when restoring your car if you are replacing a part don't throw the old part away

[31 LaSalle]

when restoring your car if you are replacing a part don't throw the old part away

offer it to another enthusiast who might be stuck for that part even though you see it as scrap

someone with that part missing would be glad to have it even just as pattern to repair 

[Andy J]

Good advice.I don't throw anything away unless I'm 100% sure it isn't good for anything.

[TAKerry]

Most of the parts for my cars are readily available but I still keep everything I take off. Found myself a couple of years ago finally throwing stuff away. The original post is a dangerous sentiment to someone like me that is a pack rat, LOL.

[nickelroadster]

Anything that I take off a car that is original to the car I do not throw away.  Who knows what will have been forgotten in fifty or a hundred years and any original parts might be good to have.  For this reason I keep the parts with the car.

[Peter Gariepy]

Within reason... please.

 

I've been blessed (cursed) to liquidate two very large collections of parts and cars. Truth:  90% of the parts laying around were replaced for a reason (ie, broken or cosmetically not up to par). To compound the problem, most were also unidentifiable. 

 

In the case of 1 collection, it took a roll-off to throw all the used/unidentifiable parts away.

 

For the record, I had an army of car guys scour the parts to help sort and I identify them.  Even gave them the opportunity to take whatever they wanted, and still throw away literally "tons" of parts.

 

“Everything in moderation, including moderation.”

― Oscar Wilde

 

 

[1912Staver]

Wow Peter, where do you find collections like that ! Even at my area's largest swap meet there isn't " tons " of old car parts unless you count Model T axle housings and 1970's and up parts. You couldn't fill a decent sized pick up truck with prewar parts most years. And that's our BIG meet.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

This was drilled into me by Corvette guru I bought my 71 from.  Not really rare car but by following his advice over the years this has saved me from buying unneccesary larger assemblies by fixing the little part.  It is tough to reconcile though with a desire to clean house.  In our house Mrs. Mack is more the pack rat, so I must be careful... 😁

Edited June 8, 2022 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

Opposite at my house. If my wife hasnt used something in the last 24 hrs, shes ready to throw it away. I dont keep junk, just stuff I might be able to use sometime, LOL. Its actually a good balance between the 2 of us.

 

My neighbor died unexpectedly a few years ago. He had a very large garage/shop and was a car restoration/repair guy. Mostly Pontiac stuff. His wife asked if I wanted anything when she was ready to move. LOTS of stuff but I knew it would just go from one  place taking up space to another across the street. I declined but did get a few boxes of misc. parts. I ended up selling most of that off for a few dollars. He had about 15 -400- engines, hundreds of wheel trim rings, pallet fulls of heads, etc. etc. He was pretty well known and some guys got some of the really good stuff but most ended up as scrap. 

[1912Staver]

Staggeringly short sighted ! Come on up to Western Canada and see what a old car desert is like. Anything that is intact and drivable is $30,000 and well up. Cars I wouldn't personally pay sub 10 G's for. Anything interesting , it starts at about $50,000 and rapidly heads for $100,000.

 Hope you gent's don't mind me saying, but you are spoiled for riches in the U.S.

[Matt Harwood]

6 minutes ago, 1912Staver said:

Staggeringly short sighted ! Come on up to Western Canada and see what a old car desert is like. Anything that is intact and drivable is $30,000 and well up. Cars I wouldn't personally pay sub 10 G's for. Anything interesting , it starts at about $50,000 and rapidly heads for $100,000.

 Hope you gent's don't mind me saying, but you are spoiled for riches in the U.S.

 

It's really a shame they're forcing you to live there. Are there walls keeping you in or just fences with armed guards?

[Peter Gariepy]

1 hour ago, 1912Staver said:

Wow Peter, where do you find collections like that ! Even at my area's largest swap meet there isn't " tons " of old car parts unless you count Model T axle housings and 1970's and up parts. You couldn't fill a decent sized pick up truck with prewar parts most years. And that's our BIG meet.

Shockingly it's not that uncommon.  

In my case it was a fellow AACA member who passed and the family hired me to help liquidate.  95 cars and a lifetime of parts.  Add to that the liquidation of a Checker Auto dealer that closed its doors in the 1970s and left behind almost 50 cars and associated parts.  My most recent liquidation was 15 cars and random parts sitting in an airplane hanger.

Just imagine the number of random car parts sitting in that 3000 car collection in Northern California. 

 

But I digress:

The original poster is promoting saving ALL your parts removed from a restoration "just in case".  I'm saying - If you do, at least consider it's usefulness for the next person - and for god sake... mark it to identify it, and organize your collection as you go instead of dumping your nightmare on your family when you die.

[31 LaSalle]

HI peter gariepy 

I totally agree with you mark all your old parts up 

 

and if you have more than one car in your collection keep parts and history with individual cars

as you say when you die the cars and parts become a problem to your next of kin

In my own case I recently purchased a 1928 Chrysler 72 convertible from a deceased estate

the guy had spent over twenty years restoring the car at a huge cost ( more than the cars value )

his family had cleared his workshop of all the rubbish prior to putting car for sale

this so called rubbish contained lots of parts to complete the restoration 

the rubbish even included the car paperwork leaving me lots of problems with uk registration

[1912Staver]

1 hour ago, Matt Harwood said:

 

It's really a shame they're forcing you to live there. Are there walls keeping you in or just fences with armed guards?

Well Matt, there is a social trait , probably best known to American citizens, but to a lesser degree shared by Canadians of patriotism .

I am a Western Canadian.

I actually wouldn't mind giving Ohio a try. That's where my great grandfather hailed from { and at least a few previous generations of ancestors }. But as a retiree I would have to cover all my wife's and my own health coverage. I already spent 40 years paying into the Canadian system, to repeat the expense all over would make very little financial sense. I was very close to buying a property a few years ago in Washington State. But the deal killer is that by U. S. law I can only spend 4 months in the U.S. as a visitor on a year after year basis. For a single year in isolation the rule is 6 months less a day.

 So all things considered I am not really sure just where that I can realistically move to that would work out in my favor. 

 Where might you suggest ?

 Funny enough, 10 minutes South of my driveway there is what might as well be a wall , and certainly with armed guards. The Canada - U.S. border. And an hour in any other direction lands me either in the Pacific Ocean or very rugged mountains. Probably better than a wall.

 

This is a situation I have given more than a little thought to over the last two decades. But so far moving adds up to trading one set of problems for a different set of problems. And a heck of a lot of expense and effort as well.

 

 

Edited June 8, 2022 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[Matt Harwood]

Staver, I like you. But all you do is complain about the cost of living where you are, how there are no cars and the cars that are there are too expensive, and how small your garage is, and how hard it is to find anyone to work on your cars, and how much it costs in taxes, and how unhappy you are living there. If where you live is a handicap to enjoying your life, then move. I didn't even mean you had to move to the US--there are plenty of places in Canada that are far more affordable than the Pacific coast and have a much better car culture. Melanie and I are planning to retire to western Ontario, which has a reasonable cost of living, is close to a lot of car culture, and land is affordable enough that we can build a shop for our toys. My people are from Winnipeg so Canada is appealing to me. But I wouldn't choose to live somewhere that made it difficult for me to enjoy the things I find important, especially if I was retired. That seems counter-productive.

 

As Red said, get busy living or get busy dying. Waiting around for a solution to present itself only makes you older.

[1912Staver]

Your points are well taken Matt. And yes I am guilty as charged.  My wife is 100 % opposed to leaving the West Coast. A Vancouver area resident all her life. Large family and social network. And we are both caregivers for elderly parents , for the near future at least.

 I agree that waiting for things to get better is a very poor approach, but short of divorce I don't really see a way to move in another direction. Sometimes there is more to the situation than just changing where you live. 

I spent my early years in Winterpeg. The memory never fades.

[Restorer32]

Clean the part you take off and put it in the box your new part came in.  That way you can sell it claiming it is NOS.  Sadly this used to happen and probably still does. 

[TAKerry]

I will third the comment on identification. And while on that topic, if you put parts in a plastic bag write down on a piece of paper what it is. Do not write on the bag itself. I did that one time, and after getting thrown around in a large tote, the sharpie marker all but wore off the plastic. I had a hard time making out anything that I wrote done. Next time it was tags in the bag.

2020-12-10_12-45-37 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr

Something I do when sending out parts (and would work great for storage), I put the info (in this case it was what the motor was, s/n, trans type, car it was out of, my name and address, phone # and Email) on a card, laminated it and tie wrapped it to the block. I did the same for every loose part I sent to the builder.

Edited June 9, 2022 by TAKerry (see edit history)

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Yeah I use those little tag sale tags to stick on parts, another use, on equipment so I can remember last service date.  Generator, leaf blower, etc...  

[60FlatTop]

If a part is not good enough for my car I usually clean it up and sell it. I'm just falling behind a little.

Edited June 9, 2022 by 60FlatTop (see edit history)

[NailheadBob]

Just as TAKerry stated : Opposite at my house. If my wife hasnt used something in the last 24 hrs, shes ready to throw it away. I dont keep junk, just stuff I might be able to use sometime, LOL.

 

My wife is the same way and is on me all the time to throw my stuff away, she says after I die that dumpster will be called and then my stuff will be gone. I did see a post from another member that collects literature and his wife was insisting for him to get ride of some of his stuff and he replied I love collecting literature and I am going to keep collecting and when he dies for her and his kids to have a big bonfire in the back yard and watch it burn.

 

Bob

[1912Staver]

You can't fix stupid. Anyone who looks forward to going to the back yard and burning a pile of what are equivalent to $10.00 - $100.00 bills ,or perhaps even more depending on the actual piece of literature clearly falls in this category. 

 Ever wonder how all those $1000.00 - $10,000.00 art works you see on Antiques Roadshow ended up in Thrift Stores before they were featured on the show ? Somewhere along the line a fool ended up in possession of them.

 

The modern , throw away, consumer mentality is a cancer in Western society. It's destroying our planet, and it is destroying our cultural heritage.

 

 

Edited June 9, 2022 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[yachtflame]

I started collecting parts for my 1930 LaSalle as I was restoring it. Occasionally I bought a parts car to supply necessary missing parts. After a while I started making molds in order to cast unfound parts. 25 years later, I have a “Barn full of parts”. The amount literally fills up the entire 28’x40’ upstairs of my barn.
 I decided a few years ago that this wasn’t fair to my wife as she has no way of identifying these parts. So being the nice guy that I am, I took several months and several boxes of tags to identify and price parts then stack them on shelves in alphabetical order so she could have some income once I’ve decided to “ride the ultimate car”.

 Her response to all my efforts was....

”Don’t bother, once you’re gone, all that crap is going in a dumpster!”

 I stopped labeling parts after that!

[TAKerry]

I bought a shell of a car (79 Tenth ann t/a) because it was rust free and had a title. Since all of the 'valuable' stuff was gone I had planned a resto mod. I was knee deep in the restoration of my '77 so I started collecting parts for the 79. I ended up buying multiples of a lot of stuff as I bought what came along, then a better condition same part popped up and it all started again. I had enough parts to build about 4 cars. Anyway, when I got working on that car I had a fire and lost everything. The car that was lost had no insurance, BUT all of the parts on the shelves were insured as 'stuff' I owned under my homeowner policy. I ended up with enough in the settlement to buy another complete car with a ton of parts thrown. The current one I am restoring.

[31 LaSalle]

I have a 1931 Lasalle town sedan and never throw parts away

I try to explain to my good lady that the boxes marked Lassalle are to be kept with this particular car

her response is there just boxes of rusty metal

one reason I never let her tidy my workshop

 

[SC38dls]

It seems it would always be more efficient and less costly to just buy a car in hood running condition and no body problems. No extra parts needed as the car is going to outlast the owner. No parts to tag or trash when we are gone. What fun would that be?? 
dave s 

[60FlatTop]

A friend stopped by last night and we got into a similar discussion since I am rearranging stuff to install new vinyl flooring in my garage.

 

I mentioned that I had a pickup load of 331 and 392 early Chrysler Hemi engine parts I might scrap for cast iron, too heavy to ship. My friend gasped and grabbed his chest in horror.

 

We have a mutual friend named Barry who he holds in high regard. He haltingly asked "Well, what would Barry do with them?"

 

"He gave them to me" I replied.

[Xander Wildeisen]

One big mistake I have seen a lot of people make. They buy a car, and want to build a street rod or a custom. They already have the vision of the completed project. So they tear into the project, set aside all of the parts that they know will not be on the finished product. Those parts are in the way, so they are sold, scrapped or given away. Then the realization sets in as to what they have gotten involved in. Time, cost involved and space needed to finish the project, tools and ability. The thing sets, torn apart, with very little market value. A lot of people have a big misconception of how much work goes into a restoration/build of a car. I have always been very good about not collecting stuff. I do not want to deal with extra crap. I am sure nobody else would want to deal with my stuff when I am gone. You pack your bags when you check out of a hotel. Not much vision is needed to see check out time coming.😳

[1912Staver]

That happened to a 1953 Chevy convert I reluctantly sold to a guy near me who badgered me to sell it to him. Two years later he was trying to sell what was left of it back to me. About 1/2 of what I sold him, but he still wanted all of what he had paid for it. I told him I would give him less than what he paid as now I had to buy another car to fill in all the missing pieces. Couldn't understand why I wouldn't just buy an aftermarket chassis like he planned to do.   He went away mad and I don't know what eventually happened to the car. Actually just a body shell by that point.

 

 

Edited June 10, 2022 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[Xander Wildeisen]

I try not to commit a project in any direction until I can dive into it and focus on it. I collect missing parts. Keep them with the car, stored in the car. Sold only after the project is complete. That way it can still remain a clean slate for someone, if I sell out of it. And it will have the most value, for what it is. Lots of extra stuff sitting inside this Cadillac.

Edited June 10, 2022 by Xander Wildeisen (see edit history)

[JACK M]

1 hour ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

until I can dive into it and focus on it.

Yes, this.

[greenie]

On 6/9/2022 at 6:50 AM, Restorer32 said:

Clean the part you take off and put it in the box your new part came in.  That way you can sell it claiming it is NOS.  Sadly this used to happen and probably still does. 

Oh my yes!

[John_Mereness]

Sidenote:  Also do not take something apart that you think you can replace without first getting the next one in your hand (example - Dealing with a MK1 Jaguar sedan that someone shredded out all the door window channels = guess what - they are not made new so I am having to buy a whole set of MK1 doors to get a used decent set andf that is fine, but sometimes ypou are not lucky and part is unobtainum).

[John_Mereness]

On 6/9/2022 at 6:50 AM, Restorer32 said:

Clean the part you take off and put it in the box your new part came in.  That way you can sell it claiming it is NOS.  Sadly this used to happen and probably still does. 

Yes, often the case - car dealers were notorious for this or taking off slightly damaged poarts to replace for new. 

 

Good news is often better choice than anything else in parts !

[JV Puleo]

A good example of this...

I modified the rear end and front axle of my 1910 Mitchell to take tapered roller bearings. The original drawn cup bearings were in wretched condition and weren't very good to begin with. Only a few of the cups weren't cracked or broken. One of those I gave to another Mitchell owner so he could get his car rolling although he agreed that they had to be eventually changed. Last week a friend from this forum contacted me to ask if I still have the cages that held the balls...he needed two of them. Having no use for them I'd thought of chucking them but they don't take up much space and, in the back of my mind, I wondered if someone else might need them. They did!

[Pilgrim65]

Restoration so expensive, I refurb /repair when able and keep anything I feel may fetch a few bucks later , not a cheapskate , just practical 😊

liked the post about NoS parts , think I’ve been had by that one , will be more careful  in future , at least I’m totally honest when selling any part and expect same and generally 90 odd percent of what I’ve bought have been as described or better 

[keiser31]

I still have nearly every old part I have taken off of my cars. Since 1931 is the only year stuff for my car fits, I cannot bear to get rid of any of it.

[8E45E]

On 6/8/2022 at 11:30 AM, Matt Harwood said:

....there are plenty of places in Canada that are far more affordable than the Pacific coast and have a much better car culture.

I actually like that area where he lives (Fraser Valley), or Vancouver Island.  Ideally, if one could airlift my house and garage to a similar size lot in that area, I'd be real happy.  I have no need for a bigger place, just more car friendly and wellness friendly weather wise.   Winterpeg would be my last choice, having lived there at one time.

 

Craig

[Glen Andrews]

On 6/8/2022 at 6:51 AM, 31 LaSalle said:

when restoring your car if you are replacing a part don't throw the old part away

offer it to another enthusiast who might be stuck for that part even though you see it as scrap

someone with that part missing would be glad to have it even just as pattern to repair 

I too save old parts, not for resale; typically just in case I need to reference that part for some reason. Back in 1995 when I was restoring my '38 Chevy pickup I took the engine to a machine shop and a lot of machining and new parts were involved. The engine is a 216 straight six, 85 hp, just the basic "stovebolt" Chevy engine. I told the machine shop to keep the old parts for me which I saved, thankfully. The crank gear is steel and the cam gear was fiber, and both were replaced, along with the camshaft. Since it was a stock engine there really was no dire need to dial in the cam. Once I had the engine in the frame I figured I better start and run it some before adding the body. When it started the engine idled fine, but once revved it started to hiccup and cough through the carburetor. I tried a different carburetor, changed the timing, loosened the valve clearance, tightened the valve clearance, still continued to pop through the carburetor. I pulled off the timing cover and got out the old timing gears. Just eyeballing the cam gear the keyway and teeth lined up with the new gear so okay; I put the old crank gear against the new one and once again just eyeballing it the keyways didn't line up, the new crank gear was advanced almost one tooth, thus advancing the cam at least one and half teeth (maybe 18* advanced) and the intake valves are closed at 50* BTDC, so the valves were not completely closed when the engine was revved (I think max distributor advance is 30* @2500rpm's) which created the popping through the carburetor. WAIT there's more! The new crank gear did not have holes in it to use a puller, so I had to drill and tap two holes in it in order to pull it with a puller. I pitched that new gear, reinstalled the old original crank gear and it's been fine ever since. So as someone else said in this thread, save those old parts until you're absolutely sure you don't need them; or someone else could use them.