Thursday, April 01, 2010
Economic Experimentation
As most of my friends know, for most of my life my father was in the junk business. He would tear down buildings, cut up tanks, bale metal, and crush cars - all in the name of earning a living.
Growing up I spent most of my summers working for him. Dad was old school in his approach to the business, no Internet, little if any advertising, just hard work doing the dirty jobs most others wouldn't.
For years, I've wondered how Dad's business would work with an injection of the information age. Partly to satisfy my curiosity, partly to hang on to the special memories I have of my dad, and partly to make some new memories with my own son, I have been conducting some small "economic experiments" with the help of Craigslist and Dad's ramp truck.
Exhibit one: "The Volvo"
More specifically, a 93 Volvo 940 Turbo. Blown head gasket. Purchase price $150. Two of the original wheels sold on eBay for $50 (net). The other two wheels sold for $20 for scrap. The rest of the car sold for $280 at the shredder. The best part was the look on OBB's face when the frontend loader busted out the windows to lift the car off the ramp truck.
Exhibit two: "The Camaro"
More specifically, an 86 IROC Z skeleton. No nose, no doors, no interior. Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture. Purchase price $75. There wasn't much left, but I made the best of what remained. The intake plenum and valve body sold on eBay for $50 (net). The instrument cluster sold on eBay for $85 (net). The remainder of the car sold for $200.
Exhibit three: "The Ranger"
More specifically, an 86 Ford Ranger. Bad clutch and some front end damage. Purchase price $200. Really I was interested in this one for the wheels and tires it had on it. The tires fit nicely on my Ford Probe (aka my wanna be racecar.) I felt bad about junking this truck. It was the only Ford Ranger I have ever seen with dual fuel tanks. On the other hand, I found a small portion of a certain controlled substance in the ash tray that smelled like Otto's jacket. So, I didn't waste anytime getting this one to the shredder where I received $270.
I am not making any judgements about my grand experiment yet. A couple more are in the process of being "monitized." An 84 Z28 Camaro and a 93 Mazda Protege. Right now I am in the "hole" on these two. We'll have to wait and see how I do.
Growing up I spent most of my summers working for him. Dad was old school in his approach to the business, no Internet, little if any advertising, just hard work doing the dirty jobs most others wouldn't.
For years, I've wondered how Dad's business would work with an injection of the information age. Partly to satisfy my curiosity, partly to hang on to the special memories I have of my dad, and partly to make some new memories with my own son, I have been conducting some small "economic experiments" with the help of Craigslist and Dad's ramp truck.
Exhibit one: "The Volvo"
More specifically, a 93 Volvo 940 Turbo. Blown head gasket. Purchase price $150. Two of the original wheels sold on eBay for $50 (net). The other two wheels sold for $20 for scrap. The rest of the car sold for $280 at the shredder. The best part was the look on OBB's face when the frontend loader busted out the windows to lift the car off the ramp truck.
Exhibit two: "The Camaro"
More specifically, an 86 IROC Z skeleton. No nose, no doors, no interior. Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture. Purchase price $75. There wasn't much left, but I made the best of what remained. The intake plenum and valve body sold on eBay for $50 (net). The instrument cluster sold on eBay for $85 (net). The remainder of the car sold for $200.
Exhibit three: "The Ranger"
More specifically, an 86 Ford Ranger. Bad clutch and some front end damage. Purchase price $200. Really I was interested in this one for the wheels and tires it had on it. The tires fit nicely on my Ford Probe (aka my wanna be racecar.) I felt bad about junking this truck. It was the only Ford Ranger I have ever seen with dual fuel tanks. On the other hand, I found a small portion of a certain controlled substance in the ash tray that smelled like Otto's jacket. So, I didn't waste anytime getting this one to the shredder where I received $270.
I am not making any judgements about my grand experiment yet. A couple more are in the process of being "monitized." An 84 Z28 Camaro and a 93 Mazda Protege. Right now I am in the "hole" on these two. We'll have to wait and see how I do.
