The problem with a lot of people, especially the ones who know little to nothing about old vehicles, they get iron oxide mixed up with gold. I've run into a lot of people who say, "I've seen something like this go on the internet for $XXXXX.XX", not knowing that those items have been restored or rechrome or in some way brought up to as new condition or better. They do seem to not care to that to bring their rusty piece of junk up to the condition of the one they saw on the internet would cost BIG $$$$ to bring up to that condition. All they know is they saw it on the internet.

 

The one good thing about scrap dealers is they only go by the weight. I've learned when being at an auction to watch for the scrap dealers. If I see something in a junk vehicle or on a pallet with a lot of other junk I don't want I'll wait for them to bid and win then I'll go up to them and offer them a few bucks for something that I wanted that weighed a few pounds. Many times I'll get a part I know is worth $50-100 for $5. The scraper probably walks away thinking they just sold 2¢ worth of scrap to some sucker for $5-10, meanwhile I bought a $100 part for $5 and don't have to haul some rusty buried in the ground rusty hulk home and have to figure out how to get rid of it. We're both happy. I bought an electric wiper system for a '51-52 truck and the clutch hogshead like this and other items I don't remember..

 

Sometimes post of this nature can come off as grumpy curmudgeons for various reasons:

*excessive price expectations not met, therefore must get revenge or punish the hobby/hobbyist by scrapping
*not willing to part out trucks - expect the price of the hulk to equal the sum of the parts
*not willing to put effort into listings - how may times have we seen "old parts for sale" with inadequate details, part numbers, applications, pictures and so on?

Don't get me wrong, buyers have their quirks too!

I try to do my part to keep things from the scrapper, but sometimes the seller goes dark.

 

Bob,

I'm with you 100%. I'm not spending time and energy on any parts for free or below scrap prices. I have a lot invested in truck, trailer and a lot of hours behind the wheel gathering parts. My time and energy and skills deserve to be rewarded. I certainly don't do this for my health.........

and I price my parts according to " what if I needed that very part tomorrow after I sell it today" where would I find it and how much would it cost me? And how long would I have to look to even find the replacement? There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes.

 

Well, Brian, if you have a burning desire to have extra F6 brake parts laying around, let me know. I've got a couple boosters, too.

 

I have seen a lot of foolishness on the part of buyers. I've seen it here quite a bit over the years I've been here. People will post that they are in disparate need of a part to either finish their truck or a part to repair their truck and can't find the parts. Wheels for the big trucks is a prime example. I've seen many posts where the poster is looking for Widow Maker replacements. I have some, I shoot out a cost for the wheels and leave it up to the poster to supply shipping. They are shocked at the price I quote but I've taken car of sourcing the wheels which are on a truck, I took the time to get the truck, load it onto my trailer, secure it to my trailer and then drive back to my house, unload from my trailer and then dismantle the truck. In the case of the wheels I dismount the old weathered tires (try to pull off crappy dried out 50 year old tires off a rusty rim), dispose of the old tires ($16 apiece). Then soak them in an acid bath or medium blast the part. This is all a lot of work and cost. Add to that all a buyer has to do is either come to my location or pay to have them shipped. They don't have to go from junkyard to junkyard to junkyard in the hope you might find some rusted relic in a back field and have to pull them off with minimum tools. This goes for all the parts I've had.

 

I took and sold at the Good Guys show in Scottsdale last month. Spent a day setting up, 2 days selling, and rained out on Sunday. I didn't sell much, mostly small stuff. Large stuff I brought and wanted to get rid of just sat there and had to be brought back home.

I end up giving more stuff away then selling them!

The guy in the next booth, had a intake with 3 carbs stolen.

 

I’ve used Car Breakers Manchester before when I needed to scrap an old non-runner, and they made the whole thing really stress-free. They handled the pickup, paid a decent price, and I ended up grabbing a used part from them later that worked perfectly. If you’re dealing with a damaged car or just want something taken off your hands without hassle, they’re solid.