MarrsCars

I was frankly expecting to see something like the Rolls-Royce armored cars of the era, but this is new to me, thanks!

Without a doubt, the funniest thing I have read this month. Fairly accurate too! With regards to spending the extra $1,000 or so, when two buyers get in a stalemate over such a small amount of money I think it's wise to then move to another means of negotiating to come to an agreement, maybe ask for delivery to be included or some spares, or even splitting charges that may apply such as with a credit card transaction. I've asked for, and received, things like spare key sets made up or repairs, new tires, and so on. Think of your options for a specific car before you start negotiating. Some people feel they have dropped their price far enough or simply don't want to back off their "firm" price as a point of pride, but would be willing to make the deal otherwise.

Maybe one of you guys who has a working link can share here so the OP so he can test it out on his computer?

Thanks, always nice finding new car themed shows to watch.

I have no idea if this addresses your specific concern but sometimes the same old content may still be available on eBay or whatever site you visit, but the URL (or website page address) may have been changed by the website for some reason. Changing a single character will make your bookmark invalid, so try your search from the website directly and make a new bookmark once you've found the content you always enjoyed.

Godspeed fellow Hoosier.

I gave up my Motor Trend and Automobile magazine subscriptions this year, and I have been a subscriber to Automobile for 27-years. They kept getting smaller and smaller, fewer pages I mean, and were so far behind the online sources I use that each issue already felt outdated by the time it arrived. I realized I don't just want "news" type magazines because of this and switched to those featuring actual journalism and long format articles that were well researched. Basically that meant buying European magazines such as Octane (you guys have to check it out if you like fine old Euro steel), Classic Mercedes and other similar types. They are costlier, usually $9-12 per issue which was probably what I paid for a full year or the others, but now I actually take the whole month to read through each issue thoroughly and most articles interest me in some way, as compared to flipping through the US magazines once, maybe reading two short articles and recycling it immediately afterwards.

I have been interested in the various factory produced, and self-painted, blackout cars from WWII and while looking through some impressive images of the lengths the British went through to keep London in the dark so to say, I became curious about the Royal Family cars. I've seen pics of civilian and military cars in blackout form but never any images of the Royal cars, were they too fitted in blackout gear or were the Rolls-Royces, Daimlers, etc., simply not used during wartime?

This actually just recently happened! http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/11/30/367238642/to-boldly-go-where-no-3-d-printer-has-gone-before-yep-space

Still very much enjoying this thread, good to see you guys still moving ahead and maintaining the momentum. I actually think about this car every few months randomly, such a cool backstory.

You can also scan an original item using a handheld laser scanner and just wave it around all sides of the object you want to reproduce. You could do this with the 300sl emblem above, rather than creating totally from scratch in a CAD file. You can/may still need to use the CAD to adjust, alter or otherwise make to suit your specific needs but scanning eliminates the need to go from nothing to something.

Same here, looks like a racing boat model. Probably somehow related to the design and engineering rather than a display piece tho, I do agree with you there.

I'd say it was an "homage" piece before trademark laws were more heavily enforced, or maybe that's why we don't see many of these. If you look closely you will notice the crest logo has been changed just enough to be different than the Cadillac car company emblem, specifically the fields where there are lines are not a checker-board like in the original Cadillac logo. Neat and I'd like one if I was a Caddy owner still, but almost certainly NOT official.

Do you mean Vancouver, WA near the Oregon (Portland) border or Vancouver, CA? Vancouver, WA is now just a suburb of Portland with all the crime, drugs and gang issues that come along with it from what I read in the news.

Here's an article with all the details: http://www.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/index.ssf/2014/08/ford_model_a_stolen_from_hills.html#incart_m-rpt-1

All good points but just like any business the employees have a workload they are expected to complete and the "sausage making" should be invisible to the customer. While any and all of these may apply, none should be a cause for the OP's delay. Personally, I think 5-weeks is egregious, especially if it is being totaled.

My Agreed Value collector car policy with Chubb states an intention to have a check in my hands within 48-hours on a total loss but I do not know for a partial loss/repair job. I pay $300/yr at my valuation with no mileage restrictions, just a few common use restrictions like no business use, do not drive to work, no racing, etc. I'm surprised to hear of these issues with a collector car policy as they seem at a loss with finding parts and info, which is always pitched as a specialty with these companies. I know Hagerty has a specialist dedicated to going to places like Hershey with a list of parts he needs for client's cars, and Chubb simply allows me to have my car fixed at the restoration shop of my choice eliminating that aspect since they would have the expertise. I'd remind myself that "no news is good news" and perhaps rather than being slacking they are actually working very hard to make sure you are getting exactly what you need out of the settlement and get you back on the road. Stay positive and good luck!

Jay's buddy has a solution in this video, made by Archoil and you can also buy a flash-rust inhibitor to follow treatment. http://youtu.be/18x8TlFlY0k?t=4m22s

If you're only having trouble selling your own cars I would suggest that maybe you are being "too detailed" with descriptions. I do not mean that you should be less up-front, keep doing what you are in fact, but understand that you know your own car best so you will describe all the small issues, flaws and needs whereas on your friend's cars you may only notice a handful of things that need correction, or be totally unaware of other hidden problems. See, you're simply too honest, which we could use more of in this hobby. I'll pay a premium for that!

Hi all, and thanks for the continued advice. Helfen & Rusty: As to other cars, I am aware of the other Karmann Ghia (Type 3?) but the style just doesn't speak to me the same. I also do not want a 924 and to the suggestion of a 944, I had one and loved it but want something different I haven't owned. Writer Jon: I have been trying to seek out owners of both cars but atthe recent Historic Races and Concours here there were no Ghias present but plenty of P1800's. I have chatted up and made friends with one P1800 couple who are wonderful folks and a great source of info and we may even meet up tonight at a local Wednesday cruise-in. Always useful to speak to real world owners! I don't mind heavy steering at all on the Volvo. Trunk space is useful, thanks for that too. We're decided thanks to all of you taking the time to offer opinions and facts... the Volvo wins. I will post updates as we seek them out or once we buy one.

Here's a closer image of the same car, does this match the damage you saw? You can just barely make out these scrapes in the other photo just not very well with all the reflections and glare.

A good idea and if you can't find these specific ones for sale (the site only says they are accepting deposits for when they do build them) you can get something similar for bicycles. I see them often here in Portland, they are wireless but tend to be in one unit, not separate flashers like these so not as ideal but would work for cars like mine without factory hazards. Now that I'm thinking about this, I bet you could take apart one of these systems and install the lights inside OEM or OEM-style chrome signal pods so you could leave them in place all the time. Maybe you could even fit them inside the existing brake light housings.

Wow, thanks for the excellent advice so far by all, exactly the type of stuff I was looking for and confirms some of what we have learned. I will say we have been leaning Volvo, for the mentioned elegance and modernity, but as also said by some of you, the VW will be much easier to maintain. I have had several cars that are hard to find parts for so that aspect of the Volvo doesn't scare me, and the PNW has a huge Volvo support system, I even live just a couple of blocks from the main dealer... and he's downhill from me if worst comes to worst! I think the thing keeping us drawn to the Ghia however is that it almost has a Porsche 356 vibe to me for obvious reasons, but that may not be enough for it to be the final choice.

Our household is in the early stages of researching and gaining first-hand experience with the VW Karmann Ghia coupe and the Volvo P1800 or P1800es (estate) for purchase in the next year. I'd love to hear views and opinions on these cars from people who have owned or driven them extensively. I'm not really interested in "why don't you buy a Brand X car instead?" since we have narrowed the field down already. This won't be the first nor last old car we buy so plenty of time for others down the road. Also, the family member who will be using this car most of the time prefers an automatic. I know, but that's the reality here so we are seeking an Autostick VW or an automatic Volvo. I know opinions are low on the Autostick in general among VW folks, but ignoring the comparison to the manual car in each case and judging the autos on their own merits, are there any issues with the automatics themselves that I should be aware of? What car would you choose and why?

I took a couple of friends who had never been to a Concours before and they both commented how much more casual this event was than they expected. Sure there were a few folks in ascots having wine and cheese from baskets positioned at the rear of their Isotta Fraschini, but generally speaking the joy of this show is the organizers do focus more on the overall car than every detail being correct. No white gloves here, just 300 fine cars gathering stares. Here's an article about a ride my buddy gave a local reporter in a '66 Ferrari 330GT.