All those old cars left rotting for what??

dereksbicycles

dereksbicycles

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Think of all old cars sitting out in the field. Think like maybe 1955 Cameo, 1965 Jeep Gladiator, 1968 Cutlass, 1968 camaro, etc. They sit in field rotting for like 40, 50 years. I wonder why???? I started out as a psychology major in college. I wouldn't help, but wonder how come they're sitting in the field for so long.

I often think....looks like the guy passed away 30 years ago. The guy leaves the car to wife as part of will. The wife just let it sit for 15 more years making it 45 years. Then the wife dies and leave cars to kids in her will. The kids decide to get rid of those "lawn ornaments". Either the kids are asking too much off craigslist or maybe they're selling them cheaply happy with whatever they can get for it.

It's sad to think of all those cars left to rot, beyond repair. Better to scrap or just part out. Mind me, I'm not talking about a 1992 Corolla, but rather oldies like maybe a 1960 Bel Air.

Also, I often think back to like 30 years ago. Back then, you would just slap a "For Sale" sign, tell friends, or maybe put an ad in newspaper to sell your vehicle. Now in today's electronic world, you would just Craigslist or E Bay it.
 
its usually people that want WAY too much money for them. Like this guy down the street that has an uber rare 1963 Corvette with the rear split window...the car is completely rusted, and has been sitting in one spot for so long that its actually sinking into the ground.....


he wants $75,000 for it

EDIT: the car isnt even worth that in excellent condition
http://www.usedcorvettesforsale.com/1963-corvette-45409.html
 
tigersharkdude said:
its usually people that want WAY too much money for them. Like this guy down the street that has an uber rare 1963 Corvette with the rear split window...the car is completely rusted, and has been sitting in one spot for so long that its actually sinking into the ground.....


he wants $75,000 for it

EDIT: the car isnt even worth that in excellent condition
1963 Corvette Coupe For Sale California | 1963 Split window cp, Ermine White
Click to expand...

He probably knows he'll never see $75K for it. He's just saying $75K because he doesn't want to sell it. Buyer just walks away.

If he told buyer it's not for sale, buyer will badger and beg---please, please sell it to me!! So just give the buyer a ridiculous price tag, they walk away shaking their head.
 
Times has changed. I remembered back then during 70's, 80's where I have seen antique cars worth alot money. Now, "Antiques" has lost its luster meaning less people wants something old than before so accordingly to the law of supply and demand. Less people interesting in buy tend to lose its value faster.
.
As of this time, the only time that antiques worth money is if these stuff has to do with historical value. For instance if you got a car that was owned by Elvis Presley then it worth a lot more than the rest of like year, brand, model regardless of condition.
 
tigersharkdude said:
its usually people that want WAY too much money for them. Like this guy down the street that has an uber rare 1963 Corvette with the rear split window...the car is completely rusted, and has been sitting in one spot for so long that its actually sinking into the ground.....


he wants $75,000 for it

EDIT: the car isnt even worth that in excellent condition
1963 Corvette Coupe For Sale California | 1963 Split window cp, Ermine White
Click to expand...

I was wondering about the "....completely rusted..." part of that Corvette. I am pretty sure that, back then, they had all fiberglass bodies.
 
That only certain years and I remember them in late 70's or early 80'swhere all frenzy about all fiberglass body. The reason behind is to save fuel and to make it lighter and go faster. It didn't last long due to safety, and quality issue.

Tousi said:
I was wondering about the "....completely rusted..." part of that Corvette. I am pretty sure that, back then, they had all fiberglass bodies.
Click to expand...
 
The 1953 Corvette was introduced with a fiberglass body.
 
Here's why some of those things are left to rot in the field- inertia. nobody had the drive or energy to list it for sale, or the money to take it to the dump, or the knowledge needed to find a buyer. It's easier to just ignore it.
 
One of my neighbors has a 1964 Mustang...I pass by it often and even see him driving it occassionally (to keep it running)....It needs some body-work and would love to have it, but he's not selling it...*snif*....saw him out there the other day doing some work on it, so my guess is evidentually, he's gonna try to restore it.

Driving out to rural areas, you do see a lot of old, rusted-out vehicles. Even at the junk yards.
 
"vettes have all had fiberglass/composite bodies, but many of the support parts were metal, especially on the older ones. The rotting could easily be the fiberglass breaking down and de-laminating, nasty at best. The days of finding the "field cars" really got dealt a serious blow awhile back, there was a buy back program for cars of a certain age or older. One of the car magazines even did an article trying to get people to go out and save them. This was well before the economy tanked. Seemed like they had a picture in the article of 69 Camaro or something like that getting crushed.

Now, having said that, around here there are few gold mines to look for the older iron. Just need to do the leg work and find it. By the time someone gets to the point of actually putting something on CL's or Ebay, they probably have a good idea of what they have, most likely a resale.

Parts are another issue, so much for original anymore. A Hollander with your model and year is an amazing tool, plus a good background on what you are looking for and what it came in. ALLOT of really good parts came in the big 'ol tuna boats, big motors to get that slug down the road.

I have found some pretty rare finds nestled away in barns, sheds and such, but wow, not many. Actually, I have only personally found a couple, but having a car trailer with a winch on it seems to mean I get called whenever someone needs to drag a dead vehicle home. Some of the deals that have been had make your jaw drop. But that is probably after five years of searching/asking/dead ends.

Sorta sad really, many companies have started to re-pop everything (year one) so the originals are no longer being as sought after. Plus the influx of money into the restored auto industry is INSANE.

Watch a few of the collector car auctions, crazy stupid high prices.
 
Wirelessly posted

tigersharkdude said:
its usually people that want WAY too much money for them. Like this guy down the street that has an uber rare 1963 Corvette with the rear split window...the car is completely rusted, and has been sitting in one spot for so long that its actually sinking into the ground.....


he wants $75,000 for it

EDIT: the car isnt even worth that in excellent condition
http://www.usedcorvettesforsale.com/1963-corvette-45409.html
Click to expand...

Fiberglass can't ruat
 
Grayma said:
Here's why some of those things are left to rot in the field- inertia. nobody had the drive or energy to list it for sale, or the money to take it to the dump, or the knowledge needed to find a buyer. It's easier to just ignore it.
Click to expand...

This.


Back then, people had the same mentality as we do today....Today, if we drive by and see a 1987 Buick LeSabre or a 1980 Chevy Citation sitting in a field rusting away, we will not look twice since they are one of the most boring and unreliable cars ever produced. 50 years ago people thought the same about Model T's and many others.
 
green427 said:
This.


Back then, people had the same mentality as we do today....Today, if we drive by and see a 1987 Buick LeSabre or a 1980 Chevy Citation sitting in a field rusting away, we will not look twice since they are one of the most boring and unreliable cars ever produced. 50 years ago people thought the same about Model T's and many others.
Click to expand...

Exactly, the second hand cars we were driving in high school are the muscle cars of today. Back then no one really cared.

The oil embargo in the 70's killed it for big blocks. Oh, and that ever so wonderful 55mph speed limit..........across SD..........
 
tigersharkdude said:
its usually people that want WAY too much money for them. Like this guy down the street that has an uber rare 1963 Corvette with the rear split window...the car is completely rusted, and has been sitting in one spot for so long that its actually sinking into the ground.....


he wants $75,000 for it

EDIT: the car isnt even worth that in excellent condition
1963 Corvette Coupe For Sale California | 1963 Split window cp, Ermine White
Click to expand...


I don't see any rusted from the picture and it said "Nice rust free frame"

What make you think it have rusted?
 
Restoring a car that has been sitting in a field is a very time consuming and expensive hobby. Not a lot of people want to devote the time and money required. And there are plenty of people who are not into cars at all...they are just something used for transportation purposes.
 
The Highlander said:
I don't see any rusted from the picture and it said "Nice rust free frame"

What make you think it have rusted?
Click to expand...

the vette in the link, is not the one he is saying is rusted. the vette pictured is a $63,000 Corvette in great condition, he is comparing it to the $75,000 'vette in bad condition.
 
There are plenty of those in Rural areas. I've seen some 40's 50's and 60's car sitting around on field and several of cars in good shapes but some rusts and fixable. It got me wonder why people just let it sit there and rot if it's in good shape.

Sometime cars and trucks sits there because owner don't want to bother fixing the vehicle so they dump it there and got another car or they bought a vehicle and dump the old one once it's broken. They may think they can save it for grandchildren to fix it up and use it for their transportation which never happens.. :shrug:

Here's one bad part, Appraiser may fly or drive by to count vehicles and tax them even if vehicle were old and title no longer valid ect..

I had a friend who kept hundreds of cars and trucks parked around farm fields and they got hit with tax by Appraiser who flew a helicopter. They went through lawsuit ect and lost. County Appraiser demanded them to pay tax and they couldn't afford it so they sold land to pay it off. That's their loss.

If I own a farm, I would just park it inside old barn or makeshift building that had no purpose and locked. Also dig out notch on hill and build "fake" hill cover so any appraiser flying on helicopter or driving by can't tell if I had hundreds of cars parked between notch of the hill with fake cover :giggle: Here's one kicker, you'll have to do it quickly as possible at night so no one will know you had secret spots. :squint: I"ve heard some farmers or land owner cover up their cars and hide.

There are one near my area, It used to be Phillips 66 Gas station with garages but now owner took sign and gas pump out, leaving just garage and surrounding parking lot alone. There are lots of junked and old cars/ trucks parking on this area. It was much less than 15 years ago that he had it lined on left side of map, 50 or 60 cars parked on side of cars until Johnson County Appraiser office drove by and helicopter went over and took pictures. It was on the newspaper that owner was condemned so they had to get rid of many cars/trucks or pay taxes which was a warning from Appraiser office. I drove by often and it was a mess while across the street from them are many new subdivision including upscale neighborhood.

Check this out: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=shawn...hawnee+Mission+Pkwy,+Shawnee,+Kansas&t=h&z=20

Catty
 
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