[rjbh20]

Originally Posted by Historybuff

In answer to the one repeated question as to why I want to know I said I am not trying to find out these successful techniques for personal use; so I will amplify that, because I think the market is too shaky to invest in old cars in the hope they will appreciate. The only money I ever made was in real estate and publishing. If I buy an old car it will be for myself and something totally useless for anyone else once I get done building it to my whims (which involve combining it with certain jet aircraft parts...)
I am only interested in what worked for others on this forum because really buying a car is a process of negotiation.It is not at all like buying a new car because there is a built in ego problem with buying a derelect collector car. Many guys with a project car are unwilling to admit to themselves they will never finish it; yet it is a point of pride that, if they sell it,they will be tacitly admitting to the world that they failed at their mission of "bringing it back to stock condition." Hence, it takes some knowledge of psychology to convince them it's OK to let it go. I have a friend like that; he's got my ultimate dream car (bizzarrini strada5300) , rotting away in his back yard but won't hear of selling it. He knows it's increased 10 times in value since he bought it even rotting away but yet would never pay modern day restoration prices ($100 an hour ) to restore it. But this guy is way too smart to use any standard techniques to wrest it from him; I have thought only a gorilla with a rubber hose might work

Oh, one other idea I forgot and I think I used once is to march the potential seller over to a new car dealer and buy them any car on the lot equal to what you want to pay for the old heap. Sometimes that goes a long way toward soothing their hurt in admitting they will never finish the old car.

With another car, one time, a GT40, I offered 100K but the guy's demand was too high, i.e. "I want to buythe forest around my cabin in all directions as far as I can see." I think Greg still has the car...

What kind of publishing?