Vintage Computers

Alright, so I the recent lot I acquired had a ton of "vintage" computers. Included are about 11-12 HP Vetra 386/33NI, about 10 Vetra V/6 (P2 slot), a dell 486, etc. The problem lies in the fact that all of the 386 machines CPU's were pulled, and the top of the case was removed from all but one system. The V/6's I was planning on keeping all have the P2 slot, but are missing the top cover. I believe the Dell 486 still has the processor but no cover. All systems are missing the hard drives. So I'm hopping that our resident vintage computer member (FLimits) will chime in and let me know if these are even worth trying to part out, or if anyone else here has any experience with these models. There are a few others that I will have to dig out and post, but they all have the HD and cover missing at least. Might just have to pony up and tear them most of them down, but obviously if I can get more the scrap value out of the PCI cards or riser boards, etc then I'm all for it. This frustrates me to no end since I could have made at least a few grand on these systems alone if they were all in tack. Someone was tripping over a hundred to pick up a five..... I'll post some pics a little later.

Post pics (show insides and fronts).

An drop her a PM if she doesn't reply anytime soon.

An post pics, or we'll sick BC on you.

Sirscrapalot - abides.

As requested Sir, and yeah I'm going to hold on to a few of the 386 machines Olddude, and see if i'm able to part them out over time. Every one of them has at least 2 sticks of ram, along with a nice riser board with 3 PCI slots and nice gold plated pins, a HP 3.5 floppy drive, power supply, and backup battery that plugs into the motherboard. Like I said there are a few other nice ones with 5..25 floppies, CPU's, and cards that i can probably part out or sell whole much faster then the 386 machines. The Epson dot matix printer works, pretty neat to mess around with too, but probably needs a new printer head and definitely a through cleaning. There are a few on ebay that have sold for over $300, but again its just a waiting game. Frankly I don't mind for something that has that kind of return. I also have another newer HP or brothers that sells around the $300 range, per Ebay resent auctions. I still in the process of breaking everything down, so I don't have exact totals yet, but when I do i'll be sure to post numbers. Also have a breakdown of each model and how much they are worth that I'll post, in case anyone ever needs/wants to know. I've already covered my expenses on the shred and little bit of copper/aluminum I've taken in, and still have 50-60 monitors to break down so I can't complain. More pics and totals to come....







THE REST OF WHAT I STILL HAVE TO BREAKDOWN PLUS MONITORS

Any of those 386 computers come with old Nec Multisync 3D monitors by chance? The 386 systems would have sold well if intact, but finding covers is next to impossible and the motherboards are proprietary so they won't fit in another case.

Originally Posted by unknownk

Any of those 386 computers come with old Nec Multisync 3D monitors by chance? The 386 systems would have sold well if intact, but finding covers is next to impossible and the motherboards are proprietary so they won't fit in another case.

I have a few monitors that I'm keeping to test and see if they are working. I know there are probably a couple NEC models, and 5-7 smaller "vintage" models (ie IBM, Digital?, etc) I'll post a few pics of them once I go back to my storage unit. Need to have the rest of the scrap computers stripped so I can make room for the monitors, since I'm not keeping it for another month. I have enough space right now since 85 percent of the computers I got are broke down, and I haven't had the time to really go out and get another load. I do know this though, after I take this load in it's time to start an LLC and buy some equipment. I'm in this for the long haul

You did good Dude, just for that..I shall leave you another quote!

Sirscrapalot - The Dude abides. I don’t know about you but I take comfort in that. It’s good knowin’ he’s out there. The Dude. Takin’ ‘er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh. I sure hope he makes the finals. - The Stranger, from the Big Lebowski

Originally Posted by MattInTheHat

Might be worth buying a processor on ebay to test the machines. you should be able to buy them not too far above scrap value.

Already looking into that Matt, good looks though. It's a very small 386 chip, but I'm pretty confident I can find it with a bit of searching. The motherboards should fetch well above scrap value, I'm just wondering what to set my price point at. I've checked other sites besides ebay and have found minimal results, but I need to sit down after I get this load of e-waste out, and work on getting my inventory cleaned, tested, and listed. Just a ballpark number, but I probably have $4-$6k worth of parts, printers, and computers that just need tested and cleaned (regarding the vintage stuff).

Did you ever hear back from FL or shoot her a pm?

She could likely help ya on the pricing part if she doesn't know anyone interested in them.

FL is AUsome.

Sirscrapalot - DFTBA - FLimits

Hey Dude, I have a few 386 processors. If you need one for testing and don't really want to buy one, I'll loan you one. Let me know what kind you need.

Thanks Pnut, I really appreciate that. Haven't PM'ed her yet Sir, but I plan on doing so today.