hidey hole 2

[joedoh]

went on an invited trip with a good buddy for a look at a hidey hole.

this is what I saw when I googled the address.

hmm. thats a good looking view


the guy doing the inviting had this in his driveway, another good sign.

and when we pulled up, this was their "got get it" tow machine, a strong running KB10

after a couple gallons of DEET we started walking the property. we got there about 10 before the sun was high and the weather was actually pretty nice for august in kansas. there were lots of buildings, old rail cars, cranes, but what there were a lot of and I mean 100 of the 150 cars and trucks we looked at were 67-79 ford trucks. I dont dislike them, I wanted to build one a long time ago, but I dont need 100 of them haha. this is how everything was interspersed, buildings towed onto the property (there was a 1700 sq ft house on beams being towed by a cabover what-else-but-a ford)

the guys I went with were in love with the fords but I had my chevy hat on so they knew I was a little bored. one said "there is a chevy" and I bored them right back with my "ACKTCHUALLY thats a gmc because it has leaf springs and diff hood and grille..."

I actually made my first purchase right there. no, not the GMC, the little toyota pu in front of it, I had one in 1994 and loved it, white, std cab, 2wd. cost me all of $100 bill, a pretty good sign if you ask me.

my heart stopped on this one, I saw the front fender badge and thought GTO, but it was a 326 badge on a lemans. still pretty nice shape though! he priced it to me, I am thinking about it. there was an older 770 rambler behind it, someone will want it I told him.

another toyota, a 4x4 this time (dont worry, it will get better). I took this picture because you dont see SFA toyotas much any more. this one was missing its 22R but was all there besides.

68 mustang, he was at $1000 and i told him he would get it but not from me. II was more interested in the chevy 108 van in front of it.

look at the size of this diesel, it says general motors diesel on the valve cover and didnt have a supercharger so I figure it wasnt a detroit but go ahead and compare it to the chevy fullsize van beside it! I think it was from one of the cranes on the property, of which there were 4.

parlez vous français? a simca mille in a kansas field. surreal.

more next post

 

[Bamamav]

The Mustang is a 67. Tell by the louvers behind the door, 67 only that style.

 

[joedoh]

thanks bam! did I mention I was wearing my chevy hat? haha

a 1/2 mile in and I found the stuff I wanted

purchase #2, willys overland truck. I got it because pops has done an amazing job on his.

purchase 3, an insanely complete 58 international 4x4 shortbed. I knew my brother would want it and even without cell service I took a chance (I was right!)

purchase 4, a 49 F1. I have wanted one for a while, there it is. the front end is around somewhere!

purchase 5, a fire truck 4400. I bought it because 1) its red, you cant legally refuse to buy red trucks look it up its in the thing and 2) I think I actually have the drivers door to this truck in my stash of parts.

an ooooold rail car. I wanted some floor boards because they are usually 3-4 inch thick hardwood but this one was rotted away.

starsky and hutch, and starsky and hutch!

6 ton jack, had to have it

ii thought I had a better picture but this was an international loader with a 3 pt backhoe that someone had put a ford twin i beam front suspension on. I told you they loved ford trucks!

left to right, the old house, the cabover ford hauling the new house, an early falcon (sold) and the workshop, still on beams from moving.

this was an old semi wrecker (as in a wrecker for semis), tandem axle and big deck, still runs, doesnt know if he wants to sell it. big girl, and you pronounce big with a couple included huhs like BUHUH-huhHIG GIRL.

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Thanks for the tour. [cl

Every red-blooded male should have a fire truck and I'm envious, though I wonder how and why you have the missing door. Who sells a door off a fire truck while the complete fire truck sits in the bush? [S

.

 

[joedoh]

the chances of it being the same door are small, but it has the same mirror and wouldnt that be crazy?

 

[redidbull]

That is so cool. I always wonder when I see things like this is how do you a mass such a quantity of "stuff" like that. I am assuming that that is a collection past down for generations. Jim

 

[Old Iron]

Thanks for taking the time to post the pics for us

 

[maverickmk]

Let me know if you pass on the Lemans, I would like to get a look at it. If it has the drive train.

 

[Burgerman]

Great Tour Joe. Thank you for bringing us along. Can't help but think about domestic tranquility. [S Always wanted a fire truck. [dr

 

[joedoh]

no domestic trouble burg, I have the 30x50 to hide everything!

maverick the lemans has been stripped, no drivetrain or grilles or lights. its sitting flat on the ground no wheels in a low area that floods in rain, i would bet money the frame would buckle if they lifted it. that tree has been growing in the back of it for at least 3 decades, slowly pushing it around. here is another picture.

there are also 4 ford trucks visible in that picture!

here are a few more pictures. I thought this was a bmw motorcycle but its not a boxer.

another international, this one a 2wd

another later international

the buildings were full of old stuff, like this water can

another international (my brother is a 5 star salesman)

here is that picture I mentioned of the twin i beam conversion to the IH tractor.

I think this is a White semi, he called it something else.

there was a corner we didnt go to because he said it was mostly semi trucks, but looking around on google maps there was a couple early econoline vans and even an old 50s ice cream truck, so when I go back I will visit that area.


and I have to keep the location a secret, I wasnt the guy inviting I was invited along (and bought more than anyone haha). but the main reason is the guy said he had encountered two different types of people when showing the property. the first would walk the property without interest or offering a piddling amount, then would come back later and steal what they could. he made it clear the property had cameras and various anti-theft security. the second type would negotiate a deal, shake hands and never come back. he wants to clean up the property and build on it, he is not attached to anything. if scrap werent under 40 a ton most if not all of this would be gone.

which is a shame for all those longbed ford trucks I guess. I only saw one shortbed next to the mustang and it was the latest model there, an 80 I think. there were 3 supercabs, which I am told are hard to find.

I will go back and assess what I can save.

 

[DozerII]

Awesome joe thanks for sharing opps

 

[Tripper]

Been a *long* time since I've seen a Simca! [ddd

BoB

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Dozer called you a hoe!

.

 

[Bamamav]

The semi you called a White looks to me to be either a B model Mack or possibly a Brockway. If it’s a Brockway, it’s really a B model Mack, because Brockway bought Mack cabs and built their own front ends, hoods and fenders.

Looks like whoever owned all that stuff never threw anything away! How in the heck are you gonna get what you bought out? Looks like everything will have to be cut around before you can even figure out what to move to get to your stuff.

I walked a yard like that several years ago, it all ended up going to scrap when the prices went sky high. I bought the complete interior out of a wrecked VW Bug with 5,000 miles on it that had been sitting 20 years, even being that old, it was like new. Best $50 I ever spent!

 

[maverickmk]

Yeah, I'll pass on that Lemans.

 

[joedoh]

I dont think its a mack bam, I think its a white WC on a later chassis. he kept calling it a reo, but he called the diamond t a reo too so who knows

see the body lines on the back of the cab?

anyway, I will go back out possibly in the fall and check it again when the brush is down.

 

[Bamamav]

Could be a REO. They were another one of those companies that bought cabs from other companies and built their own front ends. Sometimes they changed some things for their brand, others just bolted them on as is. The history of commercial truck manufacturers is deep and amazing to get into. Lots of overlap between the competition!

Looking at the area, besides the ticks and other insects, I would have been scared of snakes! When I was younger I’d waded right in there, now, I think twice before jumping in a place like that!

 

[Bamamav]

I reckon I had a brain fart when I typed that last reply! White bought out Diamond T, REO, and Autocar, and also owned Western Star and Freightliner for a time. So it’s very possible they used a White cab and stuck a different name plate on it. In later years, White sold off Western Star and Freightliner, who later merged, and White merged with GMC. I owned a WhiteGMC as they were called. They then merged with Volvo, dropped the GMC name plate, and became Volvo White for a time, until the White name was dropped completely.

Sorry for the history lesson, but thought it might clear up why two different named trucks from two supposed different companies could look almost alike.

 

[Burgerman]

Would be fun to tag along next time you go. Looking forward to more photos.
Appreciate the history Bama.

 

[joedoh]

well to close the loop, its a white on a later chassis.


and to really close the loop, i am not going back out there. inevitably, it always seems to happen, these farmer guys get to talking to their friends and relatives who have no intention of buying anything and between all the jawing get the idea that the only people who have ever come out there with money are robbing them blind.

I picked up my toyota, and the chevy fire truck on one run, well two toyotas, two runs, they pulled the wrong one the first time and i bought it too, the SFA 4x4, so as not to waster the 100 mile trip. my friend had his trailer there and we got the international for my brother (it turned out not to be a 4x4, a really complete B100).

after that the prices changed (read, quadrupled). so I left the ford, the willys, and another 5 window chevy i found. my friend got some 460 ford trucks and the lemans before everything went south.

I honestly dont understand why people listen to other people who ARENT buying about the prices selling to people who ARE buying. ridiculous.

I found some ranger wheels to keep the toyota from attracting terrible attention.

the centerbore of the ranger is too small but I heard of guys using a router and a bearing flush bit to open them up and whaddayaknow it worked.

i got the brakes freed up on the international and send my brother a link to an AMAZING deal on a prewar international metro milk van (teardrop lights and a roll up rear door! on a 1/2 ton chassis!!) that was semi local so he had a shipper pick em all up.

i wish things were different, last news was we got a call from them to come look again, but I turned it down. not driving 100 miles unloaded to come home empty.