Ron Green

Congratulations on getting your car and trailer back. Having this possibly happen to me has always scared me. Like many I park under lights if possible when staying overnight on the road however experienced thieves are good at what they do. I had small signs made for above each trailer door handle on my old trailer that said "warning alarmed" but I doubt that was much of a deterrent. I was going to have the signs say "warning poisonous snakes onboard" to at least get them thinking.

As some have said many people want to save money when transporting a vehicle. I don't get it. Spend 50K plus on a restoration and shortcut delivery on a expensive vehicle. I feel sorry for what happened to my friend. But knowing him he was probably totally unaware of the best option to get for transporting his car. The restoration shop however could have given better advice however I am sure they are still using the "cheapest" way possible to ship. Since Hagerty probably got stuck with this maybe its time for the insurance companies to put their foot down on who ships their insured vehicles. I found out many years ago that picking up a vehicle plus traveling to shows and tours was a problem having to depend on others or borrowing equipment. After using Passport (excellent service) a few times I bought my own truck and trailer.

Sorry only have one picture and it won't allow me to copy and paste. The car is as described above. This happened in 2018 and as far as I know the driver has never been found.

There have been many threads and posts on this and many of us know you need to be careful when selecting a reputable transporter. Here is the condensed version of what happened to a fellow Amphicar club member a few years ago. "After a flawless restoration it was loaded into a covered transporter and began the journey to Texas from Florida. Somewhere around Louisiana the transport truck driver decided it’d be fun to unload and have a drive/swim in the brackish waters off the route 10 highway. It was driven into the water and then crashed head-on into some big old pole. If that weren’t enough, every panel on the body was bumped, dented, bruised and scratched. The interior was awash in booze, seaweed, and brackish water. Even the hubcaps were dented and scraped. The years of a total restoration were now completely unrecognizable. The truck driver then just abandoned the Amphicar on the side of the road. Meanwhile the transport dispatcher had narrowed down the arrival date and time as I, friends and family gathered. A few hours passed the appointed delivery time and it was a no-show, no update messages, no returned calls, no nothing. There were many phone calls to the trucking company made over the next 3 days, promises made and then broken, calls not returned and finally the authorities were notified. This was grand theft auto after all and now 3 days overdue. Not sure what transpired in the truck dispatch command center, but the Amphicar had been located and was finally en- route to Texas. After 4 excruciatingly long days of the missing Amphicar saga a truck driver calls and says, “I’m the new driver delivering your Amphicar so come and get it.” Arrangements were made to meet at the local Wal-Mart parking lot. So here it is all smashed up rolling off an uncovered transporter. Nobody even told me it was damaged. Having spent a good sum of money to have the car restored and waiting 2 plus years for its return, then totally unprepared for the shocking condition in which it arrived. I’ll not bore you with the dozens of phone calls between the trucking company’s scandalous insurance agent and our own equally scandalous lawyer. Nor will I mention the reams of photos and documentation needed and sent in triplicate to every party involved. It’s probably not relevant that the original truck driver has vanished from the earth. In fact I won’t even say how utterly useless both federal and local sheriffs departments were during this entire ordeal. So once again, arrangements were made to send it back to Florida for repairs and a re-restoration. Months passed and it had been moved from the Amphicar welding/surgery center into the intensive care unit and was now convalescing on the proverbial road to recovery. The facial re-construction was a resounding success! A huge kudos to Hagerty Insurance who took over the claim so the shyster lawyers could be fired. Thankfully the next Texas delivery was uneventful."

I feel your pain. Dealt with many people like this when I worked and ran a business. Forwarding documents, emails, etc for them to hopefully read, interpret, understand and ask questions if necessary. We live in a world of skimmers. Anything past two sentences is typically not read. I tried to put the really important stuff in the very beginning which generally helped.

Do the same thing (also in PA) however I have a set of strong magnets with a felt covering glued to the back of the legal purple antique plate. I can get it on and off of the YOM plate quickly and it has never had an issue coming off while driving. Unfortunately I typically take the car out and forget to bring or put the antique plate on. Probably would be an interesting point of discussion with the officer.

Assuming "Amy" and "Mary" are your cars names sometimes it is best to keep the cars separated so they don't compare notes. Made a trip to Universal Tire yesterday as the 55 Pontiac "squash" was looking at the 67 WW's I just put on the Amphicar 6 months ago and wanted a new set since hers were 22 years old.

I will settle for a tie with Restorer32 as we both belong to a very small fraternity of head on collision survivors. Last year I had a new hip put in after 41 years due to this accident and I am sure Restorer32 is also still feeling some permanent aches and pains. Didn't seem to slow either of us down with the car hobby.

Was hit head on by a well drilling rig which drove me 135' under it until it finally stopped hitting an embankment. They covered me up but my hand twitched. Thankfully nobody was with me. The 66 Impala save my life. It was name Baretta after the TV show. 24 years old and spent 8 weeks in traction. Back in the day I used to brag to my friends I was the only one amongst us that never had a broken bone. Now I tell them I broke them all at once. Enjoy life as it can change quickly.

These are the upper and lower pivot pin bushings that go on the steering knuckle that attach to the outer control arm. Typically the metal bushing wears out. Rubber seals are in good condition. Those made in China are $274. Asking $220 for what you see on the picture. Will do both sides. PM me if interested.

Yep. Took me a few years for my 55 colors to grow on me especially the green. Looking over the 39 two-tone and 14 solid colors offered that year one has to wonder what they (and other brands) were thinking on some of them. Some I have never seen on a car. Pontiac was still adding colors a few months prior to the end of the 55 production year according to their monthly Craftsman Newsletters.

Having driven a 55 Pontiac for 25 years now and just turning it over to 79K original miles from my experience the 287 engine has been as reliable as anything I have ever owned. The engine has never been rebuilt or torn down and only valve cover, gaskets, etc have been replaced. Extremely quite to this day. From my understanding Pontiac used this block for decades and just kept boring it out as it had a lot of "meat" in it. It was also tested for over 3 million miles since they wanted to release it prior to 55 but GM wouldn't allow that so they had a lot of time to test.

I never understood this either. I asked him if I don't like it what are you going to do glue the hair back on. He doesn't bother with the mirror anymore.

If one doesn't make you feel quilty how does 37 make you feel.

According to my supplement for 1932 Oakland shop factory manual which states it includes specifications NOT included in the 1931 manual it is negative ground. "Battery connection the battery ground strap is between the negative terminal of the battery and the frame. Also there is a ground strap at the right rear engine mounting".

The "Odd Couple" at the 2018 Motorama. Have only ever shown these vehicles together a few times 10 years. CitiCar always gets more attention than the Amphicar.

Keeping busy catching up on projects as the list was long. Writing a few "looking back in time of the history and club" articles based on 60's / 70's / 80's old newsletters for the Amphicar clubs newsletter. Editors are always looking for articles. Good time to help them out. Brakes & rotors for 05 Bonneville, vette needs a throw-out bearing, took and emailed a bunch of engine compartment picture's of my 55 and sent them to a guy restoring a safari. Amphicar, trailer and tow vehicles need cleaned from our Florida swim in which was cut short due to the virus. Appears that the Citicar will be sold to the person I bought it from years ago go figure. Lots going on. Wife is in the house making us masks which should prove interesting.

Thanks Billy and John S for the info. Good to know. I discovered that the other unassembled kits I had I gave to fellow friends that owned 55's so all is well. Also thanks for the PM lump regarding my 55 and model.

Thanks for the heads up. Forgot all about eBay. Quit dealing with them years ago. So checking completed items I see a 55 Pontiac assembled / painted with the box sold for $50. A 55 Desoto unassembled with no box sold for $76. For sale prices are all over the place. I think I have another one of these around here somewhere.

So after reading this thread and posting my promo I painted to match my 55 above, I went digging around today and found another one. Not that I want to sell it but out of curiosity what would this be worth (ballpark). Been trying to organize things in the shop for the wife. On the frame it says Jo-Ann, General Motors Corporation, made in Michigan, USA. Thanks in advance.

Built many models growing up which probably help get me into the old car hobby. Been decades since building a model however a few years back I was fortunate to find a few 55 Pontiac unassembled promo models still in the sealed box. I decided to put one together and try and make it look like my real 55. Even have a cover for it so when the real one is covered the model is also. When friends visit the shop they get a chuckle. My wife thinks I'm nuts. Maybe she is right

Tragic indeed. Well respected. Great guy. The news of his passing made it clear down to Florida in a day where we are at a Amphicar meet. Spoke to Rick at Hershey where he had an old outboard boat motor for sale. I asked him if he was now switching over and vending boat parts which he said with a laugh he thought I could use it for the Amphicar so he brought it along. Also had a good sense of humor. Very sad to hear this news. Thoughts and prayers to the family.

Same experience here only 8 years ago with zero claims and excellent driving record. No to 72 Corvette, 76 Citicar and 67 Amphicar. Hagerty said yes to all with agreed values including full recovery on the Amphicar if sunk ($40 additional). They also just insured my 97 Chevy Centurion pickup with agreed value. Last year lady ran a stop sign damaging the Corvette and Hagerty could not of handled it any better dealing with her insurance company as the estimate was 50% low. Five vehicles total with agreed value for around $900.

Not prewar but a guy who was going to restore 60 plus cars which have now been sitting for over plus 30 years with half of them outside. I visited these last week. Most are in 4 and 5 condition. Parts are scattered everywhere and nothing is marked. Would take a year to figure out what is what. Fair amount of Buicks, some convertibles. Corvette is a 69 with a 427 and 390 HP. Young Amish guy bought the property which included everything and needs the buildings emptied. My friend is helping him out. Papers being signed for a June auction in York PA. Will post details when available.

Shifter handle on right is for 69 GTO (closed 4 plus a few other differences) and almost impossible to find one that the numbers are not wore down from use. Just tried to restore one with no luck from my brothers 69 judge (original owner) and judge #67 off the line.