lump

I would think that if either valve is left open during the compression/spark sequence, the OP would experience a backfire, either through the carb or the exhaust, depending on which valve was hanging open. On the other hand, perhaps a cam lobe was wiped out when the motor was first run after the rebuild? We've all heard of that happening, (often when not enough break-in lube was used on new camshaft lobes). if that intake cam lobe is wiped out and the intake valve is not opening, then I would expect the plug to remain dry (unless it is getting soaked in oil somehow). But if the exhaust valve was not opening (or not opening fully), then the plug might indeed get fouled. But then I would expect it to be hard to crank over? Obviously, the same symptoms could occur if hydraulic lifter(s) on that cylinder are collapsed. Yet the compression tests have been good. Maybe THAT'S why the compression was even higher on this cylinder? Maybe that exhaust valve is not opening all the way? Interesting conundrum. This is the type of problem that can drive an old car restorer crazy, yet give a great feeling of satisfaction when the problem is finally solved. Looking forward to learning the final answer. ?

wow, that's amazing, and totally different than here in Ohio. Indeed, I didn't realize it was really that different elsewhere. Are you certain of this? Which states? Ohio Historical tags are not to be used for any type of transportation, except to car show events, etc, or to "test and tune." As you can see, they make no distinction between purely restored or modified antique cars. Below is the info I found on the Ohio BMV website: Ohio Historical License Plates You can get an Ohio BMV historical license plate if your vehicle is: At least 25 years old. AND Used only for special events and activities, such as parades. The historical plate is a one-time fee of $10 PLUS a $21 license tax.

My son found this old movie for me, and presented a copy of it to me for watching at my leisure.

That's great info, Steve. I found out about that co-authored book...and I actually know Michael Lamm. We used to talk on the phone when I was president of the United States Camaro Club, and published CAMARO CORRAL magazine. Haven't heard from him in YEARS though. It's great to learn that he can be reached through COLLECTIBLE AUTOMOBILE magazine. Thanks so much!!

A professional engine builder friend of mine tells me that, these days, he prefers using a "leak-down" tester instead of a compression tester, because it can reveal more problems. Personally, I would clamp the plug from the non-firing cylinder to the head somewhere with a good ground connection, attach the spark plug wire to it as normal, turn off most shop lights so I could readily see the spark when it happens, and cover the spark plug hole with my finger or thumb. Then have someone crank it over with a ratchet or breaker bar, and see if the spark occurs just as my finger gets pushed out of the hole by compression stroke. That will isolate answers about timing issues to just that one problematic cylinder.

Actually, all of the cars you mention can be legally modified, as far as I know, although there may be some exceptions in California. You just have to keep all catalytic converters and other air quality components in place and functional. Today, many header manufacturers make units with fittings for installing A.I.R. fittings and other such components. During my time on the board of directors of SEMA, we were constantly dealing with these issues. And while even now there is PROPOSED legislation which would ban ANY use of any modern car for racing, or modifying them in any way, those laws have been defeated again and again. SEMA has the SAN Network which all car clubs ought to belong to, in order to stay informed, and for collective strength. But with a 1971 Riviera, I'm pretty confident you can modify that exhaust system even in California...but in CA you'll have to integrate all pollution components with it.

Hey, Steve. I believe you're RIGHT! I spent hours online last night researching Dave Holls. I found a lot of info about him, but almost none of his illustrations, especially with a signature to compare. But I did finally find a beautiful Cadillac concept car (which looked remarkably like a 1968 Impala front end, by the way). Although it was hard to read after enlarging the tiny photo, I do believe the signature is identical. Do you have any suggestions on whom I can inquire to about this picture? I have several questions about it, naturally.

Years ago I had several rolls of the factory wood grain vinyl produced for GM. I gave it to Ralph Greinke of Stencils & Stripes Unlimited. He is one of the pioneers of reproduction factory graphics and stencils for cars of the 1960's and 70's. Give him a call, and see if he still has that, or other wood grained vinyls. If you strike out elsewhere, contact me via PM. My company produces lots of graphics for vehicles, including much of the graphics you'll see on the sides of all MAC Tools trucks. For weatherstripping, you may be forced to use extrusions and form your own windshield gaskets. Contact Steele Rubber company and Metro Moulded Rubber Parts, Inc. They are both actual manufacturers. Good luck.

I posted these images in a thread in our General Discussion forum, under "What was your biggest surprise part you found," or similar. But I figured I should post it here too. Following is a copy of the post I made under the General Discussion forum: Several years ago, when I was first getting started in the business of setting up and running automotive swap meet events, I would do ANYTHING I could think of to promote the shows (that is, anything that didn't cost much money...since I was totally broke!) One time I even took my beloved old 1923 Hupmobile touring, and put it in an indoor display at a huge local flea market for the weekend. It was surrounded by stanchions with velvet "rope", and lots of free flyers and posters. I INTENDED to sit with the car all weekend long. But on Saturday morning a family emergency came up, and I was forced to leave my precious old car there all day and all night Saturday, alone. I hoped and prayed that it would be unmolested and ok when I arrived on Sunday, the next day. Come Sunday I was unable to get there until mid afternoon, and by then the crowd was mostly gone...as were nearly all of the vendors. I was worried sick about what I would find as I pulled up to my beloved old Hupp, but to my delight and relief, it was just as I left it; untouched and undamaged. Whew! I immediately started getting it ready to drive home. But while I was working, I heard someone say, “Oh, WOW! You’re finally here! I’ve been waiting all weekend for you to show up!” As I turned around to see who was talking, a man stood there holding an old screw-style cast iron jack…the kind we’ve all seen MILLIONS of at every car event or flea market we go to. Right away I mentally wrote this guy off as someone who knew nothing about old cars…someone who ASSUMED that a crude old floor jack must be a priceless treasure. I greeted the man, and explained why I hadn’t been with my car all weekend. He then held up his floor jack, and said something like, “I’m a vendor here, and I’ve been dying to show this antique jack to you. It’s for an antique Hupmobile, just like yours. I thought you might want it.” Of course, I smiled as kindly as I could, and began explaining to to this "poor, uninformed person" that there were millions of jacks like that which were made by aftermarket companies, and sold through hardware stores and car dealerships. I told him that when old cars were junked over the decades, everyone KEPT the jacks, so they were not rare, nor valuable. Moreover, they were not even very safe to use as a jack, for that matter. Most importantly, they were not for any specific brand of car. He was unfazed by my explanation and my condescending attitude. He replied, “No, I know all about all those old aftermarket jacks. But this one says ‘Hupmobile’ on the handle in raised cast-iron script letters!” I looked more closely at the jack, and then at the handle...in disbelief...and then I had to apologize. When I asked how much, he said, “$40 FIRM!” I paid the man, and drove home with my treasure, feeling a little embarrassed, a little foolish, and THRILLED with the jack. It's the only one like it that I have ever seen.

I'm an old reformed street racer. Had MANY hot rod exhaust systems in my day. But the main reason for the "loud" pipes was trying to gain horsepower. And that started by using headers, with the pipe from the exhaust port of each cylinder down to the collector being the exact same length. If you aren't using headers, then glass packs are nothing but noise. Headers provide instant power gains, but create endless headaches under your hood, with burnt spark plug wires, recurring leaks, difficult or impossible access to spark plugs and other components, etc. In the end, IF you were racing back in my day, then of course you were willing to put up with the hassles. But no point in racing with a big heavy, wonderful Riviera, when lighter cars with the same engine have too many advantages. So, why put up with the hassles? My opinion: Save your pennies, nickels, and dimes, and build up enough cash to replace your entire exhaust system with stock components. You could add throatier mufflers, perhaps. Not much difference in cost. Then, if you want to build a hot rod or competitive car, choose a platform that would make that easier, and keep the Riviera for hauling around your beautiful young girlfriend and comfortable cruising. Cars like Chevy Nova 1968-74, Chevelle or Malibu 64-77, or 78-82, Mustangs, 1964 to 1973, Falcons, Darts, Skylarks, and SO MANY MORE cars are still affordable, and easy to make competition cars out of. That very-classy Riviera will still be cool for generations to come, if you keep in that way. Best wishes to you. Cheers!

WOW, Steve! Now that you say that, I think you may be right. It DOES look like, "HOLLS," doesn't it?

Keep in mind that this interview was done maybe 20 years ago, before the use of computers was so ubiquitous. So maybe they keep title records longer now, since it doesn't take up so much storage space? Who knows? But even today it is might tough to come up with a title for un-titled vehicles. Unfortunately, this lack of an available legitimate solution results in too many people tampering with VIN's on old vehicles. That is HIGHLY illegal, and extremely unwise.

Frantz, I totally agree with everything you've said here. I am NOT advocating for people to use the method I described above. However, here in Ohio we have some misguided laws intended to thwart car thieves, which end up instead making life very hard on legitimate, prudent citizens who merely want to buy a car and pay all the various Ohio taxes and fees to make it legal to own and drive. (Bad registration laws are kind of like cheap padlocks...they don't even slow down real thieves, but they can be awfully inconvenient for owner of the property)! The problem is that, around here there is no reasonable and legal path within the Ohio Dept of Motor Vehicles which a legitimate owner of a car without a title can follow to a satisfactory conclusion. Years ago I really dug into this issue here in Ohio. At the time I was publishing CAMARO CORRAL magazine bi-monthly, in full color. I sent my contributing editor to our Columbus govt offices, for an interview with the senior mgr of the Title Bureau (or whatever it is officially called). I simply doubted the story I had always been given by local officials, which said that all titles for all cars in Ohio which have not had license plates purchased in 5 years, are completely and permanently destroyed by the state. So, if you are restoring your original Pierce Arrow (for example), and it takes you more than 5 years (so you haven't bought license plates during this down time), the state of Ohio will destroy their only copy of your title. They told me that, if you haven't licensed your car in Ohio in 5 years and then you lose your copy of your title, you are totally out of luck. I thought this situation over carefully, and then wrote out a "test scenario," and instructed the editor to hand it to the senior director during the interview. I had developed a scenario in which some evil people had stolen a muscle car out of storage somewhere, and then used it in a highly-public attempt to assassinate some important world leader who was visiting Ohio at the time. The car gets recovered by the FBI and CIA, and now they come marching into the state dept of Motor Vehicles with all kinds of court orders, and demand that officials there look that car up by its VIN, and reveal who had owned it. But keep in mind, this hot rod getaway car had not had Ohio license plates bought for it in 5 years, and the owner didn't even realize it was missing yet. So, what answer would this director give to the cops under these circumstances? She replied, "I would have to tell them I am sorry, as I have absolutely no way of finding that information." Then she beckoned the editor to follow her inside the building further, to an area where he could see for himself. There he witnessed a guy pulling stacks and stacks and stacks of Ohio titles and feeding them to a massive shredder. Then she said to him, "And that's THAT. Once these originals are gone, there are no other copies!" So even though I don't advocate people to get titles through the out-of-state transaction plan as outlined before, there are indeed times when it becomes necessary for some legitimate car owners. And I ALWAYS warn people that if a car shows up on a police theft report, or if someone shows up with an original copy of a legitimate title to the car, you will probably forfeit ownership. What NEEDS to happen is for a reasonable, legal, and legitimate path through each state bureaucracy to be created for prudent citizens to follow when seeking a title for property which they can prove they purchased legally.

Hmmm... I can see Dave's point here. But in OHIO, you dare not walk in a registrar for the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, License Division, and mention ANYTHING that suggests "abandoned," or "salvage" or "junk yard," etc, etc. They get real excited and insist that said vehicle must be parted out and DESTROYED! I've even seen one local office call all the nearby offices, warning other registrars of a specific individual who is trying to get a title for a "junk" vehicle. Ohio is SO determined to stop chop shops from bringing in cars which have been totaled from other states, rebuilding them and selling them as normal used cars, that they freak out any time they hear words that suggest cars without titles. I have testified in front of the Ohio State Senate Transportation Committee on this subject, and I can tell you it's pretty tough here on that. Years ago I interviewed an executive with the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles in our state capitol, for a magazine article on old Camaros and titles. To test the extremity of their position on untitled cars, I posed the question: "Suppose I found a priceless classic car in a barn within a junk yard somewhere, and wanted to save it. IF the owner's family members who sold me the car were willing to testify it was legally owned, and had been sealed up in that old barn for decades but the title was lost in a fire, how would I go about getting a legal title in Ohio?" Her answer was, "You cannot do it, even if the car is worth a million dollars." Any car that has ever been junked to any degree must be destroyed. You could sell the parts, though." Sheesh! Yet, I knew in my mind that if you found a Duesenberg or original Hemi Cuda convertible, etc, etc, you could obtain a title by selling the car out of state. It's a simple loophole, but it's downright ridiculous to put a legitimate buyer through such a hassle. Oh, well. Who ever said the government could be efficient?

Nick, Yes, you had offered me the bulbs, but I live in Ohio, and won't be travelling to any national AACA meets. Can you pack them carefully enough to ship? I could pay shipping.

I have known several folks who got titles through a legal process, (perhaps like this one?) In effect, you legally SELL your car via bill-of-sale to someone who lives in a state where titles are not required for very old vehicles. The person you sold it to (you really did sell it to them, legally), then takes your notarized Bill-of-Sale to his state registrar, and gets a new title from that state for that vehicle issued to him/her in their name. Then, they legally SELL your car back to you, through the mail. They send you the title signed and notarized out of their name, along with a notarized Bill-of-Sale. You then take the title to a notary in your state, who witnesses your signature being legally applied to the new out-of-state title. Here in Ohio, you must then take the car and the title to a new-car dealership where it is inspected to make sure the VIN on the vehicle matches the VIN on the title, etc, etc. After this inspection, the registrar in Ohio will issue you an Ohio title in your name. Could anything go wrong? Sure! Maybe the buyer skips out of town with your money, and has your signed Bill-of-Sale. (Indeed, there are lots of ways to be cheated in a car-sale transaction, with or without a title). Worse yet, maybe the vehicle you bought without a title was listed as stolen years ago (that's the biggest thing to worry about, in my opinion). But as I"ve stated before, I've seen this process work smoothly for several people over the years.

Thanks, Bob. I need all the help I can get on this one! ------Jim

Does anyone recognize the art style, or the signature of the artist of this old “concept car” illustration? I ASSUME it is a print of an original illustration..but maybe that is wrong, and it is an original? I bought this painting (or print?) years and years ago at an estate sale. The seller said he THOUGHT the deceased person (whose estate it was) had been an art instructor. He thought this person had bought a bunch of old paintings may years ago, and allowed his art students to make photo collage images on the backside (see image number four). I know nothing about old concept car art. But the artist’s signature on this painting certainly is unique. So I am hopeful that someone on this forum can suggest a source for finding out any available information on this picture, the artist, etc, etc. Thanks in advance for any insight you may be able to offer.

I LOVE this thread! Kudos to "Hidden Hunter" for starting it! Several years ago, when I was first getting started in the business of setting up and running automotive swap meet events, I would do ANYTHING I could think of to promote the shows (that is, anything that didn't cost much money...since I was totally broke!) One time I even took my beloved old 1923 Hupmobile touring, and put it in an indoor display at a huge local flea market for the weekend. It was surrounded by stanchions with velvet "rope", and lots of free flyers and posters. I INTENDED to sit with the car all weekend long. But on Saturday morning a family emergency came up, and I was forced to leave my precious old car there all day and all night Saturday, alone. I hoped and prayed that it would be unmolested and ok when I arrived on Sunday, the next day. Come Sunday I was unable to get there until mid afternoon, and by then the crowd was mostly gone...as were nearly all of the vendors. I was worried sick about what I would find as I pulled up to my beloved old Hupp, but to my delight and relief, it was just as I left it; untouched and undamaged. Whew! I immediately started getting it ready to drive home. But while I was working, I heard someone say, “Oh, WOW! You’re finally here! I’ve been waiting all weekend for you to show up!” As I turned around to see who was talking, a man stood there holding an old screw-style cast iron jack…the kind we’ve all seen MILLIONS of at every car event or flea market we go to. Right away I mentally wrote this guy off as someone who knew nothing about old cars…someone who ASSUMED that a crude old floor jack must be a priceless treasure. I greeted the man, and explained why I hadn’t been with my car all weekend. He then held up his floor jack, and said something like, “I’m a vendor here, and I’ve been dying to show this antique jack to you. It’s for an antique Hupmobile, just like yours. I thought you might want it.” Of course, I smiled as kindly as I could, and began explaining to to this "poor, uninformed person" that there were millions of jacks like that which were made by aftermarket companies, and sold through hardware stores and car dealerships. I told him that when old cars were junked over the decades, everyone KEPT the jacks, so they were not rare, nor valuable. Moreover, they were not even very safe to use as a jack, for that matter. Most importantly, they were not for any specific brand of car. He was unfazed by my explanation and my condescending attitude. He replied, “No, I know all about all those old aftermarket jacks. But this one says ‘Hupmobile’ on the handle in raised cast-iron script letters!” I looked more closely at the jack, and then at the handle...in disbelief...and then I had to apologize. When I asked how much, he said, “$40 FIRM!” I paid the man, and drove home with my treasure, feeling a little embarrassed, a little foolish, and THRILLED with the jack. It's the only one like it that I have ever seen.

The casting date is plainly shown on the intake manifold, as: "__-10-27." I cannot tell whether that first month is a "3," or a "6," an "8," or a "9". If it is one of the latter two, I ASSUME it may have been made for the following model year. And of course, all this is assuming that the engine and the intake are original to the car.

That's AWESOME, Ron!!

My wife and adult kids and I all love to go to yard sales, etc, especially when an entire neighborhood is holding an event of lots of sales all at once. One spring the rest of them were driving around the neighborhood without me, because I had been at a meeting. I called my wife on her cell to find where they were, so we could run around together. As I pulled up to where she was parked at an intersection, I saw several sales...one on each corner. I saw her coming out of one driveway, and I headed her way. But I could see behind her that that particular sale was all "women's stuff," (as I tend to call anything which is not "men's junk," as my wife describes it!) As she passed by me, I asked, "Is there nothing in that sale for me?" She responded, "No, no tools or man-junk at all, except for some old Edelbrock valve covers, or something." I decided to go see for myself. The garage was packed with shoppers, and everything there was household stuff; Avon, clothing, dishes, kiddie toys, etc...EXCEPT for the nicest pair of vintage alumjnum Edelbrock heads for a flathead Ford I've ever found, lying in a corner on the floor! I asked the lady the price, and she said, "Oh, I don't know. How's $25?" I paid instantly, of course, and asked if she had any other car goodies anywhere else. "Nope," she quipped. "Those are leftovers from the divorce. They're all I have left of that marriage, and I'm glad to be rid of them!"

Looks like you found them, Keiser!

Wow, Terry! AWESOME story, and AWESOME bike. WAY cool. I absolutely LOVE it!!!

Nick, Look closely on the sides of that brass base. You should find numbers there, normally stenciled in black ink. If you don't find any on the first couple bulbs, just keep opening packages, You'll find them eventually.