A very disturbing website

I found this website today. It disturbed me enough to want to share. These clowns are buying, what seems, every classic American car they can find and ship them to Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and anywhere else they can find a buyer, who is willing to pay a premium price, shipping and above all, the cost of the ugliest toy looking 20" chrome wheels money can buy. Every freakin' car on there had these "bling" rapper wheels with low profile tires that would go flat from a dime on the road. I shake my head at the thought that this is where our classic cars are going...at an alarming rate. My friend Corey, sold his '63 Lincoln Continental 4 Dr HT to a kid who wanted a cool ride..or so he was told. It was promptly sold for 3 times what the "Kid" paid Corey and shipped (and most likely fitted with the aformentioned "bling" Major league athlete wheels and tires) to Europe, never to be seen again cruising the streets of the good ol' USA. Now, I'm not sure if this only bugs the shit out of me, what do you guys think? By the way, nothing against Christian (59 Vista) at all, he wants to keep his original. I don't know the circumstances behind his ending up in Denmark or how he got it, that's not my point. I happy that he wants to keep it the way it was when it was built. My point really is these cars are being purchased below their market value and sold for a premium price abroad. Sorry the website is www.vintagedreamcars.com

That's pretty terrible but if they're willing to pay that much and americans aren't what the heck.

Christian's car used to be maybe 45 miles from me. I don't remember how he got a hold of it but I think it sold for a reasonable amount.

That doesn't bother me too much. Can't blame them for wanting some of the best cars that ever graced the planet at one time.

What bothers me is when perfectly restorable vintage cars are crushed simply because the price of scrap goes up. That pisses me off to no freakin end!!!

Yes it sucks but theres not much we can do besides buy up everything we can while we still can

I guess it's really not so much that they're shipping them out of the country that bothers me, but it's the big friggin' wheels that gets stuffed under them. Somebody told me recently, while looking at my car in the parking lot of a grocery store, that the car looked good, "but it sure would look better it if had some big Boyd wheels on it". I told him I want to keep it stock and thanked him for liking the car. His response was "well they would be cooler than those ugly stockers and white walls!". I shrugged it off...To each his own, I suppose. I agree that way too many cars that can be either restored or just put back on the road the way they are are getting crushed and sold for scrap. Most wrecking yards around here, once they get a car in, must surrender the title and either cannot or will not sell the car whole. They are more valuable for for parts or scrap. If they do sell the car, it is only for parts or repair sections. I have seen complete cars, like mine, that with a little elbow grease could be a running, driving car dropped off at a salvage yard because they don't have a title or "Mama" said "Get that thing out of my yard, I'm tired of looking at it!". Sad, because even without a title, they can be registered.

Thanks for excluding me . I have to admit that i got my car from a company that finds a car for you and import it - properbly much like the one you linked to.
However, like most of us, i did it to fulfill a dream of owning one of these magnificent cars.
I feel that it is my duty to keep it in good working order, and any modifications i make, is simply to make it as drivable and enjoyable as possible (i like cars that drive, rather than show objects).
Also i try to keep any change reversible, so that i can always go back to original.
By the way i just found a guy hwo can rebuild the AFB carb i got of e-bay, which means that i am going original 4 brl !.
I promise that as long as i own the car, no big shiny wheels is going on it. The only thing that would make me consider alternative wheel configuration would be a disc conversion, which would mean 15' steelies, and a cheater adaptor to use the original hubcabs.

Christian- I am glad you weighed in..You are a connisseur, that is the difference between you and the guys buying cars that are far from original and most could not be returned to what they were before being tranformed into a street machine. Maybe it's just me (I know it is!), but I only watched the T.V. Show's "American Hot Rod" and "Overhaulin'" once or twice ( I say twice because I had to make sure my eyes were not playing tricks on me), before changing the channel. Between Boyd Coddington's rants (and his pint-sized Shop Foreman) about how much people were paying for a car so far from what they actually started out as and turned into nothing more that a bondo-laden shell of their former existence. I was sickened at the thought of them doing the work (shoddy at that) in front of a camera crew and then bragging that the car was sold for $250,000!! Chip Foose is another story, he is a talented designer who, in his own right has come up with some astounding creations.. a far cry from Coddington's motley crew. I met both Coddington and Foose at Sema in Vegas in 2004. Two very different people, let me tell you! Foose being personable and friendly, with whom I spent almost a half hour speaking to. Coddington on the other hand was nothing more than a stuck up asshole. Fosse had people everywhere in his booth and around him, Coddington not so much. So it had nothing to do with either of them being too busy to talk to an ordinary guy like me........Boyd was just an ass! Now back to the original subject; Yes cars are just that: Cars. To some they are just tools, to some they are art, to others they are an extension of themselves and their vision of what they want their "investment" to be. To each his own, I respect that. I was shooting from the hip when I posted this and expected a bit of backlash from it and so far most agree, but that's what makes this country great, we can agree to disagree. But, I still think stuffing 20" wheels and 572 C.I.D. motor with 700 HP in a car that will never be driven for the sake of who can piss up a tree higher is not only stupid it's just wrong! Again, that's just my opinion. It's (sort of) surprising how many people actually agree with me on this!

I agree 100 %, and your findings regarding Foose vs Boyd totally agrees with my impression (from the shows). Foose is often shown doing some actual work, rather than shouting at someone else - add to that the fact that he seems to be very talented at just abot EVERY aspect of building a car, and that earns my respect.
I saw some episodes of american hotrod, and it just pissed me off to se them go out with a pile of money and buy a neatly restored classic, from someone who poured their heart into it, and take it home only to gut it to the bare metal, and discard of all the original parts. Why the hell not start with a parts car, and leave the nice one alone. . I mean no disrespect - build whatever you dream of, and it is cool with me, but this just seemed like a shameless demonstration of power abuse.

Christian- That is exactly my point. Funny, you mentioned them not using parts cars. Coddington did in fact use parts cars on a couple of his builds (that's what you saw on TV, but there were many more) and in 2005 was charged with several felonies in 2005 by the State of California for VIN swapping and title doctoring, which carried jail time and heavy fines. What got him in trouble was he was taking parts cars from wrecking yards and "restoring" them, obtaining titles from a guaranty company in Nevada and registering them. The main issue was the originality of the cars themselves (also emissions issues). The State said the cars were a far cry from restored, with almost 80% new parts not meant for that particular car (modern engine & drivetrain, interior, custom metal work, etc, etc,....you get the idea) they were so modified they could not be considered a classic car, for registration and emissions purposes. He pleaded guilty to Two misdemeanors paid a fine, made a donation to charity, and 200 hours community service and avoided jail time altogether. He had a guy here in Portland named Steve Frisbie, who owns Steve's Auto Restorations, mixed up in his scheme and almost took him down with him. Frisbie is not unlike Boyd in temperment, hires inexperienced kids and pays them little to some work, but they actually learn something. Some of Frisbies' cars will sell for $400,000 a piece. I have seen his cars under consruction and you will find no bondo whatsoever before painting!

I just read this old article about the cars sold for export.

If that can reassure you on the many self arriving in Europe. Very few models are exceptional. The matching numbers are rare. Many cars are equipped with garbage masked and wheels rappers. The only winners are the networks of importers, it is lamentable.

Every time I go to an auto import for a friend, I am disappointed. The last was a 66 Chevelle.
The engine was a 350 ci and 85, with trans th 700, of wheel rapper, painted yellow with black vinyl, instead of the original green, hidden corrosion ... and the list goes on. Price € 19,000 ($ 23,750 us).
For 5 years this phenomenon is amplified. With us today is the fashion of the Ford Mustang. Good or rotten, it takes about $ 26,250 for a car that sells it to you between $ 12 000 and $ 14 000.