Avanti Bill

I would not trust any shop that gave a contract or firm price on any complete restoration, there is no way they can know what they are going to find. For almost any one it is best to buy a car done, that will almost always be the cheapest way. Having said that there are plenty of restoration shops that are honest with the customer if only the customer is honest with themselves. The best thing you can do is to check out the shop quietly with people who have had work done by that shop and you will get a sense of the results you can expect. Also it is always best to get a marque specialist if you want the car to get a perfect or near perfect score from the marque club. They normally know what the judges expect and the little details that separate the really great restorations from the rest. The last 10 points are the most expensive for sure. Do not believe that a marque specialist will necessarily be cheaper often the opposite but it should be correct. In the end you get what you pay for and the best shops will explain that to you.

I rent a 40X60 warehouse ($3000 per month including taxes and utilities) until I can find a house with buildings or enough ground to build a building.

I have one and It runs well although I'm not sure I ever got that reaction from my wife or girl friend when I hit the accelerator.

Newest cars would most likely be parked closest to the building driven by the big wigs!

I think the AACA signs are great, they are consistent, classy, easy to read and are a great place to put your required fire extinguisher.

Yes Ed George was the driving force to get me out there and deserves a lot of credit. One of these days I'll get my 1964 full package Daytona to this show.

Everyone should keep an open mind, there is something out there for everyone!

2 point per tire deduction including the spare if it can be seen. If there is a perfect score car in your class this would mean you could not get a first place if there were any other deductions. This used to be a higher deduction to where you could not get a first under any circumstances. Personally I think bias look radials should be permitted as long as all are the same or close to the original size as a safety improvement but I don't make the rules. I have a very nice, very unusual car I just bought that is fully restored but has radial tires on it. I am not showing it because the cost of 5 bias plys is unbelievable and the ride and handling would be worse so I just enjoy driving it.

Out of the Hospital and took some pictures with the staff, looks like he'll be OK. Good News.

I agree that driving old cars is the most important part of the hoby and done in a casual environment generally fun. However you simply can't drive concour cars much and keep them in top condition unless you are fortunate enough to have a staff to clean them. I try to drive all my cars, the trailer queens get out on the best days for short trips but I enjoy the drivers the most, no worries just go. The congestion in my area makes driving any old car a challenge. Like everyone I get a lot of favorable comments from average drivers who are interested in the cars.

Without question this show draws the best of the best in all forms of muscle cars. I had the Avanti there last year and enjoyed the interest people showed in the car. For some reason there is always a strong Studebaker presence I guess for their speed record efforts. Fun show and well organized but a tough time of year.

Our local region AACA club just recently voted to disband. There lots of reasons but the bottom line was we were down to about 10 active members who would come out to a meeting and I was one of the youngest at 64. For me personally I feel as a club we lost our mission or focus. Our club had become a social club due to the aging membership, we just quit doing things with the cars. Lots of members still had cars but no longer drove them for a variety of reasons. I was the only member who stilled showed cars at AACA events. I started a cars and coffee to try to recruit members and though it has become successful with about 100 cars each Sunday we have not been able to recruit one new member. In talking to people I think there are several reasons for this, here are a few. Way back if you wanted to see old cars you had to go to a car show sponsored most likely the AACA or one of the Marque clubs, now there is a cruise night every day of the week with no requirements or commitments, just show up and enjoy. The younger generation doesn't feel the need to belong to an organization for lots of reasons. My last point is the most controversial, the current trend is toward modified cars, hot rods, rat rods, pro touring and so forth and so on. Very few people I meet at our weekly event have any interest in doing original cars. All my cars are original and most are somewhat rare and interesting, they draw a lot of attention, people seem to love them. However when I talk to those admirers they ask me things like why didn't you put a 500 hp crate engine in it if you were going to spend that much money or why didn't you install air conditioning. About 75% of the cars that show up every week are modified in some way. To me they just don't get the point but it is the reality of the current hoby. I think we need to embrace a wider group of people if we want to survive. I realize there are lots of pitfalls to this thinking and I am not sure how to make it work within the all original community but the number speak for themselves and will ultimately control what happens.

For the most part I think 25 years works, at least for now. As we go forward though if you think about parts availability for cars, especially the computers that have now been in use for over 25 years it may be a challenge to get newer cars to the 25 year mark. I have an 05 Thunderbird with very low milage which will be eligible in 2030. Already there are some computer elements of that car that are unavailable for replacement and repair of those systems is very spotty. Unless the car has very high value it may not be worth fixing to keep it on the road even though it is in great shape otherwise. Perhaps a new industry will emerge to solve this problem but I have my doubts. I believe parts availability will play a bigger role in what becomes an antique or is eligible for some consideration from the MVA or the car clubs than age alone.

Was going to show a 1954 Arnolt-Bristol at Hershey next week, instead I'm headed to Florida to see the condition of our house. Not looking forward to the trip.

Really glad to hear it turned out well!

Almost all residential Home Standby Generators run on LP vapor, not liquid. This is so they can be converted to run on natural gas as well. All are current or recently used automotive engines with a wide variety on induction systems.

I fear all our efforts to be politically correct leave us practically incorrect.

If this was an engine from a Fire Truck this could be an axillary tach for a pump panel.

Looks like a tach drive to me.

While I am not a Corvette owner I find it impossible to believe that a National or Regional NCRS Top Flight car would not pass muster with AACA Judging. If this happened something was definitely wrong. I suppose it is possible for some Marque judging to allow radial tires on cars that did not come with them under the "safety modification" category but none that I belong to allow such changes.

This is the service I use and I'm sure they would know the rules for PA and have always answered any of my questions over the phone. As the trailer will be titled in Maine there would be no PA title tax, in MD this saves 6%. This works in MD but not sure if it works in PA. Link below. https://staabagency.com/

Marque judging is much more intense and detailed. However if you want perfection in your car you use those judging sheets as work orders and sooner than later you will have a perfect car.

I get long term tag from Maine though I live in MD. There are services up there that handle everything and can keep you abreast of various state regs. Not all states allow for Maine trailer registration but it works in Maryland. I think the last tag I got was for 10 years and I think I could have gone longer.

Keep in mind to win the award you are seeking you need to be within 10 points of the best car seeking the same award. So even if you only need 380 points for a first place if there is a perfect score car (400 points) you need 390 or more for a first .

I have seen this in Marque judging a couple times, it can often be hard to find a flaw in these top cars. We went to function tests when we had a tie and in the end on at least one it was a flip of the coin. You don't win every time be grown up about it and take it either way it goes with a smile.