How do people find parts for obscure vintage cars.

[TheCatOfAges]

9 hours ago, junkyardjeff said:

Where are you located,my local old junkyard has a few 57s and a 58. I grab anything I think I can possibly use out of that junkyard before they decide it's time to close it,just grabbed a dash out of a 65 Mercury since it had a nice dash pad and gauges just in case I would need them for mine.

Ohio, next to mt vernon.

[8E45E]

9 hours ago, jp1gt said:

I just traveled 500 mile to get a part from my car. I have been in the hobby my whole life. I can not believe the LACK  of help that I have received from the other collectors that have cars like mine. I know what I am talking about. I have helped countless other collectors in my time.

Without pointing any fingers at anyone, are they in a position to offer assistance?  Some are selling off parts because of health issues.  Looking at the amount of mobility devices seen in use at swap meets, which I've been seeing a LOT of in the last few years, I often wonder how some are able to work on their own car!!   

 

Craig

[Restorer32]

Over the years I have learned that you can find any part for any car ever built if you have enough time and enough money.  

[jp1gt]

I know I have ruffled some feathers. I just posted it because that is the way I feel. I understand some feel differently. Most of us are in it for the fun, a hobby. A lot of money should not be needed. 

[junkyardjeff]

4 hours ago, TheCatOfAges said:

Ohio, next to mt vernon.

I am in Dayton,come on down and I will give you a tour of that junkyard.

[m-mman]

23 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

Old men, the heart of the hobby tend to think:

 

"If I can't get what I want it can sit there."

I have long seen this situation AND I have experience the feelings within myself. (but never acted on it)

 

Here is the situation: You end up with a car or part sitting in your yard/garage. If the car or part had been trash or worthless you would have disposed of it when you got it. You only kept it because you thought it had value. 

 

In the intervening years everything goes up in value. Normal inflation, value of real estate, compound interest in investment accounts (IRAs etc.). Over the years you probably even experienced increases in salary. 

 

So, obviously that car or part that you bought for "X" amount decades ago MUST HAVE increased at least the same amount as everything else in your life. My house has tripled in value. My investment account has quadrupled in value. I am paying 10 times the price for gas and groceries than I did decades ago.  The value of that old car or part MUST HAVE increased at least the same amount!! 

 

If the part did NOT increase in value (and you kept it because you believed that it was; valuable and would go up in value etc.) Then YOU were the fool. YOU invested the TIME in the part (you kept it) and YOU have to admit that you were wrong.  It is a huge blow to your ego. 

 

My Story: I have a 1955 Cadillac ambulance that I bought in 1982 I fixed it and drove it for a short time then life forced me to park it.  I lost the long term storage ~5 years ago and decided to offer it to (hopefully) someone who would do something with it. (it is a RARE car) So I have advertised it for $1000.  40 years of keeping it and I am offering it for and inflation adjusted one tenth of what I paid for it.  THAT HURTS! 

I have had 4 inquires, three people came out, and it is still in my yard.  My ego is prepared to let it go. I would like the space but sometimes even at a realistic price you cant get rid of things.

I hate to crush it. . . . . But how many years do I have left? 

[TheCatOfAges]

3 hours ago, m-mman said:

I have long seen this situation AND I have experience the feelings within myself. (but never acted on it)

 

Here is the situation: You end up with a car or part sitting in your yard/garage. If the car or part had been trash or worthless you would have disposed of it when you got it. You only kept it because you thought it had value. 

 

In the intervening years everything goes up in value. Normal inflation, value of real estate, compound interest in investment accounts (IRAs etc.). Over the years you probably even experienced increases in salary. 

 

So, obviously that car or part that you bought for "X" amount decades ago MUST HAVE increased at least the same amount as everything else in your life. My house has tripled in value. My investment account has quadrupled in value. I am paying 10 times the price for gas and groceries than I did decades ago.  The value of that old car or part MUST HAVE increased at least the same amount!! 

 

If the part did NOT increase in value (and you kept it because you believed that it was; valuable and would go up in value etc.) Then YOU were the fool. YOU invested the TIME in the part (you kept it) and YOU have to admit that you were wrong.  It is a huge blow to your ego. 

 

My Story: I have a 1955 Cadillac ambulance that I bought in 1982 I fixed it and drove it for a short time then life forced me to park it.  I lost the long term storage ~5 years ago and decided to offer it to (hopefully) someone who would do something with it. (it is a RARE car) So I have advertised it for $1000.  40 years of keeping it and I am offering it for and inflation adjusted one tenth of what I paid for it.  THAT HURTS! 

I have had 4 inquires, three people came out, and it is still in my yard.  My ego is prepared to let it go. I would like the space but sometimes even at a realistic price you cant get rid of things.

I hate to crush it. . . . . But how many years do I have left? 

Where are you located? I might know a guy who loves cadillacs.

[jp1gt]

41 minutes ago, TheCatOfAges said:

Where are you located? I might know a guy who loves cadillacs.

It is a 29 cad and I am near palm springs

[TheCatOfAges]

2 hours ago, jp1gt said:

It is a 29 cad and I am near palm springs

Oh, thats all the way on the other side of the country. 

[SC38dls]

On 1/9/2023 at 7:25 AM, 8E45E said:

Without pointing any fingers at anyone, are they in a position to offer assistance?  Some are selling off parts because of health issues.  Looking at the amount of mobility devices seen in use at swap meets, which I've been seeing a LOT of in the last few years, I often wonder how some are able to work on their own car!!   

 

Craig

Craig, 

Being one of those older guys with mobility problems I may be able to answer one of your questions but sorry no help in the main one. I have little or no feeling in my legs from the knee down. Braces on both legs to allow me to walk and drive a 38 Studebaker. Though I’m not in a chair and I walked Hershey for two days I use a cane for stability reasons. Working on a car is a passion, you forget about why or how you lost that part of you that is not working. It takes longer to do the simplest jobs but you know you are doing it for yourself. I’ve seen guys in chairs that made a ramp on each side of the car parking spot so they could get to the engine. Now that’s passion. This hobby has given many guys like that a feeling of being able to accomplish a goal despite what they have been told by society because of their condition. Think about how good you feel after you finish a project and then think about what that would have been like without the use of your legs!  I know or think you were saying the comment about swap meet’s because the fact many that don’t require assistance/devices have them and it’s a pain to have so many running around tight areas. I’m not trying to bust your chops. If you see a person with true disabilities at a swap meet or car show that has worked on a car himself talk to him. Ask him how he accomplished it not ignoring his disability but respecting it out of accomplishment. He’s a car guy with a disability not a disabled person only. 
Hope you find the parts you are looking for and finish any projects you are working on soon. Post pics when you do. 
dave s 

Edited January 10, 2023 by SC38dls (see edit history)

[8E45E]

4 hours ago, SC38dls said:

Craig, 

Being one of those older guys with mobility problems I may be able to answer one of your questions but sorry no help in the main one. I have little or no feeling in my legs from the knee down. Braces on both legs to allow me to walk and drive a 38 Studebaker.  It takes longer to do the simplest jobs but you know you are doing it for yourself. This hobby has given many guys like that a feeling of being able to accomplish a goal despite what they have been told by society because of their condition. Think about how good you feel after you finish a project and then think about what that would have been like without the use of your legs!  I know or think you were saying the comment about swap meet’s because the fact many that don’t require assistance/devices have them and it’s a pain to have so many running around tight areas. I’m not trying to bust your chops. If you see a person with true disabilities at a swap meet or car show that has worked on a car himself talk to him.

Appreciate your insight.  Where there's a will, there's a way. 

 

I was attempting to make a realistic reply to someone who is criticizing 'us' as a group for unwillingness to help.  Maybe I'm incorrect, thinking its withholding technical knowledge, and not assisting in a physical way.  However, if the individual is expecting help in a physical way, someone like yourself in your position needs to explain their own physical limitations, such as only being able to perform some functions only for an hour or two a day before fatigue, cramps, respiratory issues etc., set in.  Many who have gathered skills over the years indeed do get a great reputation for doing exceptional work on their own project(s), and kindly get asked for expertise or assistance on their project and expect them to put the same vigor and meticulousness in their project.  Yes, it may be hard to say 'No', but then, you compromise your heath, and important recovery time in the process.  (Very critical while doing welding, exposing oneself to chemicals, or working on a cold floor while on your knees or back as one ages!!)   Yes, it feels great doing your own work, especially when all the restoration photos are in YOUR garage, and not someone else's or a restoration facility, but some of us with only a few usable years remaining, and projects in the waiting, balance is required, which sometimes means saying 'No', or 'Learn on your own as I did'.

 

Craig

 

 

Edited January 10, 2023 by 8E45E (see edit history)

[SC38dls]

Craig, I wasn’t trying to be critical, I just misread how you were saying what you did say. So I apologize for that error. I agree I wouldn’t have the inclination to offer to help a major rebuild job on someone else’s car. Because my body couldn’t take it well. When I crashed my 38 the worked stopped each day when the pain in the back said to stop. So some days it said don’t start. No set schedule so it took a lot longer than a person would expect from a healthier person. I’m still amazed when people act shocked I did my own work. The 38 was a 45 year in the barn find. Rebuild engine (machine work was done in a shop), transmission, brakes, wiring, front suspension and differential ( had help on that as never done one before) plus I recovered the seats. I did post a thread on fixing the front after I stopped using the back of a Mercedes. All of these projects took twice as long than when I did work back when I was 40. My mind keeps writing checks my body can’t cash as it is with many of us older guys. So I’ll help verbally but will pass on the physical help. I will sit and have a beer or two with you in any garages you want. 
dave s 
 

[Dandy Dave]

On 1/10/2023 at 4:05 PM, SC38dls said:

Craig, I wasn’t trying to be critical, I just misread how you were saying what you did say. So I apologize for that error. I agree I wouldn’t have the inclination to offer to help a major rebuild job on someone else’s car. Because my body couldn’t take it well. When I crashed my 38 the worked stopped each day when the pain in the back said to stop. So some days it said don’t start. No set schedule so it took a lot longer than a person would expect from a healthier person. I’m still amazed when people act shocked I did my own work. The 38 was a 45 year in the barn find. Rebuild engine (machine work was done in a shop), transmission, brakes, wiring, front suspension and differential ( had help on that as never done one before) plus I recovered the seats. I did post a thread on fixing the front after I stopped using the back of a Mercedes. All of these projects took twice as long than when I did work back when I was 40. My mind keeps writing checks my body can’t cash as it is with many of us older guys. So I’ll help verbally but will pass on the physical help. I will sit and have a beer or two with you in any garages you want. 
dave s 
 

I'm in the same boat. Plagued with PsA and Osteoarthritis I have only about 2 to 4 hours to do things on days that I feel well enough to try to do something. That is why I won't take on anything that someone is in a hurry for. With a pain factor that is constantly between moderate and high it is hard to do things as timely as I use to be able to do. Old timer's disease. My mind says get up and go. My body says sit your old worn out self down. Going down stairs is more painful than going up. Who would have thought?

[arcticbuicks]

awwww thats no fun.......for me ......when i bend down to tie my shoes......I start thinking about what else i need to do while im down there

[SC38dls]

I think about if there is anyone around to help me back up

dave s