I see the Forum has been pretty quite, so I'll try to stir things up with an update on my attempts to sell Freddie.
My attempts to sell Freddie have been tentative, to say the least, but I have made some attempts. She has been listed here on the Rainier Falcons site, of course, but also in the Boeing employee’s classified ads, and in the Seattle Times NWAutos classified ads, both on-line and in print editions. There have been no “nibbles” from any of those listings.
I also have been parking the car at the end of our driveway on weekends with “For Sale” signs in her while we’ve been out working in the yard. She has attracted quite a bit of attention from this! Many people have stopped to look, but there are a couple of exchanges worthy of stories:
On one occasion, three girls stopped to look. One of them seemed really excited! As I approached, two of them seemed very young and one seemed a bit older. The older one approached, and introduced herself and her two daughters. The one that was exited was her oldest daughter who was just about to graduate from high school, and was going to need a car to commute to college. She, the daughter, really, really, REALLY liked Freddie! I showed them the car, explained its mechanical situation (freshly rebuilt modified engine and transmission, etc.). The mother explained what the car would be used for, if they bought it, and asked if I thought it could be reliable transportation for her daughter. I said, “Well, yeah, but it’s kind of a beast to drive.” She asked what I meant by that, and I offered to take them for a ride. We all piled in and I fired her up. “The first issue is that she’s pretty cold-blooded when you first start her up…” as I feathered the throttle for a few seconds until she would idle on her own. “Oh, that’s okay Mom, I can do that!” the daughter interjected. I explained that I had expected that the buyer of this car would probably need to be someone with some mechanical savvy because of its “unique character.” I told her about the Rainier Falcons and the technical expertise among its members. “I can learn from them!” proclaimed the daughter from the back seat. As we drove around the block, the mother told me her late father had been a mechanic, but that she had not inherited his mechanical aptitude. She had inherited his tools, however. “I’m sure the Rainier Falcons would like to get to know you,” I said. She may not have had “mechanical aptitude” but she seemed to know the right questions to ask. (“Are there any rust issues?” I pulled back the driver’s foot well carpet and showed her the ground beneath the car.) By the end of our conversation, the mother and I had pretty much agreed this wouldn’t be a good car for her daughter. “We’ll talk to her dad” the mom said as they departed. The daughter was still pleading passionately with her mother as they drove away.
On another occasion, an older guy (about my age) drove up and was looking at it. He had been at a garage sale down the street and saw it. He was on his cell phone talking to someone, and a few minutes later, his wife showed up. They really liked the car. I showed them the car, explained its modifications and its [challenging] history. He had done restoration work on an old Mustang in the past, so he seemed ideal to perhaps take Freddie to “the next level”. We discussed price, briefly, and he then proposed a trade. He has an antique tractor that he wanted to trade, plus some money, of course…. “I’m not really interested in taking on another project…” was all I could say. I think my wife is still hoping they’ll come through with a money-only offer, but I’m not holding my breath.
We'll probably re-list her on NWAutos, and I'll be taking her to some shows with For Sale signs in the windows. In short, I've still got her, and she's still for sale!
Gary MacDonald
ROGER's...
EX... '63 Hardtop
Had...
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Originally Posted by Jeff W
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