Yeah Mike, I go through that phase every so often it seems. But then White's Disease sets in and the empty space sucks in more junk.

I think your thoughts reflect a reality that is creeping through the hobby. A lot of neat ol' stuff has been showing up on the market the last few years. Stuff that 10 - 20 years ago folks said "you can't find anymore, it's all gone." Well, those that became old farts were just "hoardin'", or preserving if you wish, those little bits of historical automotive detris. They are either passing away and leaving their family to deal with it, or looking ahead as you seem to be.

My problem may be that old habits are hard to break. Like Dave I have a separate fund for the car stuff, been that way for decades. And the way that fund grew was a combination of inflation and parts recycling. I'm sure most of us have done something like this. Need some vintage drums, come across a complete rear end that, because of it's bulk is often hard to sell so you get it "cheap" cause the seller just wants it gone. Buy the whole rearend, check the drums, if you're lucky they still have life in them, then part out the rest of the stuff making back what you laid out initially, maybe a little more, and......the drums are "free" (well, ignoring the sunk labor value). Except some of the pieces don't find a home right away.........meaning something less than 10 years.

I've been running ads on CL pretty regularly for the past year and a half, and occasionally on some other classified online car sites (kinda backed away from ebay since they turned somewhat less friendly to non-business sellers). Sales have slowed this year compared to last, though I don't know if that's regional or national. I've noticed that the older the part, the younger the buyer..............that traditional thing I guess. I've enjoyed meeting some of the younger local guys, they have a real enthusiasm for this rod thing, refreshing.