Conestoga Forum

Heres a Texas wagon. Complete and running Ultra Vista Champ with a 3 speed. Even looks like it has the script.

http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/2151090011.html

Al

If memory serves me right I think this was on EBay awhile back. Had a few more pictures also. Don't remember for sure but think part of the script, bottom of G, was broke off.

Tough buying something from Texas without seeing it up close and personal.

Later, Roger...

Yeah...It's really tuff to make out the script from these flix. Dont remember it on Ebay but I surely dont see em all. Whats up with Texas?

Al

TEXAS?
HOT & HUMID. Lots of rain from those storms out of the Gulf. Vehicles parked outside don't stand a chance. The Sun bakes the paint right off of them and if they are closed up, they rust from both the outside and the inside.

Texas Titles?
Let's just say they get looked at very hard when they are old and getting transferred to another state. 40, 50, 60 year's ago you didn't need any paper at all to get a Texas Title. Just walk in and say it was yours and away you went with a new Texas Title. Of course this also happened in other States BUT!!! A huge amount of vehicles used to get moved out of Texas and ended up in northern States. Correction, a lot of Texas Titles got moved out of Texas for vehicles that got sold out of state.

Watched as the FEDS walked into the Wholesaler I worked for in Pennsylvania back in the 70's. They asked for all the paperwork on almost a 100 vehicles bought and sold by them. Most Titles got traced back to Texas... Most if not all were fraudulent. They got very lucky since they were able to prove they bought them at Auction and were traceable back to Sellers at Auction.

As the Feds clamped down, a lot of Texas Titled Vehicles just got left in Texas to rot away. They got parked, sold, traded, etc. and just never got the title changed. Every so often one of those vehicles pops up and gets sold for parts or ?

That's my story and I'm sticken to it. Ha!!

Roger...

Roger.

Hmmm...it "looks"...good in those pictures. Too bad we can't enlarge them (without a bit of work AND being at home!) to better see what's there.

Even so..1800 bucks isn't a bad start.

I bought an 80something (83?) Suburban from a lot that bought cars from Texas. No rot, paint...ok, ran fine, no problem with the registration. It's just, for the reason I bought it...I decided I didn't want it..!
I bought it to tow my race car. It was a 1/2 ton. Well, I had to take a rear axle shaft out (actually both to redrill the bolt pattern) and when I saw the diameter of the axle/bearing surface...I thought..."that's pretty small to carry both this truck AND my race car (and trailer)". Sold it and bought a 3/4 ton..

Mike

Mike;

Like I said,"every so often one of those vehicles pops up" NOT every vehicle. I just suggested that you need to take a close look at those old vehicles in Texas that have been sitting around for decades. And that one seems to have been sitting there awhile.

Myself, I'd hate to buy something out of state, with the intention of getting it running, and then find out I can't get it titled in California. Or worse, also finding out that during shipping half the body feel off in transit. That's not a $1,800.00, plus shipping cost, chance I'd want to take. I also don't think I would be interested in pulling a trailer 3,000 plus miles round trip at 10 miles a gallon to go check it out. I guess I'm to cautious, or to cheap?

Just a old, poor, retired man's opinion.

Roger....

Side note You may find interesting.

Back in the 50's and early 60's wholesalers would buy 100's of used vehicles at a time out of California Auction Companies and ship, by Rail, back to the Rust Belt. Always able to sell a nice used vehicle from California for top dollar. It was cheap to ship back to the Rust Belt since the Big Three had shipped all the new vehicles out to the West Coast and needed the Rail Cars back for more new vehicles to be shipped back to the West Coast.

Just a bit of trivia.

Roger..

In our world of the Great White North, Texas cars are generally considered of the same desireability as a California vehicle. Up here we can tell ya'all about rust. Salt, Potash and whatever chemical configuation that will keep you connected to terra firma in the winter just eat winter drivers here. THEY? say that things are better regarding this than in the day. Horse pukey!

Al

HERE, HERE;

And I'll drink to that!!!!

Hell, I'll drink to damn near anything.

Roger...

Al -

Hmmm...never really thought of your rust problems. But it is always wet..!
But after spending a coupla weeks...WAY...up north (Prudhoe Bay), and seeing cars with engines running 24hrs a day...THAT was strange..! I went up there back in the mid 80's for work for a coupla weeks...long story..anyway, I thought, wow...I can't imagine the fuel bill during the cold days..! And the miles driven vs. engine rebuild schedules..gotta be horrible.

Mike