1912Staver

The Kissel and the McFarlan I get 100 %. A vast collection of Tornado's not so much. His time and money. And a great storage building. Seemingly no trouble paying for his hobby. Most of us can only dream of a fraction of this set up. Actually even if money were no object I don't think I would own 20 odd Tornado's. A great shop, decent storage building, 8 or 10 cars tops. Greg in Canada

Cars with a subframe for mounting the engine and gearbox are usually quite early. 1910 - 12 at the newest. I don't know what it is but someone is definitely going to want it. Tell your friends son to keep looking for any more parts. Running board brackets suggest a runabout or roadster. You might also try an advert. on the HCCA site, the more brass era guys on the job the better on one like this. Greg in Canada

It probably depends on price. I see the earlier 1950's issues on ebad for up to $20.00 a copy, I doubt many sell. $2.00 - $3.00 each I am sure you will sell most that are in decent condition. Pre 1955 perhaps even $5.00 each. I have bought quite a few over the years at the Portland swap meet in the $2.00 range. Great reading in those years. { 1950's and 1960's } Greg in Canada

If it is automotive it is one of the many accessory lens's sold in the early 1920's . Almost certainly not O.E.M. for a specific make and model. And usually not much value except as a curiosity. Greg in Canada

He is 19 now, spare time in his life is all about girls, his music buddies , his sports buddies. Not much space for old cars. Greg

Amazing car ! We can all dream at least. And your 120 sounds like a blast. Affordable definitely means different things to different people. Drove my MGA for several years with no top so I can definitely relate. I always parked it from November to March to save it from the salt. Unlike Washington B.C. uses lots of salt in the winter. Thank goodness for old Toyota's , cheap winter transport. One of my all time favorite cars is a XK 120 factory lightweight that lived in the Vancouver area for 20 or so years. Gone back to England quite a few years ago. D type engine and lots more besides the special alloy body . I believe 4 were built as back up cars for le Mans in case the C types had trouble. But only 3 were finished at the time. The 4 th body was eventually built up as a club racer by a Jag apprentice some time in the 1960's. In the early 70's it made its way over here. MWK 120 { also known as LT1 }is its plate number , there should be information on the web if you are curious. Stunning in real life. More subdued than your friends Maserati but surely one of the ultimate XK series cars. Greg in Canada

Back in those days Blue Streaks had a bit of tread didn't they ? Probably a lot softer compound than X's. Best all round tires I had in the 1980's were Michelin XWX's. Too pricy new for my pocket, but the guy at the tire store the shop I worked at did quite a bit of business with used to put any used ones that came in aside for me. The only Blue Streaks I have experience with are the final generation. Pure race slicks, completely useless in the wet. Just before the name change to Goodyear Eagle. I can't imagine how deep your pockets would have to be these days in order to race an XK 120. My little 4 Cyl. car is bad enough, a fraction of the cost to buy. And way lower costs in every other regard as well. Far easier on tires, and engines are less than 1/2 the price. Faster as well in the right hands. Greg in Canada

Hard to imagine racing in conditions like that. Mind you tires were bit more dual purpose in those days. But extreme to say the least. Greg in Canada

One of my mistake was to start buying up the necessary parts to build a 1914 / 15 Model T speedster. I thought back to when I was 12 years old and that would have been a real thrill to me if my father had have been involved with something similar. My father was a vintage car fan, and took me to lots of shows , the Easter vintage parade etc,., But never owned a vintage car himself. Mainly a sports , hunting and fishing guy with a strong but secondary interest in vintage cars. Trouble was it is not 1970 anymore. A model T has 0 interest to my son, and less than 0 when in parts. In my view a young person could not help but be thrilled with a T as a first car, but much has changed over 50 years and I was slow to grasp that fact. Placing your own ambitions on your child I now realise is a common parenting pitfall. I took my son to lots of events when he was about 8 - 15 years old, but eventually it became clear there were things he would rather be doing. One still hopes, but things don't look very promising. Greg

I am sure you are both enjoying the shop time. My 19 year old son has at this point little old car interest. Music and sports yes, old cars no. He just views cars a transport appliances, a necessary evil. At least part of the picture is probably the way I have approached the hobby for the last 25 years. Lots of interest, but glacier pace progress. A steady dilemma over hobby cost vs other expenses . I have been involved for over 45 years so by the time my son arrived the only cars that interested me were cars that were on the brink of being unaffordable to someone with my income. So several needy projects, definitely a mistake. All very interesting cars to me, but I now realise young people need to see and experience old cars that can be driven and used if they are going to catch the bug. No easy solution, projects are nearly unsellable these days regardless of price. And each passing year makes the already scarce hobby money just a bit more scarce. Even I get a bit discouraged at times despite owning a couple of cars I feel extremely lucky to own , so easy to see how a 19 year old might see no upside to the hobby. Greg

I agree with you keith, electrics are probably little if any better for the environment than IC vehicles. But it is public perception that matters most of the time, facts not so much it seems. And I have also heard similar evidence about air travel. A very large indeed overall emissions source. Somehow air travel is being almost completely overlooked by many , I guess cars make an easier target. I doubt even zealots blame the car hobby for the current state of the environment. But the car hobby does make an easy target in that it is a 100 % optional and in reality unnecessary activity. It does not serve any realistic transportation need. Lots of fun , much the same as vacation travel . But no justifiable , "can't do without" purpose. Motorsport and recreational boating are in a similar spot. As the climate action situation evolves over the next 20 years I would expect all of these " unnecessary " fossil fuel uses to come under increasing scrutiny . Greg

Policy makers around the Western World are jumping on the anti fossil fuel bandwagon. A series of lifestyle adverts on British Columbia TV these days showing young , prosperous , happy family's and their electric cars is in fairly heavy rotation. . Also promoting the tax payer funded program to significantly reduce the purchase price hurdle on electric cars. Quite mainstream, and clearly the writing on the wall of overall opinion for many younger , urban family's in these parts. The future is happening fast and it does not appear to have much interest in fossil fuels. Urban British Columbian's are often very health and environmentally active / concerned. Quite a bit of support for electrics. Greg in Canada , all for a healthy lifestyle and environmental protection right on up to the gasoline vehicle elephant in the room.

I am afraid the at times astonishingly low auction prices pre - war , non Ford sales prices show definitely supports the theory that interest is waning. Post war interest might be making up the difference in overall numbers but segments of that market are falling as well. I think we will continue to see the trend of pre - war cars being sold overseas. Some of the auction prices in the Lincoln thread and other auction result threads are quite an eye opener. Greg in Canada

One of my friends sons actually was well on track by 24. 27 now and doing very well in a demanding career. Hardest working , most determined person I have ever met. But truly exceptional. His slightly older brother is almost the exact opposite. Almost exactly the same job environment, genetics, home life , social environment, parental support and guidance. One remarkable success , one vastly more ordinary result. My friend and his wife as well as everyone else are baffled to explain the difference. Greg

Lots of the young adults I knew when I was 21 still had some serious growing up to do, myself included { 21 in 1979}. College life included some behaviours that could have some very serious long term consequences, primarily drugs and alcohol . When combined with the cheap muscle cars of the day there were some really close calls . Fortunately no deaths or life altering injury's within my immediate circle, but ample opportunity. Gives me a cold shiver at times when I think back. 21 is still pretty young with some people. None of really got a decent start in proper careers until our later 20's , the 80's were pretty bleak economically in Western Canada. But persistence paid off, life shaped up for most of us by our early 30's. The U.S. is probably different but Western Canada has most of the time over the last 40 years been a difficult place to start a career. All of us eventually put our substance problems behind us except one. He was the most promising of us all, extremely smart in Uni. eventually a Marine biologist with a partnership in an environmental consulting co. But over the last 4 decades the booze has taken a terrible toll on his health. Very seriously diabetic and a recent limb amputation. He does not drink any more but the light bulb went on 30 years too late. I would like to think 21 is a milestone for youthful maturity but in my experience not such a certainty. Actually by 21 none of us were finished school let alone established in a career. Too many interruptions to earn enough to pay tuition and living expenses. Plus a couple of us have post grad degrees. As far as " prepared right " I think we were all prepared by our parents very well in my opinion. Middle class, hard working , generally blue collar parents. Work hard and get a good education was the nearly universal parental mantra. We all worked very hard, wouldn't have ended up where we did otherwise. Often juggling work and school, very long hours, very hard work. But definitely played too hard as well. Greg in Canada

I was young when I first laid eyes on 01 { 1984 } , it just took a lot longer than I expected to buy it. But patience is at times a virtue. Another 4 or 5 years and it should be back to the condition I first saw it in. Just time and money but my big need is a proper shop. Lots of tools , experience, machine tools etc. But buildings are a lot more expensive than cars. You can only do so much in a Quonset without a concrete floor. And the smallish double garage attached to the house is the machine shop, no room for cars. And not safe for welding . Just try explaining to the wife you burnt the house down. Greg

I have an 1980's { borderline collectible } car myself. It is AACA eligible but that's not it's native territory. 1983 Royale RP 33. One of those odd little British cars. And only 105 HP, it probably can't get out of its own way. Still a work in progress after a shunt and a couple decades gathering dust prior to my ownership. I tried to buy it in 1992 but came up short, finally bought it a couple of years ago. There is an AACA class for it but that's not where you will find it. The white 01 is my car with its original owner when it was only a year or so old. 42 now lives just South in Washington State. Greg

$100.00 bills have become common in Canada { bank machines even give them out }, but anything larger is quite rare. I always pay cash but all my cars have been in the $10,000.00 or lower category { and will be indefinitely }. Greg in Canada

Looks like you are a true Buick guy . My wife's daily driver in the late 1980's / early 90's was a 1969 GS 400 HT. We still have it out in one of my sheds. Possibly a restoration project some day, but with the price of gas locally these days not very high on the priority list. The demise of leaded gas led to it being parked in the first place, then the decades took their toll. Greg in Canada

Understood, but that very fact is part of why I let my AACA membership slide . And continue to maintain my HCCA , and local pre - war group membership. Where I live the AACA has 0 activity . So the only benefit to membership is the magazine, a relatively expensive magazine at that, I live in Canada so membership is quite a bit more expensive. But over time the magazine content became much more oriented toward newer cars and I could no longer justify the cost. I have been in your shoes and it really didn't change a thing with my personal activity. In the mid 1970's I was very attracted to MGA's. They were just used cars. But they were fun and affordable. I still own a couple to this day. 40 + years of owning and enjoying cars I like. British car shows at the time were largely T series MG's , Morgan's and perhaps a MGA Twin Cam or XK 120 or two. I went to the shows and enjoyed them , but my driver MGA was always in the general parking lot. One show I did park with the entered cars but it was at the organisers request, fun but a one off. The show area was in my mind for exceptional British cars. It's all personal choice. If you think your 1991 Chrysler is show worthy then why not. Just don't expect everyone to see it the way you see it. Many AACA members would walk right past a MGA without a moments glance. It does not upset me. MGA's have become blasted expensive over the years as it is, last thing I want is even more people wanting to buy them. As I said , I would never complain about someone's choice to enter a newish car at a show, it's their choice. I just walk on and spend my time looking at cars I am interested in. Hard to see how that is a problem to anyone. Greg in Canada

Please don't take this the wrong way. If a 1991 Chrysler appeals to you then cherish it, preserve it and enjoy using it. But around here at least there is still a good chance that a decent sized mall or supermarket parking lot will have one that is still in service as a daily driver. I know the boundary between collector car and used car is very blurry , but at a larger , car hobby specific show ; rather than an informal " cars and coffee " type event, it's probably best to error on the side of caution and enter cars that are roundly recognised as collector cars. We have a local , reasonably large yearly " cruze - in ". When I see cars in the general age group as your Chrysler I myself sometimes wonder why they are there. They are probably nicely preserved , low mileage examples. But as a old car guy of little if any interest to me personally. I would never complain to an owner , to enter or not is his or her choice. But I inwardly hope they gravitate to something a bit more " old car " at an old car event. Greg in Canada

In my mind the actions of individuals are simply their own choice, regardless of age. The problems for the rest of us start when large groups of young people rightly or wrongly arrive at a general consensus. That is as I am receiving the message " fossil fuels are a serious danger to life on earth" . The question of this being correct or incorrect is far beyond me, but it seems significant numbers of young people are rapidly making their minds up that fossil fuels are a serious problem. Eventually their demands for action has a good chance of resulting in real action. Especially as we oldsters fade from the population majority and younger generations replace us as the dominant opinion. The " clean Earth " movement has real potential to effect the old car hobby especially in the near to medium future. One way or another I see real trouble for us older vehicle hobbyists over the next 10 -20 years. Greg in Canada

Possibly not auto related. Some cars used oilers like that but so did lots of other non - automotive machinery . Greg in Canada

And remember it's not just your health. My wife is only 55 and already having serious arthritis and knee , hip , shoulder problems. 25 years as a Nurse plus bad genetics are really changing her { our } life. She was very onboard to our semi rural location when we bought it . We bought a very so - so house on a nice piece of land as it was the property we were both attracted to , her for animals, me for my automotive hobby. At the time we assumed as our careers progressed we would eventually build a decent house and a useful shop. Then came 25 years of wages steadily falling short of matching inflation. What should have been a decent combined income over time became little more than just enough . Definitely no possibility of building a new house. Now she is very limited in how much outdoors is possible. Lots of rain all winter so the yard is slippery with mud much of the year. A serious hazard to someone with mobility and joint problems. So she is more or less limited to a pretty lousy house and her attitude toward rural living has made a 180 degree change. Retirement has drastically reduced my hobby money , I still need a proper shop instead of the collection of leaky storage sheds that I now am limited to. And the cost of building anything is sky high , just like everything in British Columbia. A friend had a very nice 3 car shop with a upstairs { very Spartan} suite for his Son built recently , $85,000.00. I if I really scrimp can probably set aside $700.00 / month. That's all my money for a lot of months. But were we to sell the only thing she would be interested in would be a condo, essentially the end of my hobby. In this part of the world a nicer condo is roughly the same value as our acre with a crappy house. Or for that mater a " average " house on a good sized city lot with a shop.. Nearly anyone thinking of buying our place would consider the house a tear down. Then $600,00.00 - $700,000.00 to build a new house. That's just how much things cost around here. The upgrades to our septic and well necessary for a new house would be around $60,00.00 right off the top. Eventually I am going to have to do the well anyway , $20,000.00 ballpark but the septic is legal for the existing house. Just to do a sideways , apples to apples property sale after legal costs, relator commission , and property purchase tax on the new place is approximately $80,000.00 right off the top of the selling price of the existing property. So even if you bought and sold two property's for exactly the same price you now would have a additional $80,000.00 mortgage. And no , mortgage interest is not a tax deduction in Canada, it comes straight out of your pocket. 25 % of the people in this area have no money troubles at all, the rest are slowly losing the war of stagnant wages and rising prices. A definite no win for us. A nice house on an acre with a decent car hobby shop is our place plus at least an additional $750,000.00. Not going to happen in this lifetime. We also still have aging parents locally and all that comes along with that. My Father passed away last Christmas however the other three are still probably going to be around for some time to come. Matt, I agree 100% with everything you are saying. But you have the real estate / shop space Dragon slain. Cars are / can be easy and relatively cheap. As little as $10,000.00 can get you behind the wheel of a hobby car. I just bought the overall lifetime goal of my hobby interest as a light project for $7,500.00 USD. Probably another $7,500 and its done, no it does not need paint , chrome or interior work. It's the land / shop part of the basics that depending on where you live is sometimes a problem several times as expensive to solve as the cost of the car itself. No one size fits all solution to overall hobby costs. They vary enormously around North America. Greg

Why in the world would anyone fit a aftermarket body intended for a front engine , conventional R.W.D. configuration to a VW floor pan ? And then make it even worse with a Corvair engine swap, even more rear weight. About as poor a basic configuration as can be imagined. Interesting body. Please buy it and build it from the ground up with a correctly engineered chassis . Something along the lines of what the Cobra kits use would be a good place to start. As it is it is just a thoroughly bad idea. They originated with a guy from my neck of the woods, Leslie Albert Dawes. I doubt he would have thought very much of a mish mash like this thing. Greg in Canada