Texas Car Collection Crushed!

[mercman from oz]

Texas Car Collection Crushed! 1930s to 1970s vintage cars & trucks scrapped! Ford, Lincoln, Chevrolet, Buick, Packard etc

https://youtu.be/1xyMJv6I_7M

[58Yeoman]

I guess that makes all the surviving models of those cars worth more now. It was mentioned at the end of the video that the old man loved these cars so much that he built sheds for most of them. The old man just wanted them for bragging rights. How many of those cars could've been restored if he hadn't hoarded them away. Bet he didn't sell any when asked about them.

[Alaska Jim]

I would have loved to have either of the '56 Fords

[Ford blue blood]

Can't save them all....I tried but the wife said not so much:<)

[Mlacombe]

Such a bummer

[JimNNN]

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I agree...what a shame. It was kind of hard to tell for sure, but they didn't look all that rusty in the pictures.

Could this be a sign that the love of old cars (even cool ones) is waning as boomers become old and unable to take on restorations? Or is there some other reason? As Bill said, there's only so much room to store vintage vehicles. I'm probably beyond my limit at three old Fords.

[paul2748]

Typical hoarder result. Whether it parts or whole cars, these people hoard (so called "collectors" ) these cars and parts up until the day they die. Won't sell anything. Relatives don't want anything to do with them send the parts to the dump and whole cars to the crusher. I hate hoarders.


The other thing is they don't have any room for the cars, they sit out in the open and then rust away. The "I'll fix it up someday" guys are the same

[58Yeoman]

^^^ I agree about hoarders. ^^^

BTW, I burned an old roll top desk the other day. OOPS, maybe someone was looking for one? So what, who cares?

[JimNNN]

Originally Posted by 58Yeoman

^^^ I agree about hoarders. ^^^

BTW, I burned an old roll top desk the other day. OOPS, maybe someone was looking for one? So what, who cares?

I also agree. A late friend of mine was a hoarder. He had a few dozen NON-RUNNING VW Beetles rotting in a field (among many other things.) When he died his wife had to deal with all that stuff. I won't own ANY car that doesn't run and function decently as a vehicle.

Not all crushing is due to hoarders, though. There was a junk yard about 30 minutes away that had over 100 cars older than 1973. I was able to get parts for my Ranch Wagon at reasonable prices. The problem, however, was that this junk yard also had many, many thousands of old used tires stacked up in a structure, which was a violation of some environmental ordinance. The authorities closed the place down and crushed all the cars. So I guess the problem WAS hoarding, after all...tires.

[Grumpy Rick]

Wouldn't be surprised if somewhere in this story's background there is a land developer.

[JimNNN]

Originally Posted by Grumpy Rick

Wouldn't be surprised if somewhere in this story's background there is a land developer.

Good point, Rick. I hadn't thought of that.


As to Mercman's post, just think if the Texas guy (or his family) had placed something on eBay or CL for the intact non-stacked cars...


"Old cars for sale... $300 each...your choice....you haul it away." might've been a win/win scenario, though some still would've been lost. I can't imagine that Packard coupe not bringing $300. Even if it was only $200, the family could've got something from it.

[58Yeoman]

I've wondered about having to look for titles, which may be non-existent.

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by 58Yeoman

I've wondered about having to look for titles, which may be non-existent.

Most states have a process for 'Lost Title'. They check your ID, you post a financial bond or something similar, have the vehicle inspected, the VIN is checked against stolen/missing vehicle lists... and if everything checks out they issue a title with an applicable VIN.

[JimNNN]

I've wondered about having to look for titles, which may be non-existent.

Most states have a process for 'Lost Title'. They check your ID, you post a financial bond or something similar, have the vehicle inspected, the VIN is checked against stolen/missing vehicle lists... and if everything checks out they issue a title with an applicable VIN.

This can be a workable strategy for getting titles for non-titled cars, but remember that results may vary from state to state. I bought an antique motorcycle without a title, and in my state, that's a difficult thing to get around with the DMV. What dmsfrr mentioned is called a "bonded title" in my state, which is different than just a replacement for a lost title (in my state.)

A bonded title requires that the person who applied for the title with bond is responsible if the ownership of the car is ever challenged...even if that person is no longer the registered owner of the car. The good news is that it's only for a set number of year (can't remember how many.) My T-Bird has a title bonded by a previous owner, so it won't affect me if ownership is ever challenged. I've decided that I won't ever buy a title-less car if getting a bonded title is the only way to deal with it…at least in THIS state.

[mhsprecher]

Sad. That was a lot for anyone to deal with. Maybe the family member who had to deal with it was angry and just wanted them gone or someone who didn't give a darn about the cars bought the place and wanted them gone? An auction likely would have been the best way to deal with a collection that large and even then a lot would have gone to the scrappers.

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by JimNNN

... What dmsfrr mentioned is called a "bonded title" in my state, which is different than just a replacement for a lost title (in my state.) ...

Yes, I typed in haste. Replacing a title that has gone missing from the owners possession is different than obtaining a title for a vehicle (or most of one) of unknown ownership.
They also have lots of rules for other vehicle ownership circumstances...
.

[1942deluxe]

On my 1942 Deluxe coupe I bought I only had a bill of sale and the previous owner never had a title. I started the bonded title process when I lived in Iowa but never followed thru. Probably would've been less than $200 then. Fast forward 20 years I'm in Pennsylvania. Process is for attorney to do a national data base search and file for the court to make a declaratory judgement that the car is mine and direct Penn Dot to issue me a title. As we speak paperwork has gone to the state and total cost was around $1,200. That's the legal and correct way to do it in Pennsylvania.

[JimNNN]

Originally Posted by dmsfrr

Yes, I typed in haste. Replacing a title that has gone missing from the owners possession is different than obtaining a title for a vehicle (or most of one) of unknown ownership.
They also have lots of rules for other vehicle ownership circumstances...
.

I'm actually appreciative of your post. It got me to go downstairs and check the dates on my T-Bird title. I then went to the DMV website to see what the time requirements are. It turns out it's only three years in Nebraska, which had passed since I bought the car, so I hurried down to the DMV before they closed yesterday and got the "bonded" status taken off my title.



I should mention again, there was no real legal reason to do so. No present or future owners of the car will ever be affected by any challenge to ownership. It'll just keep any potential buyers from being scared off by the word "bonded" on the title. Cost: about 15 bucks.

[58Yeoman]

I bought a VW Karmann Ghia from a woman who didn't have the title, but did have the name of the person who owned the car. I contacted her, and she said she didn't want the car, but didn't have the title. I applied to the state for a "duplicate" title, which meant that the original owner could come and get the car, if so desired. Never happened. The title went normal when the car was sold. This was late 70's, early 80's, I don't remember.

That was one title. Now, what would you do with a hundred or so cars sitting on your property, with maybe none of the titles anywhere in sight? Can you imagine the time and expense of getting bonded titles?

There was a salvage yard south of me a few miles, where the cars were scattered all through the trees and hills. The owner was a bit sketchy, where he was selling cars w/o titles, or maybe even buying them w/o titles. The state shut him down, and crushed all his cars, save for maybe 50 or so that he may have had the title to. I was sorry to see it closed, he had a lot of neat old cars there. Just sayin'.

[evintho]

I bought my '54 Ford here in California (where DMV is a nightmare) with no title or paperwork, at all. All I had was a 'bill of sale'. Last registered in '74. I expected to jump through a myriad of hoops. Thought I'd give a registration service at try. Everything was done by email and one phone call. Sent her a photo of the data plate with VIN and a copy of the 'bill of sale'. Cut a check for $400. $275 was her fee, $125 was DMV charges. 2 weeks later I received a packet in the mail with new plates (only if I wanted to use them), title in my name with original plate #s, registration and tags for that year and a filed non-op certificate so there'd never be any other fees until I was ready to place the car on the road. And all this in California!! Professional registration services are the way too go!!

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...1&d=1645219111