Buffalowed Bill
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Posts posted by Buffalowed Bill
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This is not a race to the finish line, but if I were handicapping the race between me and my tires I would bet on the tires lasting longer than me, I'm 78 yrs old. I have a set of Lesters that I bought years ago that I intend to offer the gentleman who bought the car for which they were intended. The 700X17 tires have never been mounted and stored in a climate controlled dark area. That gentleman is 83 yrs old so we can only guess at how the car will be used. At a value less then half the retail price, he would be foolish to look at this as a long term investment unworthy of consideration.
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This one should be on the SDC forum and the Studebaker Addicts-Facebook forum. I'll try getting it on the SDC forum.
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If you still have it I'm interested.
Bill
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It's a common theme for those of us who have been there, go west young man go west. If this is the car for you pick some areas in the country that rust is not a common problem and do a regular search. You are no doubt going to find some good candidates, as long as you are willing to use a little patience. You're a car guy, you know all this, but sometimes we become sidetracked by what's in our own backyard.
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Jeff,
After my last post I thought that it might be an interesting exercise to just check the used car market on line for 1965 Fords. Lots of Mustangs, trucks and some Fairlanes, but only one full sized Ford. That one is a decent convertible on eBay, that I would be interested in. Other then that nothing. And I spent some time checking Craigslist around the West too. I'm sure something will come up eventually but I wouldn't be too quick to write this one off just yet! Just my two cents worth.
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You don't see them very often, even here in the NW where rust is less of a problem. I don't know why? I'd check on eBay for availability and a guide to current prices.
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Take your place in line! There is simply nothing like this available. The best you can hope for is to tear the engine down figure out what it needs. Than say a little prayer and hope that your search will uncover something that others of us don't know about. Be prepared for a long wait and then be willing to pay the price-it won't be cheap!
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James,
So in Nebraska they require your plates to be original manufacture? For $30 that's not too bad for a wall hanging.
I haven't bought a plate for some time and never on the internet. I have always gotten my plates from a well vetted local plate dealer, who also restores original plates. I did just look at eBay, so where have all the pre war plates gone? When a good set shows up it looks like inflation has even entered the realm of the original plate. I understand that the labor for a restored plate needs to be paid for, but I guess that increase just pushes up the value of the unrestored plates.
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I still don't know how this is going to play out. Once the plate was described to me by Good T Go as a 1935 plate, and not the 1937 plate/car that I own, I assumed that it would be a simple process. Not so fast, not that easy! Yesterday I talked with an astute and sympathetic DOL employee. She told me that what she is seeing is a 1953 plate. She was incensed that anyone working with GTG would not recognize the difference. Armed with this layer of intrigue I went back to GTG, but seemingly just muddied the waters. It seems as though GTO and the DOL don't communicate very well. At least this lady at GTO promised to send it up the chain of command and took my email address. So we shell see.
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Plating is really one aspect of a restoration that you really need to be careful with. There are so many variables, that the process really needs a current update, regarding what is going on at any shop. Change in ownership, business focus, or even loss of a valued polisher, can change the whole dynamic of the company and the finished product. We are fortunate in the Seattle area to have two valued plating operations: Art Brass and Queen City, but frankly anyone else around here is just a crap shoot.
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I first saw the story on Seattle Television some time ago. The story never gets old, but it would be interesting to see a sequel as Eric grows up. It just highlights what a singularly focused person can accomplish. His ability and willingness to communicate with the world is a godsend.
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I'll preface by saying I'm not a truck guy and I should probably have my head examined for getting involved but... In North America the shift away from the car, towards the truck/SUV, has left me mystified. A truck has most always just been a tool for me. Certainly not something that I enjoyed driving on a daily basis. While I understand the value of saving, restoring, or maintaining an older truck the process is not for me. I find myself in a new order in which I don't belong. It's also surprising how many of my generation have just followed the crowd.
I appreciate the direction that Ford has been headed towards the ev, but again it's a tool, that at my age I will never experience first hand. The last truck that attracted me, when new, was this combination of performance, comfort, and handling of a car, and the towing capacity of a truck. It's a truck that I had the opportunity to experience first hand and loved it. It seems strange that it's been almost thirty years since it first appeared.
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If you use a year of manufacture license plate on you car this could happen to you, or maybe it already has. Four or five years ago I was halfheartedly looking on eBay for a 1960's vintage Washington State plate for one of my cars. What I found was too good to be true, a plate that turned out to be a repop (which is allowed in the state) having a license # ABC123. I really can't remember if that was the number letter sequencing, but whatever it was, it was equally special. I wondered what the chances were that this plate was already on a car? So I called the DOL and asked. As I had guessed, when I gave the lady on the phone the #, she responded by asking me if I owned a 1964 Chevrolet, to which I said no. Then she became somewhat flustered and asked me if I owned another vintage car, make and year I don't recall. What neither she nor I had anticipated was that there were two cars in the state with the same license number. A one time mistake or something more endemic I wondered? Regardless the situation was a potential source for some real problems! I remember saying I'm glad it's not me.
About two months ago I received a bill for a toll on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, one for a crossing in June and another in July. The bill noted a car and vintage plate that I own, but the problem was that it wasn't me. I responded by calling and telling them that they had the wrong guy. I told then to check the photo and I'm sure you will find that it's not of a 1937 Studebaker President sedan. Just the other day I got another bill for the same two trips, but indicating mitigating circumstances. Mitigating circumstances-hell yes there are mitigating circumstances!
I called Good To Go!, the operation entrusted with collecting the tolls for the state. When I asked the lady what was going on I was met with only silence. I asked her about the photo of the car, to which she indicated that it only focused on the plate. Could she send me a copy of the photo? No she couldn't. Can you tell me what color the plate is? No it is a black and white photo. Can you tell me where the plated is mounted? On the left rear quarter panel (her words not mine). Please describe the plate? She indicated it had the license number, and on the bottom it had X Washington 35.
Armed with the revaluation that it was a 1935 plate and not a 1937, I went to the DOL. Sure enough there are at least two of us in the state with the same vintage plate, but from completely different plate runs. She muttered that's not good. Problem solved-I doubt it. Someone is going to have to give up his vintage plate. I hope that it's not going to be me. Since my plate has been on the car for nineteen years I hoping that mine was issued before his.
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Ed,
Where are you located?
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How much differently we see this car today then we did 60 years ago! Thanks for saving it.
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I should really put this response to bed, but you know how it is when you have something on your mind and you just can't go to sleep!
This is a picture of the only surviving restored 1932 President which belongs to George Vassos. It was a recent class winner at Pebble. This car was found in Mexico City decades ago. An almost disastrous attempt at a restoration ended when George rescued the project. There is supposed to be another car like this, but I can't verify it's existence.
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To those of us who care, there is a world of difference between the smaller Commander based Model 82 President and the "Full Classic" Model 92. I am in no way putting down the Model 82, or the similar Model 73 Commander, but there is a difference, and the car itself shouts it louder than anything I could say.
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A larger picture. Sorry I guess that larger picure won't print for me.
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In the mid 70's I was an aspiring Classic car collector. I had done a good deal of research, but didn't have enough real world experience to know what I was doing. I guess most of us can look back at a time in our lives that we were just a feather in the wind.
I had previously seen a picture of this car, but had thought that it had been lost long ago. The car had been brought to the European front during WWll to use as a staff car. After the war it was brought back, but I don't know how or when. A well known collector in LA had the car which he advertised with the rest of his collection. I called but it became immediately obvious that the car wasn't for sale. It was a case of bait and switch. Decades later the collection was sold as part of his estate, to a noted Kansas City collector. About ten years ago he showed me the car, in pieces in the basement of his museum. He said that he thought that he might restore the car in it's Army green. That didn't sit well with me an I told him so. i understand that the car is being restored and not in Army green.
Almost forgot the car is a 1933 Studebaker President Speedway. Only around 600 cars with his chassis were produced in 1933. This is the only surviving convertible sedan.
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My nephew and a friend were 15-16 yrs old in the late 80's. As gearheads they always had some unique cars, the remnants of which were abandoned in the garage of a house that I own (I've shared Mary and my experiences while selling these parts 38 yrs later).
What struck me about the last part of this thread was the mention of the Honda 600. The two boys had 3-4 of these. They seemed intent on creating a car like the old Mini Cooper. They would beat these thing to death. It was a combination of 9000+ rpm and an occasional lugging of the engine, that always blew them up. They broke so many crank shafts that they had to give up on 600.
Thirty eight years later the remains from the 600's, that was left in the garage, was sold on eBay. Somebody out there has these 600's, because all of it has sold. One of the funniest purchases was one of the last. I'm old so please excuse if I've mentioned this before. Someone from Chicago whose first language was not English got ahold of Mary. He was desperate, his car was down because the master cylinder had given out. After poking around for awhile we found what had to be for a Honda 600. Emailed a picture, and sure enough it was the correct one. His excited response was "please put in mail Priority I put on weekend." Well he got it, put it on, and it worked!
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Everything in it's own time. It has just become time for some of these cars to get the credit that they deserve. Whether they are being rediscovered by their original owners or discovered for the first time by a younger generation, they seem new today. Long forgotten these cars have survived in very limited numbers.
In California the Japanese car culture has been around for some time, but only in the seeming purview of the younger generation. For several good reason, California has became the focal point for the movement. Most of these cars were very rust prone, unibody, cars that just did not lend themselves to repair, especially when rust was the culprit. Because California cars seem to hold up better and because so many Japanese cars were imported to the West Coast they just have survived better.
My own first hand experience began in 1975 when I began dating the woman that I would later marry. She was driving a year old Toyota Corolla coupe. I admit that at first I was unimpressed. Shocked might be a better term when I found out that she had traded in a 1969 Mustang Mach I when she bought it.
About 1980 she wanted a sports car (she was a very fast and good driver). We decided on a 1973 Datsun 240Z, which I refurbished for her. We continued to drive both cars well into the 90's. In the PNW we drive our cars for a long time because we can. When we divorced she got the Z and I continued to drive the Toy. I drove that car until the valve seats were gone, and it would no longer sustain a valve adjustment for more then several weeks (275K miles on the car when parked). I parked it outside, next to the garage, in 1997. When my X sold the Z it had almost 230K miles on it and was still ran great, albeit with the Webbers that we had installed.
The Toy is another story all it's own. I just completed the sale of house where it was stored outside for the last 25 years. The 35 yr old purchaser of the house became enamored with the car. The upshot is that he says that he intends to restore the car. He says that he got it running and is buying parts to restore it! Everything in it's time-I couldn't be happier!
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I formerly looked for a car like this for almost twenty years. I bid on one in the McDonald auction in Yakama Wa. twenty years ago-it went to a street rodder in Canada. Then there was one on eBay about twelve years ago. I was outbid by another street rodder. In the last thirty years I have only seen one original running driving 1935 Dictator coupe. That car came in to the Intl meet in Colorado Springs, on Saturday after almost everyone had left The car was family owned and not for sale. Prior to that I had really thought that none had survived. Please let us know!
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I just today signed the paperwork for the sale of my home. It is the culmination of a year of work to bring the house up the the standard that the purchaser wanted (lease option agreement). He intends to use the house for an Airbnb. Much to unpack here but when we made the original agreement I strongly advised him to put in a heat pump and an electric furnace. The sixty five yr old oil furnace and 660 gal tank in front of the house needed to go! He pushed back and did it his way. Which included new burner on the furnace and using my oil that remained in the tank. As part of the process he installed a thermostat that he could set the temperature from wherever he was using his phone. Just in case a guest raised the temp above what he thought was proper.
The current upshot is that he is crying the blues about having to pay $6/gal for fuel oil and the fact that he is having to fill the tank himself, using his own small tanker truck, because he can't find anyone who is willing to negotiate the long driveway. In thirty two years I never had any problem getting someone to fill the tank-times change.
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2 hours ago, TerryB said:
In PA, home and business consumers of natural gas and electricity are regulated by the Pennsylvania Utility Commission. If you want to raise rates you have to petition the commission and show why the price has to be increased. The companies that deliver electricity to homes and businesses can supply you with the generated electricity or you can shop for a provider different from the company that delivers the energy. The delivery companies are not allowed by law to add anything to the price they pay for the electricity they get from the generation company. I use PPL as my electricity delivery supplier. The bill shows the cost of delivery and the cost of the generated electricity as separate line items.
The idea electricity suppliers will jump rates like we are currently seeing with oil companies is not possible in PA under the current utilities regulations. EV charging at home will be more stable price wise than the market fluctuations in the oil price market here. Your state may vary.
Although I would love to own a Tesla Model S I really doubt that at my age it will ever happen. I have all my low mileage twenty five yr old cars to wear out first.
How many remember the fuel crunch of the 1970's? EV really makes sense when I think about being held hostage by all the things which our outside of our control-gas embargo, war, reserve depletion, even the weather. I really think that domestically produced electric is more insulated from geopolitical consideration then petroleum and natural gas is. Of course if the fact the worldwide every indicator points to the increase of the use of sustainable electricity, to me, it becomes a no-brainer.
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Pierce-Arrow today, parts tomorrow.
in General Discussion
Posted
I've publicly thanked Ed, and all the folks doing the same thing for other marque owners, for making the hard choices and doing the backbreaking work required to salvage parts from these cars. Frankly speaking on no level could I do what he and John are doing. Speaking as an old school sentimentalist checking any of the boxes required to do the deed, would leave my hand shacking like a leaf. I agree with Staver that there is a disconnect between the East and West Coasts when it come to restoration feasibility, but the car is not out here. Thankfully it isn't out here or someone, like me, would probably undertake a project that would never be finished. Times have changed, we need to concentrate on saving cars more worthy of saving.