michel88

I received an e-mail from Kim Miller with the AACA Library and she informed me that the Library has a copy of the book. I was glad to hear that they do. Next year at Hershey I urge you to stop by and meet Mr. Gilbert and get a copy of the book. It's a wonderful opportunity to talk to a man who was there in the early days of Hershey. He is in the Chocolate field at CZ30-36. He assured me he will be there for the 51st year! Woody Michel

Last year I had the pleasure of meeting Harold Gilbert at the Hershey show. He was there just as he had been for the past 49 years! The book he has written is called "Looking Back" and he was selling them at the show. I decided to buy it and found it to be excellent reading. It consists of many short stories about finding old cars back in the early days. This man has probably saved more antique, classic and special interest cars than anyone in the AACA. He and one of his friends brought some early brass car parts to sell at the 1954 Hershey show and sold them outside the stadium where the show was. When you walk through the giant Hershey flea market you should realize that Mr. Gilbert and his friend may have started it by bringing those parts in 1954. I saw Mr. Gilbert this year at Hershey and this was his 50th year at the show! I think this book should be a part of the AACA library and I would be glad to donate my copy. Woody Michel

I haven't seen this show (Drive Shaft) yet but I am going to watch it so I can contact Speed Channel and voice my displeasure and concern about this show. I am also no fan of Monster Garage. In one episode I saw a very nice (original) '69 ot 70 El Camino completely destroyed by Jesse James. He then showed it to the owner who had preserved this very nice car, and thought it was very funny when the owner reacted to the carnage. Hurrst I completely agree with you, and I hope other AACA members will contact Speed Channel and voice their disgust of these programs. Woody Michel

The engine from a Super (series 50) has the smaller 248 cu. in engine. The Roadmaster (series 70) has the larger 320 cu. in. engine. I think the grilles and dividers are all the same. Woody Michel

The '54 Landau is advertised in the October Hemmings. The price is $75,000. I think this Historic Buick should be in a museum. We should have a raffle for this car so it can be in the Sloan museum. Woody Michel

Looks like a nice project, glad you are saving this car. It is either a '40 Super or Roadmaster Coupe. The model of the car is on the hood opening pulls. If it is a Roadmaster it will have the 320 cubic inch straight eight which has a good amount of power. It might be worthwhile keep the straight eight. These cars had a stainless steel moulding on the rocker panels. The rear fenders are bolted on, with fender welt between them and the body. The rear fenders also have gravel shields on the lower front of them. These are availble from Bob's Automobilia but are not cheap. I have seen the tailights on Ebay a few times recently. I have a '40 Roadmaster Coupe which I am slowly getting into shape. Best of luck with your new project! Woody Michel

Thanks to all who responded. I did a rough check on the FedEx Freight website and it looks like it would be very expensive to ship (over $200). I always go the fall Hershey show so the best idea would be if a kind vendor from California who is at the Hershey show would agree to take it back with them. Woody Michel

I would like to ship a '54 Buick deck lid from Maryland to California. Has anyone had experience in shipping a large heavy part? Would you have to build a wooden shipping container or could it be wrapped in bubble wrap or something and shipped? I responded to a post on the Buick forum from a guy who needs this part. I would give it to him for free if he could pick it up, but of course this isn't practical. Thanks for any help on this matter. Woody Michel

John, I have a nice deck lid off of a '54 Buick Special. I sent you an email about this. I'm not sure where you are located but you may have it for free if you can pick it up. I'm located in the Baltimore Maryland area. Woody Michel

Hi Joe, J.B. Donaldson Co. (602)278-4505 does a beautiful job recasting Banjo steering wheels although not cheap. There are some other ones listed in Hemmings Motor News in the Services Offered section. One gauge repair place is Bob's Speedometer (800) 592-9673 & www.bobsspeedometer.com There are others in the same section of Hemmings. Good luck with your '42 Sedanette! Woody Michel

The modifications to the very rare '53 Skylark are no improvement in my opinion. I agree with Dave@Moon that this car should be considered a Full Classic. They only produced 1,690 of these cars and now another one is lost! This is scary that we are seeing so many pro-street rod people on the AACA web site. I guess it's only a matter of time until someone decides to improve the styling of a '56 or '57 Continental Mark II by chopping the top. Woody Michel

I have stopped going to local shows because most of the cars there are hot rodded/modified which I have no interest in. I just don't understand what motivates people to ruin nice old cars and trucks. Even though the saying is "It's your car and you can do what you want to it" its still a shame to take a nice stock car and chop, subframe, and tub it. Of course then you MUST put in a 350 Chevy engine and transmission! Shows like Monster Garage and all the other Hot Rod type shows are on all the time, which puts these ideas into peoples heads. Did you see the Monster Garage show where Jesse James absolutely butchered a very nice stock '69 El Camino and then gleefully showed the horrified former owner the car? This street rod trend is growing bigger everyday and the way things are going there will be very few original or restored original cars left soon. I have been active in the antique car hobby for over 25 years and it has changed dramatically in that time and not for the better. I hate to think of what will happen to my collector cars when I am too old to care for them. Woody Michel '40 Buick Roadmater Coupe '51 Ford Country Squire '63 Buick Riviera

Chris, I have both bumpers for a '63 Skylark. They are in good driver quality shape. The front bumper has a slight dent but not bent. It has the brackets on it. The rear bumper seems pretty straight but has some peeling chrome. I also have a trunk lid, hood, and grille (missing the emblem). I have buckets seats and the back seat, blue/turqouise in color, that came out of a coupe. I am located in Owings Mills, Maryland. Let me know if you are interested. Woody Michel

A book that I would recommend is "Looking BacK" by Harold M. Gilbert. I met Mr. Gilbert last year at the Hershey Meet. He was one of the first to sell parts at Hershey when it was still located in the Stadium. In fact he has been at the Fall Hershey meet every year for the last 47 years! The book is made up of short stories of finding old cars and parts. It starts with his early childhood auto memories. About 1949 he became interested in antique cars and he has been very active in our hobby ever since. The book is full of facinating stories of finding old cars in barns and other out of the way places. It is a history of the old car hobby when it was simpler and better. It would be very worthwhile to stop and talk to him this fall at Hershey and buy a copy of his book. You won't be dissapointed! I know, God willing he will be there. Woody Michel

I am glad to hear you got to drive your Stanley. There is nothing better than the first time you finally get to make that first trip with your car. Woody Michel

I was born in July of '44 and I was brought home from the hospital in my dads '40 Buick Super coupe. He kept it until he traded it in for a new '51 Ford. I still remember riding in it very well and remember being sad to see it left at the Ford dealer. I guess thats why I choose a '40 Buick Roadmaster for my collector car. Woody Michel

96roadmaster: I edited my previous post and now the link is working. Sorry about that! Woody Michel

It sounds like a great deal to me for such a nice original car. The '63 to '65 Riv's are considered a milestone car. The prices are finally going up on these cars and they should for the excellent styling. You might consider joining the Riviera Owners Association which is a good source of info on these cars. The website is: www.rivowners.org Woody Michel '40 Buick Roadmater Coupe '63 Buick Riviera

I thought that the '36 Ford Convertible Coupe street rod was obviously very well crafted and very tasteful as street rods go. This particular car was made from a very nice original car, which I think is a shame. It even had a picture of the car before it was street rodded on the windshield and it was obviously a really nice original. There is only a finite number of original cars which get less every day as more of them are chopped up. Woody Michel

In general the prices are very high, but there are some good deals too. I was watching it last night (Friday) and a '39 LaSalle Coupe went for only $25,000. It was a beautiful Coupe with what looked to be a fantastic paint job (dark blue). The car looked great inside and out with beautiful chrome. I don't think you could restore one for this amount of money. It's on today (Saturday) from 3 to 9pm and I will be watching. They have far to many commercials but it still worth it! Woody Michel

Thanks for identifying the hubcap Tom. I thought it looked like the hubcaps on a '49 Lincoln Cosmopolitan that I used to see in the neighborhood when I was a kid. I really liked the looks of that car. Woody Michel

Hi all, My wife has threatened it is her or these parts... have got to get rid of them!!!! FREE to anyone who wants to pick them up... the following parts: hood, trunk lid, all 4 doors, complete dash, heads from 264 cu in V8 and intake manifold. These are good rust free parts in need of a car. I've been storing these parts in my garage for over 20 years. Thanks! Woody Michel

Hi Everyone, I bought this hubcap at a yard sale a few years ago and have been wondering what car it came from. I thought it was from a Lincoln, late 40's early 50's? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks Woody Michel

The Caprice sounds like a good deal to me. With only 27,000 actual miles and a 327 it sounds like a great deal providing it runs and drives good. If you can get it for a little less than the $2695 I think you should go for it! I had a '66 Caprice wagon and put a lot of trouble free miles on it. Woody Michel

I just noticed on page 81 in the November issue, I just received, there is an explanation on the missing section headings etc. They have a new software and are having problems that they still are working on. It should be easier to find specific makes. I hope it will make using Hemmings easier in the future. Woody Miche