Car in the yard & “gonna do something with it”

[6pak]

I know of a half dozen cars around here setting in yards, with this excuse.
They all Been there for years. And parked in dirt, rotting from the bottom up. AND. - eventually it will be towed for scrap.
- “going to do something with it”. - or it is gold. -
That’s not gold, It’s Rust.

 

[318willrun]

I've seen it, in fact almost all of us have seen it. It can be hard to watch. At the end of the day there is a bottom line. It is the owners, and they are subject to do as they wish with their item.

 

[6pak]

I agree completely, but it sure is a waste.
Guess, I’m just Jelly.

 

[Avispa]

I've seen it, in fact almost all of us have seen it. It can be hard to watch. At the end of the day there is a bottom line. It is the owners, and they are subject to do as they wish with their item.

Give us some real experiences, here's one of mine.
I was fortunate enough to buy a Panther Pink 4 speed 70 AAR Cuda new, things happened and i lost it. I went in the military and was stationed all over the place, as in no roots.
So I come back to Ga to see family while on leave, i hear about a Vitamin C AAR a few miles outta town, a trailer park, i finally find it, went there a few times with no response, left notes, phone numbers, no answer.
Whenever i came back on leave or transfer i would go and see about the car, finally i found someone home, the old "I'm gonna fix it up for my son", never saw it again, had parts piled up in the inside, what a waste, they only made 27XX of them. oh well.

 

[pishta]

can I make you a deal: If you dont touch that cr in 1 year, will you sell it to me?

 

[d5667]

Yep all kinds of stories. I know of three here that sat for years then dreamers bought them pulled them apart then sold to me after the dream fell through. Still a bunch of cars out there about a month ago a 70 hemi Cuda sold before I could see it. Parts are out there but as always money is the obstacle

 

[Hyper_pak]

Reminds me of my Barracuda Hardtop story.
Found it beside a home and asked to buy it.
No not for sale, going to be a father son project one day.
Came back a year later, after a hail storm.
Barracuda was damaged on Hood, Roof and Trunk.
I asked again and man said same story, not for sale.
I told him I didn't want him to give it to me, I would pay a fair price.
A woman's voice from the back of the house, "SELL THAT DAMN CAR!"
I picked it the next night!

 

[318willrun]

Give us some real experiences, here's one of mine.
I was fortunate enough to buy a Panther Pink 4 speed 70 AAR Cuda new, things happened and i lost it. I went in the military and was stationed all over the place, as in no roots.
So I come back to Ga to see family while on leave, i hear about a Vitamin C AAR a few miles outta town, a trailer park, i finally find it, went there a few times with no response, left notes, phone numbers, no answer.
Whenever i came back on leave or transfer i would go and see about the car, finally i found someone home, the old "I'm gonna fix it up for my son", never saw it again, had parts piled up in the inside, what a waste, they only made 27XX of them. oh well.

Real experiences? Well, here's just a couple that pop in my mind. '69 Charger I found sitting. Son never returned from Vietnam. Not for sale. '71 340 Demon, going to fix it up someday when time permits. It hurts nothing to ask, or leave a number "just in case", but whatever the answer is a guy just has to walk away and not let it eat him up. Onward to tomorrow.

 

[RustyRatRod]

People are stubborn, but it's their property.

 

[gunbunny]

I know a guy who has a 1970 Daytona and a 1970 Challenger Convertible Hemi car.
People were on him to sell both cars. He refused, said he's going to do something with both.
Both were in a garage, but word was out that he had them.
One day he shows up at the local cruise in in the 70 Daytona.
A wing car is a rarity so it got a lot of attention.
When he retired, he got around to doing something with his car.
I asked him about the Challenger, and he grinned and said I'm going to do something with it

 

[RustyRatRod]

When I worked at the Toyotee place years ago, at that time, I had a 71 Dart. Mild 360, 904, 3.23 gears when on the street. Everyday I passed by a house that had a 71 340 Dart in the back yard. Competition orange. All four tires flat. Finally I stopped one day. Same story. Gonna fix it up one day. He did let me look at it. Original 340, four speed car. Few months after that it disappeared. I never stopped to ask what happened.

 

[Professor Fate]

This one hit me hard.
Years ago when going through my divorce, I "sold" my '68 GTS (383 auto) to a friend with the stipulation that I had first dibs on it if he ever resold it. Took it to his property up north... Once I was in a better place financially, I started bugging him about it- nope, gonna fix 'er up... Time goes by, and I finally went to look at it, and it broke my heart- outside, sunk in the mud up to the frame. Lotsa parts gone AWOL. Poor thing almost broke in half winching it onto the trailer. Still not sure what I'll do with it. The title, with my name still on it, was still in the glovebox. *Sniff*

 

[harrisonm]

I just thought of a good joke. Buy a rusty hulk of a 67 coronet or 69 Roadrunner (so bad that it would not cost a fortune) with no engine or transmission and park it where people can see it from the road. Then Have a fake VIN and Fender tag made showing them to be a hemi car. Then watch the look on people's faces when they think you just let a "REAL" hemi car go to waste.

 

[missing linc]

Years ago I tried several times to buy a 73 Charger Rallye 340. It had belonged to a friend of mine in the late 1970s and was still in the neighborhood, same person that my friend had sold it to still owned it. I inquired several times over the course of 5 years or so, the car was still in decent shape, no idea if it still ran or not, but the owner would not sell it. Then one day it disappeared, never saw it again. There was a 1970 1/2 Camaro Z28 in my neighborhood as well that had belonged to a guy I knew who was killed in a car accident. I was one of dozens of people who knew him and tried to buy that cat but the parents refused to let it go. It literally rotted into the ground before they parted with it. It was in really good shape when the kid passed away and only had some 60k miles on it. I also tried to buy a 68 Highland green Mustang fastback out of a backyard for years with no success. It rotted into the ground too.
I finally got one when I bought my 75 Dart Sport. It had been sitting in the seller's yard for about 7 years. I had asked about it once before and been turned away, got lucky when I went back the second time and his wife was home. As soon as I asked him about it, she told him to just get rid of it already. I have seen dozens of others that I never asked about, but I do know of a 1970 Challenger R/T that hasn't moved in about 6 years now. I just don't have the money to buy it if he actually wants to sell.

 

[Steve welder]

I would think what might be understood is with some folks those old cars left sitting outside rotting away hold a special purpose, one of which they cannot part with. The money they got if they sold it is of little consequence, so its never about money, its about something that they just cant part with even if that means the car will eventually rust so bad its not fixable.
Many decades ago there was a 32 ford coupe sitting in a guys back yard, was there for years. The body was all steel, original with zero rust and very straight. It was just a body and had a 55 chevy frame that was supposedly going underneath it. It had all the glass and window mechanism's, all trim and most of interior. Would be worth a fortune today
I never stopped as I knew many guys had offered to buy it but the owner refused
One day I did stop and a guy not much older came out and we talked. I could see he was depressed.
He told me his dad had been sick and had recently passed. He told me this car was going to be their project together. Now he was so down and out he would sell it .
I told him no, dont sell it just yet, keep it for awhile and maybe think about building it yourself, do it for your dad......Yeah, I wanted that car bad, and I finally had my chance right than and there to give him what he wanted and flatbed it home, all in the same day...I could'nt do it, I could not bring myself to cash in on someones else's misery
These people, many of them are not selfish for keeping these cars which are just wasting away, they have reasons and all anyone could do is leave a phone number if they change their minds but engage them, listen to them if they want to talk, dont make it about money and maybe someday your kindness will be rewarded be it the car or something more important in life

 

[Les Gibson]

Reminds me of a car I tried very hard to buy from a friend of mine many years ago. During my active duty navy career I was stationed in Jacksonville, Fl and had a 1970 Superbee 440 4 speed. Made friends with a lot of other mopar enthusiasts while there. Anyway, long story short I was made an offer I couldn't refuse to sell my Superbee ( wish I'd never done that) and decided to go drag racing. One of the Mopar enthusiasts that I had become friends with had acquired a 1965 ( maybe a 1967, I can't remember for sure) Coronet that had been built by Paul Forte of Turbo Action for Paul's wife to bracket race. As the story went Paul's wife decided she didn't want to race so Paul put the car up for sell. Coronet two door hardtop, transplanted 426 Hemi, 727 Torqueflite, Dana 60 rear. Had the old Eldebrock 'Rat Roaster' interchangeable top intake manifold, with a single carb (1050 dominator) and dual carb ( Carter AFBs) tops. My friend Mike drove the car on the street some, took it to Gainsville and did a couple passes with it, if I remember correctly with small tires, and only a pinion snubber for a traction aid it ran 11.0s. After a bit he took it to his girlfriend's house that was just around the corner from me. It sat in her garage for over 6 months. By this time I had re-enlisted and received a fat bonus. I also had orders to Maryland. I really liked that Coronet so I asked Mike if he would sell it to me. Got the usual ' I don't know Les, I'll get around to doing something with it'. Now having know what he paid for it ($6K, could you imagine what it would cost today!) I offered him $8k. No sell, same ' I don't know....' Offered him $9K, same ' I don't know.....' Made my final offer of $12K. Said come on Mike, you're doubling your money! Got the same ' I don't know....' So long story short, I ended up buying a 68 AMX from the long defunct Jax Speed Shop and transferred to Maryland. Fast forward to last year. Via the magic of social media got back into touch with Mike. We had a great conversation and I eventually asked him what became of his hemi Coronet. He hesitated a bit before telling me that he had sold it a couple of months after I had left for Maryland.... for $6500! If I could have reached through that computer line I would have strangled him!

 

[6pak]

A Good friend and neighbor has a great complete 67 GTX hemi car setting in a shed. And All kinds of hemi parts. Another down the road has 69 RT charger setting in the yard, with a mid 60s fury.
-

 

[6pak]

Reminds me of a car I tried very hard to buy from a friend of mine many years ago. During my active duty navy career I was stationed in Jacksonville, Fl and had a 1970 Superbee 440 4 speed. Made friends with a lot of other mopar enthusiasts while there. Anyway, long story short I was made an offer I couldn't refuse to sell my Superbee ( wish I'd never done that) and decided to go drag racing. One of the Mopar enthusiasts that I had become friends with had acquired a 1965 ( maybe a 1967, I can't remember for sure) Coronet that had been built by Paul Forte of Turbo Action for Paul's wife to bracket race. As the story went Paul's wife decided she didn't want to race so Paul put the car up for sell. Coronet two door hardtop, transplanted 426 Hemi, 727 Torqueflite, Dana 60 rear. Had the old Eldebrock 'Rat Roaster' interchangeable top intake manifold, with a single carb (1050 dominator) and dual carb ( Carter AFBs) tops. My friend Mike drove the car on the street some, took it to Gainsville and did a couple passes with it, if I remember correctly with small tires, and only a pinion snubber for a traction aid it ran 11.0s. After a bit he took it to his girlfriend's house that was just around the corner from me. It sat in her garage for over 6 months. By this time I had re-enlisted and received a fat bonus. I also had orders to Maryland. I really liked that Coronet so I asked Mike if he would sell it to me. Got the usual ' I don't know Les, I'll get around to doing something with it'. Now having know what he paid for it ($6K, could you imagine what it would cost today!) I offered him $8k. No sell, same ' I don't know....' Offered him $9K, same ' I don't know.....' Made my final offer of $12K. Said come on Mike, you're doubling your money! Got the same ' I don't know....' So long story short, I ended up buying a 68 AMX from the long defunct Jax Speed Shop and transferred to Maryland. Fast forward to last year. Via the magic of social media got back into touch with Mike. We had a great conversation and I eventually asked him what became of his hemi Coronet. He hesitated a bit before telling me that he had sold it a couple of months after I had left for Maryland.... for $6500! If I could have reached through that computer line I would have strangled him!

musta been Danny Koker or Richard Rawlings that got it at that price.