jdome

I can't believe the Focus is the most recalled auto in history. I bought a 94 Plymouth Voyager mini van new. It had 6 recalls the first year we owned it, 4 of them safety defects. It had a couple more recalls the second year. The seatbelt latch was recalled twice because the first fix wasn't good enough. It had some other service issues too. We traded the Voyager in on a new Toyota Previa because it was supposed to be more reliable. I didn't care for the car when we test drove it but the wife loved it. I thought it was underpowered and the steering was too sensitive and the van had an awkward feel during cornering. You sat on top of this odd engine/front transaxle combination so it felt like you were out in front of a turn. In a fast corner it was like sitting in the first car of a roller coaster. The rear seats were uncomfortable for adults but OK for kids. That was the same problem with Fords & Chevys at the time. I don't recall that it had any recalls but it was just a bad car. Left my wife stranded twice, dead in a parking lot, and quit running once when my wife pulled out of the kids school and couldn't get it started. Had to have it towed 3 times that first year. Broke a door hinge. It had so many problems that it made me long for the good old days of the Plymouth. It didn't cost much the 2 years we owned it because warranty took care of everything except the door hinge that they said was damaged. ??? It was the wife's car and I didn't drive it much but she loved it until we drove across I70 from Ohio to Denver to visit her sister's family. Because of its high center of gravity, and tendency to under/over steer, when a cross wind hit when my wife was driving, it went from one berm to the other several times. I don't know how she kept from loosing complete control. When she finally got the car under control and pulled over, she refused to drive the rest of the trip. Since I had to do all the driving I really got to hate the car. While on vacation in Denver, my brother-in law and I took the car to a local Chrysler dealer with my wife's insistence, and tried to trade the Toyota in on a new TC mini-van. The Toyota was not a safe vehicle we wanted to haul our young family back to Ohio in and we canceled our planned trip up Pikes Peak. When I complained to the salesman & his sales manager (you know that trick) about the low trade in they offered for a less than 2 year old Toyota, they said they could walk me over to the used car lot and show me a dozen 1 & 2 year old Previas they took in on trade. They can't move those so they've been wholesaling most of them. According to the sales manager, Previa was the most common model vehicle traded in on T&C and Carryvans at their sister Dodge dealership. We ended up driving the Toyota home but the return trip wasn't uneventful. About halfway home the engine lost what little power it had. We managed to limp off the highway and found a hotel near a Toyota dealer where we stayed overnight and had the car repaired the next day. About 3 months after we returned home Ford came out with their new windstar, their first real Chrysler mini-van fighter. I didn't care about a new model without reliability history, I just wanted to unload that poor excuse for a family truckster. I found a Ford dealer that was so anxious to deliver new Windstars that he gave me a super trade on a 17,000 mile 2 year old Toyota. The Windstar turned out to be a great car. In fact we traded it in on another Windstar we still own. Both Windstars have made uneventful trips to Denver, Pikes Peak and back. We don't need a mini-van anymore because the kids are grown, 2 are married. I keep it around for swap meets and used it to haul a horseless carraige body back from Hershey the past 2 years. I swore I would never own another Toyota but I did buy a used Celica 3 years ago on insistance of my teenage son. Its had its own maintenance problems but nothing like my previous experience. To make a long story short (too late) I would buy a Ford over a Toyota any day. My experience with dealers, service, reliability, drivability makes Ford a better choice in my view. The Ford & Toyota are my wife & son's cars. Personally, I drive a Pontiac Gran Prix, and 7 pre-war Cadillacs & a Buick.

I believe Buick first used the Estate Wagon term beginning with the wood body wagons of the late 30's & 40's.

Nothing like the sound and feel of a "Big Block" 4 cylinder brass car. They don't have to go fast - just sound fast.

These scale models were common in the teens. These were salesman's samples. Typically 1/4 to 1/2 scale exact replicas of new models that could be crated and shipped around the country to be put on display in hotel lobbies or general stores. The salesman's sample was an economical way to expand market reach without a dealer network. Some of the models were operational. A few of these sample cars still exist.

Quit winning about $60 title fees. In Ohio it is about a $32 fee PLUS 6% to 8% (depending on the county you live in) sales tax on the purchase price. Even if it is a 100 year old antique. Needless to say there are a lot of used cars and antique cars in Ohio transferred with a " $1,000 purchase price ". Dealers can't get away with that but private sale, I am told, sometimes do.

Just google "Yahoo Early Cadillac Group". Sign up and go on message forum and introduce yourself. You might also ask for your parts there. There are about 250 + members with 1 & 4 cyl Cadillacs. There is a want/for sale page and a repro parts projects page that might be helpful. I have a factory parts list for 1906-08 KMST models and it only lists 1 radiator for all models, so the K print I have should work for you. Send me a private email with your address either thru this forum or the Early Cadillac Group and I'll see you get a copy. Its a 3' x 4' page so I'll have to go to a print shop to make a copy. Probably 5 or 10 bucks + shipping?

Are you aware of the Yahoo Early Cadillac Group? A site for pre 1915 Cadillac. I don't know if 06 & 08 radiators are the same but they look very similar. I have a copy of a 06 factory blueprint if that will help. They are made of 5/8 copper tubing and about 2" dia copper discs. Lots of discs. 1100 plus.

It doesn't stick well to smooth, clean surfaces like new sheet metal or new iron work. Etching new metal doesn't help either. It flakes off. It needs something to soak into like rust. It bits into & sticks well on sandblasted surfaces but then what paint doesn't. I've had mixed results with it. The only application I think its good for is to brush on floors and inner panel joints that you can't or won't clean down to bare metal and won't see the light of day. Anything exposed to sunlight ( including frames & underside of body) will eventually break down unless you go to additional trouble to overcoat with something else. It is only compatible with certain top coats or certain primers & top coats. It doesn't sand well either if you expect a fine finish. You don't want to spray it. I suspect you would have to completely disassemble your gun to clean it so no residue hardens in your gun. Its not as though you can shoot some lacquer thinner to clean out your gun. I also don't like the fact that it doesn't keep well. Once you open a new can, even if just long enough to stir it and pour some into a paint bucket, the remainder will soon scum over and spoil in 3 or 4 weeks. There are a few tricks you can do to extend the shelf life, like transfer the remainder into a smaller can to minimize the air in the can but that is a pain in the butt in my opinion and doesn't add much to its life. In case you haven't guessed, I tried it and don't like it. I think POR-15 is over hyped & overpriced for what it is. There are similar products on the market for less money and probably the same recipe, if that is the kind of paint you want.

You should start with the 1890"s. The Duryea was the first "production" gasoline car, that really started it all. The curved dash olds which was the first "mass" produced & inexpensive car and probably the most visually recognized of the early cars. Also the Stanley Bros. Locomobile steam cars. Steam cars were there before gas.

You guys missed the obvious. His Plymouth hood ornament is bent.

Bailing out GM would be a safer investment than the banks & AIG. At least GM has hard assets, inventory & machinery. What do the banks & AIG have? Paper & other peoples debt. The problem with bankruptcy is that GM's suppliers will be paid off later, paid off at a discounted price, or not paid at all.

Because you'll have to pay your state's sales tax on the car and pay income tax on the value of the car when you win it. AND pay income tax again when you sell it. Taking half the value in cash is a bargan, at least you'll have some cash to pay that income tax.

Some of those V's & emblems were not gold plated but plated with a process called "flash brass plate". not exactly sure what the process is but flash brass plate is a brilliant yellow-gold like look and does not tarnish like regular brass, although I suspect your V has dulled after 50 years. Gold does not dull. I believe Cadillac began using this process since the late 30's even though their hubcap & radiator V's & emblems look gold. Check with platters to see if they can do flash brass. I don't think it is the same as brass plate but may be a similar process.

To ad to my above post, the phone # for Seaport Casting & Molding, Toledo, Ohio 419-243-1422. Excellent work and quick turnaround.

If it is broken in pieces, I think you are better off to cast a new one. There is a particular type of cast iron (name escapes me) that virtually has no shrinkage. If you use the old part as a pattern, it will cost about $50 (maybe less) , about the same cost to weld. Welding might warp it. I would glue the pieces together with a good epoxy like JB Weld. Clamp the pieces to a board to make sure the epoxied parts cure flat. Fill the pits & gouges with body filler and sand finish. Make the piece look as pretty as you want the finished casting to look. You will still have to "clean up" the new casting and drill your own holes and perhaps machine work depending on how complicated the part is. Find a foundry that can turn a small project like yours in a reasonable time. You can ship your ready for casting pattern to Seaport Casting in Toledo Ohio. I've had jobs like yours returned in 3 or 4 weeks.

Ditto what Linc400 said. There won't be an AACA, CCCA, HCCA etc. etc. if all clubs become all inclusive, one size fits all / social club and card party. Some clubs seem to be loosing their identity and their original mission in order to bring in new members. I don't have a problem with someone calling their cars whatever they want. But just because they call it a "classic" doesn't mean that the CCCA has to accept it. I don't think Trunk Rack understands the various clubs as well as he thinks he does. The CCCA is not expanding their list to gain new members, they are expending their list to gain more cars. There is a distinct difference. It is difficult to define a "Classic". It is more of a "I know one when I see one" thing. That is why the CCCA has a classification committee that reviews various groups of cars and one offs for acceptance. The CCCA was formed in 1958 when 40's cars were just used cars. They have since expanded their list to add certain models up through 1948. A few years ago the committee determined that certain cars built before 1925 (low end cut-off year) are essentially the same model as the accepted 1925 model. Just recently, the committee added wood bodied cars like Chrysler Town & Country which were not previously accepted. Fords are not considered acceptable except a few special cars have been added such as the Brewster Town Cars built on Ford Chassis. The term "classic" doesn't have the same meaning to all clubs either. The CCCA does not accept all Cadillacs, Lincolns, or Packards up through 1948. Low priced cars like the Packard 120 and Cad series 61 are not CCCA eligible. Even though the Lincoln Zephyr has a V12, it is not on the CCCA list either. These cars along with several others up through the 50's are classified as "classic" in the AACA. Some specific mark clubs and hot rod type clubs classify anything re-powered that remotely looks like the original body as a classic. I have no doubt that there is some club some where that would classify Mr. Trunk Rack's 19XX Whatsit as a "classic" "Classic" or "Klassic". I'd say go find that club. I'm not trying to offend anyone but the reason to join a particular club is to share a common interest and learn how to properly restore your car or for that matter, build it the way you want. Find that group or groups that share your interest.

Some of the big GM cars of the early 30's had mechanical brakes with vacuum assistance. Does your Buick have a vacuum booster, a big canister in front of the brake pedal arm, mounted on the chassis under the floor. If the vacuum booster is not functioning properly, it makes a big difference in the braking performance and amount of pedal pressure required to stop.

I know a gynecologist that insists on changing oil every 4 weeks.

I'm confused, isn't through the muffler something a proctologist would do????

I bought a cheep set of 3 different sizes of plastic strap wrenches from Harbor Freight. They look cheep but are the best $9.95 tool investments I ever made. They have plastic handles with a rubber strap that you can wrap around the round part of the hubcaps and it won't mar it. I use them to remove thin wall pressed brass hubcaps without a scratch or dent. They work great for removing stubborn, round brass radiator caps too.

I don't think you get his point. If your V16 & 31 Dodge are older than 1980 - its a "put put" and you are a "grandpa" for owning one as factory equiped. So much for this new fangled "inclusiveness" of the "must-include-whatever-jumbled, mangled & maligned-clump-of-parts-you-can-assemble-on-wheels-in-every-club-in-order-to-grow-membership" crowd. As he says, just look at the cars of the officers of these clubs. That is an unfortunate effect when that "inclusive" crowd takes over. I really don't care, if its your car, your time and your money, do with it what you want. But I don't know why some people want to inflict their "creativness" on ALL car organizations. Or why Hershey can't be an ACTUAL, REAL, ANTIQUE car event without Old Cars Weekly or some other hobby editor wineing that "there aren't enough hot rods (or whatever new fangled term they use on these picture typewritters) at Hershy." ............ .

Give it a couple years and the Chinese will reverse engineer it and we can buy the scanner at Harbor freight for $99 and the 3-D copier for 149.95. I would think that once something like a large windshield frame was scanned you could type in a known multiplier factor for brass or whatever material, and that could produce an enlarged plastic pattern to use for sand casting. Sure its expensive today but I can remember when a black & white copier cost as much as a new car. How many of us have a color scanner/copier/printer/photo-developer/fax/phone/dishwasher that came with your $895 PC package. BTW I've had good results with spraying original parts with a couple heavy coats of primer filler to compensate for shrinkage. It will add a few thousands to small parts to use as a sand cast pattern. It doesn't help much on large parts and the paint will fill in details and round off sharp edges so it may not work for all applications.

The engine needs some curvaceous headers instead of those dopey looking things.

This is what is called a car with "prominence". Not necessarily a real or original car, but it was once owned by a friend of a friend of a famous person. That makes it worth twice as much. It does have an original 1899 body although one of the photos is labeled "all new woodwork." Hummm? Makes you wonder what the rest of this dealer's inventory is like??

That's not character. That's patina. And if it has a faded company logo on the side, that's prominence.