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Message started by Dave on 01/08/14 at 04:45:23

Title: Hoarders?
Post by Dave on 01/08/14 at 04:45:23

My uncle was helping to settle an estate, and they needed me to look at a couple of VW's an establish a value. I used to repair VW's and have owned quite a few in my younger days.

One of the VW's was a 1967 bus.....and this is what I saw when I went to look at it:

http://i42.tinypic.com/2ylk5qd.jpg

The VW and every other car in the building was surrounded by "stuff". Boxes and old car parts and lamps and signs and old toys and old tools and old mopeds and bicycles......you name it! The man had 4 large garages just stacked with stuff and some of the areas were so deeply stacked that you could not even walk between things. I managed to get one front door open enough to peek inside, and I was able to find a spot where I could crawl in under the bus to see what the bottom looked like. The bus is a project with the typical rust on the rocker panels, the frame was good - but it was missing the rear seats and needs a complete restoration.

It will take the family 1-2 years of hard work to clear this mess up. There is some really nice and valuable stuff in these garages - but also a lot of stuff that is not worth much. He had rearly Indian and Harley single cylinder motorcycles from the 1910 - 1914 era, a 50's Norton, a 70's Honda 350 XL, and a 1967 Honda S65 with only 372 miles on it. (I bought that one).

http://i41.tinypic.com/vhzv4m.jpg

I am going to start cleaning out my stuff and get rid of all the extra stuff, I don't want my wife or family to have to go through this kind of cleanup when I am gone!

Title: Re: Hoarders?
Post by old_rider on 01/08/14 at 05:08:14

Remember, before refurbishing any project, check everywhere for parts you could possibly need to replace or repair.
I know most would say not to repaint it, but consider a professional refurbishment if you are going to do that for total value.
Sometimes we mean well, but cannot do what a professional can, plus if they are known for great jobs you will probably get a great quote on final value or estimated insurance needs.
In other words, that Honda needs some love, or you could find the right buyer and make some profit.
Same with the VW, or you could just be a "finder" for the VW sale and collect a little for your trouble while assisting the family with their funds.

Another idea... call the American Pickers! I'm not kiddin'....

Title: Re: Hoarders?
Post by Dave on 01/08/14 at 05:24:53

The Honda is just getting cleaned up....and made to run. It is not perfect - but is too nice of an original bike to go through a restoration. I have already cleaned out the "original" fuel that was left in the tank for 47 years! The tank and carb cleaned up well, and I am waiting for a replacement petcock as the original one cannot be salvaged. I did put some fuel in the carb after cleaning it and changing the oil....an the darned thing came back to life on the second kick! It has a lot of dirt and rust on the chrome that is cleaning up pretty well. The Honda will just be used for riding to church on Sunday morning, riding around the neighborhood on occasion, and I am very likely to bring it to the Dragon Run so you all can take a ride!

The owner of all this stuff was very active in the antique car hobby, and word got out really fast that he had passed away. The son in law is doing a good job of selling the really valuable stuff. There was a 1930's Bugatti, a 1927 Ariens Fox fire Truck, a 356 Porsche, a 1920's Cadilac, a 1915 Buick, and lots of other antique cars that have already been sold. I was only asked to help in the motorycle and VW appraisals - they have qualified help for all the other stuff. Once all the big and valuable stuff is gone - they will have a large local auction. They did not want the notoriety of being on Pickers. I just volunteered a few hours of my time so that I could crawl through all the buildings and explore.....it was fun to see what treasures could be uncovered!

old_rider.....You really need something like this Honda S65 for your ride into town. It is 7 HP and is supposed to get 100 mpg or so.....I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the petcock so I can go ride this bike. Th only petcock I could find with the double outlets that this bike has....is one of those eBay petcocks from Thailand. It was shipped 30 days ago and is supposed to be here today!

Title: Re: Hoarders?
Post by engineer on 01/08/14 at 06:33:01

That is really cool Dave. It must have been fun crawling through all that stuff and then pick up a really nice sixties vintage Honda. Those old Hondas are starting to be very collectible but most of the "barn" finds are in terrible condition. Yours looks really good. Congratulations!

Title: Re: Hoarders?
Post by jcstokes on 01/08/14 at 09:39:58

I'm helping a friend with this situation, which is of his own making and not an estate. It's bloody hard work.

Title: Re: Hoarders?
Post by Dave on 01/08/14 at 09:56:11

2F2636312A2E2036450 wrote:

I'm helping a friend with this situation, which is of his own making and not an estate. It's bloody hard work.

One of the reasons that I am not jumping in to help on this estate, is that I had a friend pass away 2 years ago who had way too many projects and possessions. He had no family that could help, and 3 of us who were close friends did all the work. It took 1.5 years of evenings and weekends to get everything gone and the property sold. During those 1.5 years I was not able to keep up with the maintenance on my house, and I am still catching up.

Title: Re: Hoarders?
Post by Serowbot on 01/08/14 at 10:39:18

Bet that'll be great fun to put around on... :)...

Title: Re: Hoarders?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 01/08/14 at 19:27:25

That bus could be worth a huge amount, dont touch it till youve talked to collectors.

Title: Re: Hoarders?
Post by suzi-q on 01/09/14 at 17:56:49

:)hey dave. my 1st bike was an s65. got it when i was 14. made a tag and rode it until i was 16 and got a real tag for it. rode it to my high school grad. had trans problem at 21,000 mi. and became a mc machanic. thanx for sharing it with us. would love to have it

Title: Re: Hoarders?
Post by Boofer on 01/09/14 at 19:53:49

Dave, my first taste of power came on what I think was a 50cc exactly like that in black. My older cousin overhauled it and asked me to ride it whenever I wanted to break it in. He kept it three months and it cost 50 cents to run it all day, no helmet, shorts--first motorized wreck. I was about 13. Six yrs later jumped on an H1 Kaw and paid 600 for the fastest thin I ever saw. Tore it up got the blue H2 Widowmaker. Ain't memories great? :)

Title: Re: Hoarders?
Post by Serowbot on 01/09/14 at 20:59:35

We just had 2 homes burn to the ground here, last night...
Hoarding was blamed... the fire got out of control too fast...
http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/24402349/crews-battle-mobile-home-fire-on-northwest-side

Title: Re: Hoarders?
Post by Dave on 01/10/14 at 04:16:02

On Tuesday night when I got home, there was a notice in my mailbox that the USPS had tried to deliver "Certified Mail", and we were not home to sign for it. What had I done? I try to pay all my bills, I try not to do things that get me into lawsuits, and the name on the notice indicated that the sender was not Ed McMann. I lost a little sleep on it that night, and the round trip from either home or work was going to be about 40 minutes......could I wait until Saturday to pick it up?.....NOPE!

Yesterday I drove down to the Post Office and picked up my mail, and discovered an order from a Probate Court authorizing the sale of a 1966 Honda S65 from the estate, and the Title for the motorcycle! This was great news as I was not sure they were going to be able to find the title in all that mess. I was expecting to only get a bill of sale from the estate, and I was going to have to chase down how to get a new title. It was better than a letter from Ed McMann!

I am still waiting for the petock to arrive from Thailand.....it has been in the mail for 32 days! When that arrives......it will be ready for the first ride!

Title: Re: Hoarders?
Post by seedubs1 on 01/10/14 at 16:48:44

This is why I go through everything I own once a year. If it's not a tool or gun and has not been used in more than a year, it gets sold or taken to goodwill.

Looks like a nice bike. Should be a lot of fun around town.

Title: Re: Hoarders?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 01/10/14 at 22:58:18

Goodwill? Man,, I sure hope you spend the time to look at what they make & what they pay & compare to Salvation Army. I wouldnt give Goodwill the sweat off my balls.. Ive worked for them. They arent nice.

Title: Re: Hoarders?
Post by raydawg on 01/11/14 at 08:12:07

In my twenties I restored a 67 bus that had the port holes and retracting sun roof.... had it running and looking great, that is all but the bumpers, which I see the rear one it your pix. If that bumper has the aluminum trim too, it really is a fantastic find. It was the last year with the split windshield which makes it most desirable.

It looked like this, same exact color, I believe this is a model....

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm288/eddy-haskell/eddy-haskell009/img_2173_zps71d67756.jpg (http://s299.photobucket.com/user/eddy-haskell/media/eddy-haskell009/img_2173_zps71d67756.jpg.html)

Title: Re: Hoarders?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 01/11/14 at 08:39:57

Yep, Ray, Ima hafta agree,, thats a model,, & probably pretty rare in its own right. That left front tire seems to be off the ground a hair,, Ill bet thats from torque! Its tryin to pull a wheelie! Looka there,, it tossed the driver plumb outta the seat,,

Title: Re: Hoarders?
Post by arteacher on 01/11/14 at 15:24:37

Does that ever bring back some memories! 8 of us used one to go to the senior prom. After the prom we toured the town, at one point throwing a lemon sized piece of sodium "borrowed" from the science lab into the local river and watching it shoot around the water like a star. I think that's the only time I was ever in one.

Title: Re: Hoarders?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 01/11/14 at 15:30:31

Long about 68 or9 a kid down the streets mom got a new one, we used it sometimes to deliver papers. Pretty cool havin 4 of us, runnin down the road w/ the door open, tossin papers. Cool as that part was, even as a bulletproof 16 Y/O, looking at the front & seeing just what was between the passengers & the outside world left me uncomfortable,. That & the outrageous gutlessness of it.. but then, I could never goad that guy into actually givin it a full on GO,, heck,, he wouldnt even downshift goin at a stop sign, no drivin people bug me,