I'm a Clunker-holic

BangShift.com

I can’t say that I pride myself on being a champion of the environment or even really ever going out of my way to save trees, dolphins, owls, or any other limited edition woodland creature. What I can say is that I like old things and by way of that, I’m not someone who buys a lot of new things that consume resources like dolphins, owls, and limited edition woodland creatures. Recently I took a look around and saw just how much of my stuff is second hand. I was totally surprised to find that virtually all of the stuff I really like has been owned by someone else, and more accurately, was once someone’s trash.

That sounds like a nightmare and you’re already getting a mental picture that looks like something out of a horror movie, but hear me out on this. I have decent stuff, it’s used stuff, but it is decent. If the government’s nightmarish “Cash For Clunkers” program were expanded in some Orwellian fashion (and somehow I seem to think that’s something that could actually happen) future hot rodders will not have access to the good junk that I did and that most of us have in our time as tinkering recyclers.

My lawn tractor, a 1970s vintage Wheel Horse, was advertised on CraigsList as scrap metal. Naturally, I was broke at the time. My wife and I had just purchased our house and I had always wanted a lawn tractor. I drove out to find a heap of tractor parts sitting under a tarp in the “seller’s” driveway. After looking it over and judging that at least 75 percent of the parts were there (all the necessary stuff none of those “extra” parts that accumulate while assembling things) I loaded all the pieces into a work van and drove home. In the span of a weekend I had my lawn tractor and in some small way saved a woodland creature by stopping the potential construction of a new tractor that I would have bought. Continue reading at BangShift.com

Barnstormin': I'm a Clunker-holic

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Posted at 8:53 am in BangShift.com, Brian Lohnes

Comments

PureBusiness
Aug 15, 2009 at 1:03 am

10-4

satty12
Aug 14, 2009 at 6:52 pm

Every thing i own is second hand my tv computer my 2 xbox 360s car you name it, hell if it didnt break or is cheaply repairable go second hand instead of buying brand new hell almost anything made brand new wont last nearly as long anyway things are now made to be replaced within 5 years so go ahead buy that 1970s cadilac eldorado it will still be running long after any of the new caddys are gone.

dragorphan
Aug 13, 2009 at 6:11 pm

I agree totaly that old cars are better for the enviroment. How many miles would an old car have to be driven to equal the polution of one prius being built by toyota.

1lowscort
Aug 13, 2009 at 11:57 am

My newest vehicle is an 89 Cherokee. I still can’t tell myself to get rid of it, even though the trans is shot and it needs various other crap to get it running and driving properly. The body is still completely rust-free and the interior is quite decent. I have saved many a car from the scrap heap. My lawn mower is an old International push mower from the 60′s(I love that thing, no safety features whatsoever). It was free. My computer was new when I got it…4 years ago. My first new computer. I browse the “free” section of Craigslist daily, as there is usually something worth looking at. It disgusts me how much of a throw away society we have become.

FuryPaul
Aug 13, 2009 at 11:39 am

I hate throwing away anything that might be useful down the road. I have an entire tub enclosure that I salvaged from the remodel of the bathroom at my mother’s house, intending to install it at my place. It’s been sitting in the corner for about ten years. I have the varnished-up original gas tank from my ’67 Fury resting against the shed. I even have a 1980 Craftsman 4hp gas-engine mower sitting beside the shed. It has a bent crank and hasn’t run since 2001, but I couldn’t make myself take it to the dump because maybe one day I’ll find another motor to put on that deck (and because it doesn’t have the stupid deadman bar on it like all the new ones do).
And, of course, I’m still driving an 18-year-old car with rust and non-working accessories because it’s good on gas.

GTwildfire
Aug 13, 2009 at 9:21 am

I have never bought a new car or motorcycle, and probably never will. Money has always been tight, and only time reveals whether or not a certain type of vehicle is worth owning or not. Tinkering is a requirement to make this philosophy successful, otherwise the cost of obtaining and trying to maintain all these used things would be too great.