jaxops
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Posts posted by jaxops
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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 1937hd45</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Dave, it is old enough to be on the showfield at Hershey, if it was mine I'd have my entery fee in the mail by now. After all the AACA is into diversity, and attracting new younger members. </div></div>
Heh heh- they'd "gig" you for not having 50 year old dirt in the truck's fender wells!
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A lot of places can do it. I used New England Chrome Plating in East Hartford, CT. They chromed my badges first and then gold coated them.
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Not impractical, but you have to be so much more aware when driving them. Your "situation awareness" has to be peaked. Other drivers have no clue about how hard it can be to stop one of these older cars and some like to jump into your braking space. I try to time it so I am not out there in rush hour. I also avoid roads that clog when driving my 56 so I don't get stuck and overheat in traffic.
It can be hard to relax when driving antiques in traffic, but there is a lot of joy in having brought one of these back from decrepitude.
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A 1949 Cadillac limousine, which now belongs to my brother.
My oldest daughter came home in my parents-in-law's 1979 Oldsmobile. My youngest daughter came home in a 1983 AMC Concord Station Wagon.
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Probably my Mom's 1968 Cadillac Convertible. It was a blue-green with a white top and blue seats. It was a gorgeous car that was a thrill to ride in, especially as kids..... until my brother, learning to drive, kept shifting the transmission like a manual shift as he drove it around in the parking lot..... end of 68 Cadillac! It went back to Dad, who fixed it and promptly sold it (as he tended to do with all of Mom's cars).
That was what prompted her to buy the 1974 Ford Maverick. No comparison to the Cadillac Convertible, but a solid little car, and no, my brother was not allowed to drive it!
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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sheldon Rody</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hi Jaxops
The Rustoleum has a video and the floor prep all included in the packaging. Basically new concrete must age appox 1 year, and hose floor and brush with the cleaner. Remove any grease spots
Roll on paint and dry in couple days.
I used the paint flecks for decoration. I did not put them on floor where I work on cars to make it easy to see all the parts I drop. The floor does not seem to be slick.</div></div>
Thanx Sheldon!
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Dad always got a junker in trade for a new Cadillac he sold, so we always had "classic" cars around. He also preferred to use his shared 1958 hearse through about 1970, and his 1964 hearse well into the early 1980s. The classic lines of these cars became more evident to me as car styling became boxy, and then rounded. Of course, I got to drive a lot of these cars in high school when I worked for him over the summers.
I had two neighbors in Glenside, PA that encouraged me to work on my own car and showed me how to restore cars in general. One was a corvette nut, and the other was my neighbor who fixed his own 1970 Oldsmobile. He had the same engine as my 1970 Electra. Although my 70 Buick looked really old, it was only 7 years old when I got it. I think about that today when I drive my 1990 Mercury every day and it is hitting 19!
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I think I saw that 50s show as well with people bouncing off of the metal dashboards and the cars slamming into things.
One that sticks in my mind was the "Mr. Rellik" movie about the guy that hung around hospitals "reaping" heart attack victims when he noticed that car accident victims were more plentiful. Yes, "Mr. Rellik" was "Killer" as the last frame of the film informed you!
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Trim parts, and electrical parts and switches. Most of what is out there doesn't match up well.
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Actually I did this with the kids in the car.....my daughter's elementary school always blocked off the church/school parking lot with cones so that they could play there and then be picked up by waiting parents in neat and orderly lines. They also blocked access to park in the rear lot which was about the only other place to park besides the lines of parents.
Yes, you guessed it. After being accosted by the empresses of the parking lot about where you can and can't park, I would run down the cones to get out of the lot if blocked in. Yep, those cones would get dragged a bit before they popped out from under my Ford station wagon. The next day you would see the undercoating marks on the cones I hit. Also, we enjoyed serpentining through the cones on Sunday nights when the "empresses" weren't yet around. My only rebellion against chicken-stuff rules in an otherwise law-abiding life! I am so ashamed! (Not!)
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I do as well. I have one of my Dad's cars, the 1956 Cadillac Limousine. My brother has his 1949 Cadillac Limousine, which was his first car for the funeral home after my parents were married.
My first car had to be a convertible because my mother always drove a Pontiac or Cadillac convertible. My influential friends in high school convinced me that Buick's had the best engines and were the best cars to have so it was a Buick instead of a Cadillac.
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Actually Pennsylvania always had a law about no tinted or clear covers over the plate although frames were okay. Every time I go home I see cars everywhere with tinted plate covers. Just another law that they don't enforce.
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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: R W Burgess</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I know that many of you think that we're a little backward down here in this part of Virginia. But, we do take our schooling, uh, education seriously.
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Wayne,
Let me insert this "ad" for safe driving here: As an aside about driver education in Virginia, I found that if you don't teach your kids how to drive safely and properly yourself, don't expect the schools to do a thorough job. Many do not. My daughter's driver's ed teacher let the kids "Virginia-Slide" into the right lane on a left turn, saying it was "okay, just pick a lane." Luckily, my daughter, in fear of me tearing up her permit, told her otherwise. At least the requirements have improved, but one doesn't see the simulator driving sessions we had in high school, and the new stricter requirements that they have in Pennsylvania.
So no matter where you live, take responsibility and teach your kids the right way to drive. Make them change a tire and check the oil, etc. They may holler about getting dirty, and about your insistance on safe driving methods (I had a "Job Qualification Requirement Card" they had to finish- they hated it but finished it), but it might just save a life later.
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BJM,
I have a 1956 Cadillac Limousine that was my father's car for 30 years. He ran a funeral home in Philadelphia, and sold Hess & Eisenhardt limousines and hearses, so we grew up with the 1950s through 1980s limousines. Most of the used cars he got in trade were definitely "worn out."
The 1960s and 1970s were the probably the last years of great styling. Cadillac began losing out to the Lincoln Town car which could be stretched. Although one enjoyed a lot of room and a Ford-cushy ride, they were long, and boxy and not too much on style. Style and class exited soon after. No one wants the "austere" and high-tone interiors of yesterday's limousines. There were no televisions, no bars, no thumping stereos, no flashing and glowing lights.... just stately elegance.
Limousines tended to depreciate rapidly. A new Cadillac limousine in the late 1960s and early 1970s may have cost $6,000.00, and then 2 years later was worth $2,000 to 3,000. Finding a home for a used limousine usually meant an airport taxi service, or a small independent funeral director. Bigger cars were better and then came the gas crunch in 1977. There were a lot of factors, including those about better employment and less stability in the workforce and less company loyalty to their employees.
I agree that these cars became a bit impractical. The older cars could be a handful to drive and try to park. Expensive to maintain, they really needed to be garaged to stay nice and many deteriorated outside.
My car speaks to me of that time, and of growing up with my father who could be seen whipping those cars through the tiny streets in Philly to get us to school (we were always late because we had to wash the car before we could leave for school every morning).
I had also thought about using the car for weddings. We've had a lot of posts about that. One needs an extremely reliable car for that. My car is getting there, but not quite yet (the A/C is about the last reliability issue). Also, the issue of insurance, the proper licensing the business and cars, and having backup cars. I did a few weddings 2 years ago, but they were all for friends. Not the venue for a show car, but maintaining the car in regular use to a standard that people would want to rent it could be quite expensive over time. You have to go into it with a lot of awareness of what to expect.
Not too many "nuts" out there keep these cars, but I'm glad that there are a few more! Sorry about the long post--- see what you started? My restoration website: 1956 Cadillac Restoration
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Just a note to the AMC collectors - keep up the good work. I bought a 1983 AMC Concord Station Wagon/hatchback new and what a great car that was. It was dark blue over silver. Unfortunately, we pretty much ran it into the ground topping 145K miles. I repainted the silver, and the blue had held up well, so I was able to sell it even wih a non-functioning air conditioner.
Still, it was the perfect sized car for us at that time.
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My 1969 Buick LeSabre Convertible was a trade in 1977 for my 70 Electra. I had to put a floor in (it had rotted out the floor pans) and fix the gaping hole in the left rear quarter panel and paint the trunk first. It was sold to the Pocono Manor Inn in Pennsylvania. Probably dust by now.
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Not car related, but many years ago I inherited my great uncle's carpentry tools. All of them are hand-driven tools, in a tall wooden box. They must be from the 1930s and 40s.
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That's funny, we were Santa this year and bought our daughter a GPS so she can drive herself to/from college and to her internship.
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We have an up-and-coming repair service center that repairs old and new cars you can try: Ocean Air Auto Repair They are expanding.
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Sheldon,
When you used the concrete stain did you use the non-skid additive? What was your prep like? I'd appreciate it...thanx!
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I use American Collectors for the Buick and J.C. Taylor for the Cadillac. American Collectors is a good price as long as you don't try and make a claim. Taylor is a offers a wider range of product coverages I think and are a lot easier to deal with. Just an opinion.
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Elmo - send Santa to Arizona!
Merry Christmas to all!
Mark M
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Matt,
Staining seems like a great idea. If it wears down, just restain it like you do on the deck. I had used a clear cement sealer on a house I had in Massachusetts, and it was easy to use, and basically did the job.
I would hate to go through the effort to lay down a nice floor and then have it coming up. Definitely an alternative if you have a basic garage for parking and getting out of the weather!
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Dad was a Cadillac guy as a funeral director. Mom was a Ford person, but was "superseded" by Dad until she was on her own later. My in-laws were also Ford folks with 1975 Ford LTDs, and then Oldsmobiles in the 1980s. As they got older they got into Oldsmobile mini-vans.
My first car that I owned was a 1969 Buick LeSabre Convertible. It was bronze with a white roof, and had a bad transmission! Once we fixed that, I found that it had no floor! Just carpeting and the supports. It was a New Jersey car and was parked outside. My next car was the 1970 Buick Electra Convertible, which we still have. My preference for Buick influenced my uncle, who had always had Volkswagens and Chevrolet convertibles before that. He bought a 1977 Buick LeSabre, and then got a 1989 Buick LeSabre Station Wagon before he too ended up with Plymouth mini-vans. My aunt had a great looking 1959 Ford Galaxy, then a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda in orange, and then Toyotas after that until now. Family cars include:
<span style="text-decoration: underline">My Parents </span>(Dad was a Funeral Director and then a dealer for Cadillac and box ambulances):
- 1949 Cadillac Limousine
- 1956 Cadillac Limousine
- 1958 Cadillac Hearse (Shared with Osbourne Funeral Home)
- 1960 Cadillac Limousine
- 1963 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible
- 1962 Plymouth Limousine (ugly! and rusted to pieces)
- 1966 - 1988 new Cadillac and then Lincoln Limousines and truck-ambulances (cars he just sold)
- 1965 Oldsmobile Limousine in gold (awkward-looking car!)
- 1967 Lincoln Limousine
- 1977 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow (wrecked in 1997)
- 1987 Cadillac 6-door Limousine
- 1949 Cadillac Limousine (now with my brother)
- 1956 Cadillac Limousine (now mine)
- 1999 Lincoln Cartier
- Buying a 2009 Lincoln Town Car
<span style="text-decoration: underline">Mom</span>:
- 1974 Ford Maverick (rusted to pieces, literally)
- 1979 Ford Granada (paint fell off)
- 1986 Oldsmobile (paint fell off & stolen/abandoned in Philadelphia)
- 1991 Dodge Aspen (?)(paint fell off & speared by tree landscaping truck)
Mom seemed to always get the car that they "short-sheeted" in the paint booth!
<span style="text-decoration: underline">My Family</span>:
- 1969 Buick LeSabre Convertible
- 1970 Buick Electra Convertible*
- 1983 AMC Concord Station Wagon
- 1989 Ford Crown Victoria Station Wagon*
- 1987 Ford Crown Victoria
- 1990 Mercury Grand Marquis*
- 1999 Toyota Avalon (Oldest Daughter's Car)
- 2001 Mercedes Benz E320 Station Wagon (wife's car)
- 1956 Cadillac Limousine*
- 2002 Mercedes Benz C240 (2nd Daughter's Car)*
* =still have it
Yes - I tend to keep them until they fall apart (our AMC actually was failing piece by piece), become worthless to anyone but me, or because they don't sell anything better and who needs a car payment?
70 Electra Convt Map Light
in Buick - Post War
Posted
I installed an NOS map light to replace mine that had the light bulb and connector broken during restoration. I soldered the power wire to the brass tip, and it has power but when I put it in the mirror, the light doesn't work. How far down does it go? I don't think the plastic holder for the insert socket comes out because that's how they broke my old map light. Any ideas?