Hoarders...I Mean Collectors

Collectors

A lot of car enthusiasts are collectors. My wife prefers the term hoarders. We have our cars, and models of our cars, and pictures of our cars, and dealer brochures, and gas station signs and juke boxes in our garages. We immerse ourselves in all the stuff we think is cool. It’s cathartic, like green tea and yoga.

Over the years I’ve collected hundreds of plastic model kit and thousands (really, thousands) of toy cars. Juke boxes, pinball, gumball, pachinko; I’ve got ‘em. Car parts; there’s another one the wife doesn’t understand.

“Why did you buy a hood for a ’69 Chevelle? You don’t even have a ’69 Chevelle!”

“But if I get one, now I have a near perfect hood, and it was a deal”

Engines, hoods, fenders, manifolds, seats; oh my.          

The hunt is addicting. Swap meets are like the gear head version of casinos. Usually you walk away a little poorer but you have a good time. Once in a while you win. I mean if you were looking for an original ’69 Chevelle hood, what are your odds? So when you see one you pick it up. Right? Right? Help me out here. And I might need it someday. I have parts that haven’t seen daylight in 20 years.

I’ve been in garages that were piled hip deep in parts and junk so you couldn’t get across if you needed to. And I’ve been in some that were set up as nice and neat as any museum. Mine falls somewhere in the middle. But I’ve never been in a hot rodder’s garage that empty.

That’s not even to mention support fleet. RV’s, pickups, scooters, snow mobiles. I don’t know about the rest of you but I had gotten to the point where if I wanted to get something out of my 40’x60’ shed, it was a two hour job to jump start or push out enough junk to get to it.

When I got serious about finishing the Mustang, I had to simplify. I sold the RV, several go carts, mini bikes, moped, a couple of cars I was never going to get to, etc. etc. Not only did this free up the time I spent moving and maintaining all this equipment, it also freed up cash for the main project.

I am still downsizing the junk in my life but I don’t think I will ever reach “minimalist”. Especially now that the little guy has joined us, I suppose he will need a bike; and a go-cart and a four wheeler and ’69 Chevelle. See dear! That’s why I bought that hood. Told ya…

Any other hoarders, I mean collectors out there?  Send in pictures of your collections. Are you the neat collector or the stacker? Consider this the help your significant says you need. We can discuss your problem and help you come to grips with the fact that you don’t need two six-pack intakes on the shelf, especially when I don’t have one.

I’m still selling a lot of model car stuff on eBay, check out outlawsoup. Need money and room for the dune buggy.