Dave@Moon
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Posts posted by Dave@Moon
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Gee thanks, Martin! More competition.
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You guys should be reading and posting on the AACA forum. You'd have a <I> lot </I> of fun with them.
<P>Modify and enjoy your car all you'd like (I'm making a street rod out of the 1979 Cutlass with my brother myself), but whatever you do don't waste irreplacable pieces of automotive history to do it. In the last 2 years on TNN I've seen a 1933 International and a 1937 Terraplane coupe chopped. Both cars (OK, the car and the truck) could've just as easily been restored stock. Now they're lost to us.<P>I can hear the howling on that line already. <I> "What do you mean, lost! It's in my garage isn't it!!!" </I> Well what I mean is this; if you've been around this hobby long enough, you know what happens to old hot rods. After the first owner/builder dies, the dream of that car is dead as well. Noone has the same hot rod dream as anyone else. They generally become neglected white elephants within the family, preserved in memory of it's owner until disrepair sets in and it must be sold to save it. It then is either raw material to be remade by someone or a parts car. <P>And before anyone starts praising the collectibility of old hot rods, remember that the hot rods being collected all are well into <I> their </I> antique years. People are paying a lot for well done (origional 1950's) lead sled Mercs with 3 vintage dueces on a flathead, but what could you get for a 302 Pinto with a nice 1977 lace/sparkle paint job? Unless your first name is Boyd, you get squat! <P>There are worse fates for cars. In those same 2 years I'm scared to tell you what I and my 8 year old son have seen run through demolition derbies. Here's a hint: IF IT'S MORE THAN 25 YEARS OLD, IT WILL LOSE! Somebody tell these clowns to get a 1975 Impala wagon and stop wasting what are at worst 1950's and 60's parts cars! 
<P>We have many 1950 Buick sedanettes and 1979 Cutlasses to play with. Losing a few to customizing isn't so bad. But I've seen Huppmobile Skylarks, 1931 Caddys, Edsel convertibles, 1953 Lowey coupes and the like sacrificed thus. I'm glad our club has the forsight and diversity to incorporate modified cars. I'm more glad that our hobby is stronger by their enjoyment. I hope that we can educate the owners and builders of these cars and thereby not lose more to temporal pursuits than we should.<P>We don't own our cars or our land, we rent them from the future. A car is only origional once, it can be restored stock infinately, but it is customized until it dies. -
With a roll cage! The roof on a hardtop was really more of a cosmetic item than a structural one. You'd be asking for real trouble trusting an roof mounted anchor point to not move relative to the seat frame in an accident in a vintage car. <P>Now if the car had designed in structural integrity for the belts (as they should've been post-1969), then that's a different story. But then they'd already be there by law anyway so that's a moot point.<P>Perhaps, if you're <I> real </I> good at engineering and fabrication, you could weld up a seat mounted system. But this would only work in 4-doors as the seat backs have to move in 2-door hardtops for rear seat access. And some cars (like the early VW bug as I recall) had somewhat weak seat mounts anyway that you'd have to trust.<P>Most convertibles and hardtops of this era (1969-1970's) have the shoulder belt mounted on the door pillar, which is fine if there's a factory mount there. It would be a car-by-car evaluation process (I think) to determine if you could <I> safely </I> install a mounting point there. And at that, you'd be creating a new saftey problem by limiting rear seat access and egress.<P>The jist is, I think you'd probably be safer in a well designed lap belt no matter how you do it.<p>[This message has been edited by Dave@Moon (edited 07-22-2000).]
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Hey man, yo' wanna hit of some 'baker! No charge! Really.
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The National Pike Chapter of the BCA will be having its monthly meeting and major outing of the summer at the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineering) Foundation Car Show in Warrendale, PA on Sunday August 8, 2000. <P>The car show is held on the grounds of the Society of Automotive Engineering's World Headquarters in the Thorn Run Industrial Park, approximately 2 miles from the intersection of the PA Turnpike (I-76) and I-79. This is a major show in the Pittsburgh area, with around 500 cars total combined antique and custom. If not preregistered it's reccommended to arrive early, as the grounds fill beyond capacity in good weather. Their websight is <A HREF="http://www.sae.org/carshow" TARGET=_blank>www.sae.org/carshow</A> .<P>Registration is $12, admission I believe is $1. All proceeds benefit the SAE Foundation supporting their related education activities. Please attend and stop by our special club display if you get the chance!
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Pat, Chevy's order from the front of the Summit catalog, Mustangs order from the back. Mopars have to find their stuff scribbled in the margins.
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If you want to have fun with an Isetta, parallel park <I> real </I> close to the front, with that front opening single door they can't get in (or out)!
<P>I used to run 27x11 slicks on my TR6, but I kept getting caught in all the ruts! -
Centurion, couldn't you use 2 dollies under the wheels when you slide the axle out and keep the shaft from turning?
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John, all true Buick men are renaissance men, fine judges of women and horse flesh, and all-around scholars!
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I smelled a Viper once.
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If you've got a lot of grunge in there you might be able to clean it out with intense use of a strong oven cleaner. The yellowing is probably an aging of the plastic due to years of UV light exposure (not much I know, but over how long?), and therefore internal to the plastic and incurable.
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I guess that DIY swap of big block Buick into the Isetta is just to complicated for some.
<P>Here's a hint, the MGB and Midget were both uni-bodies. They only had rudimentary sub-frames for the engine cradle. <P>If you really are making a bad MGB, the best that can reasonably be done is to do what British Leylend did in the first place, put the Buick (nee Rover) aluminum V8 in it. When done right, and the fit is <I> real </I> tight, this is a scarry machine!! -
<I> THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CHEVY AND A MUSTANG SHOW??? </I>
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Peter, John....Thanks!
I was under the impression that non-standard belts would be a much higher deduction. If I remember correctly when I judged a Vintage Triumph Register National in 1991 it was higher.<P>PJ, ditch the old ones and install a set of Roadster Factory belts. Even if those old retractors feel like they're still working, you don't want to be the guinnea pig when they're brought to the test. -
I see the confusion is not mine alone. The TR6 was made from 1969-1976, all with (more or less) the same belts. Later versions are easier to find, they have the dreaded interlock switch incorporated and therefore were more likely to be yanked out and thrown in a corner. Otherwise there's no difference.<P>I'm certainly more into driving my car than I am having it judged. However, I seem to not have the option of passing judging on this point. I've seen several TR6's at AACA and other judged events with the old belts cleaned up and installed. I'd be very suprised if these sets were in working order, and even if they were I certainly wouldn't trust them for even occasional use.<P>The only reproduction belts that are available are only sold in Europe, where DOT certification and liability claims are not as troublesome for the manufacturer. Even at that, these would be a reproduction of a demonstrably inferior system. [As an aside, this is indicative of how serious the problem with these belts is. 95% of TR6 production came to the U.S., yet they won't sell us the reproduction belts!] <P>The aftermarket belts that you can get here attach to the stock mounts, but cinch rather than retract. They look nothing like the origional belts, but they seem to work. <P>There must be other situations that have arisen where stock equipment was found to be unsafe in later years (the installation of turn signals comes to mind). Is there some kind of rule of thumb or precedant for this kind of situation?
<p>[This message has been edited by Dave@Moon (edited 07-18-2000).] -
OLD TANK, my grandfather told me that when the vaccuum booster goes bad on a car with a PCV valve instead of a road draft tube you wind up with oil in the intake. That's pretty much what the PCV valve did was send those vapors through the engine instead of venting them. <P>Glad we could help, Scott!
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I just missed going the the Nationals this year (family illness), but after going to Columbus last year and a few other clubs' Nationals I've noticed a few things. I've seen shows that were well run, shows where people dropped the ball, and shows where areas were visible where both happened. Regardless which is the case, you can't reasonably criticize people who have been working on your and your club's behalf for no more gain than to say they picked the shirt pattern or menu. I owe those people a great debt for promoting my club in Richmond, and I didn't even attend. We all do.<P>One thing I've noticed that might've held attendance down is an unfair prejudice on some people's parts against attending shows in areas south of themselves during July and August. Apparantly 98 degrees and humid is OK in OH (remember Columbus), but not in VA or (God forbid) TX. I think it's ridiculous, but a lot of people seem to allow fear of the heat interfere with their enjoyment of events such as this (& life in general).
<P>As regards to the age of the participants, every National of every club I've ever attended looked like a geriatrics ward to me as well (I'm currently 42). The reasons for this are very simple to understand, mine are named Peter and Julia (as well as Larissa, their dark overlord)! People who are of an age where making a living and keeping kids fed are still an issue just don't have time and moolah to trek 2000 miles in an old car and spend 4-5 days at a hotel. This will never change. Look for the future of any club in it's local events. <P>I'll be in Buffalo in 2001 for sure. Let's hope that the 2002 show outdoes them all! -
This is the part of this forum that I love! There is information out there that we need from time to time that is only available in limited quantities, and without this forum it would be very hard to come by.<P>If this car has vaccuum wipers, I'll bet a random reproductive organ that I know what the problem is. The fuel pump is the culprit! When the diaphragm on the vaccuum booster portion of the fuel pump fails, that part of the pump starts pumping air <I> into </I> the crankcase. This pressurizes it and forces oil out of the system. The only place the oil has to go is out the road draft tube. <P>The oil loss will usually be <I> much </I> larger on highway trips due to the high rpm's and resultant air pumping rate. That's probably why this was noticed first in a long highway trip. If it is a rear main seal, there would probably have been visible dripping even during short trips. <P>I had a 1960 Falcon do this, and the syptoms fooled everyone I could find who knew anything about cars (and this was 18 years ago). It would blow a quart of oil out the road draft tube every 100-200 miles at 60 mph, but not a drop all day at 35 mph. My grandfather (then 70 and a lifelong career mechanic) immediately told me what my problem was. <P>Here's hoping it's your cheap, easy to replace fuel pump! Good luck!
<BR><p>[This message has been edited by Dave@Moon (edited 07-16-2000).] -
Ahh for the days of wife swapping!
Of all the things that are misunderstood about this hobby, I wish Neil's point would be the first one to go away!!! Thanks, Neil! -
My long term restoration project is a 1970 Triumph TR6. I plan on redoing the car absolutly stock, changing only the interior color from black to a more appropriate (stock) tan. However, I have a dilemma. Presently, the car has no seat belts.<P>I plan on showing this car some, but touring and ralleying it as much as possible. One thing about the TR6, however, are the terrible seat belts that came with the car. They were among the first retractible locking type belts on th market and they simply weren't up to the job. The mechanism corroded rapidly insiide the retractor and they were largely useless within the first 1-2 years of the car. It's now somewhat rare to find origional belts in the car at all, and almost unheard of to find them in working order. Most people who used the belts found them lacking and eventually pitched them. The sets that are still around mainly survived out of neglect.<P>I have a set of replacement non-retracting aftermarket belts (new) I can use. These are the best pieces available in the U.S. for the car. There are reproduction origional type belts availble in Europe, but they are very difficult to obtain, expensive and technically illegal (they're not DOT approved and seemingly can't be approved because of the design). Origional belts have been showing up recently on eBay in fair to rough condition, selling for about $200.00 a set. Some of these postings say the belts still work, but for how long is open to question.<P>What is the reccommendation for a situation like this?
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Two thoughts:<P>A car is only origional once, and that <I> is </I> more interesting to others than how well you can buff lacquer. Of course if you're in to buffing the lacquer (like many of us), then screw 'em.<P>If you want a profitable hobby, collect Pokemon cards.
I've said it before here; I've never made money on a car, but I've profitted from all of them. -
Centurion is right on the author for Seventy Years of Buick. He's also right about it's content, for my money anyway. Why Classic Motorbooks reissued almost the entire Crestline series and didn't do this one, the book on woodies or the Lincoln/Mercury book is beyond me.<P>Dunham and Gustin's The Buick A Complete History is excellant as well. It is highly detailed and definately <I> not </I> light reading. <P>Richard Langworth's Illustrated Buick Buyer's Guide is one of the better books in that series (for a <I> hugely </I> biased example, look at the AMC book
). Mr. Langworth can't write an uninteresting thing. <P>I was a little dissappointed in Norbye and Dunne's Buick 1946-1978 The Classic Postwar Years. It was a difficult read for this borderline dyxlexic, as it it a very technical essay for such a broad topic. <P>And now for my question, WHY IS THIS ALL THAT THERE IS (except for a few muscle car {GS} and magazine artical compelation books)????? There has to be enough interest to warrent the marketing of books like "Buicks of the 50's and 60's", or "Roadmaster, History and Rebirth (and History Again)". Granted we can't expect to have the coverage that Chevrolet gets in the media, but we should at least rate the coverage that Pontiac or even the Nova gets! -
Matt, don't be discouraged. We've all had similar experiences when we were 17 and beginning our interests in this field. Unfortunately there is always a contingent of people in every pursuit that like to use their knowledge and experience to exclude others. If you've ever asked someone a simple question about a sport at which you were a novice and they were a life long fan you'd likely get a similar attitude.<P>It sounds like you've had a run of bad luck lately with this. It will pass. If you keep looking, you will find a cadre of people willing to share their knowledge and thereby expand the field of interest. Every block of human interest is the same, and there are nice guys and @$$holes on every block. <P>You reminded me of 2 experiences I had at your age. That year in my suburban town there were 2 National club conventons, CORSA (the Corvair Club) and the Kaiser-Frazer Owners Club. A friend of mine who was a year younger than me and who had <I> much </I> longer hair attended both. At one were treated like pariahs, obviously unwelcome with most questions going unanswered. At the other we were all but handed the keys to the cars, and old-timers literally spent hours talking to us about their cars. <P>Finding an accepting group of enthusiasts that you're compatible with really is very little different from dating. If you get burnt with someone, screw it--walk. There <I> will </I> be others! <P>Try any club that recognizes or appreciates your car that's the least bit active in your area. Join all the appropriate national clubs you can to locate these groups. If you burn through them, get involved with organizing committees for shows and events in your area that are to your liking. If nothing else, draw up a logo and start your own club. Many a club was started by people who thought they didn't know what they were into and were looking for help.<P>One last bit of advice, you mention how winning your class at a car show is really a money contest. Often (much too often) that's true. But, if that's what you're in this hobby for it will never make you happy. <I> The car is always the trophy! </I> Trophies are really for 9 year olds who need outside validation. After high school, they loose their luster.<P>Good luck and enjoy the car!
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Chris, you don't need to carry a spare ballast resistor in the Chrysler! In these finely hewn crafts one need only chew Juicy Fruit constantly to keep it running. The foil wrapper from chewing gum got me home several times in my dad's Aspen (of course, it wasn't <I> my </I> car!).
ATTENTION Pittburgh/WV Buick Owners
in Buick - General
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OK, so I forgot eastern OH Buicks as well! Ooops.