I am working on an off vehicle and there's a parts car on an on-line auction (not the one everyone thinks of) that is about a six hour one way and $200 in gas drive away. The bidding is ending in two days and so far the bidding has gone up to $500. There are three parts on the car that I really want and they're hard to find but only worth maybe $250+ total. There are other parts I could use and probably many more I could sell for around $300+. The car from the manufacturer weighs over 3300 lbs and what would be left of the car after I took the parts off would be about 3000 lbs, about 1˝ tons. Current scrap price I was quoted by the local scrap yard yesterday is about $200/ton so I could get about $300 for scrap once I cut it up.

Some added variables would be that I enjoy the ride to get old iron. The car is a '37 Buick and parts for them are getting even harder to find than our old trucks. I would also be bringing my youngest son along and we'd make an one day road trip out of it. One more variable is my wife isn't a car person and really doesn't understand my hobby, she calls it an obsession. My plan of attack on her is to "beg for forgiveness" rather than "ask for permission" if I decide to drop the hammer and bid further on it. (Before giving me a hard time about the wife be honest with yourself, admit you have the same problem)

My question to you is what would your top bid be for this? Any opinions? Give some examples of how far you've traveled for a parts car/truck and what did you pay. What did you get off of the parts car/truck?

I traveled into this area about 5-6 years ago for a '48 F-4 that I paid $400 for but gas was half the price and I made a parts deliver/pick up run for a couple of board members and spread the expense.

 

Well let's see.... I've traveled over 400 miles one way twice for parts cars when I was building an early 80s Mercedes for my wife. Paid around $300 each and probably used or sold $1K of parts off of each I traveled about 100 miles to pick up my 53 and the parts truck was bought locally.
I would say if you can realize enough in parts and maybe selling pieces for a profit, Go for it! Just the day trip with your son could be worth the wrath of the little lady

 

You have to ask yourself, what if you DON'T get it? What good is a nice '37 Buick without a right rear fender (or whatever)? Is there much chance you'd be able to get the parts AT ALL if you don't go for it? With our trucks, there's a lot of them around still, not so much for 37 Buicks. PS you might want to email the other bidders to see if they'd split the car with you, maybe they need what you don't.

 

I think if you take the kid along the wife will forgive you. I drove my 51 500 miles last week to look at a 51 USAF truck. Should have bought it then cause now i can't get the guy on the phone. Yes old parts like that are hard to find. GOOD LUCK WITH THE BIDDING.

 

I know what you mean, lol. If that frame will work under a '39 Pontiac, I'd pitch in. If I had a truck and trailer to bring down there, I would. And a come-along and F6 dumptruck in soft ground don't mix very well.

 

I spent 10 years and drove thousands of miles restoring a 62 Corvette. I would do the same for my 54 Ford truck. A big part of the fun is like riding my Harley, it's not the destination it's the trip. The joy of finding that long looked for part.

 

I am travelling to South Carolina from Chicago area to pickup a couple of front fenders. Between gas, food and motel rooms it will be an exspensive weekend. But and there is always a but, I love the open road and the adventure it brings. For me it is always the journey.

Just by bringing your youngest son along would make it worth it. Perfect time for father son bonding.

If you go down there and can talk with the other bidders I agree it would be a smart thing if they want some parts you don't

jim

 

I have to be honest about bringing my son, not only does he also enjoy my truck adventures, he's a good size 18 year old with a good strong back. I plan to bring along a chain hoist to pull the car up onto my tilt flat bed trailer, it doesn't have the suspension attached, and he's going to be the power for the chain hoist. Also, I never knew how nice it is to have a son who can share in some of the driving unless both of my boys got their licenses a couple of year ago. I'll do the driving with the load on the trailer but he'll be doing the driving on the way up while I snooze.

BTW, after reading the responses and after getting a in person visit from Dmptrkr, I took the plunge and bid the max of what I feel comfortable with. I'm not looking to really make any money on this deal, just break even.

Also, BTW, I think you're all a bunch of enablers when it comes to old iron. I know I am, I try to encourage anyone I can to get deeper into this hobby whenever I can, it's a sickness I tell ya!!

 

Don't outbid your set price (by more than $50)
Other than that - ROAD TRIP

 

Like others have said, enjoy the trip, and the company. And how much would you have to pay for each part individually if on ebay and the parts are desirable etc? Most of my parts trucks etc where within 1-2 hrs drive but have gone a lot farther on occasion .

Good luck on the auction.

 

Bob - that's why I've kept my yap shut on this. Last week when Josh was thinking about the C600 MH we swapped several pm's and somewhere along the line one of us commented that we're like a couple drunks deciding if we need just one more round. We are absolutely enablers. Honestly, though, you're into the project and won't get it done without the parts. Sounds to me like you're lucky you found it no matter how far you have go. And time with your son is a bonus. Go for it. Even though I know you don't drink, "bartender, set 'em up". Stu

 

Lol, yep that's right! Couple a frosty root beers or other of choice... Just ask a truck addict on fte, we won't mislead ya

 

Bob ,I see some quality man time ahead for you and your son .Get the parts you need , sell off the rest ( might break even ) and take the good woman of yours ( the one who cooks , cleans and takes care of you) out with some of the cash you make . This I think would justify the trip . Good luck and keep us posted (w/ pics ) .

 

Thanks guys.

Denny,

You reminded me to mentioned another part of this endeavor. I posted on the HAMB about the auction to see if anyone knew about the yard and a couple of the members were kind enough to scout the Buick out for me. Both sent some excellent pictures so I could get an unbiased view of the car. The auction web site had four pictures but we all know how pictures be taken to show the best parts of a car.

I am also going to offer a huge apology to all the FTE members. I didn't even think of posting the auction on FTE because my focus was so centered on the Buick, I didn't think of the connect to FTE. There are quite a few old Ford trucks, mostly I think parts trucks. The auction is an on-line auction only and runs until Monday morning so there's some time to bid:

Live Online Webcast Auctions, Real-time Bidding | Proxibid®

Good to the site and look for

Bill's Auto Parts
Fahey Sales Auctioneers & Appraisers

I couldn't figure out how to post a direct link to the actual auction. Beware though, the vehicles have been sitting a long time and the two guys that sent me pictures said most are only parts vehicles. There are news articles of the auction on the auctioneer's site.

Again, I'm sorry for not posting this sooner, if you get Old Car's Weekly they posted this last week in their emails. I would assume they also had it in their printed version as well.

 

I've been watching the '48 F4, '41 Ford 2dr sedan, the BBW '57 F250, and the toploaders. I don't think I'll get any of them since I just committed to the Pontiac.

Bob, who's the enabler here? lol. Anyway, good luck, and enjoy the experience with the young'un.