Cured

When all else fails there is the gas axe. It reminds me of a story a guy told me when we were looking a old cars. He said that his parents had relocated many years ago in a Motel T truck. I guess he meant TT. He said that the roads were so muddy that to keep the front wheels turning his Dad had to chop off the fenders with an axe! I’m guessing that truck was never restored.

Bump

Just a vignette. A highway cruiser indeed. My Dad bought an Olds 88 sedan new in the fall of ‘73. The next January my buddy and I discovered that buddy #3 was stranded in Bozeman, Montana at the end of the MSU semester. Apparently had car trouble. Blaine and I who were mostly looking for relief from the mid winter blahs decided on a rescue mission. We both had pickups but the ultimate ride would obviously be Dad’s new Olds. I asked him and he said OK! Well it’s about 500 miles from home to Bozeman and we wasted no time. That big old car just ate up the miles... and gas. If memory serves we averaged about 9.5 mpg going down. A plausible number considering that a state trooper clocked us at 96 mph somewhere near Townsend, Mt. Posted a $5 bond and we were off again! Freedom was freedom back then. I don’t remember much about the trip home but I’ll never forget how happy that big Olds was at 100 mph. PS. Blaine and Jim are both gone now RIP. Friends didn’t come better even though initially Jim wasn’t that thrilled about heading back to Canada. Apparently his car wasn’t really broke down!

Bump. Here’s to freeer travel. In western Canada BTW.

Hi Alan. Yes I am still looking. I’m in Canada. We seem to be under country arrest. Where are you?

I agree that the answer to that question is almost never. However right doesn’t necessarily mean perfect. Perfection as a concept is only suitable for discussions involving theology IMO. A famous boot maker (M. L. Leddy) stated of his craft. “We will never reject excellence while seeking perfection.”

Not to read too much into the logo thing but my take on Oldsmobile’s demise is that it was because the brand lost its masculinity. On a personal note we own a 2016 GMC Denali 1500 crew cab that has been great for the first 50,000 mi. We also have a 2014 Tourareg diesel which we are considering replacing with a diesel Escalade. It will be our last vehicle. I don’t know if we will let a shortage of testosterone on GM’s part change our minds.

My interest in old cars was elevated by a book with a cover drawing of the 1907 Daraq V-8 going 100 mph at the Sanborn(?)sands. Possibly the sands in the video. Talk about romantic!!

My bad. Was looking at the wrong car lol.

I’m thinking this must be a parody post. Where are the car people who know their stuff? 4 cyl engines don’t have 12 pushrods. 1921 Buicks don’t have open valve rockers.

I’ll look forward to your metric comments Mike. My take from a Canadian perspective is that complete conversion is neither desirable or possible. Metric will be used where it works better but should not be forced. Carry on bravely Joe. Cheers Ed

Looks good Steve. I’m glad you’ve got the chrome valve covers. I think mine had a chrome air cleaner cover too.

I really enjoy reading your narrative about the science and art of machining JV. I hope it will be preserved as a guidebook on how machining problems should be addressed. Without any real evidence I have a feeling that we have lost so much in the way of standards and benchmarks with the forced imposition of the metric. Your thread is a beacon for a better way.

While posting I found the notifications button.

Hi guys. Happy July 4 to my American friends. Not to make excuses for a long absence but I don’t seem to be getting notifications of replies to this thread. Thanks for a nice reply Ben P. I did inquire about an E-35 in Colorado a few weeks ago but at the time international road travel wasn’t allowed and it since has been sold to California. I never did hear from Buick18. So still looking. Really enjoy these forums. Cheers Ed C.