Matt Harwood

I should point out that this is not necessarily a scam, per se. I don't much like the methodology he's using by soliciting guys selling their cars on Hemmings and eBay, but my services are also $199. For that, I take care of the sale of the car, advertising, photography, logistics, title work, and I'm definitely not scamming anyone. Of course, the cars come to my facility, I have a copy of the title with data that matches the car and the owner, the numbers line up, and I'm authorized to sell the car without secondary negotiations with the seller. That's essentially what $199 buys you at my shop. Drop it off, give me $199, and collect a check a few weeks later if everything goes well. There are other dealers/brokers on this board who do much the same thing and they are well-respected. Not necessarily a scam. That said, I don't solicit sellers to consign their cars, but there are plenty of outfits who do. There are also plenty of consignment dealers who will consign your car without having ever seen it (in fact, one of the largest Full Classic car brokers in the business sells almost all of his cars without ever having seen or touched them himself). There are guys who buy ads in bulk and just take your photos and description and spread them around the internet, which I think is of dubious value, but there's no shortage of those fellows. I think not having first-hand knowledge of a car can cause all sorts of headaches for buyer, seller, and dealer, but it's certainly not unique or scammy. I won't personally sell a car I haven't seen, touched, and driven, but then again, I don't have complaints or call-backs on the cars I sell. That's for purely selfish reasons--I just don't want to deal with irate buyers. I don't know the details of this particular person, but I did just want to point out that having professional [sic] assistance selling your car isn't necessarily a bad thing nor an unsavory practice that should always be suspect.

Here's a similar '24 opera coupe I had a few years ago and I thought it looked rather handsome on blackwalls.

Note that this car does not have overdrive. Not an Amos Minter restoration, Don, but every bit as nice. I just can't stop looking at this car. Someone spent money all out of proportion to what it is to make it almost perfect (and you know that's not a word I throw around lightly).

I have never seen the movies, but my 13-year-old son informs me that "Edward Cullen" is the vampire that sparkles in the "Twilight" vampire movies.

That's a big negatory on the titanium bolts, good buddy. Close, but no cigar The problem here is that the head takes a 7/16 wrench while the others took a 3/8. That extra 1/16 was just enough to make it impossible to fit a wrench in there. The bolt I need for this application simply does not exist and I have spent more than $40 just on bolts to prove it. So I figured I'd try Spinnyhill's suggestion of making a sleeve of sorts to move the head of a longer bolt to the outside of the header tube. Unfortunately, after going to the metal store and buying some 3/8 thin-wall round tubing and some longer stainless bolts, I realized that if there's no clearance for a bolt head, there's no clearance for a tube, and with the intake in place, no place for the bolt head. Great idea, but it sadly won't work. Another $30 wasted. Dang. That left just one option: beat the hell out of the tube with a hammer. So I did. And eventually there was enough clearance to tighten that titanium bolt using an open-ended 7/16 wrench. I think I might do a little more hammering just to make it a little easier to install the whole thing (remember, I'm doing this mock-up on an engine on a stand; it's going to be ten times harder to do this inside the engine bay). Ultimately I was able to make it fit and install all the hardware, spacers, gaskets, and various other parts in their correct places. Finally able to mount all the manifolds and secure them using the hardware that I'll be using in the final installation. I made some notes to help me get it right when installing it inside the car because I discovered the order of operations is critical to making it all fit. I also wanted to mock up the carburetors just to make sure they fit properly and to work on details like the extra stove pipe for the rear carburetor's choke as well as determining what hardware I'll need to mount both carburetors on the intake manifold. As you'll recall, I plan to use two front carburetors and run them in parallel rather than sequentially. That means a different linkage, provisions for two choke mechanisms, and making a few other changes that I'll show below. Fortunately, I have a large cache of spare 1941 Buick parts, including this rather scruffy dual carb setup from a small series engine. I bought it to install on my '41 Super convertible, but I [very regrettably] sold that car a few months ago so I don't really need it. I figured I'd scavenge a few parts from it, including the front carb (a Stromberg like the Limited) and the flapper valve that lives under the rear carburetor. I used a second Stromberg I already had sitting on the shelf so I have two front carbs for my mock-up, I removed the long mounting studs for the air cleaner assembly, plus the air cleaner assembly itself (they're identical for large and small series). I have about a half-dozen air cleaners, but this one was sitting there already so I used it even though it's pretty rusty. '41 Buick guys will note that this air cleaner does not have provisions for the PCV tube from the valve cover to the air cleaner, suggesting that it's from a late production car. Spare dual carb setup donated its flapper valve for the rear carb. Pretty rusty inside and the flapper is frozen, but that doesn't matter for my purposes. I also cribbed the long mounting studs for the air cleaner assembly and the front carburetor just for mock-up purposes. Just a small digression to show how the stove pipe for the choke is configured on the original manifolds. You may recall when I was first fabricating the headers that I added a second stove pipe to feed exhaust heat to the rear carb. This is what it looks like on the original. I may re-use the stove pipe itself, although I have two new ones that I bought from CARS so that might be the better choice. Note that the stove pipe passes through the manifold and doesn't actually send exhaust gasses into the choke mechanism, just heated air. My setup should do roughly the same thing. My chokes might be a little slower to react, but it shouldn't be a problem. I threw the flapper valve in the sandblast cabinet to clean it up a bit, then removed the throttle plates and shaft. With the stock setup, the rear carb only comes online during large throttle openings, which pulls the flapper valve open--in this way, the rear carb stays offline until needed (it doesn't have an idle circuit or a choke). My setup will have both carburetors flowing all the time so there's no need for the flapper. However, the rear carb sits higher than the front (the engine slopes downward towards the rear) so keeping the housing as a spacer ensures everything lines up correctly once it's mounted on the engine. My only concern is how to close up the shaft holes. I don't want to braze them since this is just a pot-metal casting and I don't want to put too much heat into it. I'm thinking maybe some epoxy putty, although I worry about it coming loose and getting sucked into the engine. Any suggestions? Then I mounted all the various parts on the intake manifold. I have new phenolic spacers from Bob's Automobilia, new gaskets, and I'll get some new mounting studs for the carburetors. I'll probably re-use the long air cleaner studs that are already on the Limited since they're in far better shape than these, but they make it easy to mock everything up. I ran out of time today but I'll get the stove pipes in place and maybe mock up the linkage, although it'll probably be easier to do it in the car. I'll also remove the starter switch from both carbs since my car doesn't use the foot pedal starter system (I had it hooked up but found that the car starts almost instantly with the throttle closed so I went back to a push-button under the dash). I may keep the front one in place just in case, but we'll see how much room there is for the stove pipe. It should technically fit like stock. I'll decide later. I guess with the intake manifold, carbs, and air cleaner all in place, the deformed header tube won't be terribly noticeable. I can live with it. Next steps will be mocking up the chokes, gathering the carburetor mounting studs and other hardware that I need, and rebuilding one of these spare Strombergs to act as the rear carb. Then we take the car apart, install it all under the hood, and start fabricating the exhaust system. I'm going to use stainless just because I don't want to do it again. I've also decided to use 2.25-inch tubing rather than 2.5-inch simply for clearance purposes--I don't think this particular engine flows enough air volume that it will matter and it's still a significant step up over the stock 2-inch exhaust system (in fact, the step from 2.0 to 2.25 inches provides more flow improvement than the step from 2.25 to 2.5). I'll have to measure how much room I have under there for a GIANT muffler to keep it nice and quiet, then have that custom made by one of the big exhaust shops. I'll use an original-style round muffler, just the biggest one that will fit. And then I'll be done with this project. I'm sure it will be just that easy, right? LOL!

It has been my experience that giving a buyer all the information and photos up front saves a lot of time and aggravation from the tire-kickers, curiosity seekers, and photo collectors that inevitably show up. It's always my goal to have the only question someone asks be, "How soon can I have it?" You'll quickly tire of E-mails that say, "Can I see photos of the engine and interior?" especially when those guys see the photos and then vanish forever. Holding back and hoping for someone to contact you is probably going to be frustrating because you'll have 50-60 non-buyers to wade through to find your buyer. Don't assume that you can "reel them in" once you start a conversation. Most potential suitors are nothing more than dreamers or, if this were eBay, what I call "sport bidders." They talk a good game, but ultimately their pockets are turned out and they just wanted to see how desperate you are. Good luck, I love the 120s. I think they're the best-driving of all Packards.

Just as a side note, synthetic oils do not erode seals. Synthetic oil molecules are smaller than conventional oil molecules and will therefore find their way into openings through which conventional oil molecules won't fit. Switching back to conventional oil will probably reduce or stop the leak if it wasn't there before the switch to synthetic. This is why synthetic oil works better as a lubricant but this can be a side-effect on older cars with tired gaskets. The synthetic oil is not hurting your seals and gaskets. A common myth, but a myth nonetheless. PS: A transmission shop telling you that changing the fluid will destroy your transmission is probably trying to tell you they don't want to do the job. That is also 100% BS. If old fluid isn't damaging the transmission, new fluid won't, either. What, like the old fluid is so thick and solid that it's the only thing holding it all together? Bah. Hope this helps.

Already asked and answered elsewhere. Those are my photos and description on a car that I sold to an overseas buyer seven or eight years ago. It's bogus. Coincidentally, I found an auction for a 1941 Lincoln limousine that also uses my photos and description as a "you might also be interested in..." link. Reported both auctions.

I figured the moderators and club finally got tired of my sh*t and banned me. Thanks to all who keep all the plates spinning all the time.

Those are my photos of a car I sold perhaps seven or eight years ago to an overseas buyer. You'll note they even cribbed parts of my write-up which includes mention of my 1929 Cadillac. My opinion is that this auction is not legit. http://www.vintagemotorcarsusa.com/vehicles/details_new.php?id=123

Now THAT is how you hobby. Nice!

With shipping, you always get what you pay for. We have an excellent broker we work with who gets us good equipment, good drivers with good ratings, and guys who show up when they say they will. It also costs about 20% extra to get all that. About 30% of the time, our buyers decide they can do their own transport. They go on uship.com or something like that and put in an offer of $600 on a job we told them would cost $1200. The car sits. And sits. And sits. We will happily store for 30 days free of charge, but after that, it's $125/day, and we hit it often when people book their own shipping. Just last week we had this abortion of a rig show up to try to haul a 1967 Lincoln to its new owner in the snow, who was trying to do it on the cheap. No idea how they expected to get a giant Lincoln on there with a huge rear overhangs They had 2x8s for ramps. Actually, two different trucks showed up at the same time, one at the correct address up the street where the car was stored and this one that just showed up in our parking lot hoping to grab the car. So we had two drivers fighting over the car. Who is supposed to take it? Not my problem. First guy got it because he showed up at the right address. Goodbye. Don't know if he was supposed to be the guy to take it, but he was at the right address first, so there it is. Not my problem. Cheap shipping gives you headaches. Spend the extra few hundred bucks for a reputable shipper with an enclosed truck. You won't regret it, although you'll second-guess yourself because nothing will go wrong and start thinking you could have gotten it cheaper. Wrong. The reason nothing went wrong is BECAUSE you spent extra. It is never a mistake.

Closer, I think. I'm going on 35-year-old memories at this point, but I really remember it being so much lower and sleeker than our frumpy '25 Buick and with wider tires than those shown above. It was past the "spindly" look that so many '20s cars had with those skinny tires. However, I also know it wasn't as sleek-looking as Bob Jensen's 1928 443 phaeton with dual rear spares (now in the late Bill Snyder's collection). It wasn't quite this new, although I've always been madly in love with this red car, too: Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but I just recall being so much more impressed with that long, low gray phaeton than almost anything else on those tours. I took this photo at the 2016 Grand Classic in Salem, OH, and I think this is pretty close to how it looked, although this is definitely not the car. I note that the top matches the one above, so perhaps I was mistaken in how "chopped" it looked relative to some of the others. Memory is funny that way...

So if it's not some goofball Chevaubrolet with a small block V8, what the hell happened to it?

Agree that it's not really fair for you to ask the seller to sit on the car while you do your homework. You should do that before you engage in the purchase process, not in the middle. It's infuriating to me to have guys on eBay hit "Buy It Now" on one of my auctions, not because they want the car at that price but simply to stop the auction so they can buy themselves some time to negotiate and haggle and investigate the car and prevent anyone else from buying it. They give me $1000 via Paypal for the down payment when they hit the button, I give them a week to consummate the deal, but most of the time when we can't come to an agreement, they complain to Paypal and get their money back. It's incredibly frustrating and costs me a lot of money--don't be that guy. I agree with the advice above. Find someone knowledgeable in a club near the car who can go look at it or else go see it yourself and be prepared to buy on the spot. If you have trust issues with the seller, then eyes on the scene is the only way to be sure it's what you want. I will say that most sellers appear to be pretty honest about the cars they're selling but the problem is that they often lack real knowledge. That doesn't really change the end result, but I don't think you have to worry about outright fraud, just ignorance, and if you're dealing with someone with less knowledge than you, it's often possible to guide them to examining things for you if you tell them what to look for or what photos you want taken. Asking them to offer an opinion isn't as helpful as directing them to supply the exact information you want. Most will do it, although, as I said, not because you put the brakes on the transaction in the middle. Be up front and don't treat them as a crook until they have given you evidence that they are a crook (at which point you will walk away anyway). Treat the seller like he's trustworthy until he proves he isn't. Treat him like he knows less than you and give him guidance to the information you need to make a decision. And as someone pointed out, if the car is junk, that $1000 plane ride will be the best money you ever spent...

Um, no. That's not how supply and demand works. In fact, that's the exact opposite of how it works. Scarcity drives up prices as buyers compete to control finite resources. A surplus supply, or reduced demand for any given item, deflates prices as sellers lower prices to entice buyers to purchase goods that are in excess supply. It has been that way since the first guy had something that two other guys wanted. Example: A lot fewer people want Model Ts today than in the 1960s. By your theory, since fewer people want them prices should be going up. Obviously that is not the case. The market is not flooded with $100,000 Model Ts that nobody wants.

And the best news regarding the widespread adoption of electric cars is... more gas for our old cars! Plus, as a side benefit, it will be CHEAP! What's the downside?

1905: I wonder what the range of those "oto-mobiles" are? Gasoline? What the heck is that? I have to get it at some special store? That's nuts. I can just get on my horse and go as far as I want and I don't even have to worry about finding "gasoline." And grass and water are free! Why would I pay for transportation? Imagine running out of gas somewhere in the middle of nowhere? What idiots! Why should I try anything new when the horse works just fine for all our needs? I doubt the world will ever change, why should I bother? Yeah, I think I'm just going to stick with my horse. No way those idiots and their strange newfangled oto-mobiles will ever know more than I.

Have a look at how my awesome wife repaired the water pump on my 1935 Lincoln:

The first photo looks like the mid-linkage pivot, perhaps one that would attach to something that was already in place on the car. The second photo looks like the bracket that attaches to the steering arm.

Very similar, but the one we toured with was beautifully restored and I think the wheels were also gray. And for some reason, I seem to recall the top was lower. We had our '25 Buick on the tour and that Packard was like a foot lower parked side-by-side. It was gorgeous. It might have been one or two years newer than the one in your photo? Dang, I can't remember, I was just a little kid at the time. Thanks for the photo!

The part sticking out is just a cover over the actual crank stub--it should be removable. There is (hopefully) a wrench under the seat or in the trunk (if equipped) that should fit on the stub once you remove the cover, and that will allow you to turn it over by hand. It is going to be VERY tough to turn, but if it turns, that's good news. I would remove all eight plugs, dribble a bit of your favorite penetrating oil in there (ATF, Marvel Mystery Oil, motor oil, whatever), and gradually try to turn it and see if it moves. By removing the plugs you won't have compression fighting you. Once you're sure it turns safely (try to do a few revolutions just to make sure all is good internally) then you can probably move on to putting gas in it and trying to get it to fire. Make sure there's clean oil in the pan (wouldn't hurt to drop it and make sure the pick-up isn't clogged--messy job but not difficult). Put in a fresh battery with a full charge and see if it will fire. It will smoke and belch and run poorly for a while as that penetrating oil burns off and you will likely have to clean the plugs after the first fire (or during, if it doesn't light off). Gaskets are available from several sources, with most coming directly from Olson's Gaskets, who are on the web, but it's usually best to call and talk to someone to get what you need. There are others here who will chime in with additional suggestions. The important thing is to take your time and don't rush these first steps. If anything seems amiss, the time to fix it is before you try to fire it, not after. It'll probably take quite a bit of work to get it 100% healthy, but if you start off on the right foot, the rest is easier and more rewarding. Good luck and that's a great-looking car!

The raised floor platform and recessed foot wells, not to mention all those levers on the "transmission tunnel" suggest something unusual is going on under the skin. Wish they had given us a look under the hood. I can't imagine anyone dropping that kind of dough without knowing what, exactly, is making it go.

*SOLD* Until this beautiful convertible rolled into my shop, I had never seen one of these in person before. About 2500 were built in 1946 and 1947 (a few '47s were reserialzed and sold in 1948) but most experts seem to agree that fewer than 100 remain today. Like all wood-bodied vehicles, the attrition rate is obviously quite high. This one is one of the finest in existence, with just 146 miles on a comprehensive, show-quality, body-off restoration. It has been in long-term ownership for more than two decades in a significant collection where no expense was spare to make it exceptional. The wood, the bodywork, and all the details are extremely well done and probably better than new. The color is called Maize Yellow, and it looks a lot like Tacoma Tan to my eye. It's handsome, particularly against the wooden bodywork. The light-colored maple framing of the bodywork is original wood; the mahogany panels were replaced during the restoration. Obviously the bodywork is bespoke on the Sportsman, including the rear fenders which are slightly narrower due to the wider rear deck. The doors fit beautifully while the deck lid needs a little extra pressure to close--not significant and it'll probably relax in the spring when the weather warms up. It also wears accessory bumper ends, spotlight, and fog lights. The red leather interior was Ford's top-of-the-line and everything was standard, including power windows at all four corners. Obviously everything is new and it all works: gauges, radio, clock, and we just serviced the windows and top so they work properly as well. Floors are Ford's usual rubber mats with carpeted inserts and the dash has lovely woodgraining that looks great, although it has a lot of competition. You'll also note this car has a factory-installed Columbia 2-speed rear axle, which has a neat little switch built into the dash. The top has a matching black canvas boot and the trunk is correctly finished with a rubber mat, cardboard panels, and a matching spare tire. The powertrain is standard Ford: 239 cubic inch flathead V8. Why mess with success? This one starts almost instantly every time with just a little choke, idles smoothly, and pulls the handsome woody around with genuine zeal. I love flatheads because they always feel frisky and energetic, and this is no exception despite the wood body being a little heavier than the steel convertibles. It's correctly detailed in Ford Blue, and all the little stuff is right: wiring harness, hoses, clamps, and even the original bakelite coil. The transmission shifts beautifully with none of the usual clutch chatter, even in reverse (typical of Fords of this vintage) and the undercarriage is detailed and very correct. Due to the weather, I have not been able to test the Columbia at highway speeds, but given the quality and functionality of the rest of the car, I have no concerns. Painted steel wheels wear correct Firestone wide whites that still have the little red 'F' on their faces. A car identical to this just sold at RM Scottsdale for $190,000 and it wasn't this nice. They're down from their peak where they were pulling close to $300K, but they're still the most desirable flathead Fords of all. With an exceptional restoration, full functionality, and a show-stopping presentation, this is the best available. Price is $219,900. What a car! Thanks for looking!

*SOLD* First, some of you may recognize this car, which comes from the collection of one of our fellow board members. If you know the car or the man, you already know both are exceptional. But I would also ask that you refrain from naming names because privacy is one of things my clients pay me to preserve. Thanks! Now about this stunning Ford. Someone might have ordered this car in 1957 because they wanted a muscle car but muscle cars hadn't been invented yet. It is uncompromising in its brutality, featuring a code A Raven Black exterior, the least expensive (but also lightest and stiffest) body style, and zero options save for the dual quad Thunderbird Special under the hood. Oh, and it has been restored to be the very best in the world--this is a true #1 quality car in every possible way. It just won its AACA Senior National first prize award in 2018 so it is extremely fresh and very accurately done. No Ford in 1957 had paint this deep, and as you can see in the reflections, the bodywork underneath is nearly flawless, and I only say "nearly" because someone, someday might find a flaw--I have not. The chrome and stainless was all restored to show standards as well, surely better than new, and it is so carefully assembled that the doors swing closed on their own with the exact amount of force required to latch them properly, no more, no less. The basic interior is also new and was recently upgraded with a cool vinyl slip cover for the front seat, just in case you want to drive it. The upholstery is correct and as a no-frills 300, the floors are covered in rubber. All the gauges are fully operational and the radio works, and that seems to be the lone option in the car aside from the motor. The trunk is detailed with a correct mat and a matching spare tire with jack assembly. If you look at the data tag you will see that this car came with a 312 cubic inch V8 from the factory, not an inline-6 like most of its siblings. The dual Holley 4-barrel carburetors, the linkage, the intake, and all the other parts are correct and probably worth $6-8000 all by themselves. The engine bay is highly detailed, including a reproduction battery, yellow top coil, and a variety of inspection markings and tags. It starts quickly and easily and runs great, although the idle is a little fussy and we're trying to tune that a bit better. It has a 3-speed manual, which is the only proper choice, and manual steering and brakes are part of the package. The chassis is exceptionally well detailed and shows almost zero signs of use, although it does have a few test and tune miles on it. Everything is new, it tracks straight, shifts cleanly, and stops true. Painted steel wheels, dog dish hubcaps, and blackwall bias-ply tires complete the street-brawler look. This is a KILLER car. It's big, it's black, and it's bad. It has swagger and a nasty attitude. It's also gorgeous and ready to compete at any level. If you drive it, I suspect that you'll find that it's more than a handful for a lot of fast cars and would probably put the hurt on, say, Chevy's Black Widows. I LOVE this car. It is everything it appears to be and more, and when you show up driving this car, you are unquestionably The Man. It's $59,900, but before you start to say that's too much money for a 1957 Ford 300, remember that's about half the cost to make it look like this, never mind the cost of buying the car. There's enough testosterone in this car to grow hair on a bowling ball. Are you up to it? Thanks for looking. Punk.