oldspackrat

The city has decided to call my "Antique Automobile Inventory" a "junkyard" & decided it should be cleaned up a bit. So, I hate to scrap anything & have tons of more common parts for sale. No nice fenders or doors, or real rare parts, but I have to move a lot if not all of the loose parts & some/most of the cars real soon. I can bring stuff to the homecoming or Nationals if need be.
I'm considering biting the bullet & buying a property zoned for storage/office & officially starting a business. Would appreciate advice from fellow business owners?
Oh yeah, I have lots of parts at another warehouse & I have till June 15th to do something with all that stuff.
Prefer local pick up on big stuff, but will ship about anything.
Thanks.
Scott
c. 317-727-7041

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tru-blue 442

How about a taller fence?
Just kidding Scott, I hope you can
make it work out somehow.

boc23

Hello, do you happen to have a set of rear Disc brakes and a complete set of 15 inch rallys?

oldspackrat

Thanks Adam!

boc,
Sorry, no rear disc brakes & no complete sets of 15" rallys at the moment.

boc23

ok, thanks

jaunty75

Hmmm. After seeing those photos, I can't say as I blame them.

Allan R

Nothing a good organized storage facility with multi level shelves and a good office manager couldn't fix. Organization and keeping the inventory out of the elements to prolong their lifespan. I see lots of parts that members have asked for in the past. Maybe all that's needed is more advertising and a computerized data base.

rktolds

Scott,
I'll call ya tomorrow. I won't be in Indy until the 24th but do have a truck and trailer if some of the inventory needs to head west. Good luck with the situation.

Matt

epinkston

I'm all the way in Los Angeles but I am looking for a 72 442 rear bumper core for re-chroming and the plastic rails for the rear panels on a 72 convertible. Sorry to hear about the situation, as for starting a business you just have to figure out the margin and if its worth it. I have tried a few things that I thought were good ideas but in the end it was too much work to just break even. Doing any kind of business with shipping involved is risky, have friends that are always complaining about people trying to rip them off saying things never arrived, or arrived damaged etc and they end up eating the cost. It can be done if you have a product that is in demand though. I finally found the way to go for me was offering a service instead of actual goods, that way there's no sales tax shipping etc.


Just my 2 cents, wish you the best of luck!

hvysupreme

Pm sent

billmerbach

Send a cutlass my way lol

jensenracing77

I know the feeling Scott. As you know, I live in the sticks (some call it BFE) I am 6 miles to the nearest business and 1/4 mile to the nearest house. I still have people trying to pass a county ordinance to make me put up a fence. When that happens I will sell out to you and the scrap yard and I will be finished. I don't make enough money at this to pay for a 2 acre fence like they want to require. I would have $10K in a fence. I remember when this happened to Ron Memmer. He had to put in a big fence also.

pcard

Eric - what is BFE?

Octania

BFE = Bum F#$% Egypt

So much for "pursuit of happiness"

jensenracing77

lol, But it is ok to take 10 toilets and plant flowers in them and scatter tham arounf the yard. They call that art. They call my Oldsmobiles and eye sore. To me I would MUCH rather have old rusty Oldsmobiles as yard art.

Sorry for jacking the thread Scott

Olds442redberet

Scott,

Sorry to hear the news. It's a shame. I hope you find a way to save all those parts. It would be a shame to lose that inventory.

We need people like you. Without folks like you I'd be in a world of hurt trying to find those hard to find parts needed for my build.

Good luck

oldspackrat

Allan,
Thanks for the input, something like that may be in the works....

Matt,
Good to talk to you today, let me know.

Pinkston,
Thanks for the advice, I think I have an idea that will work. I have 3 passenger side rear convertible plastic pieces, but no driver side ones. A friend of mine has a '71 442 rear bumper core, I'll check to see if he wants to sell it.

Bill,
Just what you need, another project.

Eric,
I thought about erecting a fence made out of old hoods! cheaper that way!

Tom?
Thanks for the kind words. I am pulling any/all good parts before I send the carcasses to the scrapyard & hopefully have a way to keep the parts.

ferndaleflyer

I somehow avoided this situation when I lived near Baltimore but when I moved to NC I scrapped 41 Olds A bodies 64 to 67 because no one would take them from me even for scrap price----Da-mn shame. I still have a lot of parts but this stuff don't sell very good on a regular basis.......Sure hope you can get it worked out.

billmerbach

Yupp my next one is a cutlass after I get the omega done

lass4ken

Do you have wheel well trim or rocker panel trim for a 64 cutlass?

oldspackrat

Ferndale,
I hate to hear about your scrapping episode!! Where you located, maybe I'll buy the rest.

Lass,
Sorry, never had any '64 cars or parts, yet....


The "man" is coming tomorrow morning to inspect my work. I've been very busy cleaning, scrapping, hiding parts in cars, etc... I think he'll be ok with what I've done, but do expect to have move the heavy parts, engines, trans, rear ends, etc....

billmerbach

Ship me a running 350 down here I will do anything for a 69 high comp engine

ddd777

From my own selfish perspective I say go for it!

I recently paid a visit to GM Sport Salvage in San Jose, CA - and they seem to be doing pretty well in a place where real estate is crazy expensive.

You should also consider the fact that there are now very easy to use and inexpensive e-commerce platforms out there to help market and sell your stuff (shopify.com, for example).

GAOldsman

Scott good luck brother in dealing with the city. Down here in middle GA a fellow was going through the same mess with the city and after like three warnings or so, the city official came with three tow trucks to remove said vehicles from this mans yard. Needless to say it didn't turn out good. The city official got shot, the cops came, there was a shootout with them, the tow trucks got shot up, then the guy gives up without further incident and he is still locked up. He lost everything including the house.

I dunno what I would do other than try and comply with them but if they insisted on having my privacy fenced in back yard spotless then I would have no choice but to move out in the County aka B.F.E. I know you have a ton of parts and they ain't making very much of that stuff anymore. I don't see where it would be very economical to lease a property big enough to hold all of that "gold" and try to turn a profit while doing so. Maybe call Car Hoard Kings and have them build you a nice ride while they deal with the rest????

AzChevs

I had to fight each time for my collection slash business. I was lucky enough my older brothers collected cars when I was young and always had a stash in the my Mom's large backyard. I turned into a storage lot when I was 16 and was Grandfathered in. I had a guy at a car show tell me he tried to turn me in and the city said there was nothing they would do. They told me I can bring cars in and cars out but once all the cars are gone, no more. I just bought the commercial lot next door, my only problem is I live 3 hours away. Too small of a town to make my business work there, that is why I live in Phoenix. Good luck, hope it works out for you.

JOHNNYOLDS442

Wow Olds country!
Good luck Scott
you have a few weeks somthing will turn up

tru-blue 442

So Scott. Can you post the verdict?
If not, I understand. I can relate W/parts.
I gotta lota shitta tooouh. But not like Yoouhh.

A central ware house for old Olds parts? Hmmm...
You could start with what ya got, bop.
Only prob is you would need a $$ man.

Expansion would be a gimme, with EVERY thing
automotive produced since 40 what, 30 what, 20 what...
Something like that in my eye would further the hobby, and
go a long way in procuring American Metal. I Think about the kids.
After all they will be the ones to carry on. It would also keep our
antique parts away from the import smelters. OK, I hear the phone ringing...
Hopefully, it's that fellow over in Kingsland that owes me $325. Time for
a cruise in the 442... Nothi'n but Love for you passion Scott. Some would
call it an affliction. I have it too. If we need a donation to begin, I have parts.
With the knowledge and money that is on this board, this could possibly happen.
Good luck with it all Oldsmobrothers. That goes for all you guys and gals, God bless
& Happy Humpday everyone.

sammy

X2 on everything Adam said except for somebody owning me 325$ ....maybe I will hop into the car and go for a tour anyway

Commitment ....staying for the long run Scott...i would certainly support a central Olds depot!

Let us know what happens...

kwhitehead

Scott have you come across the rear window deck panel ?

oldspackrat

Ok,
I had the inspector come out yesterday & check my work. I did a ton of clean up, mostly shoving the loose parts in trunks & interiors of cars, & finished stripping a few cars & sending them along to China. Now he tells me that he can see I've done a bunch of work, but the "City" needs all the cars to be registered, plated, & able to drive on city streets under their own power.
So basically all the work was done for nothing? Wish he would just have told me that in the beginning, but oh well......
I'm about 95% sure I'm buying the property. I looked at it with the realtor today & talked to my bank about getting the cash. The property is zoned for light industrial & /or storage/office & my plan is to rent out door storage space to a handful? of cars/RVs/boats to cover the mortgage, insurance & taxes, & use the building that is there to run the Cutlass business. It makes sense in my head, your version may vary.
I'm going to try to procure it next week if at all possible.


K,
I have one rear deck panel, but it has pencil eraser sized holes directly under the rear edge of the glass. The actual weatherstrip channel is nice though. Give me a call?


Thanks for all the kind words & thoughts guys!!! I may be a legit business owner yet.
Scott

tru-blue 442

Sounds like a great plan Scott.
Good luck with it all.

Olds442redberet

Good luck with the plan. I believe you have a very, very, good chance at success.

501Paratrooper

Sounds like a good plan, best of luck to you. And......I need whatever is missing from my heater box where the rectangular openeing is. I think it's a plastic deflector/vent.

Thanks

Greg Rogers

Yeah, I have found that 1 car or so and you're ok but as soon as a neighbor has complained and they check you out you have to conform completely. As you said they won't be happy until the only cars on your property are registered and drivable. Good luck on the move I think you will do well. Do you deal in other cars also or just Olds? If you have enough room and are "legal" you could branch out and do all the older cars. I know you are a honest and easy guy to deal with and you work hard... I say go for it. There's enough of us guys who hate our jobs and maybe you can enjoy yours and make a good living at the same time.

braids14

looking for a 65 442 steering column ( FLOOR SHIFT ) and door panels and or any thing else for a 65 442

VI Cutty

There's a guy local to me who just does '50s to mid '70s GM products, started out pretty much the same way as you and seems to be doing well. I haven't dealt with him yet myself but have heard good things about him. He doesn't keep a "storefront" which means nobody he doesn't know or trust visits his inventory - mail order and local delivery only.

As long as you can keep turning over the inventory you have every chance to succeed.

Here's his website to give you an idea of his setup: http://www.tinmanauto.com/

Double D Farms

pm sent.

oldspackrat

Braids,
I "might" have a column, I'll check in the next day or so.

VI Cutty,
Thanks for the link & kind words. I was thinking the same thing about my business, no sign out front & no customers that I don't already know.

Double D,
Checking.

Olds442redberet

Not to scare you, but:

1. Keep in mind the tax man will come a knocking once you rent or buy commercial property.

2. I've seen plenty of issues with zoning and permits as well.
( I was recently told by a friend that I couldn't tear a car down in his shop because he didn't have a permit to dismantle vehicles. He was worried the city inspectors would start coming by regularly if they saw one of my cars being taken apart on the grounds. And he has a large body shop.)

PM sent

oldspackrat

Still making progress on getting some land of my own to play on. Here are some pix of the yard after lots of work. Still have lots to go, but almost of the loose parts are now stored inside a car. About the only things left are engines, trans, & rear ends. They all need to go somewhere in the next few weeks too.
Here is a '69 that was pretty cut up but we tried to piece it back together to look like a "complete" car.


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Good commonly rusted body sections.

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This one is donating it's engine to a new owner Thursday & no front or rear suspension, but at first glance, it looks complete.

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A prospective '72 442 clone here. A '72 S with no engine, & a 4 door '72 U code supreme with the complete 455, TH 400 & posi rear end. How can I not do it?!

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'70 Delta 88, aka storage area. No front or rear suspension, just tires standing in place to make it look complete.
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'66 'Lark convertible, slowly selling parts off it & good storage here also.


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AC parts car.
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