Genuwine Council Lock up Finds

[sierraman]

If there’s one thing that really girdles my loins it’s the thought of finding something old, shit, rusty and uneconomical to restore in a grim damp lock up. What are your stories or pictures about finding engineless ruins in long forgotten damp fusty garages? 

[New POD]

My parents bought a derelict house in 2001. This house: 

So not a council lock up exactly. But said to have been empty for 10 years at least. 

After they had the offer accepted they took us to look at it. 

There was an R reg mid 1970s Renualt 5 in red. In the garage.  Broken rear window. Flat tyres. 

Apart from "please don't buy this Dad, it's falling down" I also said "is the Car included, because promise me, if it's still there you'll let me deal with it.  I'll find some enthusiast who wants it" 

And then I forgot all about it. 

18 months later after having the house fully fixed, (New gabble wall, new floors. Plaster, electrics, pumping, kitchen bathroom etc) I went to visit them

"Where's the Renault 5 mum?" 

Answer " we paid a man to come and put it in a skip and take it to be scrapped" 

My response "Are you my parents? Which bit of that sentence did you not think might make me either cry or despise you? Or both ?" 

No worse than my uncle who refused to sell me my grandads 1976 36k Allegro Vandom plas, which he plate rapped in 1995, (EUL 27 now on a 2013 EVOQUE),  left it to rot in a garage for 5 years until grandad died and then scrapped it. 

 

[phil_lihp]

Strangely enough, given the above story, my parents' neighbour across the road sold her house in the mid nineties when I was about 11 and I happened to look out of the window one evening in time to see her garage door open for the first time I could ever recall.  Thick drapes of cobwebs and dirt hanging off the door confirmed it probably hadn't been opened in at least a decade.  She drove a white Montego estate which lived on the driveway so I was rather surprised when a van was pulled up to the garage and a rope was attached to something inside.  A few minutes later, an extremely dusty mid-70s Renault 5 in black with a rather unfetching red stripe was dragged out into the daylight.  My parents last remembered seeing it in use back in the 80s and were equally surprised to see it was still there.

Sadly I think it went straight to the local scrapyard, never saw it again.  Had I been a few years older I'd have run straight over to rescue it!

[NorfolkNWeigh]

My Dad took over the running of a Dillons newsagents in 1974, ther was an attached flat that we didn’t need but me and my brothers used to run riot in. In the garden was an asbestos garage withe a grey A60 Cambridge in it, but better still the boot was full of boxes of Mars Bars, etc, the previous manager had been sacked for stock irregularities so must have been hiding stuff in the Cambridge.  We, of course, never told my Dad and attempted to eat our way through a boot full of stolen confectionery. One day Dad came home and said “ You know that old Cambridge, you lot love playing in?”  We prepared for a bollocking. “ Well the old manager sent somebody to pick it up today, don’t know why it’s not worth anything!”  We were gutted, but probably healthier.

[SiC]

Every few months I seem to see someone pulling an ADO16 out of a garage. Unfortunately as time goes on, they are in worse and worse condition. 

[davidfowler2000]

I shall refer you to my own thread...

 

[jamescarruthers]

Hey Shitters. First post, long time lurking though!

I was delighted to find my 1987 Volvo 480ES in a garage since 1998 in 2018

https://www.volvo-480-europe.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=35570

[nomiST]

3 hours ago, New POD said:

No worse than my uncle who refused to sell me my grandads 1976 36k Allegro Vandom plas, which he plate rapped in 1995, (EUL 27 now on a 2013 EVOQUE),  left it to rot in a garage for 5 years until grandad died and then scrapped it. 

 

I know the owner of that Evoque, small world...

[dome]

2 hours ago, SiC said:

Every few months I seem to see someone pulling an ADO16 out of a garage. Unfortunately as time goes on, they are in worse and worse condition. 

👋

[New POD]

27 minutes ago, nomiST said:

I know the owner of that Evoque, small world...

My uncle Frank Eul ? Or one of my cousins? Suzy or Vicky ? 

[Bitzer]

According to my father, my granduncle had Kettenrad (no horseshit, THAT Kettenrad) sitting in his barn. He got the machine for scrapyard money shortly after WWII, fixed it and used it to transport fertilizer etc. to his wineyard and apricot orchard. When it broke, probably during sixties, he bought ČZ 175 "Riksha", which was a three-wheeler manufactured for SE Asia etc. Very rare and quite appreciated bird similar to Vespa Ape.

I do not personally remember the Kettenrad (unless it was that heap of scrap iron in the darkest corner of the barn covered with Splittertarnmuster tent halves), but one of my earliest motoring memories is a ride on the "Riksha". I must have been less than 3 years old then.

When the granduncle died, his daughters brought in a bunch of beer-drinking firemen with a lorry and a handful of scrap metal containers, cleared the place and replaced the barn with a newly built "minimalist" Ytong cube. As they did not let us know of their vile intentions beforehand, all we could do was to grit our teeth and run around in hopeless fury, because apart from the Kettenrad and ČZ Riksha, there was a complete MG 42 and at least one Mauser 98k hidden somewhere in the barn.

[omegod]

3 hours ago, jamescarruthers said:

Hey Shitters. First post, long time lurking though!

I was delighted to find my 1987 Volvo 480ES in a garage since 1998 in 2018

https://www.volvo-480-europe.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=35570

Great read that, would you mind if I asked how the ownership was sorted as I assume it had been abandoned in the garage ?

[bunglebus]

Mine's not quite so interesting, but as teenagers one of our older friends gained access to a council lockup, being stupid kids we didn't question whether this was through the proper channels.

In that garage was a 70's custom MK1 Escort in red primer with the rear windows filled and some lovely perspex bubbles fitted instead. No idea what became of it but I also found in there an enormous chainwheel with the correct holes for a single piece BMX crank, had about 90 teeth rather than the usual 40 odd. Suitable frame clearance to fit it to my Raleigh Burner was gained with careful use of a hammer, and I had a bike with a ridiculous top speed, as long as I was going downhill. No idea what happened to that chainwheel either.

*edit* looks like it was from an exercise bike

[jamescarruthers]

6 hours ago, omegod said:

Great read that, would you mind if I asked how the ownership was sorted as I assume it had been abandoned in the garage ?

Thanks very much.

The owner of the row of garages had purchased the row a few years back and the car came with it. He debated doing it up himself but never got around to it.

The owner of the car was long dead and the car had been put away, I believe, with a broken door hinge as the driver's side was hard up against the wall and the door nearly fell off when I dragged it out and opened the door and also a broken engine mount.

I got receipt from the new garage owner and we discussed this subject. He figured that he was owed 20 years of back rent so he owned the car in lieu of this and I was inclined to agree. He had been to the house (10 seconds away) that was on all the paperwork in the car but noone knew anything about it.

If I wanted to save the second remaining UK 480 launch car I had to take this risk or it would have been scrapped. I'm a 480 nut so this for me was so exciting to find and it has been a great car back on the road, although did need trailering home twice early in its recomissioning until I took the internals of the coolant system a bit more seriously!

I applied to the DVLA for the logbook, and also again for its original registration number. I was expecting a hassle with last part, getting it original registration number back, but I just wrote a nice letter explaining why and they sent one back agreeing to the change. People may grumble about the DVLA but I found them superb to deal with in this respect.

I'd like to go back and get a picture of the car in its old garage again one day.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

9 hours ago, Bitzer said:

According to my father, my granduncle had Kettenrad (no horseshit, THAT Kettenrad) sitting in his barn. He got the machine for scrapyard money shortly after WWII, fixed it and used it to transport fertilizer etc. to his wineyard and apricot orchard. When it broke, probably during sixties, he bought ČZ 175 "Riksha", which was a three-wheeler manufactured for SE Asia etc. Very rare and quite appreciated bird similar to Vespa Ape.

I do not personally remember the Kettenrad (unless it was that heap of scrap iron in the darkest corner of the barn covered with Splittertarnmuster tent halves), but one of my earliest motoring memories is a ride on the "Riksha". I must have been less than 3 years old then.

When the granduncle died, his daughters brought in a bunch of beer-drinking firemen with a lorry and a handful of scrap metal containers, cleared the place and replaced the barn with a newly built "minimalist" Ytong cube. As they did not let us know of their vile intentions beforehand, all we could do was to grit our teeth and run around in hopeless fury, because apart from the Kettenrad and ČZ Riksha, there was a complete MG 42 and at least one Mauser 98k hidden somewhere in the barn.

Ok, anybody else think Kettenrad was a famous racehorse, before they googled it?
No?
Just me then, I’ll get me coat.

[motorpunk]

I have a lock-up, the one next to it hasn’t been opened in the 20ish years I’ve lived there. I stuck my phone through a ventilation hole and took a snap. There’s a Standard 8 (or 10, I forget) inside, black with a tartan interior, cobwebs and dust. No-one round here knows who owns it and the council are useless in contacting the owner. Anyone want a pic?

[mitsisigma01]

4 minutes ago, motorpunk said:

I have a lock-up, the one next to it hasn’t been opened in the 20ish years I’ve lived there. I stuck my phone through a ventilation hole and took a snap. There’s a Standard 8 (or 10, I forget) inside, black with a tartan interior, cobwebs and dust. No-one round here knows who owns it and the council are useless in contacting the owner. Anyone want a pic?

Go on go on go on

[motorpunk]

Just now, mitsisigma01 said:

Go on go on go on

[SmokinWaffle]

2 minutes ago, motorpunk said:

Oooosh. I would say land registry search but unsure if that'd work for council garages as they're owned by the concil not the owner of the car. Looks fun.

A friend rescued a Sharknose bimmer from a council garage that was being torn down, applied for V5. Owner then re-appeared after leaving it to rot for 15 years wanting it back - but the unpaid council garage charges were enough for him to move on without too much fuss.

[omegod]

3 hours ago, jamescarruthers said:

Thanks very much.

The owner of the row of garages had purchased the row a few years back and the car came with it. He debated doing it up himself but never got around to it.

The owner of the car was long dead and the car had been put away, I believe, with a broken door hinge as the driver's side was hard up against the wall and the door nearly fell off when I dragged it out and opened the door and also a broken engine mount.

I got receipt from the new garage owner and we discussed this subject. He figured that he was owed 20 years of back rent so he owned the car in lieu of this and I was inclined to agree. He had been to the house (10 seconds away) that was on all the paperwork in the car but noone knew anything about it.

If I wanted to save the second remaining UK 480 launch car I had to take this risk or it would have been scrapped. I'm a 480 nut so this for me was so exciting to find and it has been a great car back on the road, although did need trailering home twice early in its recomissioning until I took the internals of the coolant system a bit more seriously!

I applied to the DVLA for the logbook, and also again for its original registration number. I was expecting a hassle with last part, getting it original registration number back, but I just wrote a nice letter explaining why and they sent one back agreeing to the change. People may grumble about the DVLA but I found them superb to deal with in this respect.

I'd like to go back and get a picture of the car in its old garage again one day.

Ahh ok seem's straightforward enough, My uncle was a Volvo dealer manager in Liverpool during the 80's so had a brand new 760 turbo every few months, I always wanted him to get a 480 but he never did. 

[mitsisigma01]

Anyone else wondering wtf a Kettenrad, a Mauser or even an MG42 is? 

 

[St.Jude]

I rescued a 2000 Subaru Legacy from a council lock up for £35. Well a bottle of whiskey that cost £35.

Had it 4 months and sold it on because the clutch kept tearing a ligament in my ankle. 

[bunglebus]

A few years ago my friend viewed a house, this was in the remains of the garage.

 

 

 

No idea why he didn't try and buy it, they were fetching good money even then

[Jazoli]

1 hour ago, mitsisigma01 said:

Anyone else wondering wtf a Kettenrad, a Mauser or even an MG42 is? 

 

They are guns.

[sierraman]

A kettenkrad is a half motorbike half track tank type thing from WW2. 

[dome]

1 minute ago, sierraman said:

A kettenkrad is a half motorbike half track tank type thing from WW2. 

Was just googling that!

[DVee8]

I Googled them this morning aswell.

[martc]

Beware, sometimes the owner does come back, following their successful tiger hunt abroad.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

3 hours ago, motorpunk said:

I have a lock-up, the one next to it hasn’t been opened in the 20ish years I’ve lived there. I stuck my phone through a ventilation hole and took a snap. There’s a Standard 8 (or 10, I forget) inside, black with a tartan interior, cobwebs and dust. No-one round here knows who owns it and the council are useless in contacting the owner. Anyone want a pic?

Owner may even be deceased....

[Wack]

1 hour ago, Jazoli said:

They are guns.

in the 60s when my wife's grandad died she said they found a WW1 rifle in the attic , no idea what they did with it but they didn't live far from a canal so that's probably what happened to it , spadoosh at 1am 

 

On another forum 15 years ago a guy said one of his neighbours was going into a home so her flat and garage were being emptied, the garage had to be empty the next day so whoever got there first could have the car , a 60s Fiat 500 that she'd been driving 4 years before she handed her licence in and parked it up

I missed it by minutes , gutted