capngrog

Can't we all just lighten up a bit? That was the intent of this thread. It was obviously seen by some to be a lame attempt at levity. I was gratified, however, to see that it brought out a discussion by those who actually had experience with the Olds "Pirate" race car. That's part of what makes this Forum so great. The level of expertise and experience on the part of its participants is amazing! Who would have thought that a passing reference to a little known race car would have elicited such a knowledgeable response to an otherwise frivolous thread. Oh well, I'll try to be more serious the next time. Cheers, Grog

I see that someone has chosen to change the apparently "overly dramatic" subject line of my thread in accordance with recently unannounced Forum guidelines. The original title or subject line of this thread was: Warning!! Impending NTLAPD!! Warning!! I guess that the changed title: Warning!! Impending National Talk Like A Pirate Day! (9/19) makes more sense and obviates the necessity of actually reading what the thread was all about. The original overly dramatic and vague thread title was meant to stir a bit of curiosity about the contents of the thread, but I guess that, in future, thread titles will be vigorously scrutinized and changed if deemed necessary ... by someone. Another one bites the dust! Cheers, Grog

Uh, oh. Maybe I should change the overly dramatic subject line in the thread I started just yesterday: Warning!! Impending NTLAPD!! Warning!! The subject line could, instead, be something like: "Another Tribute-To-Something-Or-Other-Day coming up". Or maybe: "Otherwise sober, serious people might be talking strangely this coming Saturday". Or, "Just Ignore This ... Don't Mean Nuthin". Besides, I got it wrong. It's not "NTLAPD", it's "ITLAPD". The insanity is not just National, it's International. Oh well, I'll do better next time. Cheers, Grog

Aye, preparr thyselves, Satardae (that 'un be the 19th O' Septamberrrrr) be National Talk Like A Pirate Day!! ARRRGGHHHH! Avast and Ahoy! May ye swash ne'er buckle! I reckon that t' ensure good luck 'n ward off th' China flue, hurricane 'n a plague o' locusts, at least one pirate phrase best be uttered on that hallowed day. What in the world does this have to do with antique/collector/classic cars, you may ask? Well, Ransom E. Olds, just prior to the turn of the 20th century, engaged in a race against Alexander Winton on Ormond Beach, Florida. Ransom Olds' car was named "Pirate" and equaled the speed of Winton's vehicle: 57 MPH. The competitors declared the contest to be a draw and withdrew to the local bar ( I just made up that bit about the bar, but the rest seems to be true). Cheers, B.O.B. (Bucket O' Blood)

How can you say that it is unimaginative when it's so different? As to whether or not it's ugly, it's not for me to say, but ugly or not, I like it. Well, that's just me, and just my opinion. One thing fer sure, it was a thread starter. Cheers, Grog

Here's a link to the actual report of the study backed by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics: http://ftp.iza.org/dp13670.pdf None of the IZA authors are "epidemiologists" (they are all economists, but some of them specialize in "Health Economics") although their study appears to be epidemiological in nature. The principal overall weakness of the study/report is the lack of peer review. An exhaustive peer review adds enormously to the the credibility of any academic study. Just as an aside, the IZA Institute, seems to be widely accepted as an authority on economics and is considered to be the number one top economic institution in Germany and is headquartered in Bonn, Germany. This, of course, is not necessarily an indictment of the institution, but its background and sources of support are a bit muddy. Maybe I just didn't dig enough. The IZA report is rather long and full of some suspect data, but I suggest that you at least read the abstract. In the abstract, we learn that the study relied heavily of a statistical method called "a synthetic control approach". My understanding of the synthetic control approach (SCA) is extremely limited, but I found an MIT paper on the method (https://economics.mit.edu/files/17847 ) which had this comment in its Conclusions Section: "However, like for any other statistical procedure (and especially for those aimed at estimating causal effects), the credibility of the results depends crucially on the level of diligence exerted in the application of the method and on whether contextual and data requirements are met in the empirical application at hand." What this means to me is that the data can be easily fiddled either wittingly or unwittingly. I hafta admit that my understanding of the methodology employed in the data gathering phase of this study is very limited. I was amazed to find that the study relied heavily on data mined from " ... anonymized cell phone data from SafeGraph, Inc." I've never heard of SafeGraph, Inc., so I looked and found this: SafeGraph | POI Data, Business Listings, & Foot-Traffic Data It's amazing how all smart phone owners/users can be tracked so precisely, but I think that we've all suspected this for quite some time. The data used in this report are claimed to be "anonymized" (is that even a word?); however, using the tracking data from SafeGraph, it seems that identification of individuals would be relatively easy to make. The abstract of the report reveals that there was only a 0.6% increase in Covid (China Flu) cases in the county where Sturgis is located (Meade County) and approximately 0.3 -0.4% in South Dakota as a whole. While I'm no epidemiologist, that hardly seems to be a pandemic spike to me. However, the study touts this as an increase of 35% relative to the 9.7 cases per 1,000 population in South Dakota on July 31, 2020 (o.97%). The study further determined (using a difference-in-differences model) that in counties (in the rest of the USA) that contributed the highest "inflows" of attendees of the Sturgis Rally that the China Flu cases rose by 10.7 percent, relative to counties without any "detected" attendees at the Rally. The authors of the study report admitted, within the report, that their conclusions on the Covid-related costs of the Sturgis Rally were doubtful. I quote this from the report: "We conclude that the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally generated substantial public health costs, which we calculate to reach at least $12.2 billion usingthe statistical value of a COVID-19 case estimated by Kniesner and Sullivan (2020). While we note that this ballpark (note that the term "ballpark" was inserted sometime between my first review of the report, on September ninth and today) estimate captures the full costs of infections due to the Sturgis rally — and is an overestimate of the externality cost because this number includes COVID-19 infections to individuals who attended the rally (and may have internalized private health risks) — we nonetheless conclude that local and nationwide contagion from this event was substantial." DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER I'M NO EXPERT ON THIS STUFF, BUT I CAN READ A TECHNICAL PAPER My take on the report is that is that it is useful, but full of equivocation. Be that as it may, the Corona/China Flu response has become one of Risk Management. Surely, If we all stayed home, the spread of the virus would be severely restricted, but our economy would crash, suicide rates would skyrocket, we would starve to death etc. We MUST balance the re-opening of out economy with some common sense precautions. I think that the Sturgis Rally and the NSRA Street Rod Nationals were a test, and that, to date, there has been no conclusive evidence of significant spikes in the Corona/China flu rates. Cheers, Grog

I haven't heard about Bike Week or Biketoberfest, but the Turkey Rod Run is on as of Thursday, September 10, 2020. I only know this because I work the event, and we've been told that the event is on. My guess is that both Biketoberfest and Bike Week will happen. So far, there have been mixed analyses of the effect on the pandemic of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and the NSRA Nationals. As far as I've been able to determine, there has been no significant spike in China Flu cases due to either of these two events. Yes, I've read the IZA Institute report on the so-called super spreader Sturgis event. The IZA report has not been peer reviewed and has been questioned by several prominent individuals. At this point, who really knows how to respond to the covid/China Flu, but one thing is for sure: we must re-start our economy or perish. Cheers, Grog

The last I heard, Honest Charley, Inc. had been purchased by and was a division of Coker Tire. Coker Tire and the Coker Group (Coker Tire's parent group) were sold to Irving Place Capital in 2018. Irving Place Capital specializes in leveraged buy outs of which, my understanding is very limited; however, I think that leveraged buyouts are not too different from pyramid schemes. I don't know what will ultimately happen with Coker Tire and Honest Charley, but I don't feel happy about their survival chances. Just my opinion based on limited knowledge. Cheers, Grog

I don't think that was the intent of this thing since the I.D. of the metal piece on the right is 5/16-inch, which is just enough larger than the average wooden pencil of around 1/4 inch. Of course, there were "special" pencils produced that were of a larger diameter ... so who knows. Certainly not me. But then, back "in the day", what would have been more important ... a stub of a pencil or an emergency cigarette? Cheers, Grog

I ran across this thing the other day. It was a key chain fob with the beaded chain running through the hole at the left end of it. As you can see, it opens up revealing a hidden compartment for concealing secret messages or perhaps an emergency cigarette. Gregg Motors was my Dad's dealership, which was in business in Miami from around 1949 to 1954. He started out selling Crosleys very successfully, but when Crosley went under in 1952, he switched to VW, Hillman and finally Studebaker. The dealership closed in 1954. Cheers, Grog

Greg; I think Mark and 46 are pretty close to what that thing is. Whatever it is, it looks pretty cool. Are you going to bid on it? If so, and you won it, I bet you'd be the only kid on the block with one. Cheers, Grog

California is definitely the place to locate for retirement. One can drive from the beach to the ski (snow) slopes in half a day. World class cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles attract the best of our society ... unmatched by other urban centers. Florida is full of swamps, mosquitoes, alligators, no see-ums, bats, sink holes, hurricanes, tornadoes, red tide, etc. It's a wonder that anyone survives more than a year down here. Florida is hazardous to one's health and well-being ... nobody survives the experience. California's the place to be. Cheers, Grog

The Menasco name triggered a faint memory in the deep, dark recesses of the remains of my brain. A quick look on the interweb revealed that Menasco Motors Company was formed by Al Menasco in Burbank, California in 1926. They built aircraft engines up until WWII, but were out of that business by the end of the war. I doubt that the aviation engine manufacturer, Menasco, has any thing to do with the Menasco Motors automobile dealership located in Grants Pass, Oregon, but I just thought I'd toss in this useless bit of trivia for entertainment's sake. A link to Menasco Motors aircraft engine manufacturer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menasco_Motors_Company Happy Labor Day. Cheers, Grog

I had the same experience earlier this evening when my "favorites" link failed to work. I was able to access the AACA home page via a "back door" route; however, some of the threads were showing posts reputably made today or in the last few days, which I recall seeing several weeks ago. Everything seems to be working fine now. Technology is great when it does our bidding. Cheers, Grog

That's the way I feel about the thread as well. I haven't looked at it in quite a while. Cheers, Grog

I also get the right hand column on this thread - "The '57 Bel Air is "one of the worst cars ever made" according to this article.." but not on this one: "Got a caption for this photo? " Strange. Technology is great ... when it does our bidding. Cheers, Grog

Peter; The screen presentation in this thread looks just like it always has, without a column on the right side of the screen; however, when I click on the Misc. Humor and Interesting Videos thread, I get the right column as shown in your above example. I'll send a screen shot if you like. Cheers, Grog

What was it that P.T. Barnum said? Cheers, Grog

To swerve (note the use of automotive driving lingo) back to the topic of this thread, I returned to the original post in an attempt to be as clear as I can be on O.P.'s intent. For those of you too busy to read the article I linked 11 hours ago, here is the meat: “By my plan, by 2045 we will have basically zero emission vehicles only,” California Sen. Kamala Harris said during the town hall. “100 percent by 2045.” In fact, Harris’ climate plan calls for 100 percent of new car sales to be zero-emission vehicles 10 years earlier than that — in 2035. Her proposal also promises to implement an updated “cash for clunkers” program, with “incentives for cars to be replaced with zero-emission vehicles manufactured in America, and extra, targeted assistance for low and middle-income families.” Although old/collector cars are not specifically mentioned, it seems pretty clear to me that Senator Harris is striving to remove ALL internal combustion engine vehicles from our roadways by 2045. Or am I missing something here? I believe Senator Harris is a Dimocrat of some note. Cheers, Grog Read more here: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article234744047.html#storylink=cpy

I don't know about party affiliation; however, it seems that government, whether left or right, wants to control every aspect of our lives. I have seen over the past few years that some folks feel that old polluting vehicles should be banned from the public roadways. This opinion seemed to gather speed with the "Cash for Clunkers" campaign of ten or twelve years ago, when thousands of old (some desirable "collectibles") cars were turned into beer cans and espresso machines. Back to the premise of the O.P., it seems that California is already considering the banning of internal combustion vehicles. The link: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article234744047.html As many have said: "so goes California, so goes the Nation". I'm afraid that the concerns of "Brass Is Best" are valid. Cheers, Grog

I saw this skit tonight on the Carol Burnett show and thought that it would inject a bit of levity during these weird times. The video: Cheers, Grog

That's a great looking vehicle. It looks like it has the old canvas roof panel, but I thought those went away after 1932. I'm probably wrong on this, so please let me know when Ford abandoned the canvas roof panel. Cheers, Grog

Your began this thread with a concern over whether or not your car is a "matching numbers" car, which implies (to me at least) that you are interested in the originality of the car. If that's the case, why would you modify it as above? Unless you are into road racing, drum brakes are just fine. Air conditioning is nice to have, but not needed where you're located. "Air ride" can run the gamut from just "lift shocks" to air ride on four corners, but can require significant modification to the suspension. If you're not concerned with the originality of the car, the modifications you propose make a lot of sense to me and will enhance the driving experience considerably. Whatever your choice, drive it and enjoy it! Cheers, Grog

Sometimes it's not the cooling system. I have a 1947 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery with a small block Chevy 350 and a T-350 automatic transmission. From the time I bought the car 14 years ago until fairly recently, it had a moderate overheating problem similar to that described by the O.P., Voldad. The car would heat up into the 210° - 220° range, just enough to give me the "white knuckle" syndrome while driving in traffic; however, it never did boil over. I did all of the cooling system things: different thermostats, different water pumps, rebuilt the radiator, back flushed the engine, electric pusher-puller fans (even tried both in tandem), radiator shrouds etc. The radiator was a custom job and sized to the car and engine, so it should have done the job. When I first bought the car, it had a GM 6-71 blower mounted (installed by the second owner from whom I bought the car), and thinking that the blower might be making extra heat, I removed it and replaced it with 4bbl carb and aluminum intake. No change. As part of the blower swap, I had to remove and replace the distributor, and noticed at the time that there was no vacuum advance because of the blower. Of course, I set initial timing and all that, but never checked the distributor timing curve. A few years back, I was cruising the ol' interweb and stumbled upon a discussion thread (I've forgotten which forum) where they were discussing ignition timing's effect on engine operating temperatures. It was mentioned on the thread that a severely retarded ignition advance curve can cause engine over heating ... "voila", as they say, I had a "light bulb" moment. It turned out that my distributor timing advance was so far off as to be nearly non existent. Oh sure, eventually, at high rpm, the advance would catch up, but I was seeing very little advance at normal driving rpm. Rather than mess with the old distributor, I just bought a new one with vacuum advance. What a difference that made! The engine temperatures dropped more than 20° during normal driving! I removed the electric fans and installed a stock mechanically driven (water pump pulley) fan which works great. I've had no overheating problems since, and I live in Florida. Check it out and good luck. Let us know when you find the source of your overheating problem. Cheers, Grog