small parts collections

[Ron Dame]

Just perusing eBay and noticing all of the parts and pieces that people have accumulated over the years, often parts that only one in a million might ever need.
I know our vendors can't afford to buy all of these small collections at retail prices, but in some cases, these appear to be estates. What happens when these parts don't sell? Are they scrapped and gone forever?
The demand is minimal, yet once they are gone, that is it. They are gone forever.
I don't know of an answer, it's supply and demand, and carrying costs.
But it still makes me sad.

[Lark Hunter]

I've often wondered the same thing. You would hope that families have plans in place to deal with these situations should they arise. Especially helpful if there's another family member involved in the club, or at least a trusted acquaintance to help sort it out.

Having helped deal with moving 65 years worth of belongings out of my Grandma's house back in 2014, I found that a couple of family members just didn't care at all about any of the old stuff, no matter what it was or wasn't... whether it was valuable or not so. They're awesome people and I love 'em, but antique stuff just isn't on their radar, so they woulda junked most everything and thought nothing of it. My Dad (I think I got the disease from him) and I did manage to separate some neat stuff out that would've been lost for good. Sadly, Grandma wasn't a Studebaker collector .

But yeah, I really hate seeing something I know *somebody* out there needs, get trashed. Even if it isn't a lucrative proposition, and it often isn't, I get a good feeling out of seeing things that someone cared enough to hang on to, get passed on to someone else who can use or appreciate it.

[Skip Lackie]

Good question. I have been trying to sort my own stash into a somewhat more organized system, with most boxes labeled, to help those that come after me to determine approximately what is in each box. It might help to keep some of it out of the landfill.

Larry Pugh and I are trying to help Dan Webber's widow deal with a whole building full of stuff that he left behind. Most of the really valuable Stude parts were sold off by Daniel a few years ago, but some used parts and a lot of non-Stude stuff remains. Daniel liked to go to auctions, and often brought home a couple of boxes full of stuff just because he could get them for a dollar. We are setting aside anything car-related that we can identify and will set it out at the Carlisle flea market for a dollar apiece. Most of the rest is going in the dumpster. We simply don't have enough time to go through every item.

[studegary]

I wholesaled off my collection (mostly NOS) when I last moved. Now I have primarily literature, memorabilia, models and a very few parts. Just this week, I was talking with the heir that I am closest to. She commented about what I had. I mentioned that the original Avanti design sketch, from the CA design house, is probably worth hundreds. If someone doesn't understand what it is, it would probably get thrown out. Years ago, I had offered it, for free, to Loewy's daughter for her proposed museum. I never heard back from her.

[BobWaitz]

At a big car show once, a fellow Stude-o-phile pontficated, "You know what old men want? They want to clean out their garages." I shot back with, "You know what old men REALLY want? They want their survivors to clean out their garages."

[Hallabutt]

I am there! I just unearthed fifty years of parts. Thank God for my willing partner, who loves to sell on eBay. Patience is the salvation for all eBay sellers, and she has that!

A little antidote to highlight the process. Forty years ago my nephew and his friend, then 16yrs old dropped a load of parts off in the garage of an old rental house that I own, surreptitiously I might add. It was to be short term storage. Thirty eight years later a felled tree, limb destroyed the roof. Several years later I got around to fixing the garage, but its still full of stuff. Mary and I began the chore of cleaning out. These parts were not even recognizable to me. Brief rundown-Honda 600, early 70's Honda CVCC, Morris Minor, Corvair, Opel Manta Rallye, Ford truck, Jaguar and some of my Studebaker and Pierce Arrow stuff. I hope you can get the picture!

I made a quick call to my nephew. "get your a.. over here, it's your stuff. My nephew, a car guy, came over an gave some much needed ID, but also said it's all junk, scrap it. After several loads hauled off, I began to high grade parts based on condition. Later Mary began to try to sell the parts on eBay-she's a car gal and a saint! What we couldn't ID she bird dogged. She joined the Honda 600 group, through which she was able to meet a man who's knowledge was invaluable in identifying parts. She would email a picture and he would ID it. His knowledge was not just confined to Honda either.

We weren't trying to make a huge killing on the parts, we just didn't want them to be wasted. The demand has not been high, but we priced the parts to sell and she persisted. Parts have sold to almost every state, including territories of Puerto Rico, and Guam. Ninety nine percent of the stuff has now been sold. The last part she sold was about a month ago 528 days after it was first offered.

The stuff that was initially tabbed as worthless has netted almost $40000! To this I could add dozens of stories of friends made and people we have helped find parts they couldn't find anywhere else. One funny story, a guy from Chicago responded to a master cylinder for a 1973 Honda CVCC. English was obviously not his native language. He as desperate, his car was down. He actually wanted to put it right on his car. Forty years, in a garage that was not always dry, and he put it on his car and it worked, without a rebuild! You can't make this stuff up.

Bill

[Commander Eddie]

This conversation has gotten me thinking about my own stash of Studebaker odds and ends. I am thinking that the best thing to do to ensure they don't end up in a landfill or shredder would be to simply make sure they get donated to our local club's parts guru, or, sent to the nearest major parts supplier. It is not likely my heirs are going to want to keep any of it anyway unless they suddenly get the urge to become a Studebaker collector/driver.
This is, perhaps, a good conversation we should all have with our spouses, children, grandchildren. . .

[Skip Lackie]

At a big car show once, a fellow Stude-o-phile pontficated, "You know what old men want? They want to clean out their garages." I shot back with, "You know what old men REALLY want? They want their survivors to clean out their garages."

Quote from John Poulos (circa 1976): "He who dies with the most stuff wins."

[mbstude]

Quote from John Poulos (circa 1976): "He who dies with the most stuff wins."

But he’s still dead.

[Ron Dame]

I've already stated in my will that any Studebakers I own will be donated to the SNM. Parts too, although I've yet to ask if they would accept them. I'd be happy for any vendor to have them, just so they are not junk.

[Dick Steinkamp]

It's a conundrum.

To be surrounded by the cars and parts we have collected over a lifetime, gives us pleasure...makes us feel good....brings back great memories. It's tough (if not impossible) to get rid of that stuff now. It seems like giving up. Facing your mortality (or lack of immortality) is not easy.

OTOH as Skip is experiencing (and others...including me on several occasions)...leaving that stuff for family and friends to dispose of is not much fun for them. It's tough on those that you love the most. That same stuff that you cherish is not only worthless to them, it is a big PITA to get rid of, and can evoke all sorts of guilt feelings as they back up the dumpster.

I wish it was easy to transition into a completely different interest/hobby at a certain age that didn't involve "stuff".

[Bob Andrews]

leaving that stuff for family and friends to dispose of is not much fun for them. It's tough on those that you love the most. That same stuff that you cherish is not only worthless to them, it is a big PITA to get rid of, and can evoke all sorts of guilt feelings as they back up the dumpster.

This is almost exactly what I have said a few different times recently on similar threads.

Related to Studebaker: I attended the estate sale of a former Oldsmobile/Studebaker dealer. Along with over 80 cars and huge farm, there were many boxes of NOS Studebaker parts. I bought most of the boxes, thinking wow, these are brand new parts that will be a blessing to Studebaker people. So I set about listing them on eBay, and I learned two things: One, it is a slow way to move parts and two, the amount of time it takes to list and then ship everything is a huge eater of time better spent on other endeavors.

Today, probably 75% of those boxes languish in a storage bus, along will some sheet metal, personal items, and excess tools. Every single part came in its original box, and/or has a tag on with part numbers. There’s a lot of obscure stuff there. The bus has become a huge albatross for me. When I sold our new house and downsized in 2015, I tried giving away a lot of it, and some cars. That was a huge flop, hour after hour of questions and nitpicks, even for free. And this is with me, who knows what the stuff is. It would be 10 times worse for my family.

Sometimes I think about restarting eBay listings, but their rules have gotten so ridiculous it’s not worth the effort to me. And, I’m not the type to go and sit in front of a table at a swap meet. And there is nobody near me that has any interest in Studebakers. With my health very gradually, but clearly, tapering down, soon everything will probably go inside a car and off to the crusher.

Will it break my heart? Yes. But I love my family even more, and getting rid of this crap while I’m still alive will be a wonderful gift to them.

P.S.- if someone needs a NOS right hand inside dashboard support bracket for a Studebaker lark, or an output shaft for an unknown Studebaker manual transmission, I can fix you up :-)

[Guido]

I wish it was easy to transition into a completely different interest/hobby at a certain age that didn't involve "stuff".

Thought about being a gigolo...?

[Andy R.]

Fortunately my stash is relegated to one shelf in the garage. I've photographed most of it with the part #s.
Those that fit the GTs stay with the GTs when they're sold. Everything else gets offered to out local club free for pick-up and here shortly after for postage.

My family's time is more valuable than any of the other stuff that's stuck to me.
"Leave it better than you found it."

[Dwight FitzSimons]

The way it looks our more desirable cars will survive, but out parts won't. So, one might do some organization of the parts & stuff and pick one or two of the youngest of the larger Studebaker vendors (Stephen Allen Cade, Phil Harris, Dave Thibeault, Mike Myer, etc.) and put a letter in your will that the parts are to be donated to him/them. One might even leave funds for shipping the stuff. I have several engines on carts in my basement that I'll never use, and of course, my heirs won't be able to ship those. They are all Avanti R1s & R2s, so it would be a shame to have them hauled to the scrap metal dealer. So, that is a problem I haven't resolved yet.

I am selling some Studebaker parts & lit donated to me by a nice lady (heir) who just wanted them to go to someone who wanted them. I have sold a few so far and am donating the money to the Studebaker National Museum ($470 check to go out this week).

Different stuff might require different solutions. I have about 200 old Seiko watches (digitals). My heirs can lay those out on the floor, photograph them, and sell them as a lot on ebay. Sold that way they won't bring more than $0.10 on the dollar (if that), but the buyer would probably retail them and they will end up in the hands of collectors.

This is a good thread. I see y'all's brains are on the job working on the problem.

-Dwight FitzSimons, Editor, Greater Va Chapter, SDC
--2 '64 Avantis, 2 R1 '64 Hawks (one parts), '63 R2 Hawk parts car, '64 R1 Cruiser parts car