I really should have tacked this onto the "One That Got Away" post a couple weeks ago, but it really isn't about a whole car. I know I can't be the only one that got rid of parts that I needed or could have used later on. Anyone willing to share? Here's mine:

About 10 years ago, I bought a run down house and garage 2 doors down at a tax auction with the intent of tearing it all down and cleaning it up. Out behind the garage, I found an old engine and transmission under a tarp buried in the weeds and brush. Judging by how long the house had been empty, it had been outside for 25 years or better and the tarp it was under was in bad shape. I dug it out with the tractor and after a little research on the numbers, I determined that it was a Lincoln 317 c.i. y-block out of a '53 Lincoln Capri. It had its original GM Hydramatic transmission behind it, too. The carb, distributor, and accessory brackets were missing, but all the important parts were there.

I got it into the barn and started tearing it down. It was pretty rough. The valve covers were rusted bad enough that they were perforated, the rocker shafts were rusted solid, and the entire valve galley had been holding water and was a rusty mess. Of course, it was stuck on top of all this. I had also been looking into rebuild parts. The only place that made any parts for it was Kanter and after seeing their prices, it was clear that they were REALLY proud of that fact.

So here I sat with a big, heavy old dinosaur of an engine with serious rust issues that would take a lot of machine work, parts scrounging, and a big pile of cash to get running again. Beyond that, transmission options were limited and it really didn't fit into the plans for any of my builds and I didn't see much resale value in it given its condition. It sat in the corner with the top end torn off until I hauled in the next load of scrap and then off it went.

That brings us to today. I now know that this very engine was an option in the bigger trucks in '52. It would have made a very, very cool power plant for my '52 F-2 and would have been a perfect fit with the rest of the theme I have planned for the truck. A rare, vintage y-block with those cool LINCOLN script valve covers would have looked a whole lot better under the hood than the boring modern small block that's going into it now. Besides that, I have since found out that my machinist has a love for old, rare engines and would have loved to help me build it in his slow time at a discount on his labor. He also can get parts from Kanter at a discount. He about cried when I told him that I had one and scrapped it. (sigh) And to think that I sent it off to be turned into more cheap Chinese junk.

 

We can see a whole lot better behind us than what's ahead.


(ONE NICE THING ABOUT EGOTISTS: THEY DON'T TALK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE.)

 

I think that engine falls into the category someone posted about a possible F-600 purchase; "something you can pour $500 into every so often and still end up with an old [engine]". Can't save them all... What's amazing to me is that we talk about a 317 being the "big engine" for a line of trucks! No one seriously considers a truck with anything less than a 350/5.4 or so any more, and plenty feel the "need" for a powerstroke or cummins. Things sure have changed!

 

There are people Joe (I married one of them - make sure she doesn't see this ) who do keep every little thing they ever laid their eyes and hands on.

I'm thinking of a huge used everything company a few miles north in Dayton. Last time I was there (maybe 10 years ago) they had four floors of a huge old factory building absolutely full, I mean full to the rafters, of stuff they got at bargain basement prices. I found everything from used office desks (1940s vintage US Government issue) to huge cases of thermal paper rolls used in the old checkout registers. Anyone need a dozen gross (that's 12 x 144) 20W light bulbs? How about batteries for the original Motorola cell phone (my dad had one in his car in the 1960s). If you need 'em, they've got maybe a couple hundred. Don't know where they are, but I saw them a few years ago someplace in that building.

Everything in this place is either in piles on the floor or on shelves - in no particular order. Wandering through can be fun - unless you actually expect to find something you need. One of the old-timers may be able to point you to an area where "I think I saw something like what you're looking for over there a couple years ago." Other than that, you're on your own.

The reason I mention this place is that, if you don't have the time to organize your stuff, it's exactly the same as not having it.

A counter example is a place like McMaster-Carr. They have over 480,000 products in their many warehouses and not only can you locate any one of them you need in their catalog, they will ship it the same day you order it. That's a huge investment on their part, but I go there even when their prices are a little higher because I can find what I want quickly and, more importantly, know what the alternatives are before I choose a specific item.

So, my point is, if you kept every engine block, valve cover, oil pan, carburetor, generator, alternator, etc., etc. you would need to spend a lot of time organizing it all, and then documenting how you organized it so you could find an item when you needed it.

I quit that game about 15 years ago at my job and about 10 years ago at home. I have a large selection of fasteners of all types and materials that are carefully organized. I have all the original parts for Earl plus maybe 25 parts I scrounged off an old 292 or bought as spares for Earl. Other than that, my tools and all the other typical stuff you'd have in your garage. And still, I can barely lay my hands on the one thing I want even though it is all organized.

 

I used to keep everything and I had two boxes full of it - old, rusty, oily, stinky, but still restorable.

Just gave it ALL to ILYA! Nice clean garage now!

 

I think he mentioned that you had some fine stuff