Doug Novak

There's a VW Dealer in Maryland that was given 30 brand new never sold before 2015 VW Diesels. to be resold as used. To fix and make compliant the on-board computers have been reprogrammed and OK'e by the Government. The prices for these is a deal. CARS.COM — Diesel may be dead to Volkswagen, but apparently it's not to diesel's fans. VW got EPA approval March 30 to fix and begin selling about 12,000 brand-new model-year 2015 2.0-liter diesel models that were stranded on dealer lots when the diesel emissions scandal broke, ending production and sales. By April 30, some 3,196 had been snapped up. Related: VW Cleared to Sell 2015 Diesels After Fix That was reflected in dealer listings on Cars.com, where more than 3,300 new ones were listed last week and as of today, there were 3,012, some at healthy discounts.

I always wondered with the VW situation, the Diesels were getting 52 miles to a gallon. So the question is if a VW Gasoline engine gets averaged mid to high 20's MPG of gas, wouldn't a 52 MPG Diesel, going the same distance burning say half as much fuel as the 25-30 MPG vehicle, pollute less? If so, are the Diesels required to meet the same emission standards as the Gas Cars?

AMC has good support still. There are independent Parts Suppliers and some repro parts still being made. The National Organization American Motors Owners or AMO is active and alive. We just had the AMO National Convention in Gettysburg Last week and there were 250 Cars on the show field plus a dozen or more Swap Vendors.

The '60 Chevy's had the wing too that was angular instead of curved. From the picture I couldn't be sure which it was. Is there a difference in the front or side of a '59 vs a '60 ?

Yep, this was how I did my 350ci Chevy and is how was suggested in the Haynes Manual. Once you get #1 done it goes fast. I took the spark plugs out and used a probe (screw driver, ratchet extension, etc.) in the spark plug hole to determine Top Dead Center. With the plugs removed there's no compression so turning by hand 90 degrees to each cylinder is easy.

Here in South Central Pa the reason there's not enough time to work on my cars because we've been stuck in a Weather Pattern were it Rains most of the week and when the Sun comes out it's time to Cut The Grass, followed immediately again RAIN RAIN RAIN Cut the Grass RAIN SOME MORE over and over. Now that the pattern seems to be changing to HOT HOT HOT Really HOT. One thing I'm doing is parting with my beloved '84 K5 Blazer that I've had since 1987. It has rusted beyond repair, or my capacity to deal with what it would take to restore. This was an on going battle that was taking away too much time from the other cars. However, I'm selling the Blazer to a restoration shop hoping they can bring it back to life, and if so who knows maybe I'll buy it back?

I watched in shock when they dry docked in Baltimore the USS Coral Sea and took years cutting it up for scrap, around 1998-2000. My Carrier was the USS Oriskany that I served on during Vietnam and she was saved from scrapping to become a Fishing and Diving Reef sunk intentionally off of Florida in the Golf. I try to think of it as a Sea Burial and a better way to honor Her.

Couple of thoughts occur to me. Buick's, in or around the late 50's and 60's I believe, had air suspensions that basically could lower the cars inches from the ground. It was a factory option and I remember seeing it as a kid when a family friend drove up in a Buick Convertible and sank it to the ground. I thought it was very cool. I'll never forget it hissing as it slowly lowered. First Low Riders? I have a '69 Chevy C10 that was my Dad's, bought new. It needed to be saved so I took Title and changed it to my liking for local Car Shows and Cruising, which are go on at various locations almost every weekend around here. One major improvement to the Truck's handling was to change the front and rear springs lowering the front 2-1/2" in the front and 4" in the rear. Not really that noticeable unless parked next to a stock height truck. The cornering was dramatically improved with the slightly lower center of gravity and the spring maintained the 1/2 ton load rating. It also doesn't bounce around on ruff roads any more. Other changes maintained the body style but with a cleaner look of a newer style. I'm enjoying it and drive it often everywhere. Not something to show at Hershey, so I live in two Worlds which I find both to be fantastic. My AACA Car is a stock original '68 AMX, with Senior and Grand National Awards. It's interesting that this one, and other pure stock cars get a lot of attention at the local car shows with no mods done to them. Now going Off Topic but as an after thought, the younger crowd find the Stock Old Cars fascinating, point being the other Blog about getting younger people interested in AACA, here's a good way to do it. Think about getting you cars out to some local Car Shows, you be welcomed by all.

OFF Topic but kind of neat. Wife's 2001 Honda CRV came from the factory with a fold up Picnic table. It's also the floor cover above the spare tire, and if you leave the spare tire out the area can be used as a cooler with a plug you remove to drain water from melted ice.

One way of thinking about having something that is not necessarily correct is to remember that you are Showing for Points at most of the Meets. You don't need a perfect 400 Points Score to reach any of the levels, from Junior up to Grand National, that AACA awards are based at. I know I have some deductible things but over the years, as the car advances to the next level, I attempt to make the corrections, if possible. Sometimes I can and sometimes I can't due to availability of OEM, or Retro parts. When someone points out a deductible part I appreciate hearing about it as a big part of the Hobby, IMO, is learning, finding, and fixing these things while trying to get to 400, if possible. The only time I disliked a comment being made was when a person, not involved in the judging, made his comment in front of the Judges while they were in the process of scoring my car.

Thanks for the Spell Check Guys! Which brings to memory the time my C10 Pickup Manual 4 speed Transmission broke. It was a Saginaw with a Hurst Shifter. I lost all gears except fourth. I nurse it to my buddies garage to get it fixed. He called and said it was non repairable and would need to be replaced. I said where can I find a Muncie Four Speed. They said good luck finding one! We called a Tow company to come get the truck and I told them it needed to be a Roll Back. They didn't have one but knew somebody that did and would send him. 30 minutes later a Lincoln Roll Back Truck shows up and on the Door it says "We Specialize in Antique and Mussel Cars Repairs, Spicer's Motors. Scott Spicer" was a local guy, well know for Show Cars and Restorations. We had my truck loaded and I said to Scotty, "Do you know anybody that wants to sell a Muncie Four Speed for my Truck?" He says I have one that I restored 3 years ago sitting on a shelve back and my shop, nobody wants it because it's a Wide Range M22, which would be perfect for you truck. I said turn the truck around and take it to your Shop I want it. What's weird is it seems like some things bad happen for a good reason, and my Truck and his Transmission were supposed to find each other. Plus Scotty and I have become good friends. The Truck is a '69 C10 Chevy that my Dad bought new and after his passing I took Title to it. Other things happen with Dad's truck and I think it's him doing it. Things like Street Lights turning off when I pass under them, get's my attention. I had two friends in the truck one night and we pulled in to a large Gas Station with 12 Pumps under four canopies each with at leased 10 Lights . I had told my friends about the Light Thing and when I opened the truck door the light directly above and only that light immediately burned out! My friends got out and said we'll walk home see you later. Sounds Spooky but I like having him around.

Reminded me of when in the lat 60's my buddy George bought a 1954 Cadillac Hearse. They were really inexpensive as nobody wanted a used Hearse, wonder why, they were fantastic rides? Anyway there were rollers in the back for moving the caskets in and out that George wanted to get rid of and replace the floor with tiles, the kind you need to glue down. It was winter with snow on the ground and after school we started removing the rollers and gluing in the tiles. George brought an electric heater out and put in the back of the Hearse to keep us warm and to keep the glue from freezing, plus help it dry. Guess we forgot to read the warning label about inhaling the fumes. I think we unintentionally got stoned! But, after laying in the snow for a while we both recovered and wondered if we had died, would we have taken our last ride in the Hearse? I think we fully recovered. The Hearse was a Chick Magnet and we used it for years to carry our Band Instruments around, to and from the gigs. Originally George wanted an Ambulance but they cost too much, back then in the late '60's, for a 17 year old..

I had my Rear Rope Seal replaced in my '68 AMX V8 a few years ago by a local garage that does Antique and Muscle Car Repairs and Restorations. The recommended way to do the Rear Rope Seal replacement on mine was to go in from the top, which makes it easier to do. The shop pulled the engine, did the Rear Seal replacement and while in there they were able to replace worn Main Bearings, Gaskets and Seals. Everything else looked good. It was a little costly but having it all done at the same time is cheaper in the long run. Hasn't leaked since. One other thing I heard was the newer thinner weight oil's especially Synthetic Oils can penetrate the rope seals causing them to leak.

Wikipedia also has pictures of them, I'm not sure what the difference was between the "S" and the "Sipreme? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile_Cutlass The Oldsmobile Cutlass is a line of automobiles produced by Oldsmobile between 1961 and ... 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Convertible ..... The 1970 Cutlass was available in seven body styles: the base F-85 two-door sedan, .... The S and Supreme both have a chrome strip atop the bonnet, while the Supreme also ...

The Mom's '63 Buick Special for the first drive and drivers test but when I had my learners permit my Brother let me drive his '66 Chevy 2 door Malibu with Bucket seats, four speed and 327 V8. He would lay down in the back seat and tell me wake him up when I was done. Loved that car, very fast could run with the 396's all day. Might have been a COPO car! He was a barber and one of his regular customers was the Manager of the Chevy Plant in Baltimore were it was being built. He mentioned that he had just ordered it and the Plant Manager said he would walk it through the plant to make sure it was right. Pretty sure he got a Corvette 327 in his Malibu.

There are errors in your thinking Brasscarguy. Only the AACA Club's Board is Member Elected, the Museum's Board is self Appointed by their Board, not elected. Only AACA Club membership allows us to Show at the AACA Events such as Fall Hershey and the Grand Nationals. If we don't pay dues we are no longer members. This would hinder the events which totally depend on members to volunteer and show up at. Worst case example the Fall Hershey Meet could be canceled if unsupported. The Museum however does not require membership to continue as a Museum, nor does it depend exclusively on AACA Club Members' donations, or Support. Worst case the Museum could sell donated Cars they have, or commercial property they own and claim is worth a Million Dollars for 2 or 3 acres. You mentioned the AACA Library and suggested we stop donations to the Library? The Library has a space problem. The AACA Club Supports the Library where as the Museum does not support the Library, IMO. Your on target with your comment talking about the Museum, "As far as those folks that donated to the museum,you should know once a board get their hooks on your donation they only see it as money in the bank". I agree this is most likely true but not the case with the Club's Board which I believe has the Memberships full support, as it has mine..

Doubt that you could even make one of those Rat Rod Rust buckets out of that one.

The Google Listing was from Rotterdam Netherlands and says the things worth : €14.46 I think that's Euro's which 1 euro is equal to $1.09 US, so they go for about $15 if you can find a buyer.

Not suggesting that our asking the Museum to remove our name from their building, literature and correspondence is improper, but, I doubt that the Museum would appreciate what our suggestions for a new name for the Museum might be. Could fuel a new fight between us and them which is counter productive. However, they would be smart to identify them selves with "Hershey Entertainment" and name the Museum something like, "The Hershey Auto Museum".

Dad had a '69 Chevy Puck up truck he bought new, and after many years a problem with the Three on the Tree Column Shift linkage developed. The linkage would sometimes hang up in gear, usually in 3rd gear, while at an up hill Stop Sign or Red Light with traffic behind me. We would have to turn the engine off, put the emergency brake on, grab the large screw driver on the dash, run out, pop the hood and use the screw driver to force the shift linkage to Neutral. Then we could restart the engine release the brake and shift to 1st gear to get rolling again. I eventually took own ship of Dad's truck, after his passing. I fixed this problem by buying a 3 Speed Floor Shift conversion Kit for $36 from JC Whitney. Installation was simple. I still have Dad's truck but there have been many changes made over the years, including an engine and 4 speed transmission swap, but the original steering column linkage, no longer used, is still there and every time the Hood is up I look with fond memories of that darn Shift Linkage we had to deal with.

I just had one of those weird odd ball things happen while getting ready for a Car Rally with my Porsche. I was just prepping the usual things, cleaning, checking the oil and tire pressure. The tires, over the Winter storage, lost a couple pounds so I pumped them up to the correct pressure, 27# front / 29# rear. I didn't drive the car after doing this but the next day the right rear tire was flat! After sorting things out, the cause was the Cap covering the Valve Stem. The Cap is a Chrome one with the Porsche Emblem on the end and has as an extra thing to prevent air leaks, a tiny rubber O Ring that manage to some how fold it's self over where the O Ring now pushed in the Valve Stem causing a slow leak flatting the tire. Not a big fix, I took the O Ring out, but who would have thunk it? So much for Good German Engineering!

Moved the '74 Porsche out of the storage Garage to the attached to the house Garage for final prepping for the all Porsche Swap and Meet at Hershey next weekend. April 21 is a gathering of 914's for a Cruise Fridays, followed by Saturday's Swap Meet & Concourse Show for Porsche's of all ages and Models. This is an annual event and there will be over 1,000 Porches there from all over the the country. Mine just needs Cleaning and Waxing. The "68 AMC/AMX is still in the outer Garage. I woke it up, drove it checked fluids and kicked the tires. It needs to be ready for the AMC National Meet in Gettysburg in June for Concourse Judging. There's very little to be done other then Cleaning and Waxing, the drivers seat has a couple threads that I need to stick, and glue, back into the seam holes they pulled out of. Also need to touch up the Wiper Motor on the Fire Wall.

A big Thumbs Up from me.

I go in using the "EBAY MOTORS" selection to look for parts, and I have my Cars and Trucks registered. Seems to cut out some of the junk an find things specific to what I'm looking for.

Greg you make a valid point that I understand. I'm lucky to live in Pennsylvania 45 minutes from Hershey, where the AACA HQ and Fall Meet is held, and actively do the Meets in the area, driving to them in my 68 AMX. It's good to hear from the outer area's so we can get together here on the Form. Hemmings stirred up a Hornets Nest between us and the Museum, and now with the big price increase I think they need to back off. Seems like they're having huge financial problems doesn't it? I would not be surprised if the price increase hurts them even more. I've experienced other Magazines that upped their Subscription prices and when I refused to resubscribe they would come back with "special" prices, much lower?