Yard find..

[Dave6T4]

I have been watching a 1968 GTX rot down for 30 years. Owner won't sell it.

 

[sam dupont]

When I was 14, I would cut through a neighbors yard (the things you do as a kid) I cut through the neighbors yard and walked right past their little English car. I would look inside, and the floors were filled with leaves, and such. One day I knocked on the door. Do you want to sell that thing? She smiled and laughed and said: "it looks bad, but it's been in a lot of rallies and it's going to be in a lot more". It was an Austin Healey MK 3000, which was worth a little money even then.

I sold my Healey recently. I wasn't getting to it and a guy wanted it very much. He kept offering more and more. That's probably the secret to success. Worked on me. He wanted to put a too tall, Toyota motor in it. What kind of idiot cuts a Bugeye bonnet. His car now.

 

[Big bill]

Check out that old CPPA decal on the dash!

I thought that was cool too.

 

[devinism]

Brings back memories of the '69 gTx that I kept trying to buy in Santa Maria, CA. back in the late 80s - mid 90s. Original owner, 8 track, 440 Air Grabber. Copper with tan interior. I had stopped by at least 5-6 times and talked with him about it.
By the time he called me to sell it was too late (for the time). Coastal rot had taken its toll. You could reach inside the car through the rear window / sail panels. No rear window frame left to work with, no Air Grabber (stolen), no trunk floor etc......
I had to pass. At the time you could still buy a dry Central Valley or So Cal nice one for $3500 +-

 

[Ron H]

Leaving a car sit on the ground rots the hell out of it. I know as the 1st car I restored only sat for a year and a half as had nowhere to store it then. Was shocked by how much deterioration there was in that short amount of time. Critter haven with nests and chewed wiring.

There’s an old farmhouse near where I used to live in the 80’s/90’s. Three cars parked alongside of it on the ground. ’67 GTO and a Lemans. Every month or so, have occasion to drive by it. They are STILL there. Could be half-cars by now.

Brother’s HS buddy still has his ’55 Chev he had in HS, parked in his huge garage under a ton of crap. He’s a great mechanic by trade. Several offers to buy the sweet 327 and Muncie, nope. For 3 + decades he's said he's going to restore the ’55...he’s 72 now..

 

[icetech]

Took me a full month to clean out my brothers garage and property.He died a few years back.
Just a few photos Cars trucks motorcycles and farm/lawn tractors.
He got rid of nothing. Blown 4 cylinder engines stacked in corners from friends kids cars.
Years of doing brake jobs for people. Rotors drums and old shoes and pads ?? why save 'um ??
Parts everywhere. Tons of tools. A 4 car garage and he worked outside because of no room.

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Love that Chevelle... those are the cars i learned to wrench on.. my buddies only owned chevelles when i was younger...

 

[Big bill]

He won’t sell it he said it ran tens back in the day . I guess it was a slant six car .

 

[Darter6]

Love that Chevelle..

Story behind is the original owner ordered it.When he brought it home his wife refused to drive it.
LS6 450hp 4 speed 4.10 gears. My brother at the time had a 68 Coronet R/T automatic and they traded cars with some money on my brothers part. My brother drove it sparingly and parked it in 1976. It sat till 2017 when it was hauled away.
Yep 1,092 miles on it.The guy that bought it (A collector of LS6 cars)did a you tube video and stated it was the lowest mile LS6 known.

 

[Big bill]

That’s a cool story.

 

[Joe66satellite]

too easy

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great pic!

 

[cosgig]

This car has been sitting in the exact same place for over 36 years. 70 V code black on black GTX 4 speed Dana car. Despite my many attempts to buy it, or help the owner do something with it, she says she would like it to go to her kids, who obviously have no Interest in it at all. Not to mention they it is also stablemates with about 20 other vehicles all facing the same fate. It will go to someone some day, but all the parts are in a dilapidated old barn they collapsed on top of them. Still trying tho!

 

[sam dupont]

Drive a different Mopar and park it prominently every visit to illustrate the depth of your illness. Even if you have to borrow one or two.

I've dug in countless sheds, basements, and barns at auction sales. I'll post this photo to qualify my opinion here.
In a dry building... okay. Any humidity or wrapped in newspaper... not good. A collapsed building is not the best, but cardboard boxed and or wrapped, the chrome and pot metal stuff is already pitted, anodization is failed, and gauges are rusty. She should sell the parts now and give the money to the kids before they are so bad that I, the dollar guy, won't even want them.

 

[68BabyBlue]

My fourth GTX is languishing in pieces because the widow of the guy I sold it to 10 years ago wants to save it for a nephew. A friend who tried to buy it from her has also passed in the meantime. This was a garaged 49,000 mile original car, that was complete, and came with a set of AMD quarters and fenders, new legendary interior, numbers matching drive line, factory red on red, fender tag and build sheet, well optioned. Sad to see it end up like this, but it's a fairly typical result.

 

[blue69runner]

I see cars wrapped in plastic sheeting and I cringe. They are hurting the car worst and if it was covered by a car cover. It is sad to see cars go the wayside and them telling me going to fix it one day. Have a friend has a supper bird just sitting in somewhat of a garage. No doors on the darn thing Just roof sides and back. Last time I talked to a friend that know him said the rats have eaten most everything up. I asked the guy that has it which I have known him for years and he had a ridiculous number thinking it was worth. That was 20 years ago. Think I will pop by one day and see how bad it is and ask him again what he wants for it.

 

[Cranky]

Hoarders are the worst.
I speak from experience here as my inlaws(RIP) were in a league of their own. We always thought it was only the MIL, but after both were gone it was evident they both were. In a 1800 Sq ft home, we gave up after 8 large dumpsters, and that was just the house. There was also 2 - 2 car garages! Long story, but the FIL was well versed in automotive values. He was a mechanic for over 40 years and was always buying some rarity to "fix up". He bought Packards, Model T's, Jeep CJ2a's, Bonneville convertibles, etc.
None of them ever saw a road, and only deteriorated until they were sold off for junk. He did have some rare completed cars also -70 GS Stage1 convertible, 65 Olds 442 convertible but sold them to make a buck.
He saved EVERYTHING automotive, every spark plug he changed, the old one went back into the box, and stored.
It has enlightened me to toss everything I have saved thinking I would use it someday. If I haven't used it (car related) in 5 years, it gets sold or tossed.
Everyone should have to clean out a hoarders nightmare- 2 full dumpsters of frigging newspapers.
Rant over for today.

My MIL lived in a 3000 sq ft house and had enough crap in it to fill up 2 other houses!!! No cars worth talking about though. When I bought my 66 Belvedere in 88, it had everything that ever was replaced on it while the original owner had it. It was stored in the trunk. I bought it from his grandson once the OO passed on. Yup, all that 'saved' crap went into the trash.

Probably was, after the first 10 tons I didn't care what it was.

Same thing with my MIL.....4 pickup loads of magazines alone! I took a full week of vacation from work to help clean the house out when she went into assisted living and the house was up for sale.

Leaving a car sit on the ground rots the hell out of it. I know as the 1st car I restored only sat for a year and a half as had nowhere to store it then. Was shocked by how much deterioration there was in that short amount of time. Critter haven with nests and chewed wiring.

There’s an old farmhouse near where I used to live in the 80’s/90’s. Three cars parked alongside of it on the ground. ’67 GTO and a Lemans. Every month or so, have occasion to drive by it. They are STILL there. Could be half-cars by now.

Brother’s HS buddy still has his ’55 Chev he had in HS, parked in his huge garage under a ton of crap. He’s a great mechanic by trade. Several offers to buy the sweet 327 and Muncie, nope. For 3 + decades he's said he's going to restore the ’55...he’s 72 now..

I'm also 72 now too and things are not so easy to do anymore but I'm still swinging the bat. Just hope I can keep on swinging at it.

 

[Darter6]

Trashed Gold. A guy that we grew up with had a 62 Max Wedge Dart. Done car ran and drove.
He accumulated many OE Maxi Parts.
When he passed he was around 72 and died sudden.His sister contacted us and we set up a buyer for the car.
BUT she had trashed all the parts a few weeks before contacting us about selling the car.

 

[68BabyBlue]

Trashed Gold. A guy that we grew up with had a 62 Max Wedge Dart. Done car ran and drove.
He accumulated many OE Maxi Parts.
When he passed he was around 72 and died sudden.His sister contacted us and we set up a buyer for the car.
BUT she had trashed all the parts a few weeks before contacting us about selling the car.

I am trying not to be part of this depressing process. Got rid of a bunch of parts at Carlisle for cheap, I think the GTX community benefited from it…

 

[hacksaw]

im a car guy of the mopar blood line but own a few cool brand X rides ....most of yall know im into AMC's .... i have been trying to buy a amx that is returning back to the earth for a long time. and one in the back of the barn... i fear it mite be to late for the amx to be something i can do at this point. but its the same guy i got the 5 car package deal from.. so maby .... someday???

 

[sam dupont]

Came across this 8 years ago and today and I finally caught the owner home and was able to talk to him . It has a Dana and a 440 in it old race car but not for sale he is going to fix it ( as if)

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I would stop by, just to talk, and if the conversation eventually went the way of starting it, I would have everything I needed in my rig. If it turned out he liked the idea of starting it, I would be prepared with a weedeater, tools, a good battery, plugs, cap, wires, and my stand alone fuel system.
Although, it looks like it has been a long time since it was run. If so, it will be a long day, nursing it back.

After tightening everything up and with some good used rubber on it, he might drive it for a while and decide he had moved on. Good memories, but not what he's into today. I'm that way with my motorcycles anymore. I was part owner of an Austin Healey autocross car. We had piles of extra axles and if you broke it, you fixed it. He might also start going to cruiser nights and it's still off the market, but at least it's moving. 100 octane is an expensive habit at single digit mileage.

 

[70Fish]

Watched the same thing happen locally to a Mr. Norm's V code triple black Challenger where it had been sitting outside literally right in front of a 2 car garage filled with crap. It was eventually taken away, but very rusty from the decades of being outdoors.

I watched a 57 Coronet and 57 New Yorker, both hemi cars, rot for 30 years as they sat on a hillside right below a spring. This was next to nice 2 car garage full of old clothes, newspapers, and a lifetime of misc. crap. I made a couple of offers through the years but the widow still saw them for what they WERE, and would not sell. Eventually she died, and of course the cars were hauled off for scrap and the garage contents went into the dumpster.

Imagine if the garage had been emptied, and the cars placed within? Two classics saved, and more importantly.... her husband's dream would live on. But for some reason, it's nearly impossible to convince any of these owners to do the intelligent thing.