Jim Bollman

A friend restored one and drove it for 3 years and sold it. As I recall the range of miles was closer to the low end even with new batteries and the speed was also on the low end unless you were going down a steep hill. It rattled a lot but was a lot of fun to play with.

I used PassPort last time. Not cheap but picked up on time and delivered a day earlier than estimated. I agree with ex98thdrill, stay away from brokers. I waited 3 months. The highlights: I spent the whole summer of 1990 waiting for my 1958 Willys FC170 pickup to be delivered from Montana to upstate New York. I made the mistake of hiring a local trucking company called World Wide Auto Shippers. Well, World Wide Auto Shippers turned out to be a truck broker and does not own a single truck. If you don't own a truck you have to wait till a trucker is passing through the area of the country where you need them. Montana is not on the way to anywhere. Seller stored for free for 2 months waiting for a truck. Seller had to move the truck 40 miles to a bigger town to get it picked up, it sat at another location outside of my control and the sellers for 2 weeks. Driver calls from a Oklahoma jail for bail, he thought I still owed on the delivery. His truck load of cars were in a police impound area. He wasn't licensed to be in Oklahoma. World Wide Auto Shippers never return calls. Finally found a home number. Told me it was on route several times. I would call the seller and he would assure me it wasn't. After another 2 weeks plus the truck was delivered 5 miles away (that was as close as he would come). Cracked side windows and scratched roof. The bright driver put a truck that is over 6 foot tall on the top front of the car carrier where it caught all the low limbs. Filled out papers, took pictures got estimates never collected a dime from "their insurance".

I have been with an independent agent for years. I have never had a problem with a claim and ever so often he checks the rates with a bunch of different companies and moves me if there is a better deal. He makes sure the coverage is comparable. The big win for me having a local independent is he has issued me a few days of insurance on several occasions to move a car or get one in my name (NY will not transfer ownership till you license it). He tells me to let him know if I have a problem and he will send the paperwork in and I will have to pay, otherwise he rips up the paperwork. Apparently he has 72 hours to send in the new policy.

I'm in the minority as a seller, and post feedback when payment is received. With only one exception when I didn't feel real good about the buyer. As far as I'm concerned when I have payment the buyer has done their part of the transaction. Maybe I have just been lucky but I have never had a problem. I see no reason to hold their feedback hostage. Jim...

A second benefit to keep the short door and extending the rails is you don't need to have it roll back as far on the ceiling, you can leave 1/2 the door on the wall above the door opening so the ceiling rails would only have to be about 4 foot long. My Dad has a door that goes straight up through a slot in the floor into the second floor so he didn't have to deal with the rails and springs in the main shop. The door runs in wooden groves and is pulled up with a chain sprocket arrangement with a motor. He use to have weights to counterbalance the door till one broke loose and came through the ceiling landing in front of him. He switched to springs then.

Here are a couple I know about first hand or was involved in. Not exactly a prank but a get even. My Ex brother inlaw is about the size of NFL lineman to set the picture. At the time he was farming and 4 city slicker hunters stopped by his house and asked if they could hunt in his woods. He said no, he had cattle in the woods. He watched as they went down the road a little ways parked and hiked back into his woods anyway. He went down and unthreaded all 4 valve steam (the little center part) and put the valve cap back on. A few hours later they had the nerve/guts to stop back at the house wanting to use the phone, because they had 4 flats. Now remember his size, he fills the door way. He told them no they could not use his phone just like they could not use his woods and handed them the valve steams and closed the door. The next one goes back to my Senior year of High School. We had a teacher that made subscribing and reading Time magazine a requirement for the course. I spread the word early in the year to save the Time magazines and we would figure out something to do with them the last day of school. Unfortunately he got wind we were up to something and he parked his VW at another teachers house (whose son was a year behind us and told us. One the fellows had a pickup and we nearly filled the back of the pickup with Time magazines and took them over to were the VW was parked. We had hoped to fill the inside but it was locked. Several of the bigger guys lifted the front off the ground so we could make a big pile under it so when it was let down the wheels were off the ground or nearly so. We then crumpled up and filled his hubcaps and stuff more in around the bumpers and piled the rest on top. As I recall he was a good sport and only made a passing remark about the magazines when we saw him at graduation. The last one for now happened at work a few years after I started. A fellow with a new car insisted on parking close to the building and straddle 2 spots so no one would ding his doors. When I go to work one morning I was fed up with his actions and squeezed my old beat up VW in as close as I could get on the drivers side, I was nearly inside the lines so there was room for someone to park next to me. In talking to a friend during the day he told me he had put his equally old and beat up Rambler wagon on the other side as close as he could get. He had to crawl out the tailgate because he squeezed in between 2 cars. We purposely worked a little late and walked out together. The guy was yelling at the guard at the door to do something, that he was completely blocked in. We walked right on by got in our cars and drove away. We talked to the guard the next day and he said he saw us pull away but didn't say anything and just let him rant and yell a bit longer and then offered to go see if he could figure anything out. Walked outside and there his car set all by itself. He never parked close to the building again. Having driven Crosleys and Metropolitans in High School and college I probably had more pulled on me than I pulled. Ok one more, that was suppose to be a prank on me. I was about to pull my Metro out of the wash bay at the local garage/hangout and a couple of big ex-football jocks picked up the back. I didn't say a word I just started the engine and asked them if they want me to put it in reverse. They carefully put it back on the ground.

I told the fellow what it was and he thanks you for solving the mystery. Says its sitting next to an Olds Rocket 88 that isn't as nice.

I knew you guys wouldn't let me down. I didn't have a clue till he said straight 8 then the hood looked like a Pontiac to me but had know idea what year or if I was even on the right track. Thanks, I'll pass it back to him.

A fellow out of the blue sent me these pictures today and asked if I could ID the car. He found it while trail running (??). I initially had no idea then he sent me another note and said it had a straight 8 which gave me an idea but I thought the experts might like a try at it.

I plan to hit a few more shows this year. When you look at the big picture of our hobby, the extra we spend on fuel is a pretty small part of the cost. As far as internet versus flea market. I like both and spend time on eBay, a few forums and a Craigs list most every day. I seldom go to a flea market looking for something specific, I go to find what I wasn't looking for, harder to do that on the net.

The problem with most ugly car or worst car lists is it is a matter of someone's opinion, and I often find than many of the cars on the list are ones I wouldn't mind owning. But then I collect Crosleys so we know what my opinions are worth.

My worst mistake was listening to my Father and buying a 1966 Mustang in 1968. I could have bout a 1963 Avanti for the same money and he said, "they don't make them any more why get something you can't get parts for". Granted I was getting rid of a 1962 Metropolitan that had been laid up for a couple of weeks a few months earlier waiting for brake parts, so he was probably right, since I needed dependability. Probably wouldn't have been as bad a deal accept driving a 66 Mustang in the rust belt does not have a happy ending. An Avanti would have tucked away somewhere when it was time to move on to the next daily driver.

I have played with GPS units off and on for years. First one required a laptop and was about as useful as the one Dave@Moon described. Used it on a couple of trips and put it on the shelf. It also was terribly slow connecting to satellites. My second one ran on my PDA with a small bluetooth GPS unit you tossed on the dash. I have used that one for 2 years and was pleased with it's mapping and directions (most of the time) but it crashed at the worst times and didn't always reconnect very fast if you turned it off. My new one (TomTom 1-XL), I have only had it for about a month so it has not been heavily tested yet but it looks like it will be a big improvement. Very sensitive, it connect to satellites if you sit by a window in the house. It is fast enough restarting that we will not feel the need to leave it on all the time. Battery is suppose to be good for 2 hours and can be plugged into the accessory DC plug (no cigar lighters anymore). A couple of of things I learned along the way: I picked a female voice since I'm use to the wife telling me where to go, I occasionally have to decide which female to listen to. The GPS is handy to give you an estimate of how much longer it will take to get there. Also good for finding restaurants, campgrounds, gas stations, motels, etc. Using Point of Interest files, manyh units allow you to add your own files. We always have paper maps along and have a rough idea where we are going, just nice to be reminded when to turn and a quick glance will verify road names you are driving by without looking for a sign. Several time while traveling with no time table we set the GPS to the shortest or no highway setting and just follow the directions. You see some interesting country and it has always got us there eventually. Don't try this pulling a trailer or with a big camper. Besides crashing at the wrong time the reason I replaced my old unit was maps can get old pretty fast and the company no longer supported my old PDA. Last Summer I listened to my wife, instead of the GPS going to Macungie PA and got off at the wrong exit and ended up in a new construction area. The GPS kept trying to help by telling me to turn on roads that didn't exist anymore. I found the solution by taking a turn into an older part of Allentown and then let it figure out how to get me to the Park in Macungie. Worked like a charm and came in on some city streets on the backside of the park. I bought mounts for each car I plan to use the GPS in so I can leave the mounts and move the GPS. I do find it useful when I'm forced to go into Rochester (big city for me) to places I haven't been. It helps find where I need to go and when I'm done I just hit the take me home button. But normally we don't take it along locally.

I thought I heard that Halon had been restricted or outlawed but kept seeing them available, not cheap but available. Did a Google search and they seem to be out there for aircraft and racing, didn't see any restrictions.

I have converted the museum list to a Point Of Interest file for my TomTom GPS. If anyone wants it here is a pointer to the file. The icon could be better, but it is recognizable. This is for the latest versions of TomTom that uses the .ov2 files If anyone with a different GPS wants a POI file I will attempt to convert the data with some software I have, just ask.

Here is a hot Link

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RVAnderson</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Anybody have experience with a Halon? I hear they are unequaled for extinguishing an underhood gasoline-fed blaze because you can spray through the radiator without opening the hood, and, being a gas, doesn't have to hit the fire directly to put it out. Further, there is no white-powder mess. I don't own one but would like to hear from someone that does and has used it. I also hear they're ghastly expensive compared to the powder types, but still a low price to pay for saving your car with minimal clean-up. </div></div> I own two but have never had to use them. I bought them after seeing a demo and was very impressed. The nice thing about them is they don't do the damage the powder does on engine fires. I have one in my shop along with a large powder type. The game plan is if there is time to reach the Halon, I'll use that, if not or it isn't enough grab the powder extinguisher. The second one rides in my truck most of the time. The demo that made me get out the check book was at a trade show. The sales man got in a phone booth size enclosure set a fairly large fire with him in it, he set off a small Halon canister off and the fire was out instantly and he only had to come his hair. He also showed a video of a mockup office with an automatic sensor, they tossed a gas filled bottle with a lite rag sticking out of it. Before it could completely explode it was out. A second video show a boat bilge fire put out before a fellow standing in the bilge was burnt. They are used in large computer rooms where other fire extinguishing methods can cause as much or more damage than a fire.

I started off with a shop/barn 50% bigger than the house. Up till this Winter the daily drivers have always stayed out (wife's is in car port) but decided I wanted the new to me tow vehicle to be inside since it was in such nice shape underneath. Since I also didn't want to leave the slide in camper and open trailer out for the Winter I stacked them and rented a spot for the Winter. First time in 25+ years that I had to rent space. Not sure if I will add another building or continue renting. Since it isn't secured storage it is only $200 for 6 months so it is hard to justify building other than the connivence since it is stored till Spring no matter what (other campers and boats around it). I have fluctuated between 3 and 5 collector cars (currently 3) but like Skyking I collect mostly small cars and they stack in pretty tight. I have decided to limit myself to one large vehicle for comfort trips and rotate that out of the collection as I find something I like better. The 2 Crosleys I have now are keepers and I'm thinking that I should add one more. Of course I have added a couple of old tractors over the years so they take space to. I keep telling my wife I'm trying to be good, if I build it will probably just be a 3 sided shed to give some protection for the trailer and camper. I know many of you use an enclosed trailer for extra car storage. Is there a down side to that? I have a neighbor that has a small building for a shop and keeps adding trailers when he needs more space, he is up to 3. No real-estate tax and if you decide to move you are already mostly packed.

novaman, not as an argument either way on names but I thought you may like to know I ran in to another novaman on a different forum. I thought for a minute that I might have found another of your hangouts and actually poked into the postings from that novaman and discovered he was from a different part of the country (maybe world, I don't remember now CRS again).

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: oldcarfudd</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Lots of European cars had flip-out turn signals. I believe even Rolls Royce had them. They were called "trafficators". Gil Fitzhugh, Morristown, NJ </div></div> My wife always called them mox nix sticks. They had a VW with them on when her Father was stationed in Germany. Not knowing any German I didn't know what it meant so I just Googled it and found this interesting explanation. <span style="font-style: italic">They were called "mox nix" sticks as many Germans(and some Americans) would pull up the wrong stick on a turn or even both sticks, hence mox nix, that is, "makes no difference" sticks.</span>

I use my real name on many forums that I am active on. I have not seen any difference in spam and unwanted eMails. I agree with Paul.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Shop Rat</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Propellers. </div></div> See, I told you guys that some cars came with propellers. And ya'll thought I was just drunk on eggnog. </div></div> The Super models of Crosley in 1951-52 had propellers to but they were not optional and they were on the other end. Some Crosley people claim if you oil them well you can get them spinning fast enough to give you a boost going up hill.

I thought you wanted odd. The Crosley FarmOroad had the following list of options available and a few more. Snow Plow Post Hole Digger Front Mount Chopper Mower Skis for winter use on front wheels Disk Harrow Hay Rake Gang Reel Mower Cultivator Dirt Plow Sickle Mower Front and Rear Power Take Off Dump Box (Hydraulic) Pickup Box Dual Wheels Spring Locks Hydraulic Draw-Bar Rear Chain Drive Draw-Bar Front Pictures of some of these from a few years ago at the Crosley Nationals. http://crosleyautoclub.com/04Nationals/Saturday/index.html The fellow that owns the collection in the URL has managed to rig it so he can drive on the show with all the accessories even though most are not intend to use when the others are attached.

I'll take a tank of fuel oil for the shop furnace. Just can't bring myself to call for a delivery. Been using a space heater. Just occurred to me maybe a coal furnace would be better if I buy much more stuff.

Looks good. How about adding: Crosley Crofton Jeep CJ3 Studebaker Champ Ford F1 Ford F2 Ford F3 Thanks