The thrill of the hunt.

For me, parts hunting is one of the most enjoyable parts of classic car ownership. I love going to junk yards, and swap meets and finding that part that I’ve been searching for.

Sometimes the great deal is not just for a part, but a whole car.

As a graduate of the Cheap Son-of-a-Bitch (CSOB) school of finance, nothing makes me happier than scoring an awesome deal on a part or a car.

I know many of you scour eBay, Craiglist and other on-line venues looking for bargins. I have all kinds of searches saved so that I can check for certain parts almost daily.

The stories we tell about this sound like fishing stories. There’s always the one that got away, like a running and driving So-Cal Karmann-Ghia convertible I missed out on 3 years ago for $2,500 to the ones landed like the 76 914 with a 2.7 911 motor I got for free.

Even great deals like that can be over shadowed by the small deals, the little bits and pieces that you can come across. I got an early 914 combo gauge with oil temperature and fuel level for $5 once. That’s a rare gauge and I got a great deal on it. Or the set of 4 15x6 Fuchs flat-6 alloys for $200.

Some deals require patience and a personal touch. I have a friend that got a 68 Mustang from a widow for some kitchen cabinet work. The car was her husband’s, and it had sat in the garage for years. My friend had been helping this lady out for years doing handyman and odd jobs for parts money. My friend has a Tiger that he’s putting back together. My friend had done a bunch of work, and the bill was over $500, and she offered the car in trade. She didn’t have to offer twice. It wasn’t perfect, but he got it running in short order. He sold it to help finance his Tiger restoration, so at least it went to a good cause.

We all have those kinds of connections. The guy you know that has that car in the back yard that he’s going to restore one of these days. We sit and patiently wait for them to give up and sell us that car, because no one else even asks about it anymore.

Tell me about your great deals, and rare finds.

Well KK, you've seen my Fiat 850 Special I scored for free...but I get offered a free car every few months (not as good as the Fiat though), as most aren't worth a cracker. Petrol stations should be handing a free car out with ever litre of petrol these days anyway.

Long ago when I was still playing with Fiats (and I miss them...), I spied an early X1/9 behind a local firehouse in the spot they usually used for training. I inquired about the car and it was indeed slated for burning. The car was quite rusty but complete and straight. I asked whether they'd let me take some parts prior to burning the car and the chief agreed. While I was stripping the car that evening, a call went out and one of the responding firemen left his headlights on and his doors were locked, so I couldn't turn them off. When they came back, his battery was dead so I jump started his car for him. The next day I went back to get more bits and had half a dozen firemen helping strip and carry parts!

Our Miata story:

It was under a tree for 3 years while the owner was finishing a degree. The car was too small for both a flute and french horn couple so it sat. A football weekend found the top cut with rear window already brittle and brown. My wife was offered this 1993 white Miata with 50,000 easy miles, no rust and automatic transmission. I went to look at it thinking it was worth about $4,000 to $5,000 book value and more than I could pay. The owner had done her homework and knew its value but also had costed repairs. After she removed the dealer's cost of new top, brakes, battery, tires, radiator and cleaning tree gum, she had about $4000 in bills to pay to make the car driveable again. She really wanted to sell to my wife who had helped her finish an MA and get a job. She knew I was sportscar nut. So for $500 I jumped it and drove it home. Even the A/C operated well. I replaced the timing belt, top, filters, wires and other rubber bits for about $1000 dollars. It has been my best deal and we are still enjoying it. At 15 years old I think it is time for me to add it to reader rides.

Our son and daughter have grown up driving this sports car and are both smitten with the bug.

Cheers Ron

I just scored a eurorace header for my 914-4 for $50!! I am a happy camper.

Ron you are lucky! Same here, I got the bug and bad!

After reading Barn Finds and this topic, really makes me want to go out to a junkyard or drive around and try to find one.

I am sure many of you have seen the Tempest Super Duty that some guy found. Here's a link to his auction for it:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110306170567&viewitem=

While I sure don't expect to find something like that, it's cool when it happens.

Sometimes, the thrill of the hunt can backfire too:

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/16/jay-leno-sued-over-alleged-wrongful-purchase-of-collector-car/

I don't think Leno was a party to any malfeasance, but it stinks to get caught up into that.

I just bought a 280Z engine on ebay for $10.

I "won" a crappy '68 Datsun 2000 Roadster on ebay two summers ago for $128.00 that I parted out on ebay for over $2000.00 (gross - not counting ebay and paypal fees)

Just found an aluminum hood for my RX7 at the local pick and pull for $40. It's no 63 Tempest Super Duty find but it sure made me happy!

Could be someone's lucky day. I don't have enough room in the garage so I'm passing this one on.

Dougie

http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/cto/917093073.html