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Heartbreaker....

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I've been aware of a very solid Spitfire stored in a shed behind a very old antibellum home here in my town. I've snuck back there more than a few times to inspect a prime, restorable LBC that was intact and rust-free. Well, someone bought the home to restore it to it's original grandeur, wasn't interested in old British sports cars and had it towed away. I got there one hour after it was reduced to the size of a TV. Bummer...

Bill
 
I hate people who don't understand that these things have value to many enthusiasts. People should equate crushing a car to crushing a person.
 
Sad, tried to get a MGA Twin Cam in the back of a juck yard for two years and it ended the same way. They swapped owners and the new one didn't have a clue, "just cleaning up the yard" he said. Bet this will start a horror story posting. Wayne
 
That's really sad. I have seen too much of this happen. I do my share to rescue these orphans, as "Racing Girl" could attest to.
But on an "UP" note, a friend of mine was at the local Yard a few years ago, and spied an MGA sitting next to the crusher. He asked what it was doing there, and was told it was next in line. "BS!", he cried, and had them deliver it to his house. It was about 80% complete, a 1622, wire wheel car. He was never going to do anything with it, and wound up selling it to a guy that vintage races MGA's. At least he had the foresight to rescue it, even though he personally had no use for it. He knew someone out there could give it a home, rather than having it cubed and sent to Japan to be turned into razor blades.
Jeff
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gifRazor blades? Japan? More like China! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonod.gif That's about what happened to my yellow Spit and Mental's TR. People bought the house, it came with the cars in the backyard. Dude's wife say's, "We should call someone to just tow 'em away." I've seen way too much of this too. I'm starting to get numb to it. As Jack at Pull-N-Save in Denver says, "you can't save 'em all..." This coming from a guy who has 30+ plus cars crushed a day. Last time I was there, they had a complete '64 Pontiac hearse/ambulance sitting in the yard!
 
Sadly, and I'm ashamed to admit this, but I took part in something like this once. Many years ago, when I was still in school, my buddy had a 64 Buick Wildcat that he blew a head on. Beautiful car, had the 401 V8, 4 barrel carb, dual exhaust, the works. He didn't want to spend any time fixing it or put any money into it, and his mom was yelling at him to get it out of the driveway, so he decided to bring it to the local crusher and just be done with it. I volunteered to drive the car down (yes it still ran, but not well), with him following. I had fleeting thoughts of just taking it home and doing some work to it and using it as a daily driver, but my dad would have flayed me alive if I brought home another stray. I remember the empty feeling I had in the pit of my stomach when I walked away from that car at the yard, knowing it's fate. Still kick myself for that to this day. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
You guys seen this one? Neat ol' story about a Morris-

https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/classic_story1.htm

The Morris story and the posts here remind me of an old kids book from my very young days. I blame it for my penchant for dragging home poor old neglected cars. Anyone remember it? It was about a happly little coupe that zipped around having a good time with its owner-- eventually becomes run down, is neglected and discarded. A young owner spies it, fixes it up and he's happily zipping around again-- My legacy.
 
[ QUOTE ]
...The Morris story and the posts here remind me of an old kids book from my very young days. I blame it for my penchant for dragging home poor old neglected cars. Anyone remember it? It was about a happy little coupe...

[/ QUOTE ]

Susie the Little Blue Coupe? A 1952 Disney cartoon (Sterling Holloway & Stan Freberg) but no doubt also appeared in print...

https://www.edmunds.com/new/2005/mini/cooper/100414744/roadtestarticle.html?articleId=103121
 
That could be it! I remember a book but when I looked at the Disney material on the web, it looked/sounded similar. I'll have to see if I can rent it and show it to my nephews.
 
I had a similar heartbreaking story awhile back. I went to the salvage yard where I used to always get my old IH parts. Originally the yard had been owned by an old man named Howard who loved Internationals, and now his son billy owns it. I went to go get some stainless steel knobs off a 53 L model for my 52 L model, as my chromed knobs are looking pretty shabby. Now this place used to have a ton of old IH trucks. It had around 7 solid compltete restorable K and KB model trucks, and about 5 K and KB parts trucks, aboud 5 or 6 complete L models, and 10 or so parts trucks, probably 12 complete R model trucks and 3 parts trucks, and probably somewhere around 30 60s model trucks in various shapes. It had been about two years since I had been out there and when I got there I nearly cried, out of all those trucks there was only 4 complete K and KB models trucks and a single yarts R model. It turns out the guy who owns the place his father had died and he only kept 4 of his fathers favorite trucks, and bailed the rest.
 
Back in 1969, my grandparents were selling the old family farm. My great-uncle had started a junkyard on a portion of it in 1924. Everything there was destined for the crusher.
I happened to be home on leave from the Air Force, and got wind of the project. I called every old car nut I could think of, and they showed up with trailers for about a week, dragging everything they could get their hands on out of there. I don't think that there was enough left to make one hopper load at the crusher when they were through!
I got a '34 Nash Lafayette, and wound up giving it to my cousin, and she still has it.
At least one of these stories has a happy ending.
Jeff
 
www.carsinbarns.com No british stuff yet...mostly American Muscle but still some vert interesting stories.
 
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