Matt Harwood

OK, here it is guys: the mythical starter collectable with a bargain-basement price, a high-quality restoration, and a ton of fun built right in. There are no excuses with this lovely 1940 Dodge because someone clearly spent a pile of money all out of proportion to its actual value. Some of you might look at the asking price--which, to my eye is shockingly reasonable--and say it's above the price guides, but I bet those are the same people who said that 1963 Thunderbird hardtop I sold for $26,000 was crazy over-priced, too. Sometimes, quality matters and this little car will likely out-shine garden-variety vehicles and smash the price guides. Go look around--I dare you to find a nicer $18,000 car anywhere. I'll wait... In the meantime, have a look at the shiny black bodywork on this Dodge DeLuxe. Shiny, straight, smooth, and clean. There are no ripples or waves, all four doors fit beautifully and slam with that solid sound only old cars offer, and the whole thing looks a lot more upscale than, say, a comparable 1940 Ford might. The restoration is probably 5 or 6 years old and I have no idea how many miles might be on it, but it can't be very many. There are almost no signs of use and if there's any possible complaint, it's that the painted red areas on the trim were kind of amateurishly done and could be tightened up a bit. On the other hand, you need to be about two feet away to even notice, so maybe it's a wash. All the chrome was restored, including the grille, which probably cost as much as 6 months of car payments on a new Chevy, and the gorgeous cloisonne emblems seem to glow from within. The fog lights work as turn signals, which is a nice safety upgrade, and it sports accessory bumper guards that also double as license plate brackets up front. The interior was also beautifully restored. The seats are a handsome tan and black striped broadcloth that's probably pretty close to what it had original (I'm not an expert, so I can't say for sure, but it looks period-correct). Underneath, the stuffing is firm and comfortable, so the original springs and padding were also attended to when it was reupholstered. There are new carpets on the floors, simple door panels, and a taut headliner overhead. All the window garnish moldings and the dash were restored and woodgrained, giving the bargain-basement Dodge a very upscale look inside, and everyone who has looked at it has expressed surprise that a low-cost car would have this much elegance on board. The gauges all work, although the speedo looks original and is a little sluggish when you first start driving, but eventually it gets with the program, too. The optional AM radio also seems to work, although all I can pull in is static, and both the wipers and the heater are functioning too. Yes, everything works. On an $18,000 car. That's 76 years old. Believe it. The trunk is outfitted with correct side cards, although the carpeted floor isn't quite the way the factory did it. It does have a full-sized spare that's never been used, though, which is nice. Chrysler's rugged little 218 cubic inch inline-six has modest specifications on paper, but I bet it'll run pretty close to a V8 Ford in any way that matters. It starts easily although it's grumpy when it's cold, but once it's warmed up, it's a very willing little machine. Since the weather is dry here in Cleveland, I drove it up and down the street a few times at about 45-50 MPH and it's peppy and fun to drive. The engine bay is totally stock and nicely finished to correct specs. A generator still makes the electricity and there's an oil bath air cleaner up top. The wiring harness was new when it was restored, too. The 3-speed manual transmission shifts well and it's pretty safe on the road thanks to hydraulic brakes that are better than most of the era. Handling is confident, which is why I like these '40s Mopars so much, because it just feels agile and tossable without being rough. Flashy red wheels with trim rings and hubcaps certainly help dress it up, and it's got a set of BFG Silvertown wide whites which, for some reason, someone has used paint to brighten up. I'm guessing they turned brown like mine and someone wanted to fix them up a bit and that might be the one area this car could use some touch-up. It's a little sloppy. The car also includes a set of restored fender skirts, mounting hardware, and an exterior sun visor (which explains the Trafficator on the dash). We're asking $17,900. Yep, $17,900. I understand that it's "just" a Dodge 4-door sedan, but I will wager that it might just be the nicest of its kind to be found anywhere. For those of you shopping price and price alone, well, move on--there's some junk you can buy for pennies on the dollar somewhere out there and let it sit in your garage until you get around to it. But if you appreciate quality and don't feel like restoring a car yourself or suffering through someone else's botched work, you won't find a better starter collectable than this little Dodge. Thanks for reading!

The octane won't hurt anything, but I've found that old cars run better on the cheap stuff, ethanol or no ethanol. The low-voltage ignition systems used in early cars struggle to ignite even 87 octane (my 1941 Buick owner's manual says to use 71 octane for best results), so the high-octane stuff makes it even harder, and it often seems that the car is running rich even when it's not, simply because of incomplete combustion. In short, you're not doing any harm, but I bet the car will run better on low-octane stuff. If you don't store it for long periods with ethanol in it, you probably won't see and deleterious effects from its presence. And if you've rebuilt the carburetor and/or replaced fuel lines within the past, oh, 10 years or so, you probably already have ethanol-resistant materials installed.

We had a '63 Riv with the gauges in the ash tray. Car is long gone, so I can't tell you exactly how it was done, but it looks like they made an insert to replace the entire ashtray. Photos attached.

SOLD. Thank you.

SOLD. Thank you.

SOLD. Thank you.

SOLD. Thank you.

I may be showing my inexperience in the upholstery department, but that first one doesn't look awful to me. I expected much, much worse. I've seen several cars where it was too deep like that, but it's often hard to say what's authentic so I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt. Heck, look at this OEM awfulness: Or this example, which makes my butt sore just looking at it:

Being a good ambassador just like that is the very best thing any of us can do for the hobby. I, too, have had that conversation, but I'm not positive that there's a connection to what is seen on TV and the under-informed public. I think most folks just assume a "collector" car is an expensive car. Everyone thought we were rich when we had a Model A Ford sitting in the driveway when I was a kid.

It's got a sidemount, which I think is even cooler. One sidemount has a functional look that I like a lot.

How many people want to spend prime time TV hours watching geezers buy a tired 1967 Chevy Biscayne sitting on three different kinds of tires and with a grungy 327 under the hood? About zero sounds right to me. It isn't the TV station or auction company's job to promote parts of the hobby that don't make any money for them. If there was a thriving market to watch people buy and sell low-grade old cars on the cheap, we'd see such a show and auctions like that would take place all over the country. I know what my margin is on a $5000 beater and it wouldn't even buy a nice lunch at Appleby's. Why are we surprised that companies designed first and foremost to make money aren't interested in giving their services away to satisfy a tiny minority of the hobby who, for reasons I can't understand, seem to hate nice cars? Prices on TV aren't scaring anyone away. If someone wants to be in the hobby, they see what they like, they look it up on the internet, and they quickly learn with the going rate for such a machine is. They also see alternatives and start building their knowledge. Nobody's sitting around saying, "Gee, I wish I had a hobby. I know! I'll get an old car. I like cars a lot!" [Clicks on Barrett-Jackson.] "Crap, looks like the only cars available are perfect, expensive cars out of my range. Guess I'll collect go stamps instead." Did you get into the hobby because it was cheap, or because you loved cars? The love always comes first and won't be denied by rational thoughts about prices, or it's not a hobby at all... Come ON, guys, you know better. It ain't 1962 anymore, Model As aren't $25 from the old farmer up the road, and there are still plenty of affordable cars that people love but we don't need to see on TV. Go watch that idiotic show in Texas with the dipstick with the Kiss my Ash shirt, the old lady, and her fat son who fight over cars at the local low-rent auction. Those are cheap old cars and they show them fixing them up (Hey Larry! I need more bondo!), but I'd argue shows like that do a lot more damage to the hobby's image with young people than seeing nice cars sell to an eager crowd at an exciting auction.

Gear Vendors overdrive. Overdrive totally transformed my '29. Having driven other period cars with high-speed gears, they're pretty soft off the line and it takes a lot of clutch work to get it rolling and hills can be a challenge. Overdrive. No question. Do it.

My experience probably isn't typical, but I have bought and sold at auction several times. Not many, but occasionally. I go to several auctions a year with the idea to buy cars to re-sell, so I look for below-market pricing or interesting machinery that I can't get elsewhere. I'll also admit that I buy what I like in case I'm stuck with it for a while, at least I can enjoy it. This probably makes me different from a lot of enthusiasts who simply buy because they want a particular car, but it illuminates the fact that there are bargains at every auction if you're paying attention. I don't consider myself a rich fool with more money than brains, I have no desire to be on TV, and I don't drink, yet I still buy at auction when the price is right for me. I do my homework ahead of time, I identify the car(s) I want, and I inspect them as carefully as possible given the conditions of an auction environment (no test drive, no starting the engine, no checking accessories, no putting it on a lift). There's a bit of risk there, which is why I don't do it often, but I also trust my instincts as I'm sure many of you do. Selling at auction? Always a pleasure. I don't like doing it because I can't control the end result and I have to share my cut with the auction house, but it's effective. I will also admit that auctions are where I send my turds, and I guarantee I'm not the only one who does that. If I'm not willing to put my name on it, to auction it goes for all the reasons I mentioned above that were demerits as a buyer. Caveat emptor. There seems to be a lot of resentment towards auctions (and people who make money selling collector cars), and I don't understand that. I know it's a hobby, but the Lionel train dealer gets paid, too. Auctions are outrageously expensive to promote properly and the end result is far from certain. It's more than just setting up a tent and having a guy start jabbering. There are small auctions where you can buy pure junk, and their overhead is probably pretty reasonable. If you like junk, maybe those auctions are right and you won't hate them because they don't make a lot of money. But if you want quality cars, and you expect the auction house to provide some kind of security that the cars have been vetted, or if you're a seller and you want top dollar, well, then paying to play is what it takes. You can't have it both ways. To some the fees seem outrageous (and yes, I think the "buyer's premium" is crap) but you can't argue the efficacy of Barrett-Jackson with their no-reserve policy. The cars get sold and because they are the biggest and get the most cars, well, the buyers with the money show up. You're paying for that reputation and that kind of pull as well. RM vets the cars very carefully, so you are pretty much assured of quality. Mecum? Enjoy your high-volume trash unless you're really on top of your game. You guys make the mistake of thinking that the AACA and its members represents a majority of the hobby. We don't. There are millions of enthusiasts and millions of cars. Being unhappy that people like (and are willing to pay for) things that aren't to your particular taste is kind of crazy, no? You don't hear the guys on the hot rod message boards talking about how stupid we are for buying stock Model As...

I have a '41 Cadillac 60 Special available. Black with gray cloth interior. It's getting a new interior as we speak, already has new brakes, paint was done 15 years ago but it was never outside so it still looks great. Best driving 1941 Cadillac I've ever had (I think I've had four of them, maybe five, I can't recall). Not perfect, but tour-grade and you can improve the details along the way. Hydra-Matic car, so it cruises at 65 MPH effortlessly. $34,900. I might also be willing to sell the '41 Buick Limited limousine in the photos, but you'll have to talk me into it because I really like it. Call me if you are interested.

Actually, that's probably a case where there's a "tail" on the auction company's contract. They have a bunch of time and money invested in the marketing of the car, they will usually specify that they have the exclusive right to sell the car for some period of time following the auction (usually 90 days). They don't own it, but they still have it on consignment even after the auction has ended, just to make sure they aren't squandering their resources. Barrett-Jackson also has a consignment showroom where I'm sure a bunch of unsold stuff ends up.

SOLD. Thank you.

Wow, that's great news! I love it when I'm wrong about stuff like this. Congratulations to the new owner and the seller. A win all around.

Received the attached files today from a friend here on the message board and his friend at the Buick Heritage Alliance. It appears that a black dashboard in the 90L limousine is 100% correct. Big thanks to you two gentlemen for doing this research completely unbidden. Wow! (I'm not mentioning any names so nobody is inundated with requests for free information--they did this out of the goodness of their hearts and I'm grateful)

This sounds and smells an awful lot like that time Carroll Shelby "found" about 300 1965 427 Cobra chassis that he "forgot about" in the Nevada desert... On the other hand, is there enough money in ersatz DeLoreans that anyone would fake them? Maybe the story of leftover parts is true. And now that I think about it, a fresh DeLorean with, say, a Ford turbo V6 or even the turbo four from the Mustang might be one heck of a fun car...

Mecum Kissimmee was last week...

I doubt the latex paint will hurt the original paint, which is a lacquer. The latex will fail sooner rather than later and will probably come off in sheets, but I have to admit looks pretty cool the way it sits.

I went out into the shop and took a few photos of the back seat area. The divider window is visible and is definitely flat. This is 100% factory, not modified or customized after it was built. Check out the neat little switch on the arm rest!

Mine is a flat piece of glass, although it's arched at the top to follow the contour of the roof. But it's definitely a flat pane. I can't imagine Buick re-engineering something like that for so few cars, especially since the same mechanism was used in the Cadillac 67 and 75 models, which also had flat glass. I'll take a few photos of the details and post them so you can compare.

Thanks, West. Interesting that the limo in your photos has a cloth front seat. It appears to be the same blue/tan interior I have in back, which I think is quite attractive, but my front seat is black leather. I'll presume that it should be woodgrained and they didn't bother doing it when the front compartment was restored, but I don't think it'll be very high on my to-do list for this particular car. It's a shame, because they seem to have spent a lot of money on the rest of the interior, including all the plastic pieces. I'm shooting this car for a magazine article, so I'll have a lot more photos in the next few days and I'll post some here so you can all see its current state. I know a car talks to me when I continually turn to admire it as I walk away and stop to look at it when I pass it in the showroom, and I do that with this Limited. My wife hates when I do that because she knows what I'm thinking...

SOLD. Thank you.