billorn

I bet triumph was happy they took the name and made the world forget their hunk of junk. The real question is which Acclaim is the worst?

Thank you for letting us know how it turned out. Hopefully it will help someone else in the future.

How are you going to keep the original backing plates and drums or are you going to replace those with something modern? Fabricate? Do you think you will have problems with wheels fitting if you change backing plates and drums? Will they fit the original axle shafts? Is the axle tube strong enough for different brakes? Every time I try to do something to change a car for the better, there are 20 problems waiting for me that make it worse. You can probably lump me in with the guys who dont think that hydralic brakes are really going to do much to make your braking better. If the mechancial brakes still lock up the wheels then hydralic brakes may not be any better and wont do much to help you stop faster. What advantage does hydralic offer over mechanical besides maybe more force but if the mechanical brakes stop the car and lock up the wheels is there really an improvement there? It sounds like you already made up your mind so you can disregard if you want. Im just thinking out loud but it seems like a lot of work and money for maybe not a big payoff. Mechanical brakes arent worse if they are adjusted right. Its not like the disk vs drum arguement which sometimes makes some sense.

Four or 5 days really isn't a long time for a car stay for sale especially around here. Do you have it advertised anywhere else? There are lots of better choices for advertising a car for sale. No interest in 4 days doesnt mean theres no interest in a car like this. It sometimes takes alot longer then that to sell a car. Dont judge the market on that.

Is that like "Make a man a fire and he's warm for a day, set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life?"

Google is awesome!!!!! Dan Gurney was truly one of the best, both as a driver and as a team owner. Innovative. He was a giant in the industry and changed a lot of conventions.Way too much to cover here. But think Carroll Shelby levels of success and influence, maybe more. He competed and won in nearly every road racing series that existed. “Over the course of 19 days in 1967, he set motorsports history. On May 30, he ran in the Indy 500, leading two laps before retiring with mechanical difficulties. Five days later, he raced in the Dutch Grand Prix. Seven days later, he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Seven days after that he won the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.” Read more: http://autoweek.com/article/racing/dan-gurney-1931-2018#ixzz54GLixWT1

What did he store it at the great barrier reef?

Fortunately now small cameras mean we dont need to limit ourselves to stories of bad drivers. YOU CAN SEE THEM!!!!! I kill alot of time on youtube with these crash videos (dont watch if you have delicate ears).

There probably isnt a starter rebuild "kit" but they arent complicated and any starter/generator rebuilder should be able to handle it with no problems. I have two good ones locally and they arent expensive. Having a pro do it so he can test it and make sure its right will make your life easier. Theres even a guy on these forums who apparently does a very nice job.

This is something a lot of guys dont think about and its important. You need to service the cars and if its modified you better have a list of the parts that went in or the next guy is going to have real head aches. Can you imagine looking at a disk brake on a hot rod and trying to figure out what kind of pads it needs? Or wheel bearings? No thank you.

I have found that people who say something looks like a Bugatti/Duesenberg/Packard dont really know what those things really look like.

I have done weddings for friends and frinds of friends and mostly it goes OK but one time the girl didnt know what old cars were about and just complained nonstop. My Olds doesnt have AC so she complained about how hot it was because it was August. Then she said she could smell the car all day and it was in her hair and her dress. Then she wanted it moved about 15 times for pictures and was angry that I would not let the bridemaids and groomsmen to sit on the hood and roof for a photo. I wont do it again. One bad apple and all that....... Im sure not all brides are trouble but you really open yourself up to problems if things dont go perfect. The father of that bride was a guy in our car club and he apologized but things were always awkward afterwords. Too much hassle for too little reward IMHO.

How do you know you don't? They didn't put a price.

"I didnt really say smash it." Yea ok sure. We can all see what you plainly meant. Own your words, man. Regardless of what site the words were said on, it was unkind. I promise such words would be unwelcome if someone else said that about your car. What harm does that car or the owner do to you? Have you ever put in that much work on a car? What if some nobody came along and said he wanted to smash your car after you did all that work? Let me ask you one last thing and then I'll leave you alone. Would you say what you said to the owner's face? Maybe let that be your guide for when to talk and when to keep your peace. We all say things we regret. Own it and move on. Its OK to make mistakes.

Weather you like it or not theres a lot of talent in that car. I see a lot of thought and creativeity in it rather than the same old fiberglass body and chev driveline that everyone else builds. Isnt hot rodding about building something unique using spare parts? Or is it paying a professional shop to build you a rod from new parts in a catalog thats just like everybody else? Someone spent a lot of time building that and thought out all the little details. He doesnt care if you like it. He likes it. Thats the point. But saying you want to smash it with a hammer is pretty uncool. There are people who hate Edsels and other horrible cars that the automakers built but you guys love and you would all go crazy if a hot rodder came in and said he wanted to smash an Edsel with a hammer. Why not give them the same respect?

A 74 isnt a 76. I dont know why the 76s are the most popular because they made the most of them but they are. I personaly dont like the look of the fender skirts on the earlier cars but they seem to be the same underneath the skin. I dont think the cloth seats on that car are original even tho thats what the seller is saying. Ive never seen cloth seats in a 70s Caddie convertible. Maybe they would make it that way as a custom order. If your going to buy a Eldorado convertible a 76 is probably the one to own if you want maximum future value. They are probably all good cars but the 76s seem to be the only ones that are really truly popular. Good luck with this one Marty!

Fishing it is, then. Its less than $100,000 but if you dont get it right you will be refused. That isnt very helpful. How many guesses do we get? Isnt it easier just to put a number on it and let people decide whether they want the car at that price? Games make everyone edgey.

Be careful!

Valuation? $5? $50? Really impossible to say. That's an item that's perfect for eBay. If someone needs it, they will pay for it. If nobody needs it it is worth 0. If you need one pay what it takes to get it based on how badly you need it. Can you give us some context?

ABS brakes dont leave skid marks........ I read somewhere that something like 20% of the Hell Cats have already been wrecked by inexperienced drivers who werent ready for the acceleration and speed. Too many guys just dont realize how fast things happen in a car with 700 horsepower. Most dont have the reflexes to manage it at full boogie.

I would recommend a Google search on OAT and non-OAT antifreeze. There is a huge amount of information and it can be very confusing for an old car owner. Color is meaningless today. Brand does not tell you anything either. I also think that since you live in a mild climate you could do a 70/30 water/antifreeze mix which would give you the anti rust protection but water cools better than antifreeze so having more water will help your engine run cooler. Do the homework. There is alot of info but there is no quick easy answer anymore. Sorry.

Allowed what into the exhaust manifold? Birds? Rainbows? Fairy dust? Dont keep us in suspence I am dying to know!

Corvette guys invented matching numbers and thats where it should stay IMHO. It is getting ridiculous. Trying to pretend that older cars are more valuable because they have "matching numbers" is silly, especially a Model A where they built four million of them, all with the exact same motor. It has zero to do with your friend's car's value especially since you cant prove it anyway. Dont go looking for a value added thing where there isnt one. Just a nice honest Model A. No more no less.

Hmmmm, a Canadian shop now on TV...

Expect any car you buy at auction to be 20% crappier than you expect. No test drive, no pre purchase inspection, no lift, just a car and the auctioneer's word. Cars that fly around to alot of different auctions are either problems that dealers want to dump or cars that are considerably worse than advertised and the buyers quickly move to dump them and/or the auction company offers to sell it for them for free to make it up to them at the next auction. Good luck...