I go each September to visit my sister in Iowa and was told there were a few old cars/trucks for sale on this guys farm. Didn't see any that's not going to be a project but some have possibilities. One might check it out if you live near by. This is just a tiny fraction of what is there. Have many more photos if interested.
I'd sure love a GMC tailgate and a couple of rear fenders... There are yards like that around here, but there aren't any parts on the trucks~ Just cabs without doors.
You wouldn't have to wait too long... I could be happy with a bed minus the gate if need be. In the meantime, have I mentioned how much I love driving my old GMC around? That 228/original 4 speed, Colorado rear end, disc brakes that stop this thing just like a modern vehicle? The way it fires right up?
Steve, there aren't enough hours in the day to finish ONE truck, just think how guilty you would feel keeping all those future projects OUT of the hands of future AD'ers, Task Force'ers, and so on and so on. I have another old car, a 52 Hudson WASP (hence my screen name), which has been sitting in a friend's barn since 2004(?). I saw it 2 weeks ago- still in the same place, just as dusty as the time 6 years previous. WHY I don't just get the girl sold I don't know. I am denying some future Hudson fan a good candidate. But YES, it would be cool to have acres of vintage tin to dream about.
Your right, Mike. The good thing about this auction is, all of those vehicles will probably go to people who wish to restore them. Even though several will go to people who never finish them, they will, most likely move indoors. There was a big auction near my home, of a lot full of antique farm tractors, a few years ago. The horrible thing was, scrap steel prices had soared, and a scrapper, bought the entire lot. Within days, they were cutting everything up. I have always thought it would be cool to own and operate a salvage yard. And, if people didn't haggle with me over price, I would be disappointed. That would take the fun out of it. Steve.
Steve, I wished you lived a lot closer so I could give you a haggling commission on purchases I want. People who like to do this seem to get an enjoyment I just don't understand. I ABSOLUTELY WON'T HAGGLE either buying or selling. If I want something and am willing to pay $100 and someone has it for $105 I won't even stop to talk and if I want $100 for something and you have $99.99 then you better look around on the ground for a penny. All I can think of is how much I could be getting done rather than dickering over price. My best friend of many years would rather haggle than eat so when I found my 37 Buick it was just what I was looking for but $1000 over priced at $4500. When I stopped at his place of business and I told him my story he said "lets go" and just shut the doors. On the way to the body shop that was handling the sale he told me to give him $2500 for his pocket. The dealing started at 1:00 pm and went on until dark when the price was down to $2800 and I told him I'd loan him another $300 to make the purchase. Every mile of the 60 miles back home with the Buick on the trailer he was ragging on me about "If I wasn't so darn impatient" he could have gotten it for $2500. He was happy as a warm puppy and I was exhausted.
Evan, that's a great story! For whatever reason, I enjoy a good haggle. Your friend saved you $700 for... 5 or 6 hours of your time? Were you as tired as you would have been if you spent those hours toiling to earn the $700? If you don't haggle, that's ok. When we bought a tractor to handle all of the tasks we'll have on the land, I did some SERIOUS haggling on price. Nobody else who had kicked the tires had cash on hand to make the transaction RIGHT NOW. And I had a trailer hooked to the pickup... But there was that time when a guy at the swap meet had a set of NOS quarter panels to fit my car... and I haggled a little too much- to the point where he refused to sell them to me at ANY PRICE. But that's back when I was young and foolish. I'm older now.
Evan: I'm the same as you when it comes to haggling. Absolutely hate it. In 1997 my Mother was a fairly recent widow who had been left in a pretty good financial place by my Dad. She needed a new car and had never bought one before. She also wanted to get a car for my baby sister. Mom asked me to shop for two cars, both Hondas. When my other two sisters found out what was going on they wanted in on the deal. Four new Hondas to buy, two Accords & two Civics, all for cash. I made up a list of colors and options. There were 6 Honda dealers within 25 miles. I got the name and fax number of the fleet manager at each dealer and sent them the list along with a note something like this: "Please send your lowest price for the four cars. We will be paying cash. We will accept the lowest bid. No haggling after your first bid arrives. I will contact each dealer by fax after the bids are in, letting the lowest bidder know his bid won and thanking the others for their time. You have two days to respond to ....." I never heard from two of the dealers. Three came in with bids that were within $200. The winning bidder was about $3000 less than the others. When I contacted one of the higher bids, he almost immediately called my back saying "I can do better, blah, blah, blah" (He didn't know what the winning bid was) . I asked him why he didn't while he had a chance and hung up on him. My Mom was getting a gold Accord, but when the 5 of us drove into the dealer to pick up the cars she saw a red one and decided that she wanted it instead. The fleet manager said "no problem" and we all left in less than 2 hours with grins on our faces.
Bill, have you noticed that there is no in between on haggling? Those that do it love it and those that don't hate it. I did haggle one time on a Borgwarner overdrive transmission that I had more than fairly priced at $125. The guy offered me $75 so I asked if he wanted me to change the price by $50 and when he said yes I said the new price was $175. Game over. Hagglers seem to think it's only fair if the seller comes down and not right if the price goes up. I'm missing the gene that applies to this. In summation I know that good hagglers have saved many dollars but it's just not my bag.
I absolutely love the exchange between buyer and seller, as long as neither gets offended. There really is no reason to be offended, in my view. I've been on both sides, and get a kick out of it either way. If I'm selling, I don't have to accept any lower price. If I'm buying, I don't have to accept the value they place on an item for sale, I can offer, and then just walk away. We negotiate many things in life. Many of the "negotiating" exchanges are hilarious, if both buyer and seller, "get it". One story about some farmers I used to work some for. They needed a new seat for a '70 Chevy C-60, they used to haul grain with. They found one at a local junk yard and started to haggle with the old guy there. Finally came to an agreement. The farmer asked how long it would take for the junk guy to get it out. He said, "Oh no, for the price your paying, your going to take it out, yourself". Farmer says, "But, it might have bees in it". Junk guy says, "that's ok, you won't have to pay extra, for the bees...". I've heard there are folks who actually pay "sticker" price for a new auto. Never met one, but, if I sold cars, I would LOVE to. I have had to "coach" my wife, on HER behavior, when we've gone shopping at a car dealer. Steve.
