[Interesting change to Crankshaft Magazine---]

The only one I subscribed to is Collectible Automobile.

It's a weird feeling jettisoning some of the other magazines that you and your friends have had cars featured in too, but instead of feeling like I've betrayed them I realized some time ago they had betrayed me.   

[Original VS Unrestored??]

1 hour ago, West Peterson said:

A car that has had a paint job and even a new interior is not a restored car. I save "restored" for a car that has been taken apart, with all details made to look like new. I also refer to a shoddy "restoration" as an un-restored car.

I trust that means engine, trans, rear end, radiator, heater, electrical harnesses, suspension wearable parts and bushings, brakes and brake parts etc. all restored to original new condition. Anything else is like putting on your best suit and having dirty/torn underwear.

[Mercedes 450SL good or bad ?]

13 hours ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

Nice cars!  

 

Ha before and after AC service.  All you need to do is find a 100 lb wiry kid who knows his AC sh** and write a big check and you too can get cold air blasting  with the top down.  Well cool air anyway... It is cool how the run ducts into door panels and the AC comes out in the door panel perforation.

 

But 110% on the MG/TR comparison.  Different worlds.  As much as I loved my TR-6 this is the car to have for long range cruising.

 

The image to some might be scary however, you'll find the same picture going on in any of today's cars economy, medium to expensive all the same and doesn't differentiate between brands or country of origin. You want to replace an evaporator or heater core in a G.M. "B" or "C" body of early 60's? you'll not only do that, but the rt. front fender comes off too. 

Thanks for the comments for me Steve. If you were to pick just one of those MB (year and model) above which one would it be? Power and V-8 doesn't matter, 280's seen to go plenty and are smooth. 

  

[Mercedes 450SL good or bad ?]

52 minutes ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

The 450 SL is part of the W107/R107 chassis.  While outwardly very similar, these are very different cars under the skin.  Roughpecking order: 

 

500 SL - grey market cars if you can find one, most powerful of the series.  Rare birds..

 

560 SL '86 - '89 more power than the 380 SL and many Mechanical upgrades while retaining the look designed in the late 60s.

 

350 - 450 SL - the earliest ones. Cast iron blocks that wear like iron. Later models had catalytic converters in a bad location.  Fuel injection on these cats can be troublesome 

 

280, 300 SL - 6 cylinder cars, including 4 speed versions. Great looking engines! 

 

380 Sl.  Watch earlier ones w single row timing chain.

 

Prices on these cars range wide from under $10k to $30k and more for a mint, low mile 560 SL.  You get what you pay for...

 

Not quite as much of a long term ownership as Colin but I have a 560 we love.  Great driving cars more GT though than sportscar.

Your opinion Steve, 350-450, but earlier and what years? 280-300SL are ok. Any idea chain and guides replacement mileage?

Thanks in advance. 

[Nevada classic car law changes]

10 minutes ago, Packard enthus. said:

I wouldn't worry about ANY state's legislation.    Of course the car need only meet whatever standards it had to meet when manufactured.   I doubt if anyone these days cares whether a car has been re-powered.    The important thing to remember is that given what we have become as a country, loss of clarity..standards...etc.... it is perfectly acceptable, even encouraged, to call ALL used vehicles "CLASSICS".....just think, by present  AACA  thinkinh & standards,  my Toyota RAV 4 is going to be an "antique" in a couple more years...!

Not true in Ca. The car must meet the standard the state required. I said in the above  thread the standard in Ca. changed from year to year and where no standard existed, like NOX, a standard was created.  

[Nevada classic car law changes]

5 hours ago, TAKerry said:

My thoughts on emission testing exactly.  I have often wanted to know the pass/fail rate in my area. I would bet the pass rate is extremely high compared to the fail. The older cars that will fail get a 'historic' tag so they will not have to go through the test. They pay a very cheap registration fee thus 'cheating' the state out of revenue. They should either get rid of it completely or make a 20 yr exemption period. 

In Ca. it makes no difference if you put historical plates on a 1976 and newer vehicle. Historical plates on those cars won't exempt you.

FYI, in AZ in enhanced areas like Tuson, Phoenix etc. cars are smog checked back to 1967. I mentioned earlier in this thread that I have every test my 76 Oldsmobile has taken from 1978 to 2012 and that the pass/fail standards got stricter each testing cycle plus they added a NOX standard even though a standard never existed in 1976 when the car was new, and Oh by the way the Olds had Ca. historical plates. 

[Hand signals! What is that?]

On 6/13/2024 at 1:09 PM, SteveMaz said:

Having had 2 kids get their DL in the not too distant past, I can say definitively that there is no mention of hand signals in any PA maual or test. I would not want my kids using hand signals. I wouldn't want someone misinterpreting the left turn hand signal for pull around on the left as they were attemtping to make a left turn.

Guess there is no point in getting them into the hobby in a pre-1938 (first patented earliest) or 1967 mandatory, vehicle without them. 

[Hand signals! What is that?]

3 hours ago, Terry Bond said:

The most commonly seen hand signal these days involves just 1 finger unfortunately. 

Terry

Two in a V in Europe!

[Great day for a car ride in the country]

4 hours ago, Matt Harwood said:

 

I always felt that parking like that was an invitation for misfortune.

For the guy who finds your car.

[Great day for a car ride in the country]

On 6/4/2024 at 6:01 AM, Matt Harwood said:

He needs to practice his parking.

He's practicing keeping his car from door dings!

[Riding with the windows down.]

 As far as noise and aerodynamics go, two of the cars that can really cause a buffeting sound at HWY speeds are the VW beetle and 356 Porsche. Unless ordered with the optional swing out rear windows let the compressed air out. Without them the air has to make its way to the door windows which is right at ear level.

 On my 62 & 63 Pontiacs rolling down the windows cause no problem because they have (one of them is a factory air car) crank out vent windows.

Then in 1968 in the (F body) Camaro/Firebird, and 1969 A&B bodies G.M. decided to eliminate vent wings. Thanks a lot G.M. Compared to my 62 & 63 Pontiacs, my 69 H-O Pontiac LeMans and my 76 Oldsmobile Omega without wings are much noisier. 

  

[Riding with the windows down.]

On 6/5/2024 at 9:21 AM, Terry Bond said:

Odd that kids who like to play megawatt stereos at full volume usually seem to drive with their windows down.  

Terry

We've got a law to take care of that in our city.

[Older AC Just Needs A Charge]

3 hours ago, Dave39MD said:

Does anyone have experience using R134A in a A-6 compressor equipped vehicle that started life with R-12? 

 

thanks

 

Dave

Yes! I bought my 63 Pontiac Catalina about ten years ago and it had been converted. The first thing I did was to go through the system and return it to R12. It was designed for R12 and that's the way it shall be.

 No problem for ten years now. All you have to do is run the system once a week to get the freon/lubricant to get to the seals and all is good. That goes for your home's A/C, once a week for 20min. even in winter.

FYI, I've only charged my 69 Pontiacs A/C once (1992) because of an oil drain issue with the evaporator I had to remove and repair. I've owned the car since new and coming up on 56 years.

[Older AC Just Needs A Charge]

2 hours ago, TAKerry said:

Now that the heat of the summer is starting finally a relevant thread! Hopefully I will be finishing up the restoration of my 79 Trans Am before the summer is over. Everything is as near stock as possible. I have been on the fence with the A/C. One hand says 'fix it the way it should be and make it work properly'. On the other hand I figure, IF its THAT hot I just wont bother driving it! When the shop installed the motor in my 77 Trans Am they put all of the A/C components in but no belt and did not hook anything up. It was the same story as mentioned above. He didnt feel like fooling with it, didnt know what was going to be involved, not worth the effort. I was fine with that and for the last 6 years or so have lived without it. Besides the T tops are off all summer anyway. Hence why I am on the fence with the '79. The stock compressors are know for slinging oil, which Im not keen on but I can get a new compressor that is half the weight that bolts right in. The cost is the same as a rebuilt nos unit. Even with the rebuilts I have heard tales of the infamous oil sling. Still on the fence but will most likely go for a new compressor and try to get it right this time.

Live with a little weeping, the factory service manual says this is normal. Buick/Chevrolet Corvette and some other GM products provide a shield to keep the oil off the engine, underside of hood etc.

If you are replacing the OE compressor beware of the new type because you will also need a high pressure and low-pressure switch to be installed in the A/C lines. This is because the new lookalike compressor has NO oil sump so if you lose freon and don't have a low-pressure switch to turn the compressor off you will burn up the compressor. On the old R12 A6 you could lose freon and run the compressor for as long as you wanted and never hurt the unit.  

[What do boat people know that car guys don't?]

On 5/31/2024 at 10:50 AM, JACK M said:

What do boat people know that car guys don't?

 

Well, After 25 years of owning a boat dealership I can tell you that most boat guys think they know more about boats and boating than myself or any of my employees. So if you ask that question to a boat guy, he will tell you that he knows everything.

 

The new guys were a bit better. But I would guess I only took a serious buyer for a river test about one in ten sales. And all of them got the offer.

 

 

I have heard the same holds true between the veterinarian and the farmer. Especially the farmer who comes over to a neighboring farm that is having medical issues with one particular type of stock and thinks he knows better than a trained veterinarian surgeon. 

[Why it's good to have more than one old car]

 

  I like just about all cars but not one car can fulfill all requirements. Depends on the purpose and requirement on the car. Never expect a car to do something it can't. So, you collect what you require. If I want to drive in comfort, I drive this. If I like and appreciate quality at a relatively low price in a car that I feel part of I drive this. If I want to go fast or run a road course at high speed and feel at one with this car, I choose this.

 Today it was one of the cars that is very tight, so tight that I have to crack a window to be able to shut the door, a car I can touch the door panel on the other side, a car that sips the fuel and at 60mph can achieve 42mpg that I have had 56 years and I'm never tired of it. It's just so honest. It just keeps going and going like a Swiss watch. Yesterday I drove the luxury, in air-conditioned comfort.

Last Saturday I was on a well-maintained stretch of road with no one within miles. This was another old friend of also 56 years that I special ordered all those years ago. I watched the speedometer needle disappear past the 140 mark while it moved straight down into the brake warning section of the speedometer. The car will take a roundabout rated at 20mph at 60mph stay in its lane and not even squeal the tires, no lean and sway in the turns. It will do a 12 1/2 second quarter mile, so reaching those speeds takes only a few seconds and you are right back down to the mph limit.

So that is why I have six cars and the usual two daily drivers. The daily drivers are just opposites as well one is a truck for doing truck jobs only a truck can do, and the other a sedan.

Interestingly a few months back I was at a party and some lady from Ca. said to me. "I don't understand you people out here in Arizona. It seems crazy all you people drive trucks". I said to her if she could imagine what her car would look like if I had to pick up an engine block from the machine shop or ten 90 lb. bags of concrete mix????? I think she got it. I think.   

[What do boat people know that car guys don't?]

16 hours ago, R.Dan Herrera said:

I have been in the canvas business for 45 years and have made both boat and car covers.Naturally the boat cover usually covers the top portion somewhat between the gunwale and the waterline and then tied down to the trailer at multiple points,thus keeping it from flapping extensively when on the road.The same method can be used if wanting to trailer a covered car on the highway.The fit of the car cover just needs to be more custom fit.Way less slop or looseness and also the paint can be more protected if the fabric used has an inner lining of fleece like softness .Still stay way under the 80 to 90 mph some people want to go.

Wonder if boat covers will stop this from happening!

[What do boat people know that car guys don't?]

On 5/29/2024 at 4:19 PM, TAKerry said:

Besides, how many of us are willing to put our cars waist deep in water, No comment from the Amphicar crowd, LOL.

OK no Amphicar pictures.

 

FYI, it's part of the DNA

 

So is the All-wheel drive aspect part of the DNA

 

[Does altitude affect the performance of a 1940 car?]

My 76 Olds was jetted lean to meet CA. emissions. When I moved to Prescott AZ @ 5,000 feet it ran much better. My 69 H-O LeMans at 9.8 compression on its 462 needed 91 premium fuel at the beach until I moved to Prescott. Now it runs fine on 87. My two VW beetles' run fine at 5,000, but were jetted for sea level, spark plugs never load up and are gray tipped just like at sea level.

I do know this; at 5,000 feet I can add a lot more compression on my next build (426 cu in Pontiac, 428 Pontiac engine are really 426 and change) without fear of detonation especially with "E" heads.

[I wonder if there is such a thing as a "sour spot" for collector cars]

2 hours ago, Zimm63 said:

You spelled "Crap" wrong.  

Thanks for the encouragement.

I'll tell my young neighbor who just bought his first collectible car. He'll feel good about what you said.

[History of wheel wells]

39 minutes ago, Sarah Gravydog316 said:

Hi, my late dad left me his '49 Ford, & it has the spare in the trunk standing up on the inside,

so I was wondering when the spare got moved to it's modern hidden wheel well at the bottom of the trunk?

I was just looking online & can't find any history.

Does anyone know any history?

Just wondering. 😊

(example pix:)

 

1,600 × 900

Are you talking about just Ford, and what Ford model, Tbird, standard Ford, Skyliner? or if the standard Ford had a continental kit on the rear? Standard Ford that has a lay down spare in 1960, 59's are upright.

[hot 455 olds oil problems, what causes them to grenade]

12 hours ago, joe_padavano said:

The 1968-69 G-block 400 used a 3.870" bore with 2.070/1.625 valves. The term "shrouding" comes to mind. 😉

In Pontiac terms valve shrouding means the valve is shrouded by the combustion chamber. The chamber until 1968 was in the shape of a bathtub and the valves were at the bottom of the tub, thus the valves were shrouded since 1968 the chambers became open chambers and no shrouding of air flow in or out of the port. What I'm asking about Olds is, Did Olds Chamfer the cylinder block like Pontiac did on the 350 Pontiac with a 3.88 bore and a big valve head with 2.11 intakes to be able to enter the cylinder. See 350 Pontiac block with chamfer below,

   

[hot 455 olds oil problems, what causes them to grenade]

I don't know very much about Olds valve size, but on Pontiac 350 (really a 354) the bore is 3.88 and the 350H-O 330hp engine uses the Ram air 3 big valve head 2.11 intake and 1.77 exhaust. Engineering chamfered the H-O block at the top of the block so that the large intake valve could enter the cylinder.

My question to Joe or Glenn is, Did Olds do the same thing to the de-bored 400, and what were the valve dia. sizes.

[hot 455 olds oil problems, what causes them to grenade]

5 hours ago, Janousek said:

My dad bought a new 442 in 68' with the 400.  He went through 2 cranks that summer beating the heck out of it.  GM refused the 2nd crank, but my uncle was in Engineering at Olds.  He pulled a 3.73 ish(whatever they had( ratio rear end from the assembly line and replaced the 4.10 gear axle.   Those 400's and I believe the 455's suffer from high rpm's runs the oil up to the top end and leaves the sump low on oil and takes the rods out.  All I know is something caused his rods to start knocking and the lower gear ratio lowered the RPM's and he never had a problem.    There are some fixes that supposed to help.  I rebuilt his 455 and we did some of those tricks to get oil back down to the sump, but he doesn't run it hard.  The neat story my Dad told me since my uncle was in engineering, he could tag parts on the line and pay scrap price for them.   

 

My dad also worked assembly at Olds after the army and told me he used to cut the tabs off the wiring harness on break so they could assemble under the dash and keep up with production.  This would have been late 60's.        

I'm a Pontiac guy for the most part, but here is my recollection of what happened in 68 from guys with Oldsmobile's I raced. In order to save money in engine production Oldsmobile decided to increase the size of its largest engine (425) to 455. To save money they de-bored the 400" engine from 4" to 3.87 and used the 455 crankshafts at 4.25stroke to create a new 400-inch engine. Most of the racers knew what had happened, but guys on the street tried to buzz this 400 like the older engine and guess what happened.

In the Pontiac world everyone knew you would never buzz a stock 455 Pontiac-really a 456 (unless it was a SD 455) past 5200rpm and its stroke is less than a 455 Olds (4.21 vs 4.25)-not with stock rods at least!

[Just When You Think You've Seen It All in the I Know What I Got - 1960 Chev on Marketplace]

4 hours ago, rocketraider said:

This Impala has unseated a 1969 Camaro Pace Car as the most overpriced piece of crusher bait I've ever seen.

 

The Camaro (in similar condition) was for sale at a Charlotte AutoFair back in the 90s, priced at $2500. The only salvageable parts on it were the VIN and body data plates indicating Pace Car replica, which were what you were buying.

 

And damned if it didn't sell. So, somewhere in this world, there's yet another bogus high-dollar 69 Camaro running around, that didn't start life as what it's claimed to be.

 

Y'all ARE lining up to buy the Impala, right?😛

How about this ocean bait, a 1964 Bonneville Wagon.