Moss is better than mold.
is this joke?
- Thread starter Kaim
- Start date
Moss is better than mold.
SuperDave
Member
Geez, I thought the upholstery in my Newport was rough.
Funny thing is, MY car was destined for the crusher. Back in 2019 I hooked up with a taxi company in Panama City Beach, Fla as a part time mechanic to maintain their fleet of taxis, shuttles & limos. We were allowed to work on outside vehicles & our own cars, providing the fleet vehicles took priority first, and that the boss got 15% of the labor & a 65% mark-up on parts purchased. A previous mechanic had taken on this Chrysler as a side job just before Hurricane Michael hit. Mike was a category five storm that made a lot of people evacuate or just plain pack up and leave for good, we ASSUME the car owner was one of them. We called it the Turd, on account of the doggy doo brown paint, it was a piece of crap that hardly anything worked right, if it worked at all. Hadn't seen soap in years, lower quarter panels rusted, hot wired ignition, etc. But it had a straight body & bumpers going for it, all the glass was good and it was 95% complete, and I discovered with a little elbow grease, underneath all that crud, the original lead based paint was metallic brown paint that could shine. And it had a big block mopar under the hood, albeit a 2bbl smog motor only worth 190 hp when new. Still, I saw the potential if no one else could, and I was looking for a project car to hot rod, something different than an overpriced muscle car that clogs the market (Camaros, Chargers, Mustangs, etc). I didn't want something that had been done a gazillion times before. This Chrysler qualified.
We did a title search and sent a certified letter to the last known owner/address listed with the state, asking "what do you want to do with this car? We've had it for a year and the last mechanic left with all the info". After 30 days with no response, I filed a mechanic's lein and got a fresh title in my name, at which point I got to work.
Today we still call it Project Turd, but now it's because it's (still) doggy doo brown and it gets crappy mileage. The rusty lower panels were ground clean, fiberglassed and painted over with textured black bed liner, motor/trans was rebuilt, beefed up & blinged out, overhauled brakes, suspension, steering and drive axle. Still doesn't have AC or heat, and the upholstery needs attention (coming soon! I'm only $150 away from having enough to take it to being reskinned in new vinyl).
Both me and the Chrysler were in the right place at the right time to come together. C bodies aren't popular so very few are kept to be parted out. To most, a 70s 4 door sedan is an old grandpa car that rarely sees a muscle car makeover. So a lot of them end up crushed and shredded.
Funny thing is, MY car was destined for the crusher. Back in 2019 I hooked up with a taxi company in Panama City Beach, Fla as a part time mechanic to maintain their fleet of taxis, shuttles & limos. We were allowed to work on outside vehicles & our own cars, providing the fleet vehicles took priority first, and that the boss got 15% of the labor & a 65% mark-up on parts purchased. A previous mechanic had taken on this Chrysler as a side job just before Hurricane Michael hit. Mike was a category five storm that made a lot of people evacuate or just plain pack up and leave for good, we ASSUME the car owner was one of them. We called it the Turd, on account of the doggy doo brown paint, it was a piece of crap that hardly anything worked right, if it worked at all. Hadn't seen soap in years, lower quarter panels rusted, hot wired ignition, etc. But it had a straight body & bumpers going for it, all the glass was good and it was 95% complete, and I discovered with a little elbow grease, underneath all that crud, the original lead based paint was metallic brown paint that could shine. And it had a big block mopar under the hood, albeit a 2bbl smog motor only worth 190 hp when new. Still, I saw the potential if no one else could, and I was looking for a project car to hot rod, something different than an overpriced muscle car that clogs the market (Camaros, Chargers, Mustangs, etc). I didn't want something that had been done a gazillion times before. This Chrysler qualified.
We did a title search and sent a certified letter to the last known owner/address listed with the state, asking "what do you want to do with this car? We've had it for a year and the last mechanic left with all the info". After 30 days with no response, I filed a mechanic's lein and got a fresh title in my name, at which point I got to work.
Today we still call it Project Turd, but now it's because it's (still) doggy doo brown and it gets crappy mileage. The rusty lower panels were ground clean, fiberglassed and painted over with textured black bed liner, motor/trans was rebuilt, beefed up & blinged out, overhauled brakes, suspension, steering and drive axle. Still doesn't have AC or heat, and the upholstery needs attention (coming soon! I'm only $150 away from having enough to take it to being reskinned in new vinyl).
Both me and the Chrysler were in the right place at the right time to come together. C bodies aren't popular so very few are kept to be parted out. To most, a 70s 4 door sedan is an old grandpa car that rarely sees a muscle car makeover. So a lot of them end up crushed and shredded.
fury fan
Senior Member
One big aspect of parting out cars is knowing which ones and which parts are rare and valuable.
If you're a guy pulling out GMs, Fords, Mopars, of every era and body style - you can't know them all, nor the best places to market the parts.
Shipping parts may not be your bailywig, either.
If you're limited in space, you go for the fast nickel as Big_John said.
And lots of good parts go to the shredder.
But life goes on.
If you're a guy pulling out GMs, Fords, Mopars, of every era and body style - you can't know them all, nor the best places to market the parts.
Shipping parts may not be your bailywig, either.
If you're limited in space, you go for the fast nickel as Big_John said.
And lots of good parts go to the shredder.
But life goes on.
The market must have changed drastically in the last 10 years. When I retired and sold off everything, NOBODY wanted my C-body parts. They all went into the crusher. Lots of nice rust-free sheet metal was lost.....not to mention all the glass and interior parts.....oh well.
fury fan
Senior Member
It has, but C-body parts are always harder to sell.
Belly-button A-B-E stuff is much easier to unload.
Belly-button A-B-E stuff is much easier to unload.
Rustyrodknocker
Senior Member
Moss is just carpet that grows back..
Rustyrodknocker
Senior Member
Many of the best go over seas now but I can remember going to the derby and there was not a dent to be found and we didn't know what rust was... they were low mileage out of style cars.
I pulled a 440 (still have it) out of a 71 New Yorker in about 93 I was 20. I don't even remember the car, just the silhouette.
It was immense and may as well been an RV.
All I cared about was 440.
We had a machinist in our little town that had big blocks stacked against the wall in his garage like firewood. We thought it was wild.
He said they ain't putting these in cars anymore boys. Better get them while you can.
Hell I spent my entire childhood stacking wood .. I was a natural. I got in the mode.
When we moved away a couple years later I threw away the furniture and filled the uhaul with big blocks and motorcycles. I think they were all out of C bodies.
PursuitSpecial
New Member
Nothing surprises me anymore after the drug dealers in my neighborhood stole and scrapped two of my 1965 Polaras. And the police refused to investigate because the assessed value of the cars was less than $2000, I could've gotten that out of the 383 engines and 727s before I even touched the body. And the panels were rust free too! What a waste. There were so many good parts put in the crusher... I'm glad I at least drug the '77 out of the woods or they would've got it too. I did get the distributor out of one of them, it's currently powering the 400, original points and all. Thieves rarely know the value of what they steal.
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