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Pardon Me Boys Reliability Tour


A. Woolf

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As a member of the 2008 Pardon Me Boys Reliability tour committee I want to offer some follow-up comments about the tour. Let me state up front that the following comments are mine alone and have no input or support from the tour committee or sponsors. For reference I am 52 years old and a second-generation member of AACA. My interest has always been pre 30 cars and more particularly brass era cars.

First of all I want to thank John Ricketts for the excellent article about the Pardon Me Boys Tour that appeared in the Jan/Feb 2009 Antique Automobile magazine. He did a great job of reporting on our week’s activities. It was the largest Reliability tour in history with nearly 100 cars and from the great amount of positive feedback we have received was a very successful week of touring.

One of the concerns that gets voiced a lot nowadays in the old car hobby is the lack of participation by younger individuals. Another popular notion is that younger car enthusiasts are not interested in brass era (pre1916) cars. The recent Reliability tour helped to dispel both of those popular ideas. We had a broad mix of people of all ages from very young to very senior. My six year old niece was one of the youngest participants and we had a gentleman from Florida who celebrated his 90th birthday the week of tour. During the week he and wife hosted 12 family members. There were many families that participated and some with the family dog! One of the younger drivers and his very pregnant wife drove every day but Friday in their 09 Hudson. Two of the younger drivers were in there twenties. This was their first experience to be around a large group of brass era cars and they had a good time.

To put this in perspective another AACA tour of a similar size that occurred near the time of the Reliability tour that had a different mix of vehicles had very little participation by younger individuals. As reported to me the youngest driver was in his forties. I don't know if this is typical of many tours but I think the contrast is interesting.

My point is not that one type of tour or the other is bad or good. I understand that everyone has different interests. The point is that some popular myths have come into being about the oldest cars in our hobby and they are not necessarily true in my opinion. AACA started and became successful with the interest and preservation of the earliest cars that were produced. It has grown and expanded from that beginning to fit into many different interests. I think it is mistake to assume that everyone under the age of 30 is interested in muscle cars or tuner cars. Many individuals are not interested in the cars they grew up with. Even as a young teenager in the 1960’s I was always interested in the oldest and most unusual cars.

It is worth noting that until the very recent economic downturn the prices of pre 16 cars have been very strong, however, there are still very affordable cars from the brass era that are available.

As we go forward I look forward to other AACA/HCCA groups planning very successful Reliability tours and seeing even more interest in the history and preservation of the oldest cars.

Alan Woolf

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I would like to add my two cents worth. You are absolutely correct. Not everybody is interested in the cars of their youth. There are more of us out there that enjoy the earlier cars than you might suspect.

I was the youngest driver in the 2008 Sentimental Tour. I am 48 years old. My 10 year old daughter, as well as a few other youth, also participated in that tour. I was driving one of the oldest cars in the Sentimental Tour, a 1929 Model A Ford Phaeton.

I do not own a brass era car, but hope to own one some day. Right now, I can't afford another car, but hope to be able to buy a Brass Car in the not too distant future. Hopefully, one day soon, I will be able to join you in a brass car tour.

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Thank you Alan, Our 1912 T hasn't been out in a while but what you said is 100% correct. At 58 I can still remember clearly the first full day I spent at a car show in 1961. Brass cars are affordable, and sure look great touring or shown together. The fact that they are from a 15 year space of time rather than 100+ years makes for a much more united family of owners/enthusiasts.

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I fall into the same age category as Alan and Matt, and have recently found a strong appreciation and pull toward having a brass car. In fact, my younger brother keeps and maintains my father's 1911 Le Zebra (French) and 1905 REO. In addition, he just purchased and finished restoring a 1910 Brush, as well as a 1911-12 Regal Underslung. If I can/could figure out how to buy into the Regal, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Other cars that my youngest brother owns include a Triumph TR4 and a 1967 Corvette. He completely restored a 1942 Packard in his garage, which he has since sold along with his 1934 Lincoln.

For those of you who will be attending the Prior Lake, Minnesota AACA Meet in June, expect to see four brass cars shown by one young man.

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What does everyone call affordable? Except for a Model T, most of the cars pull in well over $30,000 or more. There are several on Ebay Motors right now in the $50,000 mark. That is not affordable to most especially in this economy. Unless you luck out and find a barn find where you can get it at the right price, and restore it yourself, the prices are a bit high.

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My tour car right now is a 1913 Model T touring that I bought in 2004 for $9000 off of Ebay. It is a very original car but I did have to do a full mechanical restoration and install a new top. It still has the original upholstery. It is a great car and in 2007 I drove it on a 1000 mile progressive tour on the Natchez Trace. It was a trouble free trip.

Mike L. I am curious to know your definition of affordable. When I mentioned that there are affordable cars in my earlier post I was primarily thinking of Model T's, however, as West has pointed out there are lots of other makes that not too many people look at. Another good example is a 1914 or 15 Dodge Brothers. They are generally cheaper than Model T's and are very well built cars.

BTW West what was wrong with the Brush front axle? Did it have termites?

Alan

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What some people find affordable, others consider pipe dreams or outrageous extravagance. Obviously, there are some magnificent brass-era cars that are worth stupendous amounts of money. But if you consider that lots of brass car nuts want to go touring, and aren't as obsessed with authentic perfection as those who want their cars judged, there's a lot of fun to be had out there. Consider these cars for sale on the HCCA web site right now; the prices are asking, not necessarily getting:

1910 Maxwell AA 2-cylinder roadster, nice restoration (I've seen this car on tour), $26,000

1912 Buick Model 35, a small touring car, restored,$28,500

1914 Buick Model 25, same size as above, older restoration, $26,000

Here are several cars sold from the HCCA website in the last year or so; again, the prices are what was asked when the ad was posted:

1909 DeTamble 2-cylinder, out of a museum, $23,500

1912 Buick Model 35, like the one offered above, $26,000

1915 Ford roadster, new restoration, $21,000

1913 Metz runabout, $12,000

1914 Ford touring with auxiliary transmission, $22,500

1914 Overland, older restoration, $19,000

1911 Buick Model 14 2-cylinder, chain drive, $20,000

1910 Maxwell AB 2-cylinder, $24,000

These cars aren't Pierce-Arrows or Thomas Flyers; for those cars, multiply these asking prices by two or three and then hang an extra zero on the end. But you will have just as much fun in one as the guy driving the Pierce, and the guy with the Pierce will turn out to be a nice fellow who won't look down at your car, and who will stop and help you if you're in trouble. You'll cruise at 20-25 miles an hour on level roads in the two-cylinders, and 30-35 in the fours; with two-wheel brakes, that's all the faster I want to go anyway!

The HCCA and the Snappers (a non-geographic brass-era touring region of AACA) put on weekend and week-long tours all over the country throughout the summer and fall. The routes are on back roads carefully chosen for safety and scenery, and will take you to artisans' shops, art museums, private collections (not just of cars!), great country restaurants, and lots of places to get ice cream. At the speeds these cars (don't!) go, you'll want a trailer to get to and from the tours. But they're light cars, and mostly not loaded with incredibly expensive accessories; you might feel comfortable with a light weight open trailer you can pull behind your minivan, or your tri-5 Chevy.

You might look at the HCCA and Snappers web sites to find a tour not far from you, and see if you can get a back seat ride for a day or two. You'll find an aspect of the old car hobby that will fascinate you. And, if you decide to jump in and try it, you'll find yourself very welcome.

Gil Fitzhugh, Morristown, NJ

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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 24T42</div><div class="ubbcode-body">West,

That Regal didn't come Durham, NC did it? </div></div>

No, Judy. It's been in Cincinnati for quite some time, and I believe it was in Philadelphia before that, where it was restored.

I'm wondering where the DeTamble went that was sold on the HCCA website. There's another one that's currently being restored in Ohio and I didn't realize another even existed.

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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">In regard to that Brush, it was a bear finding someone who could weld that front axle! </div></div>

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">West,

I'll bet the front axle welder also sells Smoke shifters, Sky hooks and snipe traps !!!! Great looking cars !! </div></div>

I gotta meet the guy who welded that wooden front axle for ya! shocked.gif

How do you fellers like that counter clockwise engine rotation. (For those of you who are Brush greenhorns out there, this means that the hand crank has to be cranked in the opposite direction as almost everything else ever built to start the engine.) wink.gif Dandy Dave!

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