nonextant

Hi,

I am about to pull the trigger and buy my first parts car. The interior is shot, but I figure it would be useful to have a car I can pull apart and compare to my car. Besides, I really need the instrument cluster and enough little odds and ends to justify the price.

I just wanted to see if anyone else needed anything off an '82.

Thanks,

Mark

Randy V

Hopefully you have a large space and understanding neighbours.

nonextant

I wish. Since the military has me in Washington and my wife is still in Colorado, I am literally living in a trailer at the end of a runway!

James Bailey

What year is your car ?? sadly most of the things you might need will probably be nearly as bad on the "parts" car.

nonextant

I have an 82. As long as the instrument cluster is in better shape than mine I'll be happy.

tmpusfugit

I was able to buy a good replacement cluster from Mark Benton for $75 (less speedometer) Having scrapped out an '81 parts car also I would not consider buying another just to have a cluster, a lot of work anyway you cut it....and as James Bailey suggests most of what you will need on your car will most likely be badly worn or broken from the parts car. Ask me how I know.....

By the way, if you do buy a parts car make certain you get a good title with it...in some areas of the country it is impossible to scrap a chassis without one, and you open yourself up to a lot of unplesant possibilities on things like the engine/tranmission unless you have a good title..... Ask me how I know.....

Mrmerlin

thanks for the info Jim D about the title

tmpusfugit

Learned that one the hard way.....cost me a lot of time, frustration, work, and $$$$, just because I bought a car with obviously no title from a police abandoned vehicle auction...didn't matter, still needed a good clear title to junk it....and that was not readily forth comming....."gee, this car was reported stolen 5 years ago, the insurance paid off on it, they own it, not you" etc etc...went down hill from there....very rapidly....

Mrmerlin

yikes sounds like not a good story

tmpusfugit

Actually it is a great lesson in civics and how well intended laws affect law abiding citizens and have no affect on the crimes and criminals they are intended to control. The obvious intent of the "title required to scrap" is to prevent chop shops from being able to get rid of stolen cars., at least get rid of them easily As a side note I have not seen any reduction in stolen cars in the Houston area crime rate since these laws were put into effect. What has happened is the incidence of chassis dumped in empty lots, off road woods, and even along the roadside is way up. Cars still get stolen in the same percentages as before, they get chopped if not loaded into a container, and in many cases I suspect the chassis get loaded into scrap containers with other scrap as is anyhow. But if you or I try to scrap one out pops the "you have to have a title" rule...bill of sale from the police department is no good....bitter pill right there...I, in theory at least, bought a stolen car from the police department, and it is my problem, not theirs......and oh by the way Harris county is now looking for more tax dollars to clean up all the abandoned vehicles littering the roadsides, lots, and so forth....

I mention needing titles just because of the ramifications that few understand until they get sideways on a no title car. As a long time hot rodder I hate to think the number of times I have bought and sold on a bill of sale....in many cases there has been no other option....a 1929 Ford cadaver may not have ever had a title, or it may have be last titled 70 years ago far far away and there is no chassis number or serial number to be found.....just all food for thought...and I will never buy another car without a clear title!

SQLGuy

That's awesome. I wonder if your local TV station might want to do a bit on the PD's side business in resale of stolen vehicles.

tmpusfugit

as often the case, there is more to the story...firstly, the car was purchased from a police auction far far from here 3+years ago. The police department had done due diligence in having contacted the last owner of record as well as the insurance company. No one was interested in doing anything with it from what I can tell.

These auctions are "as is, where is" and they really do mean that in the strictest sense of the law. The vehicle was abandoned and then unclaimed in the time frame required by law. Hence they could legally sell it, but that does nothing for the title process. The title can be cleared with proper paper work on the part of the last owner, the insurance company, and the selling police department, but the question then become how much work and $$$ and time do you want to commit to collecting $48 in scrap sales? The answer is several hundred dollars, about 35 hr's of work, about $80 in FedEx overnight charges, $20 in notary fees, $33 in Texas title fees, $40 in sales taxes, some amount I forget in penality fees, on and on.....

My recommendation: no clear/clean title, run forrest, run......one of the big lies "no problem, I can help you get a title"...right up there with "I won't get you pregnant" and "the check is in the mail"

James Bailey

All one needs to do is cut the car into 4 pieces and most metal scrap dealers will accept it one piece at a time. And chop shops are called chop shops because they usually chop the chassis into smaller chunks throw bits into other business dumpsters, spray oil on them to render any fingerprints useless. But yes the reason cars have titles is to prove and convey OWNERSHIP......buying cars with no title is a bad idea.

Tampa 928s

I received a notice 1 month ago for towing fees on a jet Ski I gave away in 95. The party never registered it it was abandoned in Orlando apartment lot and I got stuck with the bill $395.00. Florida law states that the last registered owner is responsible and is required to pay all towing, storage and legal fees which could come up to 2K. The kicker is if I did not pay it I cannot register any other car in the future. Can you say towing lobby, no tax increases just fee increases. My brother went through the same thing with a parts car; 84 Seville, owner is gone never registered and he could not sell it to a metal recycling plant. Then the county said he will be fined $50.00 a day until he removes the car from behind his fence. Government regulations run amok, think about this the next time you vote.
Don't do it!

James Bailey

California you send in a release of liabilty notice to DMV when you sell. That way if it is not registered by the new owner you are off the hook....because otherwise if the new "owner" crashes into a school bus full of nuns before he registers it you as the legal owner of the car might just get sued for letting an unlicenced, uninsured person drive YOUR car !