AJFord54

I think the best advice is to have someone that has put their car through the judging process take a look at your car. They can offer you very constructive criticism that will save you a lot of points. As was mentioned, the judging manual is a big help in picking up on some of the things that cost points. For instance: Valve caps - make sure they are correct for your car. Hose clamps - same thing. Spark plugs - correct color for your era. Headlights - Both must match by brand. Battery - Get one that is "of the era", meaning not a bright green Interstate or Optima. It doesn't have to be an exact duplicate of the original, it just has to look proper for the time-period. Get rid of non-factory floor mats and license plate surrounds, badges, etc. Cleanliness is critical. Your goal is to make it look like it just came out of the factory or showroom. Don't forget the undercarriage! With regards to the hose clamps, plugs, caps, etc. - Remember these are the items that really cost points. If your valve stem caps are incorrect, you've just lost 5 points (wheels plus spare tire). Plugs - 6 or 8 points there. Hose clamps - could be 7 or 8 points as well. If you were to tell us where you live, I'm sure someone would gladly assist you in the process. Otherwise, seek out a local AACA club to get that 2nd set of eyes. Most importantly, enjoy the process and have fun. Be thrilled if you receive a 3rd Junior the first time around. Afterwards, write for the scoring sheet which will give you a general idea of where the points were deducted. You won't find your total score as that is not released, but you will get valuable information for your next round of fun. Feel free to pm me if you want any tips. I'm sure many others would offer the same. Best of luck.

I thought his question was fair and for the most part true. There is little interest in the 30s, 40s and earlier "plain Jane" cars from the younger generation. Visit your AACA local region and check out the age of the membership. In our club, the average age is probably 70 and 11 or 12 members have passed on in the last couple of years. It is an AACA national problem and you can agree or disagree, but the younger generation "in general" are not interested in early pre-war cars or hanging out with 75 year old men and women. Thus, his question I felt was reasonable. As to answers, perhaps many are going by what they have "invested" in the car and want to recoup their investment. At some point, there will be a rude awakening. The market always takes care if itself. That's capitalism. If there are fewer buyers, prices will drop. The guy that won't sell because he has "X" invested in the car, just plain won't sell it. On the other hand, if the car goes to auction, the true value will show up. A perfect example of this occurred last month in my own backyard where a beautiful Model T sold for a mere $6500. If I were a buyer for a T, I would have jumped on it. However, true to form along with this analysis, I have absolutely no desire to own a Model T, nor do many younger people. The older 70 to 80s generation that might have had an interest, are in the position (in general) of not acquiring any more toys to put in their garage. With the above being said, perhaps the auction route would be the best way to purchase a car of that era. You will receive true "market value" and there is no way to complain about prices. As I said, it is capitalism at its best. I will also say that Matt listed two very fair valued cars in his earlier post. Perhaps they have a premium price to allow him to make a living, but even that seemed very reasonable. (I don't think you should have taken offense to his pointing them out) I'd also suggest contacting various AACA clubs and inquiring as to availability of cars for sale. For instance, currently we have a couple of nice cars (one a Model A) for sale by the spouse due to the death of one of our members. As a final note, as mentioned by previous posts, I wouldn't be afraid to pay too much for a car. People purchase a new car for $35,000 knowing full well that it is worth $20,000 once it hits 10,000 miles. It's what happens in real life and we accept it. Like the new car, not everything is a perfect investment, which may be (not saying for sure) as to why you're not buying. If so, you're falling into the same category as the guy that invested "X" and thus wants "X" out of his car. Find what you want, understand it is a hobby, know it may be just like your iPhone, stereo, etc. and may not go up or even decline in value. Purchase what you want for the love and satisfaction it will give you.

At the very least these are wonderful parts cars - especially the Skyliners. Here's another thought, as it is specific. http://www.skyliner.org PS - I see you have already posted there. Hopefully you'll have success.

No problem. However, you very nicely answered his question with your first reply. You should have left it at that. This is another example of why people don't want anything to do with finicky old men that have no ability to communicate in a kind way. As I have preached many times before, it is another reason why our youth wants no part of old cars. Sadly, it seems old cars means anal retentive old men that just want to be prickly. Enjoy your rants and don't wonder why they don't hang out here.

I personally thought it was a simple question. You're ragging on him. Give him a break. Would you like to be treated like that?

You could be a bit kinder. Having a bad day? Sorry, but the gentleman just asked a simple question.

I would put an advertisement in the AACA magazine. The crowd you are going after might have an interest.

They are calling for clear skies after 11 am. We're going to get lucky! Beautiful day today and a ton of people - buyers as well!!! I had an excellent day. Hope to see you there Bernie.

Bernie - Shoot for Friday (tomorrow) if you can. They're calling for rain on Saturday. I'm on the blacktop G10 -G11. Stop and introduce yourself if you make it over. And, as I posted earlier - you'll never know what you'll find. Tonight I purchased what looked like some sort of a motorcycle fender. Turns out it's a Culti-Mower fender. Price was right. My wife says it's just one more thing to store. She's probably right. It will look good in the barn.

For any of you in the Northeast, Canada, etc. we are holding our 75th annual Dunkirk Automotive Swap meet at the Dunkirk, NY Fairgrounds (May 18-20th). It is exit 50 off of the NYS Thruway. There are around 300+ vendors with over 500 spaces sold. Admission is FREE, with only a $5.00 parking fee. I have been a vendor for over 25 years and can tell you it is excellent. It begins Friday morning around 8 am and runs through Saturday and Sunday, although I would suggest that Friday and Saturday are the best, It tends to quiet down around 4 pm each day. If you are looking for something special, this can very well be the place, as many of the vendors only do Dunkirk and thus, have parts you may not have seen at the other shows. Questions, please PM me.

Actually, I think it's a very fair price. Indian is a desired motorcycle and to find a rare sidecar to complete a restoration is the "piece de resistance" for someone. We think nothing of spending huge amounts of money for rechroming, painting, accessories. I think he'll get it - sooner than later.

That's what I was going to suggest. Wonderful stuff.

I would love to have some 20 to 30 year olds read this thread. Remember when we made fun of our parents or at least couldn't understand why they hated Elvis? Ok, ok, I may still be a generation off on that one. Maybe something like: "Why in the world would we ever need color television"? Or......dad - you bought a Ford with a 6 cylinder???? As Ed Sullivan said: "The Beatles" !! Times change..... go with it or get out of the way is what they say.

I arrived and set up Wednesday morning, spent a cold, windy & rainy day selling on Thursday and yes, packed up on Friday afternoon at 4:00 pm. I personally had been away from my office for three weeks having been in Hilton Head on vacation for two, Philadelphia for a couple of days and then over to Carlisle. To answer your question Joe: "Some of us have lives beyond watching glassy-eyed visitors walking past spaces looking at nothing". I vend as a hobby and have commitments to my business customers at home. Additionally, I'm OK sleeping in the van at 32 degrees for a couple of nights, but beyond that, the fun quickly goes away. I also think it is crazy that Carlisle provides a space so small that if you put a van in it, there is only three feet of space on the sides to set up tables. They won't change as it's a cash cow for them, but an extra two feet of width would make it much easier to successfully market your products. Side note: Seriously - have you ever noticed that around 2:00 to 3:00 pm people just wander up and down the isles, not stopping to look at anything? It must be the pizza for lunch kicking in.

Yes - At Gate 3

GROAN

BINGO !!!!! You Trimacar have won the Grand Prize for your assessment! Let me go back to my statement: "Having their cake and eating it too".

Ted - Look at your post count. You hit a magic number!

Is there a prize to the winners?

Junkyardjeff - I've got to say - if you like the style of the 89 Crown Victoria, you should be able to find tons (and I mean tons) of them with low mileage. They, along with the Chevy's were the "choice" of the over 60 crowd back then - the nice smooth ride, big and comfortable. I'd be surprised if you couldn't pick one up that's cherry for not much money.

Go get 'um Tom - We're all behind you!

It would be easiest to do a search on the old post of a year or two ago about the separation. I don't want to go into details as I would probably be incorrect. Steve and others posted the entire history and it had pretty much ended - they go their way and we go ours. It's back in the headlines - unnecessarily - all the museum has to do is a simple thing - change their damn name and I suspect this would all go away. How in the world would they think or even want to use the initials AACA, knowing they have no attachment to the true AACA. Talk about wanting their cake and eat it too....... One thing I have found in life - good guys eventually win and the bad guys get karma up the backside. Just watch and wait. It may take a few years, but as they say: "Zebra's don't change their stripes".

Not sure I understand your post Bob. The museum was started by our board to created a wonderful place to combine Hershey Fall with a great history of motoring. Yes, some bought bricks, some paid for a doorway, others donated automobiles, buses, trucks, motorcycles, badges, etc. Yes, names were added in thanks. I see nothing wrong with that. We all like our names on things - hell, we even sign our names to our posts and place them on our graves as well. What changed is the grand theft by a group of directors who think they are entitled to steal the museum out from under us, and then have the "ciaunes" to challenge us over the name of the museum. Maybe they should change the name to something more appropriate: "Grand Theft Automobile Museum of Hershey"

Back in 1973 I bought a slant-six Dodge from a guy for $50 - we were just starting out and pretty much without cash. My wife drove it back and forth to college for a couple of years. Reliable car - sold it for $100. On the other hand (and each and every one of us has this story) - I bought a '65 Mustang 289 convertible for $1200 back in 1969 and traded in my Austin Healey "Bug-Eye" Sprite (sigh) for $100. In 1972 I traded the Mustang in for a 1968 Ford Torino. Great car. I paid $1800 for it minus (sigh) $350 trade in on the Mustang. Like we all say "If only I knew"......

It was signed by their entire Board of Directors - appears they are all pompous. It's like stealing someone's wife, but then demanding his Social Security check to provide her upkeep. Sadly, much of our membership has no understanding of the situation. Hopefully our leadership, once cleared by the legal team will respond to this obnoxious garbage.