home, most of which didn't have any monetary value.
The things that trip memories may hold a much higher value to some people then things that may be valuable.

 

The sands are running out on the old hourgl*** so I've been cleaning up my garage and parts haul for a couple of years.Have no kids and don't want to leave my wife with extra things to worry about whenever the old expiration date comes up.Where have the years and decades gone,lol.

 

I need 100 x 150 ,Realy 200 x200 & 20 ish or so ceilings,
A few from here can verify

 

I know my wife and kids will call the local s****ers . I’ll enjoy my insignificant piles of junk that I have gathered up as long as I’m able to . I’ve started slowly moving a few things to people who enjoy them.

 

Some of us do, for sure….
My cardiologist says that if I start eating vegetarian and walk miles each day I could add years to my life. For him that’s a cultural norm. For this SoCal, Leave it to Beaver, meat n potatoes guy, that ain’t happenin’.
So, as he says, since I clogged up in about 5 years last time, I can count on clogging up again in about the same time frame, maybe a little longer since I have improved my diet, I do exercise (just not enough for him) and take my medications, (wasn’t too good about that last time) So I’m working to a five year timeline trying to get some stuff running, some stuff finished and some stuff gone. If he’s right, I won’t leave too big of a mess for my family to deal with. If he’s wrong, I might get to drive one or two of them.
Like others, I enjoy being in the presence of the old stuff I have. I’ve been selling off stuff and there’s no doubt plenty more to get rid of but stuff’s not easy to sell these days so it’s slow going.

 

I won't have any "fruit of my loins" perching on my grave stone like vultures when I eventually drop dead
So my wife is correct in we're going through a phase of Swedish death cleaning.

So I'm actively selling of hoarded items [Cars and Parts are easy for me to flog off, but I struggle with selling my tools]
My biggest fear is my wife selling all my tools for what I told her I paid for them.

@partsdawg I just showed your photos ^^^^ to my wife [I has bought me some time ]
This is a Before and After of my Garage

 

Do what makes you happy. Or don't do what makes you unhappy.

I have a banana box of extra trinkets for my 64 that I've had for 40 years. Hauled from CT to KS to MA to RI to KS to NH to NH again.

 

I always shake my head at rants like this.

If most of the people who have garages full of stuff had spent time with there children, teaching them about cars, taking them to swap meets, car shows and races,
their children wouldn’t have to “deal with it” the cars and tools would be viewed as heirlooms and not as objects that need to be dealt with!!!

 

We could be related

Did your dad ever tell you “someday this will all be yours” as he grinned knowing you’d (me) have to deal with it.
lol

Anyways, some folks collect fine art. They like walk past it and look at it. Gives them a joy.

 

Well, the kid has to have the desire. You gonna force a child to like something that you like? My daughters each have been exposed, but each have their own interests, none related to any of this. Hopefully 1 of them will have a child that cares.

 

We're sitting at the same coffee counter brutha. Probably a shiney white and chrome old early 60s diner too. I gotta say though, once in a while I get an *** rippin from my boss to clean it up a bit. Remember him? He's a ****, hangs out over the top of my bathroom sink

 

I delivered a pair of pretty rough rear pickup fenders to a young guy for a good price, because I got them cheap enough. To say he was stoked would be an understatement, this doesn’t happen often enough, but when it does it reinforces the model…

 

My biggest enjoyment is walking fences in the springtime on the pastures my Dad,GreatGrandpa and GreatGreatGrandpa had owned. Knowing I’m walking where they had walked . I know that I’m the end of the line and I’m ok with that . None of my kids are interested in running cattle or farming. My nephews are only interested in money . I know my Folks wishes on how they want things p***ed on . Life is great.
Partsdog good looking round top barn . Are the rafters wood or steel ?

 

Tools are tools , even with. Cleaning out the garages no tools have gone anywhere . And tools are easy to sell or give away to someone in need or starting out .

My wife and older daughter while have no interest do appreciate my old car illness , ( my younger daughter gets it )but why should they have to deal with parts and junk when I can’t or am not there ? Tools and cars are easy to sell or deal with , junk is another thing entirely. ( one man’s junk ….. we all know the rest )

oh man did he ever !!! He would beam with happiness when he got. “ something “. Steel stock , gear boxes , reducers , pullies , motors , building material , hardware , we pulled out 27 axes from the cottage garage , 600’ of 1/2” chain , and about 10 jack posts .

all good stuff , all of it , but why so much ????? I know he got it for free , or traded a couple bottles of wine or grappa for it , but FFS man !!!
And I could not get rid of it , as it’s GOOD STUFF !! but wth am I gonna do with it ????

 

And, how long before it reverts to its natural state?

 

When I’m dead I highly doubt I will care what happens, my wife has a list of people to call, otherwise dig a hole and bury it all, I couldn’t care less at that point

 

I like that, sir. I have spent a lifetime taking care of "family" and being responsible! I will not worry about what needs done after I am gone.

Ben

 

this isn't hoarding, this ****'s FOR SALE!!!

 

It isn’t just car stuff, my aunt (Dad’s younger) has been giving me all kinds of family mementoes. I am happy to have it but when I asked why she replied that when she and my uncle die my cousin in going to bring in a dumpster and load it!

What a shame!

I have been given the toolbox my grandfather Palmer (Robert Nelson Palmer) my Grandmother Palmer (Marion Palmer) WWII civil air defense arm band family photos etc….

Had she not done that it would all at some point be going to the dump!

 

I thought I had some stuff that most people thought was junk, but from some of these pictures, I'm a rookie. This summer I am going to go through the **** I have stored in the loft of my shop, and under my bench. That's where I store my treasures. On the other side of the hoarding story, when I was 18, I built a 34 Ford with an Olds engine. For some reason I ended up with an extra set of ignition wire separators that bolt to the intake manifold. 68 years later I just used them on my new to me 50 Olds that was missing them. Can anyone beat that record for hoarding a part, and then using it!

 

My dad was a hoarder of good stuff. He loved anything internal combustion related. He had hit and miss gas engines, antique outboards, motorcycles, boats, cars- you name it. We managed to liquidate most of it with an auction when my parents downsized their house.
I, on the other hand, have a lot of tools including redundant hand tools, but have managed to move on any car parts that don’t fit my current project, and have one each of my bigger power tools. Every coupla years I like to purge my shop of anything I’m not using.
My two sons will inherit it, and can do with it what they like…

 

"Bout 6 years ago I helped a next door neighbor who was well known "hot rod car guy" clean out his well known father's home shop(neighbor)after he died and they were going to sell the property. The son gave me alot of cool "stuff" for free for helping clean out the shop and watching the property for thieves. I caught a tow truck driver who broke in at 4:00 in the morning and tried to steal a car and tools. Cops got him.
Had a chance to buy several un-finished cars too, but I had my house for sale also, to escape from Calif ... Alot of nice stuff and parts were just thrown in a role off trash dumpster and couple kit cars were completely thrown in the trash. Real valuable project cars, 49 ford, 50s Buick custom, 55 pontiac safari , a 50 Merc were sold to a local well known hot rod shop. I wish I would have bought one of the cars now. But I had too much going on moving all my junk 3000 miles and storage.

 

I agree. I also have my own pile, much smaller but doing these estates sale makes me know I have to scale back a little.
All my cars happen to run in some fashion. The
rant was more about further ac***ulating the pile when one is much older and have not figured it out.
I'm sure we all have projects big and little one that would add up to the rest of our time doing them.
Was also just showing a cool garage with nice junk.