Hot Rods Things I don’t need

I'll send you a private message. I think I only have plans one weekend in May

 

There is a fine balance between "Need" & "Want"...
I certainly didn't need a Deuce Roadster. However, I've wanted one since I was a young lad building AMT models.
I've had a Big Deuce model for decades & that's as close as I ever got to owning one. Then came an opportunity to obtain a real one. Did I need it? Hell no! Did I want it? You betcha!
It has a single 4 barrel and runs like a Swiss watch. Do I need a Tri-Power? Hell no! Do I want one? You betcha!
And so it goes. Does it ever end? (Hope not)

 

This is more of a rambling I wrote then necessarily a statement.

I will start with how did I miss this thread?
You all are depressing talking about mortality and tell all of our treasures are going to end up in a roll off s**** bin dumpster.

I am not a parts hoarder but I have definitely ac***ulated a lot of odds and ends in the 30 years that I've been screwing with cars, I love building cars from all eras with my p***ion being 1950s but all cars and parts from the 1920s through the 1970s are totally cool and I can see a vision for almost every derelict or dead vehicle I come across from that era.
I never really have enough money to hang on to everything and to be honest I don't think I would even if I could, what I mean is besides building the cars and driving the cars I kind of enjoy the hunt at the swap meet or at the hoarder estate sales and finding those rare parts or one off parts for my projects and I like selling at the local swap meets because I get to talk to a lot of you guys even if I don't know you guys or you don't know me we are all car guys and our traditional hot rods transcend time at this point.
Here in Southern California I hit the old car swap meets (maybe not Pomona every time or Long Beach but any of the Model T and A swap meets are going to find me at them) as they help fund the next project and if I'm lucky I end up basically making a little bit of money and getting parts for "free" by selling off the extra stuff that came in the lots of parts i bought, I would say the swap meet and selling off my hordes as part of the fun, way more than collecting the stuff and having to worry about taking the air compressor to blow it off every few months because it turns into a dusty mess.
eBay has been awesome I just started selling there 6 or 8 months ago, I cannot believe the amount of small items that I had laying around in the garage on shelves collecting dust, 2 barrel carburetors, cast iron intakes about 150 1930s 40s and 50s car radios, miscellaneous trim and just normal stuff that at one point or another I always thought I would either use or find a home for or that I was saving from the s**** yard.
Just as an example a few weeks ago I sold a "Dino" steering wheel that I found in a Volkswagen that was literally in a s**** pile, I personally think the will was ugly but I figured at some point I might have a use for it for like a go-kart or maybe I could trade it for a part I needed, well fast forward 20 plus years later I decided to list it on eBay and that stupid steering wheel apparently was worth about 400 bucks I'm not going to retire off that obviously but 400 bucks is a lot of vintique brand restoration parts for the model A lol.

I've been selling that type of stuff off and it has pretty much paid for my model A pickup truck project thus far (this truck has cost me so much more money than I thought I was ever going to spend on a vehicle and up until this point I don't think I've ever spent more than about $2000 on a car and that includes the buy-in, I always did all the work myself from upholstery to paint so everything is always been on the cheap but not on the A so far it's just a pile of cool parts spread out in my extra bedroom, my garage, my shed and even my back patio at some point I'll put it all together (and I will never sell it, even if I have to distill the gasoline myself against California regulations I will do so).
Back to the clutter the only thing I want to clutter my garage with is tools and cool car art and hotrod art. My tools are not clutter I love quality tools and it is taken me 30 years to get all higher-end tools (all used of course), the tools allow me to play with my projects and even though I haven't used my hydromatic seal puller and installer kit for 15 years I may use it 15 years from now who knows but I own it in case I need it again. All the car parts just like everybody else has said I don't really miss them, I have also realized I don't really need super rare or awesome hot rod parts, the reality is I just want the car to be fun to drive which by default any 50 plus year old car is always fun to drive and an adventure, all those unused parts will help and do help fund the adventures.

 

Well said Reverend, Carpe Diem.

 

I don't have that many car parts/cars but to my wife they seem like a hoard. A few extra, well five SBFs and a couple, well, maybe seven or eight transmissions, some intakes, valve covers, differentials, not sure how many and a couple of "project cars" well, three and some wheels, some boxes of of other stuff. Damn Craigslist and Marketplace. Stuff just jumps out of there occasionally.

Working hard on one project car now, goal is to get that one on the road this year and re***ess. Might be time to unload some ****.

 

I have been collecting “ stuff” all my life! If it’s made out of metal…I like it, I collect it! But I don’t store it near my home! Luckily my family has been on the same land for 122 years. We have some timber , Rocky land that is perfect for storing old “ junk” . There are even some horse drawned items in that timber. Like mentioned it doesn’t eat anything , nor cost anything to be there and my son is interested in it also….so it will probably sit there another generation! lol




Bones

 

Interestingly enough, the ancient Ford V8 industrial flathead engine I just picked up yesterday was from a guy you had all kinds of old stuff strewn across two properties he owned. Not a lot of land (7.5 acres in total), but he was now in a panic to get rid of it all because the neighbour had complained to the municipality. They even had condemned an old unused house, and gave him only 30 days to either fix it or demolish it. Felt bad for him, because at 75 he was dealing mostly with legacy stuff left behind by his father.

 

"two is one and one is none"

 

Slim pickings yesterday.
I can’t decide between 30 and 31 firewalls, so up in the rafters it goes for now.

 

Luckily my cars are in the county, miles from any municipality. The county has very little to no rules on what’s on your property and most of my stuff is hid in the timber and tucked under hills, so that it cannot be seen from the road, and I own both sides of the road, anyway. I do have one stash, that can be seen , but you have to look for it. I have probably 2 or 3 hundred tons of metal spread over a mile of timber. It’s just like money in the bank…..if I ever need it!




Bones

 

It would appear you are looking at this topic from only one direction. Yes your friend could probably sell some stuff and go buy a car done. But there is a huge problem with that! It would not be his! Everywhere he took it someone would say " hey that's So and so's old car" Bottomline from my point of view If you don't build it then it is not yours. Art always belongs to the artist. IMO anyhow. I know there are alot of guys who are ok with driving someone else's car, But not me! And maybe your friend isn't either. There are a lot of things to factor in on this topic. As far as hoarding, Well I am probably very guilty of that. But it is because of what has been mentioned above. "They are not making anymore" And hotrods is not a hobby for me! Besides my wife and kids Hotrods is my life!! I don't watch football or baseball and i don't give a **** who is winning the "Tampon 500" I know that makes me a one trick pony, But I am ok with that. Also a lot of these guys who think I should sell them some of my Rare hard to find parts that I put so much time and effort into tracking down and buying need to quit their *****ing and get out there and do what I do. Hunt, Travel, Network, and find your own stuff. Most of my hot rods and cars did not come easy for me! I put in the work to get my stuff and i am keeping it. Money doesn't motivate me, Early fords and speed equipment does! I can always get money, But when it comes to finding a Scot blower or other rare speed equipment. Not so easy. Just my 2 cents anyhow.

 

Dont need to think about things I don't need because I'm buying things I thought I didn't need and decided I really needed them when I first thought I did not need the things I just keep buying....oh..I only buy things I didnt think I need when the things I really did , or thought I did need are on sale....So just by default I'm either 25-50 % discounted in my thinking....

 

He is in the country side (think totally wooded lot). He said the family had a proper farm about 60 kms north of where he was but had sold it. He said if he still had the farm, he would have just moved everything there. He had two tractors (one running), old small bulldozer, prototype mobile rotary crane built by his father, snow plows, hay wagon, etc.

 

After reading this..... I THINK.....I NEED....A BEER!!!!!

 

Hey man, your comment is off topic... It's "Things I don't need"!
Ha-haaa... we all need a beer!

 

I’m waiting on the upholstery guy and a real electrician to show up today, so I killed some weeds and then went out to the shop and proceeded to clean up a little and throw away some trash. Five hours later neither of them called, but I did get some work done. I have four, that’s 4 old cars, two done, one almost done and my retirement high boy is still in the rafters. I have started giving away stuff that I have ac***ulated or selling at swap meets at bargain prices cuz I’d rather someone use it rather than me trip over it. I do the best I can to only drag home stuff I need, not extra stuff I want. I can honestly say I have all the parts I need to get number four done, just have to live long enough. So 28 phone booth and jacksmith I’m with ya, and tacos too1

 

What is this "stopping" you reference?

 

Personally I believe in grabbing up anything that I think I might need for a vintage vehicle. Other than my ‘55 Chevy most stuff is not being reproduced. Spare transmission, maybe fenders, rear end gears, spindles, anything that can be had for a reasonable price and stashed away. Stuff you hope you never need but glad you have should the case arise. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it!

 

This sickness we all have, luckily there is no cure.

 

Like everyone else here, I have more than I need but somehow still need more than I have. My wife is the voice of reason that keeps me and my hobbies from getting completely out of hand. Just yesterday I ran across an ad for a solid early C3 vette, 350/350hp 4 speed car, and the price was right, really right! Only catch is the trans had been pulled a while back for something else so it needs one. I called the wife over to see the pics and told her it was fate and I had to buy it because I have 4 speed trans sitting in the garage that would be a perfect fit. She just gave me that "are you out of your mind?" look that ends such conversations. She does not appreciate my logic so no vette for me.

 

buy it anyway..that 4 speed is getting lonely....

 

Another "Ask forgiveness, not permission" scenario...

 

Hello,

In looking back, we always told our selves that if we ever moved, we would get a place that had a larger garage area. Most homes have two car garages. There are some areas in So Cal with three car garages. That would be fine these days to fit our choice of having a running hot rod or cruiser, other than our two daily drivers. The third stall would have a nice roadster:
a custom Chevy 2 El Camino
But, wouldn’t you know it, when we were able to get a 3 car garage with a built in fire sprinkler system and a single car stall with its own garage door, it was like someone said… "here you go, start building…" We got a long work bench + drawers installed along one wall. Along another wall were tall doors leading to inner shelves and custom areas for our rolling tools, table saw with wheels, drill press on a rolling table, and a sliding radial arm saw on another rolling cart. They all fit inside of the tall deep doors/cabinet space, with the bottom shelf taken out, but still supportive of the whole wall system.

Now, the two daily drivers were in their side of the garage and had plenty of space to park and open doors, without worrying about dings and dents on the adjoining car next to it. So, with all of the modern conveniences built in or that we had built in, what was the hot rod to take up the single car space?

Jnaki

We had already replaced our antique furniture accessories in our older 25 year residency in a one place 1960s house. Then we sold it to fund this new purchase house. It was big, but we had a purpose. Our son had just graduated from college and had plans to stay at home. My wife’s dad was now going to live with us until he could get his act together. So, there was plenty of space downstairs and upstairs for all to have their own space with their own bathrooms.

So, we bought it to be the home base for three generations… It was big enough to have private space in just about anywhere in the huge house. So, now the third car garage was going to be a battle to see which car was going to be in there. The old grandfather who rarely drives, the young college graduate out looking for a job, or a hot rod build and have them park their cars on the curb. Ha!

It all fell through, as the grandfather elected to stay in his own house and our son decided to move out with some friends. So, now, here were two folks in this huge house with wandering / hiding space all over the empty spaces… The third garage space was now the primary "work on cars" space and things were looking good to get a hot rod project.

Note:

But, I decided to not just wander off in the early A.M. to go surfing like I have done for 30 years. Now, we both wanted to do something together, as our house was truly an empty shell from the m*** exodus. So, we went sailing together and through a line of different boat ownerships, sailed all over the So Cal coastline and bays. 5 different sailboats in 4 different harbors along the So Cal coastline made our adventures a lot of fun and full of excitement, for the next 20 years...

So, our needs were not geared for automotive builds or cruising. Our cruising was done on the open waters and large bays of So Cal . Our project was now our sailing commitment and getting better to enjoy what nature offered us each time we went out sailing all day.

It was not us against 1000s of auto driving fanatics, but two against mother nature for trying to harness the best way to enjoy blue waters and great weather adventures. It was certainly a new direction and those times brought us together as we grew older and much wiser… ha!

But, that empty third car garage space still called for a something or other... We sold the huge house and now live in a much smaller house with less things to worry about. YRMV

 

I guess I have to admit it. I'm a hoarder. I've tried to limit myself to not buy any more projects though. I've got three Tri-five project cars and several Model A projects plus enough parts to probably build a few more not counting finished cars. I'm 62 years old and may someday want to retire so I'm sure I'll have enough to keep me busy until I'm 120. No more buying things just because they are cool and I don't have one. No more buying eight of something because at one point, I needed one and couldn't find one. It does get to where it's all a burden though. We can't just pick up and leave and we can't buy another home easily because we have to have room for so many cars and projects.

 

I used to believe it was Rusty Gold. Now it is just Rusty Stuff for the most part.

 

You don't have extra flatheads and banjos. You're short cars

 

Hello,

Since it is the start of July, 64 years ago, we were having the time of our lives running our 671 supercharged 292 cu.in SBC blower spec motor that had gobs of horsepower in our C/Gas 1940 Willys Coupe. It was a hard road to follow to get things right. We had the "stuff," so, it was coordinating the starting line procedure, shifting and steering all timed together to work smoothly.
We had our stuff together as far as what to do in the pits and prep work. We were the new guys, not name old time racers that ruled the cl***es and everyone likes success for the underdogs. We were definitely it.

All it took was a couple of weeks of timing at the starting line to get things worked out for the fastest times. The elimination races were going great and when my brother did not win, it came back to driver error, a slow shift or a slight stall between gears. So, it was still a learning process.

It was after our involvement and recovery from the clutch explosion and resulting fire that we stepped back to see what was what. My brother was in full recovery mode, but still had hopes of returning to the drag race builds, now heading for another cl***, such as street roadster or modified roadster cl***. The modified roadster would need set back of 25 % versus the 10 % set back in the street version. So, there was that little choice.

We had already trailered the empty shell of our 40 Willys Coupe to the local s****yard and now we had a clean slate to further our choices. The parts were not in our backyard garage. My brother kept listening to our mom and she was a wreck. So, in order not to have her get all up in arms seeing the race parts, our backyard garage was fairly empty, except for tools.

We kept the parts covered up, including the complete 671 SBC motor, in Atts Ono’s spacious, garage for the time being. So, the only remnants left were the hydraulic jack, tool box and jack stands, along with a set of 9 inch wide 15 inch steel rims for our next larger set of slicks on order.

Jnaki

It was a puzzling time. We had the parts to make any hot rod go fast and it was a bolt on or in for most of our friends, Chevy sedans. including changing our Impala 348 to the full on 671 SBC motor to attach to the C&O Stick Hydro. Something was in the air that made all of us not want to pursue more modifications to make a fast car (57 Bel Air hardtop or 58 Impala) very imposing with the 671 sticking out of the engine compartment.

So, we were in a quandary. My brother still seemed like he wanted to continue and he kept talking about what to do in the next go around. Perhaps, it was leading up to a major change in our direction coming up fast. College cl***es for him, finish high school for me and beyond for both of us.

When he finally was able to come home from the hospital, we took several long drives all over our stomping grounds from Southerly surf spots and North, up the Malibu coastline. Those places made us think and when we finally went to the 1961 Winternationals, he made the decision to sell everything and move on to something else while starting back to his college studies in the next semester.

NOTE:

It was not difficult to sell everything we listed and now, it was all in our own backyard garage. Within a month, everything was sold to local racers and hot rod guys. One guy even flew out West from somewhere in the Midwest and bought our complete 671 SBC motor to be crated and shipped back home.

From that cleaner backyard garage, our new adventures started… desert racing motorcycles and surfboard manufacturing/repairs. YRMV 100