Terry Bond

Oh-we could go on and on... I've got a few. and some are really much hated! The word 'Vintage" should be removed from the English language! When I see it, it instantly registers as a "rip-off" kind of term that to the seller means "you figure out how old it really is." To me, it means the seller is trying to wiggle out of their responsibility to know what they are selling, or they are intentional being deceitful. It's seen frequently used to describe fake collectables Another one that I've learned the hard way is "Surface Rust." In my experience, the more of that "surface" you sand and grind only reveals new rusted surface. I guess the "surface" of those deep rust pits is still considered "surface"??? As long as you are not country-specific, the British have some excellent words and terms that sometimes leave us Yanks totally befuddled. Example - it's always been curious to me where radio antenna holes are drilled on MGBs. Some are on the left, some on the right. Some are in the cowl, some in the fender. Talking to an MGB expert, a Brit with actual dealer experience, he explained it nicely. The radios and components were always dealer installed. They came wrapped up in the truck (boot). Along with all that stuff was a template showing where the antenna hole should be located. It was described in "Brit-speak" indicating whether the hold should be drilled "nearside" or "offside." American dealers had no idea what that meant so they tossed out the template and just drilled holes where they figured they should be. Another term found commonly in British service manuals is "reassembly is the opposite of disassembly." I guess it's intended to save ink and paper in the printing process. In reality though, it assumes that what was disassembled was originally properly assembled in the first place. having restored or worked on a number of MGs over the years, I'm always left wondering how they did that to begin with! Common to a lot of cars is the fact many chassis components were assembled before the body or other major components were ever installed. Right now, I'm finishing up a complete brake system restoration on our 1948 MGTC. Correct routing of all the new pipes is nicely documented but, it was all originally done with no body on the chassis. Sure would make life much easier that way. See if you can decipher the following British terms- Dizzy Boot Bonnet Spanner Lump Wing Knock-off Mudguard Windscreen Chubby box Track rod Accumulator Dynamo Gudgeon pin Damper Half-Shaft Scuttle Silencer Trunnion Tickoverr Split pin Quarterlite Mole Wrench etc.etc.etc.etc.

Look at it this way - what will happen to them once you're gone? Will anyone be glad you saved them? I think we've already established there isn't any monetary value. Terry

So, still pondering things? What do you think it's worth?

Welcome to the GTO gang! ITell ius more and SEND PICS!!! Terry

I want to publicly thank Richard for doing the article about me and Susan for the latest issue. We enjoyed his visit last July and spending time just chatting about stuff. He managed to take a few moments of conversation and turn it into something special. His talent is amazing and Crankshaft Magazine shows that. Back to the garage-more work to do. Terry

Company owner is Brent DeLoach, Baton Rouge, LA. Looks like he is on Facebook if you want to try and contact him. Wouldn't surprise me that he may have had issues with Hurricane damage there within the past couple of years. Looks like a cool product. Terry

Anxious to see the result of your sorting out - Terry

During 1907 and 1908, MoToR Magazine included a framable print. These were full-color prints of popular motoring artwork of the time. Many were done by well known artists. They are not printed on the back and were meant to be removed and framed. Each of them seems to have been marked with a month and year on them. I have several early issues of the magazine but the prints have been removed from all but one. I'll be contacting the AACA Library and Research center eventually to see how many of their volumes of MoToR Magazine still have the prints in them. My goal of course is to complete the "set" whatever that is. I'm not sure how many prints there were to begin with. I now have 11 in my collection; With it being done just for two years, I would assume 24 prints would complete the "set." However, I recently acquired two that were noted as coming from "MoToR Supplement and don't include a month or year. Perhaps an additional volume was printed at some later time that included just prints? The prints are really great, especially in antique frames. Here are photos of a few. If anyone has these please post photos so I can try to figure out how many more I need to be looking for. It would also be great to find a copy of the "supplement" or at least learn how many prints were included. Terry

I seem to collect showcases. They are perfect for displaying artifacts in my recreated old auto parts store. I have a number of them in the house also to display some of the automobilia that just doesn't belong in the garage. I'm always looking for nice ones and it seems there are always one or two undergoing the restoration process. Can't beat the originals though. Here are a few, including one recently acquired in a nearby antique shop.

Your collection continues to grow! I'm going through a small collection recently acquired and will post pics of a few duplicates that will be available. Terry

Is it stamped brass? Painted tin? Condition is everything. Also graphic appeal. Both are on the weak side unfortunately. Yes, it might be "rare" but I'd suggest it has somewhat limited appeal. Spark plug collectors might have some interest. Try ebay to reach the largest possible market. Keep us advised on what you decide. Terry

I lived on the opposite coast south of Aberdeen during the late 70s and early 80s. Was active with the Strathmore Vintage Vehicle Club and helped organize the first few Glamis Scottish Transport Extravaganzas.

Where in Scotland are you? Terry

It was a great weekend in Luray! Home now, unpacking and sorting out the goodies I found there. My report is basically a "dittos" to what's already been said. A great event, just like they used to be and still should be. Focus is on early stuff and real parts and accessories, not made yesterday repro souvenirs and yard-sale crap like you'll find in some swap meets. A big difference is the folks who run this are hobby people. It's not a business. Any money made supports the VFW. They sell good food cheap, make things easy and take care of the vendors. The Friday fried chicken dinner is always great and is an opportunity to sit down with fellow vendors and meet new friends. This year I had a new neighbor - Mark Weatherbee, a regular here on the forum We traded some stuff and spent time enjoying the day together. The entire event is laid back and has a relaxed fun atmosphere Thursday is the set-up day. After a pleasant trip via back-roads from Chesapeake, i pull in around 2PM. There were already some vendors set up so I wandered a bit to visit and see what was there. Quickly spent some bucks buying some needed T parts, and started taking photos. Managed to get a few parts out later and quickly sold some brass. That evening, enjoyed a traditional Italian dinner in a small restaurant in town, enjoying company of good friends. Friday was a beautiful sunny and even hot day - temps in the high 80s. The vendors were uncovered and the buyers were swarming all over the place before 10Am. Sales were great and I finally managed to get out for a quick look about lunch-time. Found a few more goodies! Saw more great stuff, took a few pics and was treated to a quick picnic lunch with friends from home. I'll let the pics speak for themselves. Lots of T stuff of course, but plenty of brass and a variety of items to be discovered. Saw brass-era Cadillac parts, Studebaker stuff from the teens (including one complete car for sale), some Maxwell stuff, a few Brush items, loads of tools, even a few complete cars. Lots of Model A stuff. All this stuff was the kind you'd find at flea markets years ago - from club members cleaning out from under the workbench or things from country farm sales or cleaned out from an old shed. good old parts that had not been bought off evil-bay for resale, or have been drug around from other swap meets and didn't sell because the price was too high. Buyers and sellers were both serious, but what a great time we had just visiting. The threat of rain probably hindered attendance somewhat on Saturday, but there were still vendors out there and still plenty of good stuff to discover. I bough a great early brass speedometer, some gas lamp burners and other lamp pieces, and some NOS T parts. Enjoy the pics and put this one on your calendar for next time. If you're hungry for a good old fashioned swap meet and like early car stuff, Luray is the place to be. Terry

Especially when it's ugly. Terry

Brings back memories. Only one I've ever ridden in made me physically sick. The ultra spongy air bag suspension gave such a strange feel as it seemed to rock and roll in a wave-like motion. Not sure I barfed from that or just from looking at it. No offense intended here but IMHO the only uglier car is the Pontiac Aztec. Terry

Sheet Music article in Antique Automobile Magazine - For those who've sent me comments about the article I contributed to the current issue of Antique Automobile Magazine - many thanks for the kind words. I've not received my issue yet but got to see the proof. there is a team in Hershey that really helped make the article look great that deserves the thanks also.. West Peterson, Matt Hocker, and Jen Wolfe all had a hand in the finished product. Special thanks to Matt for tying in his great research on the "Merry Oldsmobile" song. I really enjoyed sharing a part of my collection(s). Hardest part was selecting just a few images. Terry

Looks like a brass body on it. Not certain it's Model T as the Kingston's I'm familiar with for the T's had a larger float bowl, rather than the small squatty one shown in the photos. My guess is the carb as been messed with during its lifetime. Body might be from a T but I'm not familiar with those numbers. Whatever it is, it's a parts donor. Terry

It's ;part of a liquid fueled pressing iron. These were common in the early 1900s up until electric irons became more widely accepted. I'm pretty sure the piece you have is from an Imperial brand iron circa 1910-11 like the one we have in our booth in a local antique mall. (second photo). Terry

Early speed traps! Sometimes it was a policeman using a pocket watch. This piece was published in the UK about 1906-8 time frame, after the infamous "red flag" law was repealed.

I was typing too slow I guess. Good input from all. Terry

i looked at the post and note the auction company says they will provide "score sheets." That's interesting as AACA does not provide score sheets with one exception - at the request of the owner, the VP of Class Judging can provide a blank shore sheet with highlighted areas where deductions were taken. This is to assist owners in helping to prepare their vehicles for future judging. Points deducted and actual judging score sheets should never be disclosed. I see also the car apparently won in a Grand National in 2001. It received a National 1st quite some time prior to that actually - 2009. Not sure when it received a Senior award, which is necessary before it can be entered into a Grand National. The serial numbers on the Grand National Award tag can easily be traced by HQ to find out if the car was a legitimate Grand National entry. It's not uncommon that a tag belonging to another car is acquired and attached to an auction vehicle n an attempt to help increase the value. Not saying someone "cheated" on that but actually winning that award should be verified before silly money is spent. Another thing to consider - prior National Award winning cars are often driver once their awards are received. It's possible a car is simply "displayed" in a museum or large private collection, but the use and enjoyment of such a car after you no longer need to be concerned about some dirt, grime or a few scratches is often irresistible. Our own MGB has well over 50K miles on it after receiving it's AACA Senior years ago. On a car that is used, it may have been fitted with components not on it when it was actually judged. Changing wheels, tires, adding AC and other items is frequently done supposedly to enhance creature comfort. So - how the auction car was equipped may not be the same way it was equipped when it was shown in AACA. Let us know what you find out though - curious folks out here. Terry

You see that kind of crap all the time. Here are a few absolutely insane examples - first, the person selling this "print" has had it listed for at least two years. Almost weekly, they will change the price. I've seen it listed as high as $50K. It's some kind of sick game they seem to be playing. If they were really serious about selling it, let it float and see what happens. It might make $60 on a good day. The second item is a car mascot that also has been listed for a couple of years. If you read the full description, the seller is an "expert" so don't bother trying to tell him his listing is a joke. Maybe that's what it is? I could go on - and on...but will leave the topic for others to discuss and close with the worst example of one of these Taiwan special brass taxi horns I've ever seen. Sometimes people will pay ten bucks for one just to get a decent rubber bulb for a shelf decoration, but this one doesn't even have a bulb on it. If you do the translation from British Pounds to American Dollars - this piece of junk will cost you almost $900- shipping not included of course. If nothing else, evil-bay remains quite entertaining. Terry

Don't get me started on this one!!! Want a laugh? Type in something like "antique automobile" and see how many Japanese flower vases show up. Evil bay search function has turned the site into one massive garbage dump.

Chrome on a brass car???