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Old 05-12-2013, 09:10 PM   #1
glenn in camino
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Default worth more in pieces

Has anyone ever taken a Model a apart and sold the pieces for more than the complete car was worth?
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Old 05-12-2013, 09:32 PM   #2
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

No, it might make sense financially, but to me it goes against my grain. JMO
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Old 05-12-2013, 09:56 PM   #3
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

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No, it might make sense financially, but to me it goes against my grain. JMO
I agree.
I see that happening with old outboards and I don't like to see it there either.
With Model A's it seems a driver would have to bring more than the parts.
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Old 05-12-2013, 10:31 PM   #4
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

Yes IMHO, you could probably make more money. But keep in mind that every part you sell has a time expenditure associated with it. E.g. taking photos, eBay setup, answering queries, talking on the phone, haggling, eBay monitoring, packaging, shipping, processing payments, follow-up calls, follow-up emails, defending each sale, etc., etc., etc. Multiply all these little jobs by 2,000 parts. To me, that sounds like a fulltime job. You're in the parts biz! And when you calculate your 'salary' for this awesome new job, you're probably making $2 an hour. Is that really where you want to spend your time?
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Old 05-12-2013, 10:40 PM   #5
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

A friend of mine does this with Model-Ts but it is usually done with partially restored cars where the restoration has stalled. He buys the project, pays to have it shipped to his shop, and then he dismantles it and lists what he dismantles for that day.

There is a market for it I think. Click HERE to see what Mike currently has for sale. Click HERE to see what he has recently sold. Look at his success rate! ..
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Old 05-13-2013, 12:23 AM   #6
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I bought an A-V8 coupe once that had a lot of nice parts, but as a whole it was a near disaster. I began dismanteling to fix things. When I got down to the bare frame I parted it out. Got my money back. Didn't make anything. What's time to a hog?
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Old 05-13-2013, 12:24 AM   #7
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

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Originally Posted by ctlikon0712 View Post
No, it might make sense financially, but to me it goes against my grain. JMO
Same here!
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Old 05-13-2013, 01:32 AM   #8
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

Dog here,
It's taken us a month of FOREVERS to get Vermin together, it'd be sumptin' like HERESY or MURDER or sum AWFUL thing to take him APART & sell his pieces! That's like a LOW-LIFE CHOP SHOP!! Hope you guys are jist FUNNIN' Buster T.
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Old 05-13-2013, 02:26 AM   #9
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

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Dog here,
It's taken us a month of FOREVERS to get Vermin together, it'd be sumptin' like HERESY or MURDER or sum AWFUL thing to take him APART & sell his pieces! That's like a LOW-LIFE CHOP SHOP!! Hope you guys are jist FUNNIN' Buster T.
I don't think they are kidding at all! How many time have we recently read about how nuts we are to spend the time and money we do on a restoration when any old part will do! You can take the original dome light switch cover from a SW car and sell it for 20 times the cost of a reproduction. How about spark plugs, sell your set of 3x's for 70 times the cost of replacements, how about hoses and fan belts. Sell your steel fenders and buy fiberglass ones and pocket the difference.

No, they are not funnin at all. A true restoration is a rare thing and just throwing a car together with a nice paint job and call it a restored Model A seems to be gaining momentium.

As for the original question, a Model A is worth less the sum of it's parts.
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Old 05-13-2013, 03:15 AM   #10
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

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Originally Posted by glenn in camino View Post
Has anyone ever taken a Model a apart and sold the pieces for more than the complete car was worth?
i am sure they do that all the time. But i am genetically calibrated against doing that.

In theory a complete car should be worth more than the sum of its parts but the buyers in the model market are cheapskates (it's true!) that they only want to pay, like, 40% of what it would cost to duplicate. Hence why i call my car a money pit.
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Old 05-13-2013, 05:40 AM   #11
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

This isn't quite the same but a story that my dad told me many times. In the early 30's he and 3 friends had to get from their homes in NW Iowa to Grand Rapids Mi. They bought a Model T for $10 and drove it to GR. They parted it out and sold all the parts for $25.
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Old 05-13-2013, 07:48 AM   #12
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

It is one more A off the road and that makes many of us unhappy ! I would say that those that do it are obsesses with the financial gain and care not about our hobby and the Model A industry ! Brent says his friend does well but in my life money is not everything !
AL
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Old 05-13-2013, 08:12 AM   #13
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

The other side of the coin... Where do those parts go? Back into somebody's pride and joy model A. Those fiberglass fenders just have to go, so you look for a good set of originals. Guess what, those original fenders came off a car somewhere! I also hate to see anything old parted out. I myself could never do it, but sometimes it happens and we all like to get nice original parts.
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Old 05-13-2013, 09:26 AM   #14
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

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but in my life money is not everything ![/U]
AL
Yes, but some people may not be in the same financial circumstance that you are.
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Old 05-13-2013, 09:46 AM   #15
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

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The other side of the coin... Where do those parts go? Back into somebody's pride and joy model A.
I'm not convinced this always happens...

For example, I'll bet a percentage of parts go onto somebody's spare parts shelf. Others are part of somebody's good intentions but never actually get installed because they lost interest. Others don't fit so they are set aside. There are lots of reasons parts don't go back onto cars. They end up in unlabeled boxes up in the rafters and years later are thrown out with the spring cleaning by other people who don't know their value. One way or another, the laws of entropy prevail.
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Old 05-13-2013, 09:52 AM   #16
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Don't like the idea at all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Old 05-13-2013, 10:00 AM   #17
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

I know a guy that is thinking about parting out a bunch of a's. I am trying to convince him to not do this. He and his dad got them all when they could be had for very little. They are all coupes and pickups from 30-31. I told him it would be way to much work to do. There have been parts stollen off of the cars over the years. I will keep trying with him.
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Old 05-13-2013, 10:14 AM   #18
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

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I'm not convinced this always happens...

For example, I'll bet a percentage of parts go onto somebody's spare parts shelf. Others are part of somebody's good intentions but never actually get installed because they lost interest. Others don't fit so they are set aside. There are lots of reasons parts don't go back onto cars. They end up in unlabeled boxes up in the rafters and years later are thrown out with the spring cleaning by other people who don't know their value. One way or another, the laws of entropy prevail.
To start with, I was always told not to love something that cannot love you back! Sometimes we treat our Model-A's as a God(ess) instead of what they really are!!

We all could make excuses or valid points as to why this practice should or shouldn't be done. If it bothers somebody from an ethical standpoint, then by all means they should refrain from doing so. I am unaware where this practice breaks any written laws or Biblical scripture.

While I do not directly partake in dismantling for profit, my personal view is it is easy to become hypocritical in that we say we want to preserve the Model-A for generations to come yet many of us choose to do things to our own vehicles which fails to promote authenticity or preservation (i.e: alternators, 12 volts, colors, upholstery, transmissions, et/al.). Like I said above, most of the cars that I have seen exploited for this practice are not necessarily top notch driving vehicles. Most of the time, these are restoration projects that have stalled out due to lack of any/all of the following; skill, funding or commitment, ...or poorly done restorations where the car is useless in its present condition. There are many cottage business' that help promote the hobby of Model-A's by their catering to the hobbyist, and I tend to think that most of the time this is one of them.

Still not convinced, then explain where swap meet & eBay parts come from! Maybe the difference is knowing vs. not knowing how the parts became available??

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Old 05-13-2013, 10:21 AM   #19
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

Somebody has a creative way around the rules.

So a Model T birth certificate is worth $425.

Had a pinball machine that worked all the way. Had people only willing to pay half of what the electronics would sell for on ebay. Parted it out for $200 more then what I wanted for the whole working machine.
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Old 05-13-2013, 10:32 AM   #20
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Yes several times. Rod
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Old 05-13-2013, 10:53 AM   #21
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

I'm not fussed one way or the other, the car belongs to the owner, and they can do with it as they please. I'm glad that the previous owner of an A, stripped theirs down, because I ended up with a complete set of pre painted mudguards(fenders), running boards, splash aprons, valance panels etc. The panels will be stored for a while, but it is one big job I don't have to do on the ute I am restoring.
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Old 05-13-2013, 12:14 PM   #22
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

Only one source for used original parts. Similar to organ donations. It is a shame but gotta come from somewhere. Treasure what you have. If it is going for scrap, salvage what you can. I appreciate those who attempt to keep it original. Thank those who give all of us a second chance! All the best Ray
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Old 05-13-2013, 12:17 PM   #23
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

We don't even feel too bad toward a hot rodder, when he sells a PRIMO runnin' chassis to a restorer. Bill W.
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Old 05-13-2013, 06:13 PM   #24
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

People who do that don't really care about old cars, they care about money.I think they should part out Hondas, they are worth a lot in parts and nobody would care.
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Old 05-13-2013, 07:27 PM   #25
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

Maybe the difference is knowing vs. not knowing how the parts became available??

.[/QUOTE]

In simple terms, not to many people are willing to kill the cow but almost everyone is willing to go to the store and buy the meat.
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Old 05-13-2013, 07:35 PM   #26
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Quote:
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Maybe the difference is knowing vs. not knowing how the parts became available??

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In simple terms, not to many people are willing to kill the cow but almost everyone is willing to go to the store and buy the meat.[/QUOTE]
Dick, never attach a "NAME" to your favorite chicken! "CHICK-A-DOO" lived to be 20!!
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Old 05-13-2013, 07:48 PM   #27
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

I've never had a car that I didn't have some love for even though it surely didn't love me back.I'm keeping these last three in the latter years of my life even if they don't get to go to heaven with me!
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Old 05-13-2013, 08:00 PM   #28
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

Actually, we misjudged my Town Sedan when I bought it. What started as a six month project has turned into a three year "career" with NO completion date. It goes against my DNA to virtually destroy something that old, but I can't help wondering about parting it out. It's too late now. Too much work has been done, too many welding burns, too many "Thumb strikes" from a hammer. too much wood, too many hours. Too much research into various aspects of June 1930, Ford Model A Town Sedans. It's part of the family now and it will stay. It's in a slow process of rebirth.
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Old 05-14-2013, 01:39 AM   #29
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

This is partly why i buy worn out junk nobody else would want instead of something better from a dodgy looking guy who smiles too much.
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Old 05-14-2013, 05:46 AM   #30
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

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Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C View Post

Still not convinced, then explain where swap meet & eBay parts come from! Maybe the difference is knowing vs. not knowing how the parts became available??

.
Brent,
Your continued steady spot-on level-headed wisdom never ceases to amazee. You are so right, all of us get excited to find that "cherry" part at a swap meet, sorta' like eating steak, most of us love it, but would not take our wives to visit a Slaughterhouse.
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Old 05-14-2013, 05:51 AM   #31
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Maybe the difference is knowing vs. not knowing how the parts became available??

.
In simple terms, not to many people are willing to kill the cow but almost everyone is willing to go to the store and buy the meat.[/QUOTE]

Sorry to nearly duplicate what Rich said, I did not notice this thread had two pages.
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Old 05-14-2013, 07:57 AM   #32
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Default Re: worth more in pieces

Over the years, I've bought failed projects, parted them out and offered them for sale here on the FordBarn and over on the HAMB for pennies on the dollar. Based on what I'm reading here, guess I'll send the stuff to the crusher.
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Old 05-14-2013, 08:48 AM   #33
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In REALITY, there ARE cars that SHOULD be parted out! You cain't restore a DEAD PIG when his "OINK" is gone. Bill W.
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Old 05-14-2013, 01:23 PM   #34
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I think we can get into trouble moralizing what someone else should, or should not do. I have managed to sell a few parts to finance my projects. A better part is found, the wrong part bought and drug home only to find I was misinformed, or worse yet took a chance.
Getting angry with a missed opportunity, a curt response, a window shopper after investing time finding the part he thought he needed, but not at my price. Ce la Vie.
Lets clean our porch first. Let the other guy clean his. In the end we all have a short time here, an eternity there. I will pursue my goals.
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Old 05-15-2013, 03:27 AM   #35
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You cain't restore a DEAD PIG when his "OINK" is gone. Bill W.
Awesome people can. Normal people can sort of do it too with enough determination.


Now i will do a magic trick & double the value of all your cars in all states, shapes & sizes. So you heard a car like yours sells for, what? $8,000? Yet it cost that to put together a nice driving chassis. And some folks who build a slightly different style of car pay that much for a body with no interior, but yours has one right? Yeah now think that over!
i just more than doubled the value of your car without leaving the floor i am sitting on. You can thank me later.
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Old 05-15-2013, 07:33 AM   #36
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There's always a bunch of negativity in topics like this. How can someone assume that once the parts are purchased they end up getting thrown away? Why all the reverence for a car that has 4 million brothers/sisters/cousins? Sure some are dead and gone, some have had a major "sex change" in the form of a hot rod, but in the end it's YOUR STUFF. Rather than bemoan the practice of supplying good OEM stuff, I'd think a level of thanks is in order. As far as time to sell, how much time is really invested? From decades of experience, not much and nowhere near the time required to restore or mod one of em. It used to be that a Hemi Road Runner was worth more in parts than as a whole. Since the madness has died down just a bit with the 2008 wake up call they're pretty much a wash now, but a 69 Camaro is DEFINATELY worth more in parts for certain models. Maybe not a documented cross ram Z/28, but the basic 307 2bbl glide is worth twice it's intact value and not even worth restoring unless it's a family heirloom. It's just the business of old cars kids. The slaughter house analogy is perfect.
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