fryske:
This is another one that needs saving…
What a beauty, can’t you just picture that old girl fully restored 
Although i’m not as many years as you into the old motors,i can truly understand what you say. I’ve heard all that crab people saying to avoid selling. Unfortunatelly it’s exactly the same here in Greece.
I remember one day visited a friend and while making rounds trying to find his house i faced a Mercedes L312 parked at the side of the street. Easily i found the owner who was an old man. He said that his brother had to agree to sell it. I got his phone number and called the next weeks again and again without any answer. At that period i wanted to buy such a truck so i decided to visit him and try to persuade him. I did visit him several times , had coffee with him and discuss old stories. Finally one day he rang and told me that he decided to sell and go there to discuss the price. One “minor” detail i discovered that day was that he had no papers at all for the truck. That meant that i couldn’t put it on the road or worst , one day somebody may say “what is my truck doing in your yard” . So the truck was only for spares for a future project , and i had to buy another with papers to make one of two.Let me tell you that the truck was stopped for at least 15 years and he didn’t let me try to fire it up to check the engine being afraid of make a damage. It would be a blind buy. Under that circumstances I offered him 800 euro. The scrap price was at the time less than 500 euros minus the crane expenses. He denied the offer unpolitelly and said it was much less than he was thinking (3000 euros).I thanked him and gave up.
About one year after i informed from my friend that the old man forced by the municipal authority to remove the truck from the spot. After he asked the world’s scrappers for the better price he ended to the best who gave him 300 euros…I will never forget the old man’s behavior.
Regards Costas
albion1938:
I’ve been into old motors for about 50 years now. owned a few and tried to buy a few more interesting ones. I wouldn’t mind a quid for every time I’ve heard;
“That was dad’s, it’s not for sale, I’m going to do it up one day”
or; “No, I’m hanging on to it, they’re going to be worth a lot of money one day”
only to see the yard cleared by the scrappie a short while after.Further to Rush Green. There was another well-known yard not too far from me, absolutely chocka with old stuff, including unused ex-military Bedford OYs and similar lined and stacked up. About 25 years ago I was looking for an Albion engine. 'Phoned the yard, when I eventually got through, he said he’d got what I wanted, I had to make an appointment to meet the bloke there at a certain time on a Sunday morning. He arrived, unlocked the yard, locked up behind us and took me to look at the engine. It was the wrong one, had obviously been dragged round and round the yard for years, all the projections on the block casting were broken off, unusable. He suggested I could use my engine to make one out of two. I pointed out that the engine was so different the bits wouldn’t fit. Out of interest I asked how much? £200! (remember 25 years ago, and it was just fit for scrap). Then he said, “hold on, I know the one you want, got a good one here somewhere”. “Let’s have a look” I said. “No, not now” says he “I’ll be late home for my dinner, I’ll sort it out and give you a ring, tell you what though, there’s a radiator for yours over here look.” He took me to a pile of scrap metal. on the top sure enough was a rad for my motor, well almost. It was a top tank (cracked,) with one side frame attached and the remains of a honeycomb. " Make one out of two" he says. “No thanks”. “Alright then” says he, “I’ll sort that engine out for you in the week and give you a ring”. Despite several reminders from me 'til I gave up, I’ve never had that call!
Bernard
Gr Diesels:
Although i’m not as many years as you into the old motors,i can truly understand what you say. I’ve heard all that crab people saying to avoid selling. Unfortunatelly it’s exactly the same here in Greece.
About one year after i informed from my friend that the old man forced by the municipal authority to remove the truck from the spot. After he asked the world’s scrappers for the better price he ended to the best who gave him 300 euros…I will never forget the old man’s behavior.Regards Costas
Hey Costas, Are the green boys at yours too, hunting the old lovelies it’s a shame. With a result that they go to a scrapyard. Such owners must be forced to sell them by auction and only on anthusiasts and no traders.
As you win the auction you must be able to prove that you restore it or use it for your own,as parts you can use for you own wagons,so prices can’t be too high in such circumstances.
Here in belgium you don’t have to be shocked that the price of a rotten Scania 110 bonnet or Volvo F88 for restauration is the same as a used about six year old wagon (let’s say a MAN TGA) a real shame.Greetings Eric,
On a brighter note. My arthritis is not improving with age and climbing under old lorries in an ever increasing race against time stops me from saving more vehicles. BUT !! I try these days to pass on any ‘finds’ I have on my travels, to people with the time, the money and the persuasive skills to wrench a new born baby from it’s mother’s arms !! Not all of these leads have been successful but I do try give out this information although it breaks the heart to pass them up for myself. I’ll post some pics of my successes (and failures) here. I’ll caption the pics to let you know the outcome. Some of these vehicles were in almost pristine condition considering some of the wrecks that are brought back to life by the good souls out there with a passion for preserving old lorries, more power to their elbows ( Christ they need it I can tell you)
I would be interested to know if any of these motors marked ‘Uncertain’ did find their way into preservation.
