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"I'm gonna fix it up someday"....yeah right!

3K views 24 replies 17 participants last post by  PrimeMover 
#1 ·
Alright, here's a few cars that I found close by my house. They're all rotting away in the snow (well they all actually have very little rust).

"Rodder" #1 says this Buick Special (a '56 I'm guessin) has a cracked block but he'll fix it up someday. Yeah right! It's been siting there for 3 years, the dude is on welfare and smelled heaviliy like weed when I talked to him. :rolleyes:





"Rodder" #2 told me this Galaxie is at temporary rest right now. It was his first car apparently and he'll bring it back to life someday. Yeah right! :rolleyes:



Rodder #3 (notice I didnt say "rodder" but rodder) has been working on this car for about 4 years now and all the body work is done. It's got no rust except surface rust on the bumpers. Floorboards have been replaced. All he did was do the body work in these 4 years. No engine or tranny in the car but comes with a 400 from a '70 GTO. He has to sell it for health reasons and was very kind to me, even though I was a teenager. Everyone else either tells me I wouldnt've have the kind of money to buy it, or I was better of getting a newer car. He's willing to let it slip for 2.2k with engine and tranny.





And I'll let you guess what year and make it is :thumbup:




Mike
 
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#3 ·
No kidding, my daughter and son in law live in Dallas and we drive up every so often to visit them. I pass by a 69 RS/SS Camaro sitting at a trailer house. I have stopped numerous times to try and buy it, The story is always the same, we are gonna fix it up some day. Last time I went through I carried 4K in cash...it didn't work. :p

Vince
 
#6 ·
First I guessed was a '56 so thanks for straightining that out. Second one I guessed was a 58-9 Galaxie (I know its a galaxie).
I know the second one, but no-one got it yet so I wont say yet. I did think at first it was a 53 Chevy because of the rear fenders and chrome trim. But there IS a difference in the chrome trim than the 53 Chevy.




Mike
 
#7 ·
We all know a few of these guys.

There is probably 50 of these guys in my neighbourhood. Cars under tarps, in garages, in carports, and barns. I have tried to buy several. There was a 68 El Camino across the street from me. The lady finally got it going. Another guy I know went to the track last summer. Got the bug. Has a Shelby Mustang GT500. I have seen him in the local speed shop every day this week buying parts. Well that's 2 out of 50 that finally seen "someday."
 
#8 ·
Number 3, now thats a good one. Looks like a 53 Chevy, looks like a Pontiac, but I believe because of the side trim it is a 53-54 De Soto, don't know what model. I was talking to a friend of mine the other day about how all the new cars look the same and then this thing comes along out of the fifties. Amazing how similar these car are in design.
Good one Nightrider :thumbup:
 
#9 ·
I am one of those guys(so far)

My first car was a 57 chevy 2 door sedan, bought it for $600 in 1983 and spent 2 years fixing it up. I drove it every day until about 1988, when I went to college in a different city. Around 1990 or so, the motor in Dad's El Camino went south and we transplanted my 327 into it. The 57 has been sitting in my parents' driveway ever since.

(this picture is now several years old)

In this time, I have lost track of how many people have tried to buy this car. And my parents know to tell all askers that "It's my son's car, he's going to fix it up one day". I'll bet everyone who has seen the car sitting there rusting and made an offer thinks the same thing, "it'll never happen, why not sell it to me and not let it go to waste?"

Well, guess what, it really IS going to happen! It's taken a long time, but there's now a new garage finishing up behind my house right now. Soon the 57 will return to live inside at it's new home, and the 2nd restoration will commence.

Maybe I'm the exception, but I thought I'd add to this thread that some of them DO get fixed up, you never know what story is behind these old cars!

-Byrdman
 
#11 ·
Well the body looks like a '53-'54 Chevy but the trim is Pontiac and knowing that Canadian GM cars were often "cross badged" versions of US stuff that makes sense. So if it's not a '54 Pontiac then it has to be a '53 unless Canadian GM cars were a year behind the US in styling changes making it a '55. Since it doesn't cost anything to try other than a little embarassment I'm going out on a limb here and guessing '55 just because '54 was ruled out and '53 is too obvious. Doesn't look anything like a US built '55 GM though.

Oh yeah, at $2200 (Canadian I assume) somebody better jump all over that if it's half as good as it looks.
 
#12 ·
Sorry Hippie, it's a '53 Pontiac :thumbup: The car hasnt gone on sale yet, he just took it out of his garage last fall and it sat there covered in snow all winter long. As soon as some of the snow melted and I got a better look at it I asked him if it was for sale. He told it IS going for sale in summer. So it's not in the ads yet....meaning right now I have the bigger chance to get it :D Also found a '57 Ford 4-door with a brand new paintjob and engine tune up for 3.5k (no pics yet).


Mike
 
#13 ·
Nightfire said:
Sorry Hippie, it's a '53 Pontiac :thumbup: The car hasn't gone on sale yet, he just took it out of his garage last fall and it sat there covered in snow all winter long. As soon as some of the snow melted and I got a better look at it I asked him if it was for sale. He told it IS going for sale in summer. So it's not in the ads yet....meaning right now I have the bigger chance to get it :D Also found a '57 Ford 4-door with a brand new paintjob and engine tune up for 3.5k (no pics yet).


Mike
I knew it......... :rolleyes: My vote is for the Pontiac, I love that color combo with the black rims. One thing though, a Pontiac 400 would be real cool in there but it will probably get real tight around the steering because of the way the Pontiac heads are laid out. A Mustang II swap would probably be the easiest and cheapest solution. I like the "rake" on it too, it screams late 50's early 60's NHRA Jr. Stock.
 
#14 ·
Yeah the guy said the 400 would get tight and I'd have header problems. The car is 1800 (canadian so that's like 1200 US) without engine and tranny and a couple of buckets full of parts. Like I said the body is straight and in primer already with no rust. The interior is allright (guess it'll need an indian blanket :D ) and the floorboards have been replaced. My dad thinks putting in an engine is too high of a skill level for our space and resources. So we'll see what happens. Beautifull car though...



Mike
 
#15 ·
I am one of those guys who won't sell because I am going to fix it up. I bought my 73 Mustang in 1995 and I finally started working on it last year. I had a 1973 Mach 1 Fastback that I bought in 1991 and was repeatedly asked if I would sell it. I stored it at my grandparents ranch in Nebraska and every fall somebody hunting out of state would ask him if he would sell it. He would always tell them to call me and I would say NO. I had people call me as far away as Maine wanting to buy that car. I finally brought it back home to Colorado in 2003 and started working on it and decided it needed to much work, so I sold it. I currently have a 72 Dart sitting in the country on my parents place, but I am really going to fix it for my nieces, I have 2 years until they turn 16. I also have a 70 F100 short box pickup and a 67 F250 sitting down there, but the 67 has a for sale sign in the window. I am not as bad as I use to be, I usually will sell a vehicle now if somebody offers me a good price for them. I like to find a older car and buy it and let it sit awhile and see if people approach me asking me to sell it. If they offer more than I bought it for I will usually sell it and look for something else. If it peeks no interest I will take it apart and sell it piece by piece on Ebay. I cannot count how many vehicles I have bought for little or nothing in the last 4 years and either sold them or parted them out and made a pretty descent profit. I have kept a few but it is about time to get rid of a few and find something else.
 
#16 ·
I can't blame anyone who doesn't want to sell their car. Maybe someday will never come for them, but I know how it is to want to fix up a car and not have the dough or time to do it. You put the car aside for another day.

The cars you show pics of all look pretty decent. Things come along in life that are more important like wives, children, college, homes, etc. I'm one of those guys who want to build a rod, but other things are of priority now. I have a 57 sitting on my fence row that is for someday down the road. I'm not too keen on selling it, as they don't make them anymore.
 
#18 ·
Nightfire said:
Sorry Hippie, it's a '53 Pontiac :thumbup: The car hasnt gone on sale yet, he just took it out of his garage last fall and it sat there covered in snow all winter long. As soon as some of the snow melted and I got a better look at it I asked him if it was for sale. He told it IS going for sale in summer. So it's not in the ads yet....meaning right now I have the bigger chance to get it :D Also found a '57 Ford 4-door with a brand new paintjob and engine tune up for 3.5k (no pics yet).


Mike
cat, i would jump all over that 57 ford, no matter if its a 4-door.

 
#20 · (Edited)
hahaha, there's this at the end of my street... 1940 Chevrolet Master Deluxe Coupe. It's an old war vet and it was his first car.

If anyone remembers that one old car thread where the garage wall was held up by a stick, this is it now. He won't sell, and will "fix it up someday".
-matt

the early 'cuda is at Wayland Chryser-Dode-Jeep not to far from me. I believe it is an "S", has a hurst shifter, interior is really good other than a parted-out-dash and assumed to be rotted floorboards.

what is that blue v8 by the '40? I think it's a bbf? The straight six at the side of the 40 looks like a slant six? anyone has a better idea of what they are?
 

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#21 ·
Yep, I'm guilty too... kind of. I have a '59 VW Beetle (first of the square back windows... unless someone else knows better... not sure if the '57's were oval window or not) that is needing a full ground-up restoration. But, until a couple weeks ago it ran, so I was using it as my daily driver (for the past two years).

It's beautiful... if you like VW's anyway, "California" bumpers, original roof top luggage rack, rear window blinds, transplanted 1300 motor (have the original 1100 in the garage) looks like something right off an early 60's movie set.

Almost every other day someone has made me a offer for the car, and every time I decline saying I'm going to fix it up someday. I half heartedly "fixed" it up two years ago. New kingpins, new tires, new paint (now rusting through... I paid a decent price for the job too.. GRRRR :mad: ), and a rebuilt motor that is still practically brand new.

The original interior needs some serious help though, body and paint now needs to be done again properly, the carb is shot, and it's got electrical problems (needs to be gutted and rewired).

Hmm, with the bodywork and interior, that basically justifies a complete dissasembly and rebuild.

So now finally, I have decided to sell it to someone who can give it a good home and a new lease of life. All my time is going into my '54 Bel Air anyway, and besides, if I really want a vintage VW, I'll probably look for something even earlier, like a '54, that'll really be something worth having.

Rich :D
 
#24 ·
I have some of those "someday" projects and if I never get around to them then that is just the way it is. My wife and kids will sell them after I am gone, but for now it makes me happy just to have my "someday" projects. I put my 55 in the shed when I was 17, it is still sitting there and someday...

There was an old guy that I used to talk to at the Madison County Bridge Festival every year. He had an old Model A Ford roadster that he drove in the parade every year. He had bought the car new, the original top had never even been folded on it. He told me that he had a lot of offers to sell his car but he just figured that if he sold it he would spend the money, then he wouldn't have the car or the money and that would make him unhappy.

I always assume that it never hurts to ask if something is for sale but if the owner does not want to sell it then that is his business.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Nightfire said:
It's a '53 Pontiac, with the body of a '53 Chevy, the trim of a '54 Desoto with a slight appearance of a 59 Ford? :confused:
Mike
Your third pic was the Ford I was talking about. That's the car I thought you said the Pontiac 400 was going into - me wrong.

As far as the 53 Chevy hardtop goes, the tail lights and hood gingerbread are off of a 53 Pontiac station wagon. the hood ornament is 53 Chevy. In 53 only, Pontiac used Chevy bodies on their wagons. If you find a set of those tail lights at a swap meet for under $150, snatch 'em up and put 'em on Ebay. They'll fetch $250 easy. the lower door mouldings and quarter-fender trim are standard Chevy 210 stuff. The top trim on the door is something else, probably the Desoto your talking about.

Cool Car! :thumbup:
After taking a better look at those tail lights, I had to jump back in here an edit my post - they're stock 53 Chevy. With all that pontiac stuff on that car, he needs to find a set of 53 Pontiac wagon tail lights. That would really set it off!
 
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