I Like A Good Story

[Ike]

It's too cold to work outside today. So how about a story. I found my truck by accident about 2 weeks ago. The highway was being widened and a detour was in place. As I was passing thru where some trees had been removed. I saw a rusty piece of metal back in the trees. I contacted the land owner about having a look. It was a rusty old Ford truck down and out. I ask him about selling the truck and his price. I offered him $100 and he said old trucks like that are worth something. I knew I had to say something fast before he jacked up the price. I said I'll make it easy for you I'll give you $200and bring bill of sale for you to sign. He said we had a deal. Next day it took me 2 hrs. to cut trees and brush to back up to truck. Here's the good part I brought 2 air tanks in my truck. The truck had been sitting for 45 years and 3of the 4 tires aired up. The steering on the old truck still turned the wheels.The rear end turned with no drag and still had grease in it. What that old truck had left on it still worked. When we pulled it out of it's resting place it seemed to jump forward. I believe it was ready to find a new home. I was happy to see it parked in front of my shop. That's my story on this cold winter day. Let's hear some stories about your finds and maybe the problems you had getting them. Don't be bashful step up and let's hear YOUR story.

 

[joehalford01]

good story, none for my current projects, past projects that i bought but never did anything with and sold later.....

64 dodge dart, I bought it to put my 472 cad motor in. Had no motor in it, $400 and a clean title. Belonged to some crackheads- original engine and transmission were in the bottom of an empty pool.........that was an interesting day.

 

[Bonehead]

Last summer I pulled out an old 52 Ford two door from the place where I bought it at auction. It only had one tire and wheel left on it, I had brought enough tires to get it on the trailer. The tags said 1965, the remaining tire not only took and held air, it is still holding air. There is something to be said for tubes.

 

[chopper tom]

i doug an old a-mdel cowl out of a rock pile and built a street rod truck from it onced ,spent $5500,00 building it .
in hind site mabie i should have left it there?

 

[Mr.Gussett]

I got my 29 tudor from an old friend who had set it on the ground inside of a loafing shed.It was to be his "future project".It had been in the same spot for 26 years and was covered with lumber(made a nice wood rack)Ground hogs had mounds of dirt all around and under it!It took an hour and a half to get it dug out,clear a path through the rest of the stuff he had stored in there and load it in the back of my dually.Then I went back a year later and climbed over the stuff we piled up ou of our way before and dug out my dropped axle from a 32 Ford.
The best part of all of the whole deal is that it all was FREE!
He just said that if ever I wanted to get rid of it that it had to go back to him!NEVER! I'll keep it!

 

[gassersgarage]

Mine involves a motor. Found a 396 with oval port heads and flat top pistons sitting in an empty lot. Took it home and found it was frozen. Soaked the cylinders with WD40 and beat the piston out with a hammer and chisel. Micro polished the crank, honed the cylinders and re-ringed and bearinged it. Did a valve job on the heads, stuck a rectangular port dual plane hi-rise on it. *00 Holley and a Sig hi-flow 1 cam and a 10,000 rpm nitrous unit. Put it in a 65' Malibu SS with a 4 speed and 4:88's.

First race was with a 435hp 427 Vette. Gave it 3 car lengths and smoked it. Next race was with a 75' Nova with an LS7. Gave the Nova 8 cars and smoked him. Fastest motor I ever had and it was a piece of junk.

 

[FlatBroke]

Those are some great stories guys.

 

[harleyboy]

Here's mine

I had an old friend die 3 years ago. He had a mechanic shop here for 50 years. My wife and I kinda take care of his wife. She's 83 and as sharp as anyone you'll find. He was a collector of all things automotive. Her garages, carports and barns include: 1930 Model A 5 window coupe (looks like new) I drive it around the block once a month. 30 Model A roadster, 25 Model T, 39 English Roamer, 56 Ford, 67 Mustang fastback, 66 Mustang Conv., 8 that's right 8 Metropolitans, 41 Caddy, 55 Rambler, ?? Crosley and several others that I haven't seen. I have asked her about selling me the Model A roadster but she doesn't want to sell anything. She doesn't drive. We take her just about everywhere. About 2 months ago I was mowing her grass and she walked out in the very back of her lot where I was and wanted me to look in this barn for a 65 Mustang that she wanted to give her great nephew. I had never looked in this barn because I don't want to snoop. I really do want to snoop but don't think it's right. I don't want anybody to think that I would take advantage of her or anyone for that matter. Well, inside the first door I opened was a 1950 Chevy truck that was her husbands shop truck from days gone by. I said that I would love to buy it and she said that she would think about it. That's the same thing that she said about the roadster 3 years ago so I didn't think I'd ever hear anything about it again. Lo and behold about 3 weeks later she said that she talked to her daughter (only child) and they want to give me the truck. Wow. I said that I wanted to buy the truck but she said no. We finally decided on a deal where I will work it off. I'm hauling 50 years of junk away from her house. It's left up to me to decide when I've worked enough. I had never seen the Crosley but found it in a barn that's about to fall. It has a bad case of the gangster lean. I am almost afraid to go in the barn. I told her that I would try to rescue the Crosley next week. The floor has fallen in in front of it and I'll have to place plywood down to roll it over. There are motors and all kinds of fenders and everything you can think of in the way. I'll probably spend 4 or 5 hours just clearing a way. There are about 15 sets of new fender skirts stacked on top of the car. I opened one box and they were brand new Foxcraft fender skirts for a 63 Ford. All of them were for different cars. Going in this barn is like going back in time. I'll take pics and do a story on the recovery. I promise you won't believe it. Oh yea all the cars are driveable. Harleyboy

 

[donsrods]

I've told this one before. In about 1969 I drove past this one house every day on the way home from work. I always thought I saw an old car sitting back beside the house, behind some trees, but never took the time to stop. One day I had some time and turned into the driveway.

What I found was a '32 Ford pickup that had been hot rodded. It was channeled over a pretty crude frame, but the body was nice and had about a 3 inch chop, a '32 grille shell, '37 tube axle with '40 Ford brakes, and a '57 Chevy rear axle. No motor or tranny though.

Pretty soon a lady comes out and asks what I want, and I asked her if the car might be for sale. She said it was her husbands and he wasn't home. When I asked when he might be home she said " he left me and the SOB didn't even leave me any cigarettes!!" After a couple more words she said "tell you what, give me $ 15 so I can buy some smokes and it's yours."

I can't tell you how fast I went home and got my tow bar and got the thing out of there. I have always wondered how he took it if he ever came back to her and found out what she had done.

Don

 

[Willowbilly3]

In 1974 we were coming back from a 700 mile round trip to see BTO. About 150 miles from home the gen light came on in my buddys 62 Impala so we pulled into this old Texaco station. The owner was loaning us wrenchs and mentions he has an old truck he would sell us to get home. We get the gennie tightened back up and I ask him to see the truck. It was a 51 Ford F2. I asked how much and he appolgetically said $50 because he had just tagged it. We all had to scrape to get $50 and told him I would take it if he filled it up with gas and he did and we did.

 

[harleyboy]

Willowbilly3, I guess you were "Taking Care Of Business"

 

[Willowbilly3]

Willowbilly3, I guess you were "Taking Care Of Business"

Funny, that album had just came out and was the one they were promoting. Those chubby little dudes could rock, or we thought so then anyway.

 

[Ike]

Good Stories

Those are great stories men. The old tin is still out there. If you are looking for your next project don't give up. The next person you talk to may be the lead your looking for. Good luck and good hunting.

 

[chopper tom]

i love reading these old stories!

 

[RODMAN58]

about 25 years ago......

This girl stops in this little country store I worked part time in. She said she was gettign rid of 3 junk cars (well one good truck). Wanted to know if I would be interested. The truck was a 69 chevy short bed with all the chrome.
Zero rust and bald tires. The cars were a 71 delta 88 and 68 impala (with 40
some thou on the clock...yeah right). I went over and looked a the stuff knowing full well It was gonna cost me to get it towed home..... I felt guilty but offered her 500 for the lot. She countered with 600 and I took it. I immediately sold the truck for a grand after she left it at the store for me. I never even drove it. The Delta I sold to 3 brothers rolling by looking for a hog bodied cruiser. I put a battery in it and 5 gallons of gas. It fired up and I drove it home after dark with without tags. I got 350 for it. The Impala I paid 50 bucks to get towed cause I couldn't get it fired. I got it home and pulled a plug and THE PLUGS HAD NEVER BEEN CHANGED IN THE CAR. 40K on the ticker and the plugs were burned to nothing. I put plugs in it. Another 5 gallons of gas and I sold it to some kids for 800 bucks. This girl still thanks me today when I see her for taking all those junk cars away. I still say you're welcome.....

I took that money and bought a 55 pontiac two door HT, a 2 door falcon wagon and 3 MG's (enough stuff to make 1 good one) but that as they say...
is another story.

 

[pablo]

i have a story behind all my projects. the most current one ,my truck, was born from the pages of Killbillet and rat rods rule. i went to these web pages, along with others and saw a lot of hard working folks builindg really cool rides. I have never chopped a top i have never built a frame, and I have never sectioned a car, so I decided to take the plunge and do it all on one vehicle. I am really happy with how my truck is turning out and even happier with the most of the people that I have meet on line. I look forward to taking my truck to some shows and meeting some of the people from the online community.

 

[donsrods]

I have one more tale. It was also in that 1969-1970 time frame. I was building the '32 pickup I mentioned getting in the earlier story, and a neighborhood kid keeps stopping by my shop, riding his bike. He doesn't know anything about cars, but tells me he knows where there is a junkyard "full of old cars just like mine." (You know how this one usually ends up, the cars are about 5 years old and mostly Yugos ) Anyways, he tells me this story every time he visits.

Finally one day I told him that we were going to go see these cars. It ended up being about an hour away in a little town called Uniontown, Pa. He directed me to this place where there is a very old wooden fence that has trees and stuff growing thoughout, and we find a spot where we can squeeze through to the other side. What greeted me was a junkyard that had been closed down since God knows when, and it is actually filled with neat old cars from the 30's through the '50's!! I don't remember all the makes and models, but there were tons of old cars there and not in terrible shape either.

He then directs me to an old building on the property and as we enter I see more cars in various states of completion, but the one I remember most was a '40 Willys gasser with a flip front end and no engine or tranny. It had slicks and the typical gasser nose up attitude. There were other cars there too, like a '55 Chevy hardtop, and lots more I can't remember. There were also lots of engines scattered around, some with speed parts on them like tripowers and all.

We left and I made a mental note of where it was so that I could go back and try to find the owner some day. Some time later (maybe 6 months I guess) I did go back and what was once a junkyard full of old cars was now an empty field. Even the fence was leveled and all was cleaned up. I spoke to a neighboring business and they told me the old man owner had died and his kids didn't want the junkyard so it just sat. Then they sold off all the scrap and were prepping it so that another business could be built there.

He told me there were flatbed trailer trucks coming and going in there for weeks hauling all of the cars to the scrap yard where they were crushed. From the inventory I saw and the story he told me, there must have been quite a few loads they hauled out of there.

The computer chair I'm sitting in now is probably made from some of that steel recycled.

Don

 

[donsrods]

Ok, I lied, I have ONE MORE story. (When you live this long, you better have a few stories to tell ! )

When I graduated in '63 from HS I went to work as a lot boy at a local Ford dealership. Part of my job was to keep the used cars clean. One day in about 1964 I was told to clean up a '63 T Bird that was on the used car lot. It was last years model, that is why it was not on the new car lot.

It was a pretty T Bird, the full sized one, but this one was light yellow with real wire wheels. When I cranked the engine it roared to life, it sounded very "throaty", not like the other T Birds and Fords I had been driving around. So I took it to the wash area and popped the hood. What was there was a fully chromed 406 tripower Ford engine. When I say fully chromed, I mean every bracket and accessory. It had finned 406 valve covers and the oval air cleaner with the T Bird emblem on it.

I asked the used car manager about it and found out it had been a factory show car that Ford used in events around the country. The dealer had bought it as part of a package deal. How much were they asking? $1800.00, but to a kid making $ 1.00 per hour, it might as well have been a million bucks. I have always wondered what happened to that car.

Don

 

[gassersgarage]

This is about my friend who lived in the San Fernando Valley in the 70's. His name was Joe Deluca. He was driving down the street and saw an old Willys drag truck parked on a lawn. It had a for sale sign on it. He stops to inquire about the truck. Knocks on the door and a lady answers. He asks to speak to the owner of the truck. The lady said it was her son's truck but he was killed in Vietnam. He asks if it runs. She said it ran the last time he was home.

My friend tilts the front end and discovers a 409 with a hydro. He asks how much. She said $300. He runs home, gets the money, buys the truck and flat tows it home. Changes the oil and filter, flushs the radiator and fills the tank with fresh gas. Tows it to Irwindale Drag Strip that night and runs 11:00's.

Eventually, he sells the truck to a mopar freak who put a 413 in it. Lost track of the truck. Just heard that Joe was in prison back east.

 

[440shorty]

It was all Dad's fault, part one.

Or, how I ended up working on cars for a living.

This story starts with my father, who is a physicist, but has been a hot rodder since he was a kid. He always had station wagons for the family car. In 1964, he replaced the '57 Studebaker wagon that had rusted out with a '62 Oldsmobile f-85 wagon. This was a nice, two year old car with the all aluminum 4-bbl V8 and automatic transmission (baby Slim Jim). My two older brothers were 1 and 3 years old, and then my mom got pregnant with my sister in that car while they were at Watkins Glen, NY to watch the Formula One race that year.

But the car was junk! It blew the head gaskets twice while my dad had it (he fixed it both times), it must have cracked a piston or broken a piston ring because the blowby was so severe that the breather puked oil all over the engine compartment until he connected a garden hose to the breather and ran it all the way out the back. He said it would blow little blue smoke rings.

But the transmission ... one evening it locked up on my mom, by then about 6 months pregnant, in the middle of the street. A police officer tried to get the gearshift to move, but only managed to make it worse. Later, my dad dropped the pan right there, and little pieces fell out. He ended up getting the transmission to work again, but the manual lever shaft was bent so that if it was put into park, it would bind up and not come out.

After my sister was born in June of '65, the car started overheating again. My dad searched high and low but could not find a decent used station wagon. In defeat, he began shopping for a new one (certainly not a GM one!) and ended up making a deal at the local Plymouth dealer on a new '66 Valiant wagon. He mentioned the Olds as a trade in, so the dealer told him to bring it on by. After cleaning it up inside, underhood, and out, Dad drove it over to a gas station around the corner from the dealer and let it cool off. Then he drove it over there. The salesman drove it around the parking lot, liked it well enough and told my dad that he had a deal. He then pulled up in front of the office, put it in Park, and got out. My dad's eyes got big, and so he scurried around the car as fast as he could, pulling the tags off and putting them on the new car, and getting out of there, 'cause he knew that they'd need a tow truck to move the Olds!!

I rode home from the hospital in the Valiant three years later.

Ever since, my father has hated GM products, lumping them all together.

440shorty