John_Maine

I got the 71 LeSabre out this morning to make a dump run and do some errands. I also cruise the local car lots just to see what's new out there. I haven't had the Buick out much the last couple of years, just enough to keep things running okay. I've put just a little over 100 miles on it since May of 2012; I haven't even put any gas in it yet this year. It needs some work done to it, so I don't take it very far. The last time I had it out was in August when I drove it 7 miles to a local farm stand to get some corn on the cob. I have someone in mind to do some work on her for me but have to wait until his schedule permits. He's restoring a '37 Dodge convertible now. I don't want the Buick restored but I want the things that need fixing fixed so I can enjoy it and feel comfortable taking it out of town.

If it's the same as '71, it's two pieces.

I need a sending unit for my '71 LeSabre Custom 4 door. If it doesn't work on the '70, I'd be interested. My uncle gave me the car which he bought from a friend in 1980 and he said he hit something that punched a hole in the original tank so it was replaced. It definitely does not hold 25 gallons as I ran it dry thinking I had more gas than I did and I only managed to get 21 gallons in it when I filled it. I don't know if it is an aftermarket tank or if it came from another Buick.

The red makes the car. Beautiful!

While going through some of my car stuff this morning, I ran across a certificate issued to my uncle by Packard, stating that he had successfully completed a master technician salesman's course. It's dated December 1950 and is signed by the dealership's owner, the dealership's service manager and a couple of people from Packard - I assume like a zone manager or something. It's in really good shape. Would this have any value other than sentimental value to me? I also have a couple of small Packard calendars/notepads from 1949 and 1950 with the dealership's name on them. My uncle sold Chevrolets and Packards at Rogers Garage in Hanover, NH. He started there right after WWII in 1946 and retired in 1976. I'm not sure how long the dealership sold Packards. They did have the Renault and Peugeot franchise in the 60's to the early 70's. The dealership was sold in the mid-60's, relocated to a new store and became Hillcrest Chevrolet. That owner went through bankruptcy in 1972. The dealership survived under a new owner but sometime after my uncle retired, it was sold again and relocated.

Guess I missed the souvenir part - but could it have been given out to a salesman that won a trip somewhere? I really don't know.

Love seeing pictures of her on the road. Just beautiful.

Is it a salesman's award of some kind? My uncle sold Chevies for 35 years - 1941-1976 - and he had all kinds of "trinkets" that he sometimes gave to me. The last one I had was a '62 Chevy pick-up tie bar that I wore all the time and unfortunately lost several years ago. I've been searching for another since and have never seen one.

I had this happen in a '79 Pontiac Catalina I owned. I could not get the key out and did not want to force it. My mechanic, however, did. The solution was a new ignition switch/cylinder.

Hershey in the rain is still better than being anywhere else in the world. Not meaning to offend anyone, but could it be that some of the vendors and car owners who bug out early - rain or no - are "professionals" simply there for the money, not because they love cars or enjoy talking to people about car stuff? I've only been attending Hershey for the last 10 years but I somehow envision that in earlier times - when there was rain, mud and everything else that gets thrown at Hershey - things were more laid back and if it poured like it did this year, everyone simply found a dry place to sit and visit with one another. There wasn't the rush to make sales, if it rained and you sold something, great; if you didn't, it wasn't a big deal because you spent 3 hours talking cars with whomever passed by and had a good time.

It was disappointing to see so many vendors leave or not open on Friday, but the die-hards were still there. I put my rain suit and boots on Friday and walked around all morning; saw a couple of people I wanted to see and found another set of turbine style optional wheel covers for my LTD. I have a feeling I was the first and only sale the vendor had all morning - and I wouldn't have found the wheel covers if he had not been using them to hold down the tarp on the rest of his wares. Unfortunately, my boots have seen better days I guess so I gave up at noon and went back to my motel to change. My feet were wet and even my pant legs were wet half-way up my legs. I changed, had lunch and drove back to the museum - which is where I usually am on the Friday afternoon of Hershey. I think the worst of the rain came on my drive back to Harrisburg after I left the museum. Was pleased to wake up Saturday morning and not see rain. I entered my car in the show for the first time and had a blast all day. The weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold and no precipitation.

As usual, I had a great time and thank all of the people who help to put this meet together and keep it together throughout. I'm really glad I didn't give in to the rain and go home on Friday as I really enjoyed the show on Saturday. I really thought the grass would be like a sponge but it was as good as it would have been if it had not rained at all. I talked to several people about their cars and had several people talk to me about mine. I didn't find it confusing leaving the show field at all but I suppose if you haven't driven around Hershey much, you might have ended up somewhere unfamiliar. Already counting the days to next year!

I had a '64 Falcon Futura that got me through 4 years of college. I sold it in 1972 for $250 to a neighbor kid who needed a car. I had put a lot of money into the Falcon and kept it up as I always do. Three weeks later, I'm driving by the kid's father's business and the Falcon was in the parking lot, all smashed up. It seems he fell asleep at the wheel and hit a telephone poll just in front of the passenger A pillar. I didn't cry, but I was crushed. In addition, the Falcon was filled with discarded soda and beer bottles, coffee cups, etc. Remarkably, he had it repaired and drove it for another year or so. I'm sure it was total junk by then, though.

Don, I agree with Keith. Don't let one person get to you and turn you away.

You know, I kind of agree with Linc here - even though I previously said I didn't like music at car shows. We're being really critical of a DJ who plays at car shows and is asking for advice from people who like cars. I really like Linc's suggestions and would not mind music if a DJ followed some of them.

Cripes, I even get teary eyed at Chevy truck ads - the Like a Rock ones. So, yes, I get upset when I part with a car.

Looks like they've extended the showers from Monday to Tuesday but that's traveling day anyway. The rest of the week looks great.

Sorry, I don't like music at car shows, period. I have stopped going to a lot of local ones because they play so loudly I can't carry on a normal conversation with someone or otherwise hear myself think.

Backed the LTD out of the garage this afternoon to start prepping for Hershey. I took stuff out of the trunk I don't want to take, put stuff in I do - folding chair, fire extinguisher, tools. Vacuumed it and checked it over, lights, wipers, fluids, pumped up the tires to they all have the same pressure and cleaned the white walls. Getting anxious to hit the road!

I pretty much do what everyone else here has said. I stopped using my car covers because I found condensation under them one spring when I took them off, so I just cover them with blankets and add Stabil. My cars are parked in the garage with our every day cars, so we're obviously in and out all the time. I think that keeps mice at bay. If there's no salt on the roads, I will take them out for a run. One year, I was still driving them in January. If I can't take them out, then I start them up a couple of times.

We have never waited for parking at Hershey - always drive right in.

My wife thinks my car hobby is a complete waste of time and money and told me once I retired, I'd have to stop going to Hershey because we wouldn't have the money. Yet, she has criticized me for not asking her to go. So, I asked her if she wanted to go and she said "Of course not." Go figure. I put an end to the Hershey discussion by telling her I was going to continue to go to Hershey until I couldn't walk any more and that my going was not up for discussion. Not to hijack the thread, I agree with what's been said. There are plenty of outlets and historical sites around for her to investigate.

Weather update - again week and a half-2 weeks out can't be absolutely certain - but Tuesday thru Saturday show partly cloudy with high temps in the mid-60's.

Looking at the two week forecast - and yes, it's speculation that far out - Wednesday and Thursday show as partly cloudy with temps in the low 70's. Tomorrow, they'll have Friday posted as well. Right now, it's looking good.

Yep, I bring shorts and t-shirts, my parka, boots and gloves, and everything in between. At 40° in the morning, I'm glad I have the parka and gloves.