Ok here's the deal, wife and I go down to Madera to watch Rog. race his RC car, we are watching the action when my rust detector starts going off, so during a lull I go expolring, then I see these, not sure what they do at the business, they are on the outside edge of the property, I was going to explore deeper but a nasty *** dog changed my mind, looks like they have all been sitting there "awhile" I would check for more info but since I have no money for projects whats the point. I think if someone were to go there with money in hand they might part with them. They are located off Hwy 99 in Madera Ca. on Road 24, between Ave. 18 & Tropical Dr. all of them looked fairly straight and intact body wise, most of the rust seems more surface. good luck.
Oh Yeah and on the property on the otherside of the RC track. beat up '57 and some ones long forgotten project, '49 or '50 Ford truck, also other '50s trucks around the yard but couldn't get a good pic, due to fence.
De Rosa Sr. used to drive down there for years to 3 Boys Auto Wrecking to get alot of 51 Merc parts He also got Cadillac top and grafted it onto the 51 Merc from Ed Haggarty w/ Deal Auto Wrecking in Richmond CA.. He's on here right now with me looking at posts...This caught his eye...
sweet...you have a rust detector. sometimes its a bit like being a predator on the prowl. i always point at "objects" going down the road. it just annoys my wife coz after we p*** ill say "wow, did you see that blah blah with the blah." her usual reply is "no i just saw trees and a fence." nice finds, maybe someone can get nice new project.
Our wives must be related. Does she roll her eyes when you give the enthusiastic description of the stuff too? Looks like the places has a row of cabs. The 57 looks above average but the chopped truck on the other hand is a bit odd.
The big Ford truck looks interesting, bookmobile maybe? Would make a heck of a swap meet parts hauler/camper.
Nice! you ever been to Turners here in CA? Turner has some unbelievable stuff in his yard and tons more stuff thats not for sale!
I know about that "not for sale" deal; as a kid in L.A. there was a guy that had a large lot to the rear and side of his house, full of old cars, mostly '40s some '50s and a few '30s, he would drag them home spray the whole car with primer and park it, forever, when any of us would ask him about one of them he'd always say, "oh no I gonna fix that one up someday" 'course he never did and after I grew up and moved away I heard that he died and his family just had them all hauled away..I know everyone on this board has a similar story, too bad, so sad...
Yeah, I am lucky in my job....I spend alot of time in dark dirty alleyways and backyards and come across some interesting stuff. I can tell you where theres a couple of cool cars hiding out here in Merced. Too bad my "customers" usually dont want to talk hot rods.
HaHa.... I'm the one that's usually pointing or stopping to check stuff out. Last weekend I was with one of my girlfriends driving when I snapped my neck to look at something. She asked "Cute Guy?? Where??" and I said "No, sweet '51 Shoebox Ford".... I got no reply. Nice Find!! Glad to see stuff popping up lately!
This stuff is no joke folks. I think the point my dad (Rustygem for anyone that dosen't know) is trying to make is they're still out there. I just picked up a '55 ford truck in really nice shape for $500 and before that I bought a '29 sport coupe out of a side yard for $500 as well. If you see an old car and you want it, for the love of God ask the owners lol.... Sure there are some that will say no or feed you a line of BS but there is also the chance they will say yes. The most important thing to remeber when Tin hunting is to be respectful of people and thier property. One last thought is to always be sure to leave a phone number even in case of a no answer. You never know when someone will change thier mind. Happy Hunting, Rog
I didn't realize there was a car guy equivalent to gaydar. Rustdar? Isn't that truck with no bed an AD Chevy? The big Ford looks like an old moving van or something, buddy of mine has a '40s Dodge with a body along those lines, that one looks like either a size down or a different body builder (Boyertown maybe?) I've seen similar bodies on much smaller trucks, like 1-ton or so.
I kinda had visions of "Wavy Gravy" the guru of the flower childeren, <O I had friends that would have killed for something like that in the '60s.. ok I would have...I had to settle for a VW Bus...<O<O In a little better shape than this one, however this one is more rare... This might look cool with a hemi in the back and the front wheels high in the air ....and yeah this one is there too
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