Now that I've completed my CRX tribute build, I've had the chance to just enjoy being an owner/driver. Aside from tearing up mountain roads, turning heads, and having a clean garage, I discovered something else to enjoy about having a completed project. Spare parts. At first, going into my garage was painful due to the awful mess. Towards the tail end of the project, I wasn't interested in cleaning anything, or putting anything away and things just got out of hand. For a while, I just left it because I didn't want to deal with it, but after a few months, I decided to clean and sort through all my parts. After separating the parts that I wanted to keep from the parts that I was OK parting with, I got on the internet and started listing everything. It didn't take long to realize that I enjoyed selling parts as much as buying them. I've always preached the conservation and rescue of first gens, but now I am in a position to actually contribute to those who are actively maintaining and/or restoring first gens!
One particular sale that I made, stuck with me, and I have to share. About a month ago, I was contacted via email by a gentleman named Tom, from California. He had seen a listing that I had posted online, and inquired about some parts. Sadly, the parts that he was looking for had already sold, but I mentioned that I had a ton of stuff lying around and that he should feel free to ask me for anything, which he did. He was looking for a passenger side fender for his current project, a 1987 CRX SI. It hadn't occurred to me until he had asked, but I did have a spare fender laying around, and it was in great shape (a rare occurrence). I sent him a couple pictures of it, and he quickly gave me the green light. There was one hang-up though, and it was shipping. How would I ship a fragile plastic fender from the '80's across the country without it getting destroyed or it costing a fortune? Tom suggested Greyhound. I had no idea that Greyhound even had shipping services. I looked into it, and the price was very reasonable, so I complied. I found a box big enough, packed up the fender and drove it down to the bus station. When I walked into the bus station, there were stacks and stacks of huge boxes, furniture, and other odds and ends, all ready to be shipped. There were more things being shipped then there were people! I was shocked. I had a feeling that I had discovered a great way to ship big stuff, and I had. It took about a week, but as promised, I received a call from greyhound notifying me that the package had arrived. I then passed the news on to Tom, and shortly thereafter, he was inspecting an undamaged fender. It's a great way to ship big parts for cheap, and I highly recommend it... but I digress. After Tom thanked me for the fender, I asked if he could send me pictures of the car after it was complete, and sure enough, a month or so later, they were in my inbox. It was so satisfying to see Tom's freshly painted CRX, knowing that an original part from my project car could be part of another first gen getting back on the road.
Photos taken by Tom Lancaster
