Selling/trading Model A parts

Keith True

Keith True

Well-known member
Reading how somebody would rather scrap his parts than give them away has been a real eye-opener today.I made out an ad in the local Craigslist that has dragged out some real screwballs.I have a new set of Firestone WW tires,and I want blackwalls.I put them up to trade,to see if any locals had some blacks and preferred WW's.I have gotten a lot of cash offers,with the highest being $50.per tire.Will I ship them,will I deliver them 150 miles,will I trade for their used tires,etc.I've had some reasonable trade offers,but not what I was looking for.WW's are about $40.more each right now,I thought I might find somebody that bought blackwalls and might prefer whites.One guy has a new set but wants $200'plus my tires.I've made a couple of people mad by telling them I can just mount the backwards and blacken the WW's.
 
Factor in shipping and sales tax a couple of those offers don't look bad - if the other tires are good.

John
 
I think I'm just going to mount them inside out.I was quoted $197.each yesterday for Firestone WWW's,people were offering $50.each in cash.The blackwalls are about $160. I have a local vendor so there would be no shipping,and N.H. has no sales tax.There have been some sincere offers,but a couple of dozen oddball ones.Lots of new Allstate still in the wrappers,Insa's,and 30+year old assorted brands.Mine are less than two years old,still standing up in the rumble seat.
 
Keith this makes me recall the song from that 60's TV show about a dolphin....."They call me Flipper, Flipper, faster than light-ning, no one you se----eee is smarter than heeee."
 
Keith True said:
Reading how somebody would rather scrap his parts than give them away has been a real eye-opener today.I made out an ad in the local Craigslist that has dragged out some real screwballs.I have a new set of Firestone WW tires,and I want blackwalls.I put them up to trade,to see if any locals had some blacks and preferred WW's.I have gotten a lot of cash offers,with the highest being $50.per tire.Will I ship them,will I deliver them 150 miles,will I trade for their used tires,etc.I've had some reasonable trade offers,but not what I was looking for.WW's are about $40.more each right now,I thought I might find somebody that bought blackwalls and might prefer whites.One guy has a new set but wants $200'plus my tires.I've made a couple of people mad by telling them I can just mount the backwards and blacken the WW's.
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I am only going to concentrate on your original wish, to have black walls on your car! I had a similar issue, had found two ww tires to fit my model A! I did not do any negotiating as the price was $40 + $40 shipping for two tires! Where I had a problem was finding a product to use to black out the White. It took some time but I found a product by the name of m. e. Miller tire Black tire Paint! It is water based and is great stuff! And be careful with it, it blakens anything it touches, it is water based and you put it on with a paint brush or if you wish, you can spray, but do an "Excellent" masking job! I have attached a photo, oh yes it is water based, but once dry sticks very well. After using it, had the two tires mount with the painted side in and I gotta tell ya, now they are black walls! They have been on the car now about 7 months and this stuff is great!
 

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DHZIEMAN said:
I am only going to concentrate on your original wish, to have black walls on your car! I had a similar issue, had found two ww tires to fit my model A! I did not do any negotiating as the price was $40 + $40 shipping for two tires! Where I had a problem was finding a product to use to black out the White. It took some time but I found a product by the name of m. e. Miller tire Black tire Paint! It is water based and is great stuff! And be careful with it, it blakens anything it touches, it is water based and you put it on with a paint brush or if you wish, you can spray, but do an "Excellent" masking job! I have attached a photo, oh yes it is water based, but once dry sticks very well. After using it, had the two tires mount with the painted side in and I gotta tell ya, now they are black walls! They have been on the car now about 7 months and this stuff is great!
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The best place to find tire black is a professional auto paint store.

Charlie Stephens
 
BILL WILLIAMSON said:
If someone scraps THEIR parts, it's their OWN BUSINESS---
Bill W.
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'selling/trading'
Hey Bill,
I agree with your statement and will most likely do just that when its time !
I was the original trader of auto parts , since a young auto guy.
I've been recently 'cured' of that trading issue after 50 some years of doing so. Ironically, guys who were here in the past/now, taught me about the base nature of some. That finally sunk in, i.e.- one way trade...stuff traded and kept, and then your 'deal' ignored.
Low end of human nature, eh !!


BTW..what is the life lesson here ? Well, I've decided that even an expensive part is worth it to know which...'friend' wasn't at all , and they seem to 'disappear' which is good, my guess !
 
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I haven't seen that brand of tire paint.I'm going to try it.The stuff the paint stores are selling isn't showing me much.I used to paint a lot of equipment,I never masked the tires,I could crank the fan on a Sharp spray gun to the point I could get near zero on the tires.I always painted the sides of the tires after though.It made for a neat looking job,and seemed to stay for years.Dupont made a mean tire paint,I think it ate right into paint.It worked.Another company,it might have started with a Z was the same way,it was almost like mud in the can,you had to cut it with laquer thinner.I would take the lid off the 5 gallon bucket it came in and stir it with a drill and a joint compound mixer.
 
If one needs a part one will pay for it. If one wants it to just "fill the garage" then they are going to offer low money maybe even stupidly low money.
 
Was at a Auction a couple weeks back. Scraper was buying many parts. I bought as much as I could handle, just to preserve.
 
fordrelic said:
Was at a Auction a couple weeks back. Scraper was buying many parts. I bought as much as I could handle, just to preserve.
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Most of the items that I find at a Model-A auction these days quite honestly need to be scrapped. I am in a similar situation trying to clear out my father's estate. Sorting thru his stuff, I'd bet there is at least a dozen, -maybe two dozen Model-A transmissions in various states. Even if I gave them to someone, they honestly could not take all the parts to rebuild a few of them and come out financially if they put any kind of value on their time. Model-A people will not pay for a transmission assembled out of used parts. So what do you do? In my case, I have one of those 20' long scrap metal gondolas that is delivered to the location. I pay someone to help me clear out the buildings, and most of it will go to scrap with the proceeds to help offset the costs of hiring help to clear it out. When I moved to a new shop a few years ago, we scrapped over 30,000 pounds of Model-A parts just because we had too many items and the cost to keep it was too great. I'd bet Steve Becker was in the same scenario when he recently moved to a new location.
 
My current philosophy is this: I only have so much room. But if it is a great deal then I will go for it. Otherwise I just don't have the space. And as much as I love these cars I don't want to be a hoarder.


Mike
 
The tires have never been mounted.I put the new tubes in them when I got them,and put in just a breath of air to hold the beads apart.They have been sitting in the back of the car ever since.I advertised to trade locally because I didn't want to get involved in shipping them.I can mount them backwards and paint the whitewalls for virtually nothing,so there is no reason for me to spend money or time on them.I just thought it would be a shame to paint over whitewalls somebody around here might want.For every legit offer I have had I've had a half dozen nutty ones.
 
In my experience craigslisters want everything on the cheap and the nut cases abound, I stopped using it. Do you really want these fruitcakes finding out where you live?
 
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