I am guilty of keeping at least 3 vehicles beyond their shelf life with the intent of driving them again because I enjoyed them. I ended up selling them for next to nothing when I realized it was not going to happen. On my commercial route I frequently drove by a very decent condition 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 convertible sitting in a driveway. I finally stopped and asked the owner if they wanted to sell it. It was an XL with a 390 cu in 300 hp 4 speed and it started and ran. The elderly owner said he wasnât yet ready to sell it which I respected. I offered him $800 and left him my name, phone number, and the offer. A few months later it was gone. I stopped and he informed me he had sold it for $500. He had misplaced my phone number. I should have checked back every month.
While I donât think this applies to the situation with Rick at all it could be as I mentioned that someone (or plural) has knocked on his door before and lowballed him; maybe even with some sarcasm. It just might have flat soured the guy on civilization.
About a dozen years ago the phone at my house rang one night and some guy whom I had never heard of was calling me from OK City. This guy said that he heard I had an old Harley Panhead that might be for sale.
I told him I did indeed have an original police pan but not for sale.
He then asked if I would sell it.
My answer was probably no but nothing is off the table as long as the price is high enough so make an offer.
He offered me 500 bucks; apparently with a straight face.
I laughed him off and told him the bare engine cases were worth 3-4 times, that and a bare frame is worth 2 grand, and the siren and radio is worth 500 each.
He then started this âWell I can buy panheads all day long for 500 bucksâ.
My reply before telling him to get bent and slamming the phone down was to buy every one he can and then contact me because Iâd double his money on every one of them.
What a maroon. That one incident soured me on any contact about selling any bike.
The car represents independence and freedom.
Some people have a mental condition where they cannot lot go of things ,some are sick ,some are stubborn,some have future plans which usually never happen,
my brother has an unwed significant other who will not turn loose of any of His posessions after his demise ,they werent married ,she wasnt well,liked by they family and somehow she cajoled Him into leaving all His stuff to Her(It came off our 10,5 acre family ravine (with a public right of way through it) while Her 100 + plus acres and family home languishes on the other side of the county,some people are just plain greedy(she also sponges water of of our well-cost free) some peoples mores are different .pure and simple
If that Caprice is a 2 Door I would strongly imagine the old guy has been pestered to death about that car.
Those are very popular among the car mod and drag racing crowd.
If he wanted to sell it, it would have a for sale sign on it. If you want to buy one, look on craigslist. I am sure you will find what you are looking for.
Back when I was renting apartments, I had a '69 vette that was kinda rare beast w/big block that I kept in the garage. The garage did not have any separating walls between stalls and my neighbor used to keep their door open all the time. So it was essentially just a carport. I had people stopping in all the time asking if it was for sale. At some point you become numb to the inquiriesâŠ
After I acquired my first vette, I went to my insurance agent to get coverage. I thought Iâd be funny and it went like this-
Hey Joe, just bought another car.
(He is reaching for the rates book while continuing to talk)
Great! What is it?
1969 Chevy, 2 door.
(Now heâs flipping pages to get to the Chevy coupes)
Model?
Corvette
Wrong book!
He put that book away and pulled out a different one while warning me it wonât be cheapâŠ
There was a self-storage place near an old apartment of mine. Parked right next to the fence, facing the road, was somewhere around a 1965-66 Mustang. All of the tires were flat, but overall the car looked to be in pretty good shape. The car appeared to have been sitting for some time. One day I called the storage place to ask about the Mustang. Almost as soon as I got the words out of my mouth, the employee basically said âitâs not for saleâ, and the conversation was over. This was about 10 years ago, and itâs gone now.
I can see the elderly gentlemenâs point. I have a similar problem, people at gas stations and the like asking me if I want to sell my truck. Itâs an old truck, an average size truck (for the 1970âs) and nothing but a truck. No AC, suspension seems more like riding a horse, no stereo, no power windows, no power door locks, no automatic anything. I guess the latter is why it attracts attân. There are no simple trucks being sold new these days. New trucks contain all the latest gadgets and gizmos. And that apparently is not what folks are looking for their trucks. At least those that are approaching me on a constant basis.
I donât particularly mind if they come over while Iâm filling the tank and say they like it and if Iâm interesting in selling. I just say ânoâ, but thanks for the compliment. Itâs the ones-- after I say ânoâ â that then try to get me to change my mind. Those folks are very annoying.
- "You know the transmission will go out soon, right?
- âThe timing chain can be a problem in those old 302âsâ
- âHowâs it running? It sounds a little rough. The carb working ok?â
- âMy kids (point to children in the car) just begged me to ask to buy your truck, how can you disappoint them like that?â
My advice to OP when noticing a vehicle of interest: If it is parked in front of the house and nobody in sight, donât disturb the owner. Donât knock on the door. Just leave a note on the windshield w/your telephone number. If you see it when the owner is around, politely compliment the vehicle, and ask if it is for sale. If the owner says ânoâ, say âok, thanks for your timeâ and leave.
The modern features will be added during reconstruction of the truck along with a more powerful engine, they just want an old vehicle.
Most people think they can buy these old things for next to nothing,I really have no desire to relive the misery I used to endure in my old 3 on the tree beaters,if I see an old truck like the ones I used to drive ,I say "wow ,look at that and quickly walk the other way " it seems being sentimental is the province of well off people in these parts .
Yeah, I was looking at a 61 Corvair last year at the Back to 50âs show. It was like what I used to have and the price wasnât too far out of line. The more I looked at it though the more misery memories came back and I happily walked away.
One of my motherâs co-workers spent her hard-earned money on a new Corvair in 1960 or '61, and she had terrible problems with it failing to start on cold mornings.
The dealership told her âit has an air-cooled aluminum engine, and the engine just gets too cold to be able to start on winter morningsâ. 
Being both a nice, honest personâas well as somebody who knew nothing about carsâshe got rid of the car in less than one year, because the dealership didnât want to help her with what was probably just a defective choke mechanism. Needless to say, she never bought another GM productâŠ
Well it had two carbs that had to be synchronized so maybe it was a choke problem. Ours sat out all the time and it always started that I can remember anyway but I had rebuilt the carbs and a tune up and new battery. That fan belt though was about ten feet long.
Seems to me it had a mechanical choke on it though, now that I think about it, like the 59 Bug. So maybe she just wasnât choking it or maybe the linkage was off.
Actually, I believe everything is for sale if the price is right. This one kills me. I would love to have someone try using that on me. If I could think fast enough on my feet, it might go something like this-
Well, theyâre not my kids so I could really care less whether they are disappointed or not. However, since youâre obviously in a bind, you can have the truck for (pick your threshold here) $15k and since not disappointing your kids is so important to you, itâs a small price to pay for their emotional well being donât you agree?
I interviewed for a bank job with a lawyer once, and during negotiation he told me that old prostitute joke about everyone having their price. Fortunately he never met my price so I never had to work for the old buzzard. But yeah, a million or two is a good starting point.
lol ⊠actually I also was particularly offended by bringing his kids into it too, & when he kept asking me to change my mind, I finally said "Ok, bring a cashierâs check from Bank of America for $50,000 " That finally convinced him.