1912Staver

Well what can I say Padget it sounds a lot like my life except you are a few years older and got into the real estate market about a decade earlier. I pinch a lot of pennies, keep my expenses as low as possible. Food is a substantial expense here. And definitely as the Canadian $ sinks inflation becomes apparent . You notice it at the grocery check out first but it spreads into other areas over time. At least gas is cheaper but I am not using much these days. Greg

It's all relative I guess. Perhaps I just have limited expectations. Hundreds of cars I would treasure for less than 280 K each , there are several vintage watches I would treasure for less than 5 K each. Greg

I am with you Padget right up to the "suddenly being on a fixed income is not a bad thing " . How so ? If you mean one by one we come to our senses and give up hope of being involved with anything that isn't in the basics of life category perhaps ? Mabey things are different in Florida, it is 3,500 miles and an international border away. But in my neck of the woods discretionary spending margins have for most of the population slowly eroded to the point a good many live paycheque to paycheque. And I am not talking the 2 vacation a year and I device crowd, just regular , frugal, middle class people doing their best in a high cost of living region. On a fixed income any remnant of discretionary spending gets eliminated over a number of years for nearly all members of the fixed income class. Prices always rise, often faster than even employed peoples wages. The fixed income group is all that much more dead in the water than even the average working person. And inflation of the price of the " needs " in ones life always will take precedence over the wants of those on a fixed income. Draw the time frame out long enough and the fixed income crowd become the vacant lot tent crowd. Hey Joe, it's pension day . Want to go halfers on a can of fancy feast ? Greg in Canada

Matt..., I am shocked ! Has your Wife heritage { All Canadians are rabid socialists after all } had that much influence on you lately ? Are you really biting the hand that feeds your Business ? Has the prospect of the downward mobility that has effected many of us here in the steerage section finally struck close to home ? All said in the truly genuine spirit that I have regarding the hopefully long continuing success of your business. I definitely believe that your approach to the vintage car hobby / market is second to none. Isn't much of your statement today along the lines of what I have mentioned for the last 3 or 4 years ? Greg in Canada

Now that's creativity ! Thanks Mark. Greg

The mostly forgotten Pinto Pangra. Really not a bad car apart from the "road hugging weight " A couple were shown at my local Ford dealer when they were new, and I kind of liked them. { Buying parts for my 1966 Mustang of course. } But too heavy, too expensive for the early 1970's market. Even Lotus Cortina's were a hard sell in North America. Jaybokay, as you are probably aware, Imps can be real giant killers in Vintage Racing. And they were very good sellers in the U.K. market. A very sweet Coventry Climax derived engine. Greg in Canada

Any speculation really has to take a few factors into account. The reality of current car guys aging into the sunset. The external pressure working against younger people entering the hobby. The external pressures working against the hobby support industry. The realities of a novel corona virus family within the population at large. The economic disruption of a serious global pandemic. The economic disruption that was already in place ; primarily affecting middle class and lower incomes , and younger people particularly . Debt situations around the world etc. Being from a Pharmaceutical background yourself , you are probably in a better place than the majority to know the success Medical Science has had against viruses in general and the Corona Virus family in particular up until the present time. The track record is a bit concerning , to me at least. I have no doubt the people we generally consider "wealthy " will survive the economic effects reasonably well. As long as they have a reasonably diverse holding there is a good chance they will fare significantly better than most of us. History tells us this. The collector cars that appeal to this group will probably fare reasonably well. Average people were often already in ; to one degree or another, an uncertain financial situation . The current virus situation may make that worse in many cases. Most collector cars are average cars that generally appeal to average people. I can see that market having real trouble in the short to medium term. Greg in Canada

I know Matt has explained the workings of the mind of people with truly vast fortunes, but I just don't get a $280,000.00 watch. And I even own a modest collection of vintage pocket watches and wrist watches . And have with some success even done my own dismantling, cleaning , and re - assembly. I have had the best success with 1900 - 1925 Longines pocket watches. Very easy to work on , at least the standard models without complications. The Bugatti watch is sort of cool ...until the price tag is revealed. You could buy a real Bugatti for that sort of money. With change for a nice vintage chronograph as a bonus. Greg in Canada

The car looks nearly new so more likely the early 1920's rather than early 1930's. A very stylish couple with a very stylish car. It looks to be a Cloverleaf roadster, a car with a small back seat ,accessed through the gap between the two front seats. A reasonable popular body style in the late teens / early 20's era. nzcarnerd is spot on with the late teens Marmon I.D. Marmon model 34, they were built 1916 - 1923 . A high quality car with a sporting flair. Greg in Canada

In Canada in later years at least { 1950's , 60's ,70's , 80's } the dealership organisation was Pontiac , Buick , GMC. or Chevy, Olds. Was the U.S. dealership structure organised this way as well ? Also GMC trucks of the era that emblem is from { later 1920's - early 1930's } sometimes used Pontiac engines in the smaller models. Greg in Canada

Clarke gets a big thumbs up from me ! I have always found the quality to be far better than Moss. Not as wide a product line, but what they do supply is first rate. I haven't used Scarborough spares for years so no opinion. Greg in Canada

Dollies are great if you have a large, smooth concrete surface. I sometimes need to move things to areas that have either a blacktop or gravel surface. My driveway is all gravel ,the storage shed is blacktop. Very small proper workshop so periodic shuffling. My car work area is 200 feet from the front road so it's never going to be all concrete . Roll around wheels are a must at my place. Greg

I would also suggest a partial refund of say $50.00 max. The fact only one holds air is a function of the inner tubes , not the tires. Did you throw in tubes as well ? Even if you did, how do you know your buyer knows how to mount these sort of tires without damaging the tubes? Anyone who can use these tires should also be able to use a patch kit.. They were sold as roll around tires. A function they should be able to preform right up the point literally falling apart. In the good old days even split sidewalls were dealt with by a " boot " cut from a completely thrashed tire and fitted from the inside. And that was on cars actually driven. Something used for roll around purposes can be practically at the point of outright failure and still do the job. Greg in Canada

From the top view the corrosion does not look that bad , but I am guessing that it is worse in the frame contact region . There are industrial epoxy's that are intended for machinery foundations that have tremendous compressive strength but obtaining a very small quantity is most likely impossible. We always used a product called " chockfast " on the ship when re - alignment was necessary. Would it make sense to machine the bottom of the corroded lug to maximize the surface area and make up a solid spacer to match the height relative to the other 3 ? Or are you afraid of further weakening the corroded one ? Greg

Model T's have a charming simplicity . But unless you live in a very quiet, rural location a vehicle with some serious limits. At least the Paige based truck is potentially useful. And that Chevy cab might even fit a modern sized person. T's are just too small, slow , under braked and more for me to take them seriously. I like my speedster project but I am 6'2" . My son might be able to drive it comfortably as he is quite a bit a smaller person than I am. Greg

Never underestimate the fringe element. Greg in Canada

I have one somewhere . I will try to find it. Greg

Stylistically I like it. The Chevy cab looks good with the long Paige hood and distinctive rad. Even the home made box looks functional and well built. Worth saving in my opinion. Any idea of where it is ? Greg in Canada

One of the ships I worked on had an ultrasonic big enough for motorcycle cases and sports car cylinder heads. As long as a person didn't take advantage and bring in tons of car parts no one minded a couple of items a month quietly showing up on Graveyard Shift. It sure did a nice job but an industrial machine that if I recall correctly cost in excess of $10,000.00 But even it wouldn't have been big enough for a crankcase. At the company's main overhaul shop they had a industrial cleaning machine that was a lot like a huge dishwasher. Two actually, one ferrous one non ferrous with different chemicals in each. Made by a company called Proceco. Very few home projects made it through that machine however. Only a couple people were authorised to use it and they were not very interested in bending the rules. But you may find an industrial cleaning company in your area that has similar equipment . Incredible results and no residue of any sort. The ones my former employer has are only about 1/2 the size of the ones in the video. They could still handle large parts, right on up to genset engine blocks. Greg

Obviously there is a tremendous difference in monetary value and desirability however I am sure some would have written this MG off as scrap when it was first dug up. 30 or 40 years buried with cow urine constantly seeping down must have left it in a terrible mess. But it runs again. Not saying the Ford Popular in the original post merits saving , but just as bad have been restored. https://carbuzz.com/news/1928-mg-14-40-mkiv-buried-underground-for-decades-resurrected Greg

Wow ! what a car. It is going to need a very special new owner, but to the right person it will be a very special car. Where were these cars 20 years ago when I might have filled the bill ? I guess they were out there , just not where I might encounter them. And probably as far outside my budget then as now. Greg in Canada...… correct coast for once.

What does the back side look like ? I agree with Jack, most probably aftermarket. Greg

I am a bit late to mention this however I used to occasionally rebuild the big old Hamworthy air compressors on the various ships I worked on. Fasteners like the con rod bolts came from Hamworthy without the holes for the cotter pins pre drilled. I would pre torque the bolts up in the workshop where I could mount the con rod in a sturdy vice . Then drill the cotter hole to match the position of the castle nut slot. From that point onward that nut was matched to that bolt. Probably an unnecessary step but on a fine thread bolt aligning to a pre drilled hole can alter the torque . No doubt still within the elastic range of the bolt material. For your mains you can try different castle nuts until you find a good match between torque and nut slot / bolt drilling correspondence. Greg

In that case finding it a new home should be relatively easy. A fair number of those cars have survived. Buicks mid sized car for 1914. Greg

It looks like it is configured for Right Hand drive, further supporting your British suspicions. Greg