Buffalowed Bill

My better half, Mary, sold the car Oct of 2016. It's a good honest car. It's a real survivor, I really hope that it will be saved as the loved original it has been for the last seventy two years. The car a little rust in the trunk area, around the trunk weatherstrip channel and on the front of the LR fender, under the splash guard. Too bad if someone finds this interesting at this price, because they could have had it for less then half today's asking price. It is a rare car, but we have four of them in the state of Washington. I'm sure that they are much more rare in the eastern part of the country. I would not pay anything close to the asking price of $12.5K. The reason I am commenting here, is the statement that the car has a clear Washington title. Buyer beware, Mary submitted a seller's notice, when she sold the car, but title was never transferred. Buyer may be on the hook for any Florida taxes due, on the original $5K selling price. If anyone would like to contact Mary she can be reached through me, in care of the forum.-Bill

A quick glance and didn't see any cautionary response regarding possible limitations of your ammeter. Your ammeter is designed to measure the current flow for which your system as it was designed. If you decide to up-power to say to 45 amps, and your ammeter is only capable handling 35 amps, you will run the real risk of burning it up.

It must not be the same car. I checked the ongoing thread, and David's project was continuing as of 5/1 of this year. You might take a look at his project, it's something to behold.-Bill

Is this the car that was posted by the young owner in 2013? If it is the same car would you care to share what happened in the last five years that allowed you to get it?

I had one for awhile, more then thirty years ago. I always loved the look, as I do all of the Mark series. Driving was a different experience, kind of akin to sleeping on a waterbed. Somewhat like wallowing, but without the sound of the water sloshing around. Smooth and powerful, but without any of the road feel that I was used to. I still love the look, but I'll let someone else do the driving. But then I don't sleep on a waterbed either.

Talk about the extra add on's that some new car makers have incorporated, made me laugh. Last year we rented an Impala, Premiere. After driving it for a week i got so I really liked it. Early on there was some doubt, when we were on a narrow two lane road, so narrow that there was no center line. Almost immediately this thing started beep at me, at the same time something on the dash began flashing. Holly c..... what's going on! Out came the owner's manual. It took several minutes to figure out that it was a detector to tell me that I was over the center line. As soon as I figured out how to turn that feature off, it was gone!

The most current news indicates that Ford's only domestic car offering will be the Mustang.

Let me say that I agreed with the govt's assessment that GM was too big to allow to fail. This is not based on politics, or ideology, it is strictly based on economics. GM took the govt loans, paid their obligation early, and moved on. Ford got universal kudos for not needing to accept the "bailout," but what did it really cost them. While they were able to secure loans on their own, to stay the course they also were forced to sell Jaguar/Landrover to Tata motors. Alan Mullally, company president, stated that it was time to return to their own luxury marque Lincoln. The selling price was, I believe, around two Billion dollars. This was after Ford had sunk millions into the Coventry plant, to both modernize it, and to attack the quality flaws that had become implicit with the marque. So how did that work out for Ford, not very well. Tata returned management to Coventry, and returned the company to profitability. Enough profit, in fact, to cover all of the purchase price in several years. Ford's emphasis on Lincoln fell flat. While the Towncar served the company well domestically, there was no international marque recognition. By giving up on their only global, luxury marque was a huge mistake. We live in a world economy, and Ford chose not to play. Personally I think that Ford made another huge mistake, when the chose to drop the full framed, rear wheeled drive, Crown Victoria based, line of cars. They had been the mainstay for police, taxi and limousine service for two decades. None of their offerings have made them a player in any of these markets.

I honestly didn't know the car's history, and of the engine change. I think that it's important to note that the engine change from 8 to 12 takes no real alteration. The 836 and the 1236, in 1933 were virtually identical, except for the engine. Tom, this engine change should not be viewed as a deterrent. This car is very rare and beautifully restored, and presented. You could live the rest of your life and not find another one like it. If you did magically find one, I doubt that it would be as good as this one is. Dee never accepted less then the best!

Last saw the car when it belonged to Dee Howard, but that was 27 years ago. It was a 100pt car then, and unless Dr. Parnagian toured with the car, I don't doubt that condition has changed much.

Studebaker was a surviving independent, a rarity for sure. I could make and argument that it was the last of the independents, but regardless they had to be doing something right. In any era I could show you something that is so special that that you could not help but be impressed with. "Different my design" really did catch the character of the company's products. It was how they survived for over 100 years!

Thanks Larry for posting. Now stand back and watch the explosion of excitement. I'm trying hard refrain from scrapping it.

Victoria, A princess you are, but old I doubt it, and retired that remains to be seen. I've enjoyed your company, and admired you for your spunk and courage. Check in occasionally and let us know how you're doing. Sorry that we got such tepid response from AACA forum members in the PNW, regarding group activities.-Bill

It's amazing the way the thread has taken off! I really appreciate hearing the thoughts of the young gearheads. I know that they exist, because I see them with their imported tuner cars, but there seems to be little opportunity for communication. You younger folks, on this forum, have to be aware that you are the exception rather then the rule. Communication is a two way street. It's sad, but I don't know any millennials, and the few with whom I come in contact, seem unwilling to waste their time talking to an old fart like me. It can't be easy for young people with limited skills to make ends meet. I'm 74 y/o, worked my way through college, pulling lumber off a green chain. In those days in Seattle, the city in which I grew up, there were nine operating saw mills. Union employment were difficult to get, but economy was good, and there was always a demand for a good chain worker. I feel blessed that I had choices to make both in jobs and in housing. Today in tech savvy Seattle, nobody gets off Scott free. If you're young and rent, you pay the price in high rents. If you own your home, you pay in property taxes. Not much disposable income left after the bills are paid. A couple of points on our hobby. I see plenty of bargains in cars, if people are patient, and or, willing to wait, or take a car that is not mainstream. There are bargains to be had in the orphan cars, four door cars, and cars from the 70's and 80's. As for the pre war cars, the market has been flat for some time. The direction of lower prices are bound to continue, as we old timers die off, and all of our cars flood the market. Patience is a virtue, your time will come.

Twenty seven years ago I showed a car at Pebble. When it was about time for the judges to do their walk around of my car, my now x-wife spotted Jay. Notice how I call him by his first name. She hollered out Jay, to which he dutifully responded to by coming over to where we were. How embarrassing! He couldn't have been more gracious and cordial. He talked to us for some time and made us feel, that in spite of her presumptuousness, that meeting us had become an important part of his day.

I love the collection! The collection is a true testimony to the history of the self made man who broke free of the religious restraints, to create something of benefit to society, while enriching himself. He made the transition without much of the self serving attitude of many who seek wealth and fame. From a car lovers perspective the museum is a collection of a marque that is not seen enough. I have no doubt that many of these cars the only ones like them left. This collection has done much for me to bridge the gap between what I thought I knew about Hudson, and what I know now. I don't think that the negative aspects of the museum's closing can be overstated. We had only visited the museum once. That was six years ago when we toured there from South Bend at the time of the Studebaker International. We were planning to go again, after the the same event, in May of last year. In fact we did go down to Shipshewanna, but it was Sunday, in Amish country, and the museum was closed. Mary an I discussed the futility of survival in the middle of nowhere, and closing on Sunday. Understanding the inevitability of the situation doesn't make it any easier to accept the results. I think that the best that we can hope for is that someone will step up, buy the collection and move it. It might entail selling off some of the cars, and downsizing, but at least it would survive.

The use of an aluminum head on this engine goes back to, at least, 1935. The last one that I saw, in usable condition, was several years ago, on a disassembled 1935 Dictator coupe, from SW Washington. To say that seeing one is a rare occurrence is not an overstatement, but seeing one in usable condition, is almost unheard of. If the head manufacture mirrors that of the eight cylinder engine, as I believe it does, there were two different manufactures. There would then be a head for the early Dictators through 1935, and another for the 1936-37.

As our segment of the hobby gets old, and dies demand is bound to go down. It's not so much the fluctuations in the economy, but the changes in the hobby itself, that will rule. IMO old cars are a very poor long term investment. Buy cars because you like them, and try to keep them separate from your investment portfolio. That way you don't have to worry about a flat-line collector car market.

Most of you folks live in a different world then I do. I drive four cosmetically and mechanically near prefect, rather low mileage cars. Luckily our cars don't deteriorate as fast as they do other places, so an extra 100,000 miles doesn't make that much difference. Maybe I'm driving the less desirable cars mentioned by the gentleman from California, but I don't care they are what I like! 1994 Lincoln Mark VIII 1995 Ford Thunderbird, 86,000 miles, V8- bought Nov 2016 $1500 1996 Jaguar XJ6- 120,000 mi. Jan 2016 $2,000 1997 Ford Thunderbird 122,000 last month $1500

Thank's Larry for the response. I had about given up the idea that my inquiry would get any kind of response. I'm not vary good at posting pictures, but could Email same to anyone interested. My better half and I were thinking something around $200. Little enough for saving this for more then 35 years! Any close reasonable offer is better then scrapping it.

Warning, don't get caught in the trap of just trying to blend clear over the area of exposed color and existing clear.

Yes it is a suburban community, but one still surrounded by farmland. I might say a place where past and the present collides head on, but still able to maintain some of old time character of the area. In spite of the fact that there is no AACA chapter within 800 miles, it's always interesting how many people from the Pacific Northwest come together on the forum.-Bill

When I was a kid in the fifties I always loved the looks of the 1952-53 Merk. Later had a 1951 V8 for a short time, and it had an automatic in it. What a dog that car with that combo was. I think that car would have been better with 223cu" six cylinder in it, I certainly would have had a better torque curve then the V8! When I think of that car today I remember the Lucile Ball movie, "The Long Long Trailer." What a choir that must have been to pull that thing, with that setup, no thanks! I wonder if anyone noticed that, sometime during the filming of the movie, a 1954 was substituted for the 53? I believe that that would have had the 270cu"+, "Y" block, a much better choice as a tow vehicle. I still love the car, but today I know it's limitations.

When I saw this I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I chased the owner of two of these that I found in the ally behind my Grandmother's house, I never made the connection, but that was more the thirty years ago. Today if someone offered me that unfortunate mess, for free, I would walk!

I didn't mean to imply that 1955-57 cars are the only cars of interest, just seem to have the most universal interest. Scarcity has something to do with the 1953 Plymouth. Boy you really picked on the poor stepchild of the era, they just weren't saved at all! Don't misunderstand I like them, but I can't even guess at what interest they might have today. You might go to fifty car shows and not see one. Factor in that we old timers won't be around for very much longer, and that restoration cost are so high, and it seems to me to be a car destined for virtual obscurity. We lived in a real throw away society in the early post war era. Many of the early post war cars became quickly outdated by the 1955> models, and were just discarded. IMHO Chrysler styled cars lost favor, faster then most, and just disappeared.