John_Maine

I don't remember how long ago - less than 10 years - we had snow in one area of our backyard into the first week of May. I think that was the year we had over 9' of snow piled up at the end of our driveway from shoveling and the town plow. The latest I ever remember having a snow storm was around the 5th of May when we had 5" one year. Of course, it only lasts a couple of days by that time.

Maine does not issue titles for any vehicle built before 1994, I think. All I needed to register my 72 LTD and my 71 Buick was a valid bill of sale and a copy of the prior owner's registration. When my uncle passed away, I sold his 1993 Cavalier in Florida (it was registered in Maine) to a Florida resident and that's what I gave to him. He never came back to me that he had a problem registering and titling the car in Florida.

There are pictures of Franklin Roosevelt driving a mid-30's Ford convertible equipped with hand controls so I would say it can be done. I never saw a picture of the inside of that car so don't know how it was set up.

Were 318's an option on the '65 Polara? I thought they all came with a 2 bbl. 383 as standard.

We have had a tremendously up and down winter so far. Very cold with snow, then warm with rain. We've had two ice storms and another is forecast for Saturday. Thursday morning, it was -17° and barely out of the single digits all day. Sunday night, it was 24° and raining. Pure ice Monday morning but by mid-morning, it was in the mid-30's and by the middle of the afternoon, 50°. It was down to 31° when I went to bed and this morning it was 9° and has pretty much stayed there all day. Fortunately, the warm temps yesterday melted all the ice on the wires and trees. We have had several snow storms but with all the rain, we're down to about a foot on the ground. It has been an interesting winter, to say the least.

This was the first Christmas in many years that I did not receive anything car related - unless you consider "Highway Patrol" on DVD car related.

I love Highway Patrol. I've watched season 1 on HULU and earlier this year, found the later seasons on DVD which I put on my Christmas list.

I'm just really surprised that they refurbished the car and continued to use it. I don't think i would have wanted to ride in it.

We're getting ready for ice - blech! - but nothing falling from the sky yet. I hope we stay on the warm side of this front. We've actually done fairly well this season. The two larger snow storms we had came on weekends so no school cancellations so far. Last year, they had already used four before Christmas. Right now, there's maybe 8" on the ground.

Very nice, best of luck with it!

We had 9" of snow Saturday night into Sunday; another 2"-5" is forecast for tonight. It started snowing about 5:00PM. This morning, the low was -10° F, about the coldest it has been in a couple of years. What gets me is the media makes it seem like it's never been this cold or snowed before.

I guess maybe if you live in Australia, it is getting close. Here, today, very windy, 18°F, 25-30 mph wind with gusts up to 47 mph, a dusting of snow last night so all of the roads are white with salt. I put my cars to bed last weekend. They won't be out until April or May.

Just curious why not having a title is an issue? Maine does not title anything older than 15 years. All we need is a bill of sale. Does that mean someone buying a car here, for example, would have difficulty getting a title in their state?

The '62 looked a little used up and was after all, 40 years older than the 2002 so I'm sure it wasn't as structurally sound. No matter, it does demonstrate that newer cars with the crumple zones are much more survivable in an accident than an older car.

Well, we did the barn find thing this morning - 20° with the wind blowing a steady 25-30 mph and higher gusts. I had on my long underwear, boots and heavy socks in addition to my parka, hood and gloves. Today is the coldest it has been in a long time but it was sunny and wouldn't have been too bad if the wind weren't blowing so bad. Lots of places without power, I'm amazed we still have ours because we usually lose it in much less windy conditions than this. Anyway..... First barn or garage - Quonset hut style, probably 30' x 60' - was the guy's main working garage. In it was a rust free '31 Model A roadster undergoing restoration, just as he left it when taken ill late last year. Engine and transmission in and running. Fenders detached, some sanded down and and all rust free. The body also rust free, being worked on. Seat reupholstered and decent looking. All of the parts are there to finish, some still new in the box. In the garage itself, Model T wood and wire wheels, headlights (brass and others), horns, steering wheels, steering columns, brass radiators, hand cranks all hanging from the rafters. Found a radiator shell for a Cleveland, a 30's Cadillac heater box, a few steel toy trucks from the 30's. Lots of old tools - one a large, heavy, two man powered drill to attach to logs to bore holes through them used for making log cabins. Drawers and cabinets - a couple of pretty rare metal cabinets like the guys in Iowa like to buy - full of tools, bolts, parts, you name it. There was also a set of old school gym lockers full of miscellaneous parts and pieces. Also a fully redone and running Ford flathead from the 30's ready to put in something. I'm really just touching the tip of the ice berg, here. Next to the garage was a semi-trailer full of Model T & A sheet metal - fenders, hoods, more wheels, steering wheels, etc. There was a large rack of hub caps and wheel covers, some pretty mint from the 20's to the 80's. In the car barn was an original '32 Plymouth sedan that was last driven about 2 years ago. The car has original paint, original top insert (getting somewhat ratty), original interior which was in fantastic shape. Daughter said he bought the car 40 years ago from the original owners. Odometer showed 62K. Beside it was a Model T Truck also being worked on. Most, if not all of the wood work was done as was the engine and transmission. Original brass kerosene headlamps with missing lenses - I don't remember what year but my friend said it was the last year of kerosene lamps - 1912? 1915? Somewhere around there. All of the parts are supposed to be there to finish it - scattered around a bit, but there. In front of the Plymouth was a '31 Model A truck - I forget the model but whatever style it was, it was only available in 1931, something about the rear fenders? Anyway, it's complete and does drive. Again, scattered about were various wheels, parts and tools. We didn't go upstairs but it's also supposed to be full of fenders, doors, etc. Once in awhile the fellow would sell something. A few years ago he sold 20 Model T transmissions to a fellow in Massachusetts. In another garage was a '32 Model A 2 door coupe with rumble seat, basically complete with the parts not on it "somewhere" . Again, the engine was rebuilt and the car was rust free as near as we could tell. Lining the walls of this garage were more Model A & T parts, more tools, etc. There were two other smaller garages that we didn't look in that are full of parts as well as more stuff in the cellar of the house. We didn't move anything so goodness knows what's underneath the stuff we did see. I think there will be lots of surprises. They have to sell the property - house, garages and 160 acres so have to sell all the car stuff first. There's way too much to sell on an individual basis, so they need to do an auction. My friend gave them the name of an auctioneer he knows who does car stuff and we told them we'd help them empty the barns and get things organized to do an auction next spring. Sorry, no pictures. I totally forgot to take a camera. If I get back over there, I'll try to remember to do that.

Kind of excited! We had some friends over for dinner last weekend and they asked me how to go about getting a value on the '32 Plymouth sedan the wife inherited from her father who passed away about a year ago. I have another friend in town that I go to Hershey with who does appraisals, so I immediately thought of him. Anyway, in conversation, the Plymouth is only the tip of the ice berg. Apparently, her father was a collector all his life. If he bought one of something, he bought twelve. So, besides the Plymouth, which he bought 40 years ago and is a partially restored car that has not been run for a couple of years, there is one complete Model T and several other Model T's in various unassembled condition and a ton of parts. Another barn has several trucks from the 'teens. There are also at least two 30' storage trailers full of parts. They said some of the trailers are so full you can't walk through them. I called my friend and made arrangements for us to go out Sunday morning to take a look. I'll post back on here what we find.

I used to save EVERY car magazine I subscribed to although except for Motor Trend, I sold a lot of them back in 1979. I have been in the BCA since late 1999 and have kept every Bugle. They are in plastic tubs in the cellar along with several other tubs and bags full of car magazines - Motor Trend, Car & Driver, Car Collector, Car Exchange, Automobile, Ford Times, Car Collector, and Hemmings as well as some old Popular Science, Popular Mechanix and Mechanix Illustrated. I have the first Motor Trend I ever bought, the 1961 new car issue. Some of the Mechanix Illustrateds are from the mid-50's and then some from mid 60's to early 70's - I love to read the old Uncle Tom's road tests. Most everything I have left is from the 60's through the 90's. I also used to keep NADA guides and have a bag full of them from the 80's. A few years ago, I decided I was keeping too much, so the only magazines I keep now are the Bugle and Collectible Automobile. The rest I give a friend who is a service writer at a local dealership. He reads and keeps what he wants then passes them on to others in the dealership.

Brian, I can't believe you have never been to Maine! Any time you want to come, let me know.

Well, Terry, I still have a hard time thinking that my '72 LTD and '71 Buick are antiques, I guess because I bought my first new car in 1972. And just think, next April, the first Mustangs will be 50. My son bought the first new 2005 Mustang our local dealer had. He loves the car and doesn't want to part with it. Sitting in the show field at Hershey, I was thinking if he kept it until it was old enough to enter in HPOF, it would be a one owner, original car. He would be 51 and I'd be 80. I hope he, the car and I all make it!

I just read on the internet that there is going to be a second chance auction of cars that were sold to on-line bidders who were unable to complete their transactions, something like 16-17 cars. The article said that there were actually 36 cars where the deals did not go through, but 20 or so of them are so bad that they are being crushed. Don't have the website handy, sorry.

Hey guys, one of the things on my retirement bucket list is a road trip out west. I've always wanted to see what's out there; have a couple of cousins in the San Diego area that I'd like to visit as well. I'm thinking of a northern route out and a southern route back. I'd like to take in some presidential libraries, car museums, historic sites and National parks. Thought I'd head out of New England across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois to Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone and eventually the west coast down the Pacific Coast Highway to San Diego. Heading back, hit Arizona, New Mexico, Texas up to Kansas and Missouri (Eisenhower and Truman libraries) and then east. I'd love to do some of Route 66, maybe some of the Lincoln Highway. If any of you have done this, what time of year would you do it? Spring is tornado season, summer seems to be fire season and I sure as heck don't want to run into any snow. I'm also not sure how I want to do it. I'd love to take my '72 LTD but don't have AC and cruise. I'm not crazy about hauling a trailer with my Taurus but I guess I could haul a small pop-up or something. I was thinking a small, van based motorhome would be okay but I don't want to invest in a truck and large trailer or 5th wheel. Just looking for some thoughts and advice if any of you have done this and how you did it.

I've not had my GPS take me off track yet, but I always carry an atlas with me. The problem I've found is that if I don't go the route my Garmin wants me to go, it keeps adjusting the route to turn me around and take me back the original way it laid out. I usually use a map to get close to where I want, then I plug the address in the Garmin to get me the last distance.

My son bought the first 2005 Mustang our local Ford dealer had in stock in April 2005. He still has it and cherishes it, just turned 81K and has not been used winters. He has a 2004 Ranger for that. Sitting in the show field at Hershey with my '72 LTD, I got to thinking that if he kept the Mustang, in 2030 he could put it in the show as an original owner HPOF. I would be 80, he would be 51. That would be pretty cool.

NADA publishes a collector car guide; I don't know about KBB but I assume they must. Before I retired from banking, if I had someone who wanted a value on an older car (older than the 7 years the regular NADA guide goes back), I used it. I'm sure a 1990 Reatta would be in it. If you ever had a problem with insurance, I would supply the company with this additional documentation. In Maine, a car only needs to be 20 to qualify as an antique. Look at NADA.com and see what you can find.

My first "old" car was a '64 Impala that I bought in '84 - at age 20 with 56,000 miles, it seemed old to me. In 2013, a 1993 Caprice is 20 but it doesn't seem as old as the '64 did in '84. I think this applies to any car of the 80's as well, whether it is a full size or down sized GM, K-car or whatever. In Maine, a car qualifies for antique plates at age 20, but I haven't seen any '93 Caprices with antique plates - yet. I still have trouble thinking that my '72 LTD is an antique but it's 41 years old now. I bought my first new car in 1972, so I guess that's why. In the Sunday paper today, the comic strip "Big Nate" sort of takes the same tack. Nate is referring to songs 25 years old as oldies and is trying to prove to his father that they are indeed, oldies. He asks his father if he was listening to oldies in 1988 - 25 years ago. 1988-25 is 1963 and to his father, songs from 1963 were oldies so therefore, music from 1988 is considered oldies now. His father just runs away yelling "Noooooooo.................."