John_Maine

My friends and I are leaving a week from today - Tuesday. I am not bringing a car this year but my friend is - and actually, he's been driving the same car to Hershey since 1991 - first year eligible 1990 Pontiac 6000. Hoping to get his HPOF and I'm sure he will. Almost all the miles on the car are from Maine to Hershey and back. The last several years, it's been the only time it has been out of the garage. My '72 LTD received its HPOF in 2013. We will stay through the show on Saturday and head home Sunday.

I entered my 72 LTD in the Hemmings Show a few times when it was at Stratton Mtn., Vermont, but they moved it to Saratoga a few years ago and hold it a month later so I stopped going. It would mean 2 days on the road and two nights in a motel, money that I can use at Hershey which is just 2-3 weeks later.

I started my '71 LeSabre last weekend after 7 months hibernation. Only took 15-20 seconds of cranking for it to turn over. Drove it out of the garage and let it run long enough to warm up. After a couple of minutes, I noticed what looked like smoke coming from under the hood by the wipers so shut it down. Didn't see anything, so started it back up. Noticed the AC clutch turning slowly even though the AC wasn't on. Turned the AC on and it started blowing with the clutch spinning. However, it looked like it was spinning unevenly if that makes sense. Anyway, I shut the AC off and the clutch stopped, but still moved slightly. Then I noticed black particles all over the engine compartment and right front fender, like ground rubber. It appears that the metal part behind the black part is broken which is chewing up the black part - sorry I don't know the names. The AC needs to be charged/repaired so I guess I can take off the belt and be all right. Until then, I don't dare to drive it.

I grew up in the 50's and 60's. We could leave the house early in the morning and not come back all day if we wanted and no one said a thing. I remember riding my bike to the corner store about 1/2 mile away when I was 6 to get a loaf of bread. No one came after my parents for child endangerment. We rode our bikes all around the neighborhood, not fearing anything or anyone - but yes, we knew not to get in a car with a stranger. No phones, no electronics, 2-3 stations on a black and white TV was plenty. No one worried about political correctness gone amuck - but yes, there was plenty of racism, so that's not so good. Cars didn't have seat belts or any safety devices. I remember riding in a car seat that hooked over the seat back. It had a metal bar that came down in front of me and had a steering wheel smack in the middle. I loved cars even then and spent many happy hours "driving" along with whichever parent was driving. When my brother was born and came home from the hospital, my parents laid him in a car bed that fit in the back seat. Things began to change during the late 60's - early 70's during the Vietnam War and really began to change after the oil embargo of 1973 and the oil shortage in 1979. Both just seemed to cause a lot of turmoil and we entered a period of greater government intervention in our lives - some of it for the better but a lot for the worse. Then in the late 80's, we had the first of the more recent housing and banking crises and economic down turns which took 3 years to recover from. Things recovered in 1991-1992 and the 90's were relatively calm. Everything changed for the worse on 9/11/2001 and it's mostly been down hill since then.

I bet there are some still hidden away, not touched in 55 years.

The prior owner of my '72 LTD was paid $200 per day to park it on the street in front of Fenway Park in Boston for the movie that Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore were in. Can't remember the name of it. The receipt from the movie company came with the car when I bought it. Unfortunately, the scene the car was in was cut from the final print. Must be 12-15 years ago.

Nope, too much snow and too much salt still on the roads. It'll be May before my cars come out of hibernation at this rate.

I've heard the snow story many times before but never with Connecticut - always Maine. Regarding commuting in a vintage car, I guess it depends on what vintage. Early to mid-50's would be about as vintage as I'd want to commute any distance in although I often said I'd like to have a Model T to commute to work with. But then, I only lived 1 mile from work, getting there would be all down hill and the speed limit was 25.

Anybody catch "Castle" this week? He was driving a Buick Regal GS. Thought it was good product placement!

I remember seeing a lot of these! What've we got, another 9 months?

I have a soft spot for Edsels, especially 4 doors so if I had the means and talent, that's the one I'd choose.

I have "E-bay Motors Collector Cars" book marked and it's working fine. I don't like the most recent revisions they have made compared to the way it used to be but I work around them.

I recently read that Buick sold over 900,000 vehicles in China compared with something around 235,000 in the US. At the time of the GM bankruptcy, I seem to remember reading somewhere that Pontiac would have survived rather than Buick except for the fact that Buick was doing so well in China. I like the front, rear and front /side view of the Avenir but don't like the rear quarter view. It reminds me of the Honda Crosstour and the Porsche Panamera. It needs a longer rear deck or something. And I'm sure if it comes to the US in some form, it will be outrageously expensive. Look what GM wants for the Chevy SS.

It's only temporary but I hope it holds until spring when I can fill up my LTD and Lesabre. It will be nice to fill them for less than $70!

Personally, I don't care two hoots about how the cars are parked. Makes it more interesting to see different cars together. Just walk around and enjoy them.

However, Ford dropped the Crown Vic in 2000 and sold the Grand Marquis in its place for quite awhile longer. I had a cousin in PEI who always had Crown Vics and was irritated that he had to buy a Grand Marquis in 2000. If you looked at the Ford website for Canada, the Grand Marquis was listed along side the Taurus, Fusion and Focus.

Ouch, I guess I better get the anti-freeze changed in my cars. I've had my '71 Buick since my uncle gave it to me in 2000 and I've never changed the coolant. I've had my '72 LTD since 2005. I had the system drained and flushed then but haven't since.

After I wrote about manual transmission cars I knew, I remembered that my aunt and uncle in Connecticut never had an automatic car until 1971. My uncle always bought base models with manual transmissions and an AM radio as the only option. He also kept cars until they turned to dust but he was somewhat mechanical and could do a lot of his own maintenance - brakes, exhaust, gaskets, etc. He had a '51 Plymouth Suburban until the mid-60's and used it to commute to work. In 1958, he bought a '58 Ford Ranch Wagon for my aunt because they moved to Glastonbury and needed two cars. The Ford was dark grey with a 6 and 3 speed. In 1963, he bought a '63 Buick Special, V6 3 speed and drove the Ford to a junk yard because it had completely rusted out. In 1965, he bought a '65 Fury I 4 door with a 318 and 3 speed and finally got rid of the '51 Plymouth - which had outlasted the '58 Ford. In 1969, he bought a base Dodge Dart, slant 6, 3 speed and they became a 3 car family, turning the Special over to my cousin who had gotten his license. Finally, in 1971, my aunt prevailed and they bought a 71 Impala with automatic, power steering and power brakes. Once the Dart gave up the ghost in 1982 and was replaced with a Chevy Citation, they never had a manual transmission car again. After the 71 Impala and a 78 Impala, they switched to Honda and Subaru, even an Audi 1.8T. My uncle passed at 92 last year. The year before he died, they traded the Audi for another Legacy which my aunt is still driving.

I had a 1966 Buick LeSabre Custom with the 340 2 bbl and 3 speed manual. It came with power steering, an AM radio, floor mats, white walls and wheel covers as the only options. I had the original dealer order. I bought it in 1999 when it had just 14,000 miles (known history) and sold it in 2005 with just under 20,000 miles. My wife and I drove it to the BCA National in Buffalo in 2001. At the time I owned it, another acquaintance in town bought a base 1971 LeSabre in Montana and drove it back to Maine. It was a 3 speed manual, power steering, power brakes, Am radio. He kept it for 2-3 years and sold it - he advertised it in the Buick Bugle at an outrageous price - and ultimately sold it for what he paid for it. I regret not being able to buy it from him. To have 2 full sized Buicks with 3 speed manuals would have been a kick. This Buick was all black but did not have original seat coverings - the cloth had been replaced with a velour like fabric. Last I knew the car was in Boothbay Harbor, ME but that was quite a while ago. My parents also had friends that bought Plymouths - and not very often. As a child, I remember that they had a red '49 sedan with a 3 speed manual. They traded that for a '59 Plymouth Savoy wagon with a V8 and 3 speed, no power anything and no radio. They had that until 1971 when they traded for a 1971 Plymouth Fury 1 wagon, 3 speed and power steering. No radio and no other options. They were an older couple and old school when it came to cars. Wanted them as simple as possible. They owned hthe '71 until they passed. My uncle sold Chevies in New Hampshire and he came across some different combinations. My favorite was a 1964 Impala wagon, black with red vinyl, 9 passenger. It had a 327-250, 3 speed overdrive, power steering, power brakes, power windows, power seat, white walls, roof rack and a bunch of other small options. I was 15-16 when he took it in trade and was amazed that a car with full power options had a standard 3 speed. I remember he also sold a 4 speed '67 Malibu SS 396 to a fellow that had 3 teenage daughters. I was with him when he delivered it and took their '63 Impala SS 2 door hardtop in trade. That also had a 327 and 3 speed and a friend's parents had a '64 Impala SS 327 3 speed that they traded for a '67 Bel Air 2 door sedan with a 6 and 3 speed. My other favorite was a '64 Fairlane 500 4 door sedan that our church's youth leader ordered new - silver, red interior, 289 and 4 on the floor. It also had white walls and wire wheel covers. All of us young guys thought it was so cool to see a 4 door with a 4 speed. Almost forgot - my driver's ed car was a '66 Chevy Bel Air 4 door, 6 cyl. stick, manual steering and brakes. I think the only option was a radio. We had 4 driver's ed cars, 2 Bel Airs and 2 Fairlane 500 4 doors with the 289 and stick. That's all the manual transmission cars I remember that I had any close contact with.

Nice car, 1956 is one of my favorite years of Ford.

Nice Buick and certainly an economical collector car. Known history with original documentation is always a plus. I agree with My3Buicks - it's likely a $7,000-$8,000 car. It would probably get a little more if it were a V8.

There were a few nice cars at Hershey that were for sale for around the price of that sign!

I haven't had my '71 LeSabre out for a couple of months. I was hoping to have some work done on it this year so I could drive it and enjoy it more than I have. Unfortunately, just didn't get to it. I will take it out for a run before putting it up for the winter at the end of the month. I've only driven it about 50 miles since April; haven't even put gas in it this year.

What gets me is people who want to sell their cars - old or new - who don't at least vacuum them out and wash them. Pictures of cars for sale with dirty floors, paper strewn about, etc., just turn me off. Even at Hershey, there were some cars for sale that looked like they hadn't been cleaned in months.

One of my uncles had a '54 Pontiac and another (his brother) had a '55 Chevy. By happenstance, they found that the ignition keys to both cars worked in the other.