Avanti Bill
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Posts posted by Avanti Bill
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I must admit I did not know it was in the rules to turn the badges in when you sold the car. I thought you could continue on wherever the previous owner stopped showing. I also know the buyer can choose, as I did with a car that I purchased that already had a first Jr, that you can return to the beginning and start over or carry on from where they left off. I have sold one car that had received a Sr GN and I did not remove the badges, my fault I was not aware of the rule.
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2 hours ago, joe_padavano said:
At the risk of getting a thread locked, help me understand how can this car be an alleged "AACA Grand National Winner"? First, A/C was not available with the W31 package, since the cam didn't produce enough vacuum to operate the system. Second, power brakes were not available with the W31 package for the same reason. Third, W31s did not get the notched back bumper and exhaust trumpets. Fourth, the aftermarket overflow tank is definitely not even a GM product.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/561598/1970-oldsmobile-cutlass-s-w-31/
I am not a GM or Oldsmobile expert under any circumstances so let me be careful here asking this question. Are you absolutely certain of your claim in the above statement. Could this be a COPO car that was special ordered with the AC and the power brakes? I know from the marque clubs I have judged and been judged in that there are often anomalies in cars to what are considered the norm. We have seen documented evidence on cars that have never been touched of "the wrong" bumper or trim piece from the factory. This is especially true with low production cars or cars with special options.
Lastly I would defend the AACA judging system in that this appears to be a very nicely done car. Even if this car is incorrect, and I am not disputing this, it is done with what appears to be a correct GM AC unit and brake booster. This would never be caught under the AACA system if these parts were not available on what is a low production option package. It is possible that it was never a "W31" car and that badging was added after a GN first. They claim to have the data plate and if this car is not what it is claimed to be the auction company could and should be at risk though the bidders wave any recourse when registering to bid.
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I apply a heavy coating of silicon grease to the male plug and then plug it in several times to spread it to the female on the truck, never have had a problem with corrosion.
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1 hour ago, 61polara said:
Avanti Bill if you are not currently an AACA judge we would welcome your participation.
I have judged in a marque club and hate doing it, I'm too picky and really dislike the guilt trip I put myself on when I take points off a car. If I stop showing cars I may consider judging AACA although I would be scared to death that I would end up judging cars that I know nothing about.
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Concours judging is whimsical at best and has more to do with personalities and story line than other considerations. The big restoration shops have an advantage because the events need these shops to bring fresh product year after year to their shows. These are invitation events and are normally for a charity so you participate for the fun of it and the social scene. Marque judging is the toughest and most discerning and is where you can really get your car dialed in for competition. At these events I have always received my judging sheets with point deductions at the banquette or soon after. This of course leads to some interesting debate between owners and the chief judge occasionally.
Overall the AACA system works very well and helps people along with their cars. It isn't perfect but if you think of the number of different make and models spanning 100 years I think they do a pretty good job. It would be hard to find experts in every class. As for giving the judging sheets I think the policy is correct to just show the area of deduction and not the specifics, the arguments would never end. My only complaint is that I have seen many cars at Grand National events that should not be there, the judges were just too forgiving with senior awards. Perhaps making the jump from First Jr. to Senior tougher would eliminate some substandard cars getting through. I know this would be hard to do but maybe Senior cars should be judged by separate teams. We all benefit from having high standards as the nice cars always hold their value the best.
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Try Battery Central Mall, they seem to have taken over this market. I have bought from them and have been pleased with response although it sometimes takes some time.
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Very interesting, brilliant guy and very able to promote his product. I'm biased but I think the Avanti is perhaps the most timeless car design ever.
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I think they were posted on the forum so try doing a search.
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Cracks on all 8 mounting points, bolts were all tight. Poor quality steel I think.
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I have a 2010 Featherlite with 6000 lbs dexter torsion axles. I was adjusting the brakes and saw a crack from the elliptical mounting hole in the axle pad. Pulled both axles and found all for holes on both axles had crack to the edge. Talked to Featherlite and they blamed it on the terrible roads (trailer had about 60K miles) and I said BS. They said they fixed them all the time by welding a 3/8 plate on top of the pad which I had done by a local shop. I seems to me Dexter is using substandard steel in the mounting pad but easier to fix it then try to get them to do anything about it. Everyone should inspect this area of their trailer.
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On 2/17/2023 at 10:50 PM, Gary_Ash said:
Among many other things, get a trailer tongue scale so that you can mark off where to park the car in the trailer to have the right tongue load on your hitch.
Or you can get a Weigh-Safe hitch which has the scale built in, in either case you will have a better towing experience if you know where to place the car for perfect tongue weight.
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10 hours ago, Swear57 said:
I have a friend that his compressor locked up last fall. About 50 years old. I went to help him remove it. Heavy that thing was heavy. The tank was 6 feet long. He bought an IR and has had nothing but problems. They have warranted it. Got to put in twice.
Most of the cheap IR's are foreign made and are junk. They just pay a fee to use the name.
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14 hours ago, ted sweet said:
aaca doesnt check if lights work
There are no functional test at an AACA event other than to be driven onto the field and the car presented as required, hood and trunk open and windows up.
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Those leather pants on the sold sticker girl were something, seems a shame to kill a whole heard though.
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BJ is just one more venue to sell cars and promote the hobby. I can't help but think the publicity BJ brings to the cars is beneficial in some way. I think it is helpful to know that BJ started life as a Circus and in some ways still is.
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Talked to a man yesterday who had just bought a 56 from Mintor a couple months ago, he looked at the car that went for a little less than $500,000 and he wanted $190,000 for it at that time.
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Just got back, Prices were very strong overall and some off the charts. A Mintor 57 D code T Bird sold for almost $500,000 with the premium. Lots of high priced cars, some very nice, some not so much. Resto Mods brought the big money, I don't get it but there it is.
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I have enjoyed the trip!
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On 1/17/2023 at 8:53 AM, edinmass said:
You're way out of touch..........and there are mutiple cars that have traded over five M years ago.
No doubt I am.
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I have followed the full classic market for a while and I am hard pressed to remember any Packard selling for over two million in concours condition.
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The simple answer is no it is not worth that much. There could be mitigating factors which may make it worth more than other similar Packards but without that info who knows. My guess is they lost track of the number of zeroes and have one too many!
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Everything depends on what you want out of the car or what your expectations are when completed. There is nothing more expensive than a cheap car! If you are looking to "restore" the car know that you will be upside down when completed. If you have the money and want a project, great, go for it. If you want to sell it for what you have in it walk away as fast as you can.
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There was no factory undercoating on Baby Birds. Undersides were body color only. Many restorations get undercoated to cover repair work. I would bet very few were dealer undercoated but certainly a few up north.
How can this car be an alleged "AACA Grand National Winner"?
in General Discussion
Posted
OK, lets say this car is not correct in either the options or the W31 package. Does this disqualify it from receiving a first grand national. Under our rules for judging I think it does not. We do not judge the correctness of options or even ask to see build sheets. There is no penalty for over restoration which I would think would include installing correct options that did not come with the car. As to whether or not these options would work on the car, our rules do not provide for functional test of any systems. I think it is not correct to criticize the car for having a GN but I do agree that a buyer should vet all the claims the seller is making for their own protection.