In my area I could easily count two dozen or more very desirable collector cars sitting behind homes, in barns, fields, in gullies and in the woods - most only visible during the winter months because no greenery to hide them. There is one 70 LT-1 with a tree growing through the shift boot and branching out the passenger side window. The old man that owns the property doesn't have any interest in selling, has no living relatives - says it's be there when he dies!
Another, is a 63 split- window sitting for 30 years in a barn with hundreds of disposable plastic pots stacked on top - owner says it was his brother's, he's been dead for quite some time but wont sell it -say's "ask my estate." Big Block Hemis from the late 60's to a Gull wing sit under huge pinetrees with ½ thick tree sap coating these cars on just a mile away. I stopped to take a B&W photo for the sake of art and was chased away by shotgun! The house was in such disrepair it was inconceivable anyone lived there. I asked if he knew what he had and I wasn't there to take advantage of him, just an opportunity to talk about the history behind them. No go with him either. The more apparently seen ones from the road I won't even bother with them. The last one has all the most popular big blocks with rag tops from 63 to 71 in his yard, says he drove each one until it stopped on it's own. He parked them one by one, over 10 of them. I asked him if he could part with any he said "nope, don't see any reason too either!" On some level this is beyond me!

 

Moderator bumped me off the selling/wanted side
IT WAS NOT A GENERAL TOPIC!
It was a retorical question in dealing with or wanting to buy from with unapproachable people. I was mearly fishing for someone having prior experience with these fixtures of Americana!

 

These cars have material value to the owners, running or not. It is a physical link to their past, and they cant part with it. It's something they can touch when they want to. It's also a sense of loss that they are trying to avoid by holding onto it, regardless of what time and the elements are doing to it.

They couldn't care about what anyone else thinks of them either.

My guess would be: If you were to make friends with them and let them be a part of any dealing with the car, such as taking it to a show, let them be a detailer, give them a ride, thats the only angle I can think of, other than stupid money, that would ever allow them to part with it.

Thats the way I see it. Who knows, I might even be there myself when I'm an old fisherman living on a fixed income

 

Memories are embedded in those cars. They are not just steel and fiberglass. And memories are priceless, not simply the steel and fiberglass market values. Despite their condition they bring back better days to some just looking at them. And that is important to those people. Let's not place blame on these people and their memories.

Some of us who are on the far side of 50 remember some of the reasons.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...deoid=36204250

 

I have friends that restore professionally, so I'm always on the lookout as well. The one part of all of this that I can never understand is that if the cars have sentimental value, why don't they invest $50 in four jackstands and a roll of shrinkwrap? Why just let them rot?

My $.02.

//Schaggy

 

Only worth $.02.

 

"Let's not place blame on these people and their memories".



Who said anything about "blaming these people?" I guess you didn't read my last sentence "On some level . . . "

I just had an Idea for a new bumper sticker "My yard's not a junkyard, just full of memories"

 

OK,

Have it your way. Memories are not important. This Forum has been loopy for about two years. I'm out of here.

 

[QUOTE=

Some of us who are on the far side of 50 remember some of the reasons.

QUOTE]

Its probably not the now rusting car that they care about ..but the memorys they associate with that car that keeps them hanging on to it.
Kinda the same answers as above I guess,,

 

Which is a general topic. If you have a car for sale or wanted then
post in the for sale section

 

Not the Forum, Paul... but there's been a couple posters that are full-on loopy these days.

Between the nasty remarks, calling out mods and getting upset because a thread is in the General forum, I just don't get it.

 

Basically, it's their car and they can do with it what they want. If they want to let it sit, that's fine with me.

One more point, don't enter their property uninvited, maybe they are using them as 'bait' for trespassers.