Frantz

FWIW AACA judging doesn't check for functionality, so if it were the case where only the dome light was at play here and you were primarily focused on AACA judging you wouldn't need to worry about having power go to the dome at all. In this case it seems the rear body wiring also goes up through the roofline. That does seem odd, since they did offer a convertible and clearly they went a different way on those.

Welcome! If this is your first new car, then extra welcomes! Either way, cool car. For me the first thing I do with a tank is determine how bad it is. Are we taking about one or two pin holes, or is the whole thing rotten? See how much flex there is in the bottom of the tank. As said above, there are lots of ways to fix them, but when they are too far gone, there are better options. There are various products to reseal tanks, I've had good luck with the Por15 tank seal product on my tractors. It might take a few containers for a big car tank, but it coats well and gives me good peace of mind. I often do it on my old tractors just because of the little rust flakes it eliminates in tanks that have been siting a long time. Next find out what all used the same tank and see if you can find a suitable. Perhaps see if the other body styles used a different tank that might still fit. If so, two door cars are more likely to have repop. Of course you can always go fuel cell too, while generally would limit range or take up lots of truck space, it's a viable option to enjoy until repairs or replacements come about.

Both plants I know of in PA are still standing to the best of my knowledge as well.

Heck, you can still do that today with commercial trucks, I don't see why that would not have been the case back in the day.

I wish I could say I've never bought a further gone dream. I was thinking the same thing about the paperwork. I bought a car without title at first once and was sweating it until the family got around to signing it over to me (sold from an estate).

Ford trucks ordered by municipalities should generally be speced with manual regeneration if they idle most of the time, which burns off the particulates (not DEF). Ford assumes the higher trim level trucks are used on the highway and this option isn't available above XLT I believe. Most trucks on the lot won't have this option, regardless of what fleet they're likely to go to. Gotta have a smart fleet manager to order them right and make sure they are cared for properly. I'm sure the other makers have it too, I just am only really familiar with the Ford setups. The highway driving is def what these trucks are built for. They probably like short drives even less than limited use. As for mods... frankly today's diesels are plenty powerful factory. I don't think I'd want to mess with the factory system unless I was legit racing. All the big three today are over 900 ft/lbs Torque. Regardless of who is in office, it's really only a matter of time before the EPA starts fully enforcing the laws on the books. Spending money to make the trucks non-compliant would have limit gains for long term risk. Heck, the '79 truck I have is a good example. Back before it mattered the previous owner put in a '76 drivetrain and took out all emissions. Then regulations caught up to him and he couldn't get it inspected anymore. He pretty much gave it to me to save it from the crusher because it wasn't worth fixing right, but I put a farm tag on it with exempts me and lets me use it like a truck. When he did the swap, it wasn't a big deal. Just something to keep in mind for anyone considering an emissions delete. Again, the law is already on the book, it's just a matter of enforcing it. Not worth the risk IMO.

Is there a way to identify where a model T was put together? A quick google search turned up nothing of value, I didn't know if anyone here was familiar with numbers or quirks that could identify where it was put together. I don't have one, but I'd like to hunt for one, and would prefer a Pennsylvania built one if it's possible to know. If not, is there data supporting what regions were served by specific plants? Were they exclusive, or could a dealer/agent have cars from multiple plants any given year?

When I was 14 (late 1990s) my neighbor was going to give me a pretty solid restorable 1965 Buick Skylark convertible. I didn't grow up working on cars and my mom was very against the idea of project car in her yard. So every time I dragged another Rambler home, I reminded her "I could be a Buick man, but you said no". To my knowledge the car is still local, and still not restored (much like my own projects).

I used to sell diesels when I did commercial trucks with Ford. The motors are really impressive (across the board), but they are designed for a lifespan, not to the point of wearing out. Meaning, someone like you or me, who doesn't need a truck on a daily basis, really has more trouble getting value back out. IMO the only way to do it is to deprecate them under a business and trade em in when they get out of warranty. The shops that run a half million miles in a few years seem to do just fine. But the government and the manufacturers don't really care if trucks don't last forever. Government likes new fleets, manufacturers don't make as much money on old ones. So no one has a motive to make a truck that goes 5k a year and last 40 years. With that in mind, I know where the engineering dollars are going. Now taking off my tin foil hat... we had huge inventories of trucks that sat all winter. Once I started commercial sales I was pretty active in keeping them clean, powered, and shoveled out (Pennsylvania), but still off site trucks would sit, run out of power, and start up just fine without any codes getting thrown with a quick jump. My guess is one of your sensors has moisture and it's frozen... or something along those lines. I don't think the cold temps on the DEF alone caused the problems. And if I get a new farm truck it'll be a gas. I'd rather pay the higher fuel cost and getting fuel is easier. My only diesel truck is a 2000 F550 dump truck, and my tractors are pre emission too. Not sure what I'll do as I'm forced to care more.

Cool find. I always like the commercial trucks. Check out your states laws too. I have a '79 truck registered as a farm truck here in PA. Actually.. it's a registration exemption. Depending on the weight changes the miles from the farm I can take it. The '79 is under 10k so it can go 50 miles, and that's plenty for me. Only cost $24 for two years, though it limits the use to farm purposes, but unlike antique tags, i can actually use it like a truck. There is also a state tag for farm use that allows extended miles and some other states acknowledge it. Just some ideas to look into! As for the VIN, I have no idea. You can probably use the frame number, DMV can vary with what they'll accept on the old things, but often you can pick the wrong thing and with a convincing argument probably make it work. Good luck!

Gotta love the Sheetz v WAWA war. Team Sheetz for me. While it's pretty silly to go to NJ and have them fill your car up for you, it's even sillier with Pennsylvania's sky high gas tax that fuel is cheaper in NJ where you get full service.

Assuming it's not an early A.... Are we talking a T or a TT? The TT is very limited because of it's gearing. I've seen nice patina driving examples sell well under the $10k mark. I'm negotiating to buy a parts one for a few hundred bucks (might be better than parts, owner hasn't let me actually see it yet). Commercial trucks are nearly always worth less than their civilian truck equivalents due to limited use and interest. That being said, if someone is looking for an old truck cheap, rather than an F1, look for an F6.. or rather than an A look for an AA. But yeah, as others said, pictures, more info, it's story. things like that will help get a value.

Google the backwards to get your answers better than asking the direct question. Generally it seems if you move the assets during litigation then most protections are fraudulent. However, protecting assets ahead of time is okay. Frankly we talk about this with life insurance since it's not considered an asset creditors can touch. I'd think a trust would be the best vehicle for this for you, but certainly check with your attorney. Is there a reason you've thought to do an LLC compared to a trust, or are you just exploring options? Trust are common for estate planning, I've never heard of setting up an LLC for estate conservation. You could say it's a bandwagon logical fallacy, but I'd be willing to bet the bandwagon has reason to it, I just don't know what that reason is.

The best advice is to have enough money to replace the Exploder if it fails along the way. Take the trip slow, and get a list of members along the way to help ya out. I'd get a transmission temp gauge if you don't have one and watch all your temps. Some of the mountains are fairly steep. But I would NOT consider doing this without breaks... so a dolly or full trailer would be the only close to safe option. You're not only concerned with the percentage of tow capacity, but also weight ratio between Explorer and that neat little truck.

Jigglers are thin steel "keys" that have different shapes. You put them in lock cylinders and wiggle them around putting slight tension and you can get the cylinder to turn. I got a set when I got my '54 Ford from an estate because they had no idea where the keys were and I needed to turn the cylinder to get the pin that holds the whole cylinder in place. Once I found a "key" that was close enough of the 20 or so it came with, it opens pretty quickly. I'd imagine a lock smith or practiced unscrupulous type would make quick work of the process with fewer jiggler options. Not as common today because locks have gotten more complex, but on the older vehicles... well it's probably a major reason they started adding more pins in the 1970s and more complex keys later on.

I'm not sure I see what it does. A set of jigglers would probably get though that pretty easy. Though if all your trying to do is be a harder target than the guy visiting the bronx parked next to you I suppose it would work. Edit: oh got it! Prevents lock from being pulled out (assuming they forgot their channel locks to take out the safety screws.. would countersunk screws be that hard to add?)

I came across a small selection of books published by AAA. Mine are from 1958 through 1962 and the 1962 book even has a letter in it from the local AAA club to the Chief of Police explaining the gift of the book to help them perform their duties as an officer. They books go state by state and include a paragraph summary on vehicle registration, drivers license, proof of ownership, taxes, traffic rules, accident reports, liability law, inspection, and the HQ of that states highway patrol. Sorta neat. In Pennsylvania 1958 the age to get a license was 18, with junior permits issued at 16. Closer to what we have, however, "way back" in the 1990s I was able to get my license at 16, so they certainly changed it up and down over the years. We had no property tax, only a 3% sales tax and only $0.05 cent fuel tax!!! (we have property tax now, 6% sales, and $0.58 gas tax per gal) 50 mph speed limit on highway unless posted up to 60 mph They did allow for turn signals lights in lieu of hand signals Coasting in neutral was prohibited! And we had two inspections a year (people still talk about this so I actually knew that one) Also with the collection came a few Pennsylvania state published motor vehicle code books and amendment books from the same period. Sorta neat.

Maybe but doubtful. Family had been in Johnstown for awhile and stayed through my mom's generation. The newspaper actually talked more about their condition after the accident than what lead to it or how the public should be more careful or anything like that.

We've found two family members killed by trains in rail yards (aka slow speeds) at different times in Johnstown Pa... Neither was on the clock, so I sort presume they were pretty drunk. It's interesting what you find reading old newspapers, sorta makes you wish modern journalism had more local interest articles about people.

I'm sure that will get it's own slide if the change is made, and probably show up in one of the pop quizzes of judging school!

Nothing to get too discouraged over. As others said, lots of cars that are far less than perfect still rightfully qualify for a 1st place. Tires are certainly one of the big sticking points though where an otherwise nice car can lose out. That being said, most cars have many more point deductions than their owners think though too, which is one reason I recommend trying the judging process a few times at least to get a feel for the process. When you judge and come across a 400 point car and see a really nice original example the difference stands out pretty easily with defects of age and wear. Remember, we are judging compared to showroom condition, not compared to other cars that survived for 50 years with few or no repairs. However, the AACA scoring system isn't really designed to let only the absolute best be awarded. Actually I think it's generous and I think most judges, while performing a critique, are generally not looking to take off more points than absolutely required. If it's a question between losing 1 points or 2, most will take 1. When it's one point each, the points just add up. And wrong being wrong, the tires can really hurt a cars chances at max deduction... but in the grand scheme of the hobby, what a cheap way to make sure you don't lose 25 points!

If my little girl wanted me to paint a car purple, I would. Given the list of honest repairs needed I'd be a little scared to see whats under the paint. Def some nice cars from this era at a better value.

Join us for a judging school and judge an event. Even if you only do it once (and please just keep joining us as an accidental addiction), you'll far better understand the process over most of your peers. That alone will give you and edge and a better idea what type of judged event you want to be in. There is the SE Spring meet in Charlotte each year that would be a great place to learn! Wow... next year is like "Pennsylvania AACA the year"!

IMO, bias tires aren't unsafe when driving a vehicle as designed. When comparing a the compromises made driving a 50 year old machine compared to a brand new one, the tires are not the "bottleneck" in the line of safety. Letting your tires get old and hard would qualify as a bigger safety concern for me, since many of these old cars don't wear out their tires anymore and folks get cheap about keeping the rubber fresh (especially if you are keeping bias tires on there). And since we own these vehicles because we like the way they look, historic preservation, or enjoyment of operating an old machine, I think having the proper bias tires on them is part of the overall charm. Are we really going to start talking ride and handling when it comes to enjoying obsolete machines that don't hold a candle to the cheapest POS available on the road today regarding those attributes (safety and handling)?

Yes, they are still historic vehicles. The trend is for original, and I agree with that, however, restoration is a valid means to bring a vehicle back to the condition it would have been or near too. Frankly when seeing other sorts of restoration of historic objects, I'd say the car hobby is probably more OCD about historic correctness than other restored objects in many museums, especially for objects sold and often surviving in mass. I do agree that a car that is functional and original is best preserved than restored.