I took the bait. The story was this, Special Olds race engine used at a local drag strip. In storage for years, includes Turbo 400 and a 12 bolt rear end all sealed in a tarp. After a 35 mile ride one way I found a 400 Olds motor sitting outside with water and acorns in the carb. Holley carb seized and oxidized. The front lower balancer pulley partially rusted right off. A look in a spark plug hole showed solid rust and crust. The rear end brake plates were rotting right off. I pulled the cover and from the best I could tell because of being locked up was a 2 series rear because it had about 14 teeth on the pinion.
I haven't figured out yet if the guy was a compulsive liar or just a dumb ***. $15 for gas out the window.

 

I freakin hate that! Some people are scammers or just plain ignorant.

 

Most I run into dont know what they have.

 

And the ones I run into know they have junk but still think it's gold plated.

It's not only in car stuff either. One of the guys at work fools with old tube amps and says he's run into plenty of sellers who'll have a barely salvageable complete POS amp, but just because it's a Fender they'll jack the price way up.

 

i once spent 2 weeks following a lead on a 65 425 out of a 4 speed starfire, perfect for my cutlass, ended up being a 64 394 , boat anchor

IMG_5397_zps88e32bf8.jpg

 

Oh man, what a POS. That looks worse than the 400 anchor I looked at. I don't feel quite so bad anymore.,
Thanks

 

Looks like it was found at the bottom of a lake.

In the mud.

 

.........or a prop- for a saltwater fish tank!

 

I know the feeling. Once drove 6 hour one way to for an awesome deal on a motorhome. He forgot to mention the 2-foot hole in the roof! Went to the bar and got drunk. Man I was pissed

 

We only drove 5 hours each way, over an international border to look at a car that the seller swore was one year but ended up being completely different.

Waited all winter - tried several times to send a disposable camera since the seller didn't have a digital. He never accepted my offer because it was too dark in the shed where the car had been stored for many years. Since he couldn't read the VIN sent him pics of tail lights to match up and he screwed that up!

Price started at $1500 but eventually I turned down the car for $200. In hindsight, should have took it for that price - could have cleaned it up and resold to recoup expenses for the trip - gas, bridge toll for truck & trailer, meals, overnight @ a B&B... Live and learn.

 

Yeah but we're car nuts do we really learn..........................There's a barn find out there somewhere I just know it......................

 

Man, that 394 looks like it came out of a pyramid......

As far as the 400 you looked at, the guy called it a special race engine....he definitely was told how to word it by someone....

 

Years ago responded to an ad for a 68 H/O. Fresh ad so I took off from work to be the 1st one there. Said to have been sitting under a tarp since 1976 and needed some resto. What I saw was a shell that had once been a 68 Hurst. Non original engine, trans, no ram air stuff, rot everywhere and dents. broken glass etc. Guy said while I was standing there that 2 days in the body shop the car could be finished. I asked about the smashed windshield and he replied that an acorn must have fell onit. Looked more like a cinder block hit.... It was priced very high for what it was but would have been a deal if it resembled and 8 year old car stored under a tarp!

 

Alright as long as we are coming clean, 12 years ago I once spoke to a guy in FL about a 71 442 conv. (i live in MA) I repeatedly asked if it was the original motor and if there was any body damage or rust. He said no rust or rot and original motor. This was before pictures were easily emailed. He wanted 10k for this car. I actually got on a plane and rented a car to drive to Stuart FL. I got there and as I was walking up to the car I could see waves and I felt sick. Upon closer look the engine had J heads. I looked in the trunk and I saw the backside of rivets on both sides. I wanted to choke this guy! Instead I bit my tongue and walked away, drove 3 hrs to the south to visit my dad and spent a few days with him which I was gonna do anyway. I figured this guy just didn't have a clue but man was I pissed.

 

I drove from St Paul MN to Louisville KY to look at a 50 Olds 98 fastback for my Uncle because he wanted one real bad. Pulled a tow dolly all the way down there. The car was supposed to be real solid and original with nice chrome and bumpers. I walked up to the car and noticed the bumpers were cores at best so I looked under the car and saw large patches made out of and old washing machines. They still had the white porcelain coating on them. The trunk was a big ugly mess too. I told the guy you said it was solid and it isn't. Will you come down a little on the price? He said "no". I walked away and drove all the way home.

 

I flew out to Detroit Michigan to buy a 79 Lil Red Express (Dodge). The salesman absolutely guaranteed it could be driven home if I was to fly out to buy it (I live in South East PA). I got there, and first got a 2 hour run around because he didn't have the title. A guy came with the title finally and I drove home... About 50 miles into my 700 mile drive, the power steering took a crap. Found out it leaked fluid like a sieve. I bought 4 quarts at a rest stop and refilled every 150 miles. I got home completely dry... But I did get home, so I guess he didn't lie that it could be driven home, but boy was I mad (he had specifically told me he had a mechanic go over it completely to make sure I wouldn't have any issues driving a third of the way across the country)!

 

How bout the flip side of the equation, ie what we reveal when we sell our sh...stuff. I practically talk people out of buyin my cars, esp. when it comes to people coming a long way. My logic is I'd rather they be pleasantly surprised. Currently selling a car right now, and usually the first conversation ends up being the last. But I'm not changing my modus operandi, and I know I'll end up selling it. Just,ll take a little longer. I assume everyone here feels the same way, right...udder wise we,d be hypocrites!?

 

Which car are you selling Scott ?

 

I think most of these knuckleheads know what they have. Why is it you never find some with a set of something like D heads and he is selling them cheap because he doesn't know what he has. Digital cameras and email have probably saved a lot of guys some wasted trips.

 

Not the Jetstar, Bill! Down to just the one Olds, the "keeper".

 

I bought a 454 years ago, it had been sitting outside with a tarp over it, got it home and started to take it apart and couldn't get the oil pan off, got it to move enough to see it was full of ice, took two days with a heat lamp on the pan to get all the ice melted out of it. turned out ok after the machine work was done, didn't hurt a thing, it even had a forged steel crank in it, the machine shop wanted to give me more for the crank than I paid for the engine. I sure did think I'd made a huge mistake for a while.

 

Someone offered me an '83 Cutlass wagon as a parts car for £150 ($225) a few years ago.
So I went in a friends car with tools, rope, oil, water trans fluid etc, paid for it and drove it home, only stopping for gas and to put the rope on to tow my friends car when it broke down!.
It needed a new windshield and brake lines, other than that it gave faultless service for 3 years until I sold it (for £600).

Roger.

 

So I get the story about a 442 wing in a closed up body shop. Closed up in 1980. The wing is primer gray and there is a bag of bolts too. All that for $150. I meet the guy and its plastic. The drain hole is leaking water.
I got it for $25 dollars. I figure it will make good wall art.
What a letdown. JC crap parts.

 

On the other end of the spectrum,about 5 years ago I found an ad on Craigslist in Maine for Oldsmobile parts. I live in Texas. Contact the guy and he says he will send me pictures. I was asking about a glove box door he had listed in his ad. He isn't sure what it fits. He sends the pics and low and behold it is what I'm looking for, a 1967 Cutlass glove box door in what appears to be excellent shape. I call him back and tell him what model of car it came from. He mentions that he had won an abandoned storage locker auction full of the parts from the interior of a car, all seeming to be from the same car. I end up making a ridiculously good deal. The guy told me he had paid very little for the storage locker and had made "a lot of money" selling the two bucket seats to a friend with a Chevelle. If I'd take everything that was left I could have it for $140. I agreed to pay the price plus shipping to Texas.
1.convertible rear seat, upper and lower with nice covers and no rust.
2. glove box door.
3. door panels, Supreme.
4. rear interior panels
5. rear arm rest piston cover panels
Everything was black and needed nothing more than a light cleaning. Who ever lost the parts must have been sick.
It's not a "barn find" of a complete car but a storage locker find of an interior of a car. That is how my 67 ended up with a black Cutlass Supreme interior even though it isn't a Supreme. I ended up with all those parts plus the shipping for less than I would have had to pay for just a convertible rear seat.
Keep looking there are still some good deals hiding out there.
Oh yeah, I've looked at my share of junk that people had to have known they were blatantly lying about too. Recently a 70 Chevelle, Grandpa's car. Just a little rust around the vinyl top. I could put my arm, up to the elbow, in the "just a little rust" hole in the quarter panel just below the top trim and I did while laughing at my friend who was with me. The owner was coming out of the house with a "What's wrong? look on his face as we were driving off. Usually I won't even get out of the truck when I see something obviously mis-represented by a seller but how are you going to find that rare barn find if you don't look?

 

Or sometimes you get lucky.I was out in an old junkyard in the country and found a 1970 w-455 alum intake for $ 20