Burning Rubber
On throwing things away and unicorns
Words- photography Mike Blanchard
Like many of you, I am using the time of quarantine to dive deep into the stash of parts and vehicles that live in the garage and the shed. Going through boxes and high-grading motorcycle and antique car parts, thinking and pondering as I go.
Some things get thrown out. Some go in a pile to sell or give away. Things like a BMW airhead transmission, sets of wheels, Ducati carburetors, gas tanks and fenders are too good to chuck. Of course, I have been given plenty of treasure by guys who were over it. So I guess, strictly speaking, there is nothing too good to throw out. No matter how beautiful the woman/man, I promise you there is someone who is over her/his shit.
Naturally, some stuff is valuable and some not. However, there is a class of item that inhabits a strange world where, against all the laws of economics, the item is only worth something if you have to buy one. If you were to try to sell one of these unicorns no one would buy it. In fact, no one would take it for free. Friends would sneer at you for trying to pass off something like that and whisper behind your back.
But if you need, really need, that perfect little bit of farkle with the incredible patina (the thing everyone will mention when looking over your machine) to finish your project … you are going to pay in blood. There is nothing for it — take a deep breath — give the gouging bastard the money and hope your wife never asks you about it.
Sometimes it’s where you live that causes this priceless/worthless object to inhabit the netherworld. Maybe there is no market for your treasure. Maybe your neighbors are all into American muscle cars and you are into Euro cars.
I have an intake manifold for a DKW three-cylinder, two-stroke car engine. This beautifully made object never, ever wears out. And it is pretty much impossible that this part will ever be damaged unless someone does something really stupid. It is not a performance part and thus worth something. It is just a nicely formed piece of alloy scrap that you will never be able to sell, even to a Deek guy. Stop thinking about it and throw it in the scrap bin…or make a trophy for a DKW rally.
Of course, maybe you have no idea what a real treasure is. Not to put too fine a point on it.
The key is to find the perfect person for that item. The person with a need. Sometimes eBay can be just the ticket. Ever-lovin’ eBay. The things people sell. The web gives you a mighty long reach, but as anyone who has searched for something knows, it can also be a land full of hilarious dreamers. I love the guy with the $500 item surrounded by loads of the same item priced at $75.
Let’s be honest: Sometimes it doesn’t work out and you never find a buyer. For those lads with property and barns, well, oftentimes they just put it in the loft and hope the Pickers come round eventually and offer them a dream price for the treasure no one else wanted. For the rest of us with limited space, the choice is to pay the monetary and psychic price and store it … or throw it away. Remember, nobody but you seems to want this treasure.
For the person with imagination and a sense of history, throwing cool stuff away can be about as easy as talking a hoarder out of 30 years of newspapers and McDonalds wrappers. It can be really hard to throw something away. Naturally, some friend of yours (usually the guy who always brags about the killer deals he’s made) will make some comment that sticks in your craw about what a fool you were to chuck it. It is a given that this is the same guy who was totally uninterested in the item when you offered to give it to him.
Here is the thing: It is so liberating to let go. Screw what anyone thinks; it feels good. Hell, you probably got it for free anyway. Throw that unicorn away and get on with it.
There is a very general law of valuation that runs like this: Things (cars, trucks, motorcycles, guns, musical instruments, etc., etc.) will go down in price for 25 years or so and then they will go up in value. It takes that long for the number of items to diminish due to being wrecked, worn out or thrown away. By then all the guys who always wanted one when they were a kid, or whose dad or big brother had one that they always admired, have come into the chips and now have the money to afford their heart’s desire.
The priceless/worthless object is not one of those things. It is just a thing to spark the imagination and ponder before you throw it in another box on cleanup day.