When I bought my Pontiac (51) about 15 years ago, the previous owner gave me a trailer full of spare parts, that he had been given when he bought it. I've kept everything "in case I need it down the road". Well down the road is here and I'm running out of room storing all these parts. Over the years I've upgraded to an open driveshaft, power disc brakes, rear axle and springs, and a 5 speed transmission. I still have the old reliable 239 in the engine bay. If and when the engine dies, I will more than likely switch to an LS. I've kept everything I removed, in case I might chose to restore it back to original later on (now not likely).
So looking for input - continue to hold on the stuff, or scrap it all. I've tried selling some stuff, but the hassle you have to go through, and then you only get cents for it.
Parts include:
Complete 239 engine, flywheel, bellhousing and clutch
4 - 3spd transmissions
Torque Tube and rear axle assembly, leaf springs
Multiple starters, generators
Spare crank and camshafts, internal torque tube driveshaft
In the future, my son-in-law will be getting the car, and he has no interest in restoring it back to original.
I'm sure others have been in this situation, and wonder how you went about it.
When I swapped engines and trans, the old pieces went in the corner. Within a short time I knew that wasn't going to work. I had people interested in a lot of the big stuff so off it went. Yes, they are only original once but a guy can't save everything and like your car, mine will never go back to the original powertrain and my kids want it when I can't drive it any more, so keeping the old stuff? What would be the point?
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars (now converted to a "factory" 4 speed)
For 60 years I've been collecting everything, never threw anything away......
About ten years ago I realized all this will be going in the bin when I'm no longer around.
Started selling and even vended at Bothwell two years. Have shipped everything you can
imagine, wheels to Alberta and Newfoundland and parts to New Zealand, Corvette shifters
to Texas, 427 exhaust manifolds to BC and 389 Pontiac tri-y headers to Missouri.....
Even shipped off a tire to Kingston for a Polyglas display......
Never asked high prices that ensured the stuff would move. Still got some stuff left but
engines, transmissions, clutches and a ton of stuff all gone. Recently sold my last engine an L79
out of a 65 Corvette to a friend nearby.
BTW - when I vended at Bothwell I would quite often buy something there, put it on my table for $20
more and make $10.....my wife used to crack up at me doing that.
I find this to be a tough call. I've always been a collector more than a seller. When I could still find stuff locally I salvaged and saved it. When I used to go to flea markets elsewhere in Canada and in the US I bought stuff I either needed, or felt that I might need someday. In the early days of Ebay I bought stuff there too.
Occasionally I would sell a part if someone needed it and I was sure that I would not. But over the years that has amounted to maybe 2 dozen parts. Now I find myself with 40 years worth of parts, some of which I may never use, but which are impossible for me to vend at big flea markets or online from my relatively remote location. And the sad reality is that the projects I bought them for have either moved on, or will never get done by me at my age.
I find it ironic to have spent years collecting projects and parts for my retirement, only to recognize that even with more time on my hands, I cannot possibly do it all. It's realistic, yet no less disappointing, to be at this point. But it's where I am and now I have to focus on liquidating a bunch of stuff, or otherwise leaving it to my family to clean up my mess later, as I've just had to do with my fathers' 70 year collection of stuff.
gparis7 wrote:.... leaving it to my family to clean up my mess later, as I've just had to do with my fathers' 70 year collection of stuff.
Yah that's exactly what led to this post. Currently going through my father's estate, and we're up to 8 trailers full of "junk" - some gone for scrap value, the rest to the landfill. Really thinking the shed's real estate it occupies is way more valuable to me than the parts in it.
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