Matt Harwood

*SOLD* One thing I've learned in this business is that if you want to be able to have fun with your cars, you need to get your spouse involved. That may seem odd to mention when talking about the manliest of cars, a 1967 Corvette, but the key here is how user-friendly this gorgeous Rally Red roadster really is. You want your wife on board? Buy this 'Vette and give it to her. You'll still get to play with it, but thanks to an automatic transmission (no offense to the ladies who proudly drive manual gearboxes), power steering, a smooth, reliable 327, and a great stereo system, this is a very accessible vintage sports car with exactly zero bad habits. This is an original Rally Red car and there's really no better color on a mid-year 'Vette than this. I've driven this car a little bit and it really attracts a lot of attention, mostly because everyone already knows what it is. The paint is probably 8-10 years old, so it presents well but isn't perfect and this car was never a trailer queen, so it has a few signs of use. The panels fit well and it isn't showing any cracking around the headlight doors or hood opening, which is important. The hood sits flush and there's no rubbing at the edges, so I don't think the car has ever been hit or tweaked. The chrome is quite good, with bright bumpers and new emblems, including the gas tank door (which technically should be painted to match the body, but the emblem doesn't come off so the effort just wasn't worth it). All the lights, signals, lenses, and other little stuff is in operational condition and looks very good. The black interior was likely done at the same time. Again, everything works and the seats are quite comfortable and there are good carpets underneath. If there's a nit to pick, there's some minor bubbling on the door panels where they transition into the arm rests, as if the glue wasn't quite fully applied over the full area. It's not a big deal but it's noticeable if you're looking. The woodgrained wheel is excellent, the gauges are all rebuilt and fully functional, the heater is powerful, and there's a modern AM/FM/cassette stereo in the dash with an array of speakers in the top well that sound remarkably good (the original AM radio is included with the car). And speaking of the top, it's brand new and installed by the legendary Al Knoch and fits better than any Corvette convertible top I have ever seen. All the weatherstripping is new and it does seal up rather well. I'm guessing I'm the first to actually fold the top, and it stows easily and latches without a fight. The engine is a non-matching but correctly coded 327 cubic inch V8 rebuilt to stock 300 horsepower specifications. It was probably well detailed at the time, but it shows some evidence of having been driven over the past several years. It's clean and wears proper Corvette valve covers and Chevy Orange paint on the block, but there are no major deviations from stock. It starts quickly without much prodding and idles smoothly even when it's cold. Get in, turn the key, and drive...isn't that how it's supposed to be? It's also interesting to note that only about 10% of 1967 Corvettes were equipped with automatic transmissions, which I don't think adds any value due to rarity, but it does make this one very user-friendly. The original PowerGlide 2-speed automatic was recently replaced by a TH350 3-speed automatic, which makes around town driving a lot more fun and the original transmission is included if you really want to go back to stock. There are 3.36 gears in back so it's punchy but reasonably comfortable on the highway and with power steering and power brakes, it's effortless to drive. The 4-wheel disc brakes are recently rebuilt, the exhaust is new and quiet, and there are fresh radials on the original 15-inch Rally wheels. This is not a pedigree car and I always think it's a shame when cars like this Corvette get squirreled away never to be used again. Instead, this is the rare Corvette that's still 100% usable as a car and it's actually good at it! Bulletproof reliability, quiet, easy to drive, and smooth, this Corvette is a no-compromises car that never gets cranky and that means the people you share the ride with won't get cranky either. Think about it--wouldn't you rather have a car you can drive every day without a second thought instead of a high-strung big block that guzzles high-octane gas and is too much of a handful to do anything but a 10-minute blast a few times a year? We're asking $59,900 and you'll never regret driving this one home. Thanks for looking!

I always wondered about the desirability of these tops and the cars attached to them. I have a friend with a stunning Marmon Sixteen which has a mammoth Waterhouse touring body on it with a non-folding top. All the disadvantages of an open car (no weather protection) with none of the perks (no open-air motoring). Why even bother? On this Flint, I don't think it would be much of a crime to put a folding top on it. I would think that the process would be nominally reversible if, at some point, the world desperately needs another original-spec Flint with a non-folding top. My father's 1925 Buick touring car was a former non-folding top car that was converted to a folding top and there was zero difference in value and we enjoyed the car with the top down a lot more than with the top up...

You're probably going to have troubles trying to re-seal something with a failing coating already on it. If one part fell off, then more is sure to follow. I've had good success with Gas Tank Renu, who has done three tanks for me. They cut it open, sandblast the inside, weld it back together, then coat it inside and out. It has a lifetime warranty at that point. It doesn't look quite stock anymore, as the outer finish is a textured black coating, but in cars where the tank is out of sight, it's a great choice. I seem to recall I spent about $400 last time I had it done, which I felt was reasonable for never having to worry about it again. They're a franchise, so you should be able to find one relatively nearby.

I think you make a mistake by not going with a factory color. It doesn't necessarily have to be the color combination that it came with from the factory, but if you want maximum value for the car in the future, doing it the way the factory did it will net you the biggest return on your investment. I can't tell you how many people I've talked to who have told me that they regret not going with a factory color because it cost them thousands at resale time, and might even make the car un-sellable. I mentioned that yellow Corvette I have, and it's not the only one where one guy's choice of color has pretty much killed the chances of the car selling for anywhere near its true value. The same goes for modifications. Keep them to the bolt-on variety, but major modifications on a desirable car like this will kill its value. And honestly, do you really think you can do it better than the factory? The 1969 Mustang is arguably the best-looking Mustang ever built. Anything you do to "improve" its looks will probably have the opposite effect. If you want a modified 1969 Mustang fastback with a big block and a manual transmission, you should have bought a non-pedigreed car and done it there. But a 428 Mach 1 with a 4-speed is top-of-the-food-chain and deserves to be right. Find a 1969 Ford Mustang color you like and use that. Go ahead and over-restore it, who cares, but "putting your own stamp" on the car will hurt you later. You may not care now and you may not plan on selling it, but if that day ever comes, you will regret not choosing a factory color. You will, as a friend of mine likes to say, want to travel back in time and slap the sh*t out of the stupid kid who was wearing my face.

I have a lot of respect for overseas buyers. I like dealing with them and I take their trust very seriously because they're really taking a massive leap of faith. However, overseas buyers aren't stupid, and I often hear that somehow these gullible rubes overseas will blindly over-pay for something that we have in the US. My experience suggests quite the opposite. European buyers are smart, savvy, confident, and they don't mess around once they've decided. I've also learned that they prefer not to deal with individuals simply because there's too much risk. They're sending thousands of dollars around the world and hoping that the car they expect shows up a few months later. Look at all the threads here about how scared we are doing a $350 parts deal across state lines--now imagine there's another country, another language, and an ocean between you, and the dollar figure is several hundred times that big, and the shipping cost is several thousand dollars all by itself. Most overseas buyers naturally prefer to deal with dealers who have a permanent presence, a reputation, and at least some semblance of continuity and recourse if things go wrong. Just think of it in reverse: would you blindly send $100,000 for an exotic car to some guy in Poland who was advertising on the internet? That's essentially what you're asking them to do. And then there's price. If your price is right, they buy. If not, they don't waste time haggling--in fact, many of them look at haggling as an oddly American thing and treat it with the same kind of respect that they might treat rodeos or the Super Bowl halftime show--that is, not much. Don't put a huge figure on your car expecting the Europeans to fight over it and then haggle you down to the right price. If you put it out there, they'll find it, but the messages you receive will simply be asking you for your best price. Give it to them. Don't play games or try to force them to make the first offer (which is a trick everyone seems to have learned watching that pawn shop show). Give them your best price, the lowest price you'll accept. If it's the right price, they'll buy. If not, you'll never hear from them again. They won't haggle and they won't over-pay. They'll expect you to have a market-correct price in mind, they'll ask for it, and then they'll buy or not buy. Their request is not the opening salvo in a protracted negotiation process. Regardless of where you advertise, they'll find the car. Hemmings is international and the Europeans look there just like the rest of us. Start there and if you're priced right, the buyers will contact you. Just remember the absolutely massive risk that such a person will be taking and treat it with the seriousness and respect such a thing deserves.

The blue Riv is sitting on 16-inch polished (not chrome) American Racing wheels of some kind, I don't know the specifics, but you should be able to find them with the Google. The tires are 235/60/16 front and 255/65/16 rear Goodyear Eagles, which gave it a bit of a rake (the rear tires were notably taller than the fronts). It appears to have been lowered by changing the front springs and by installing lowering blocks out back. The effect is mild but the car rode and drove quite well and there was enough sidewall to absorb impacts pretty well. Going below about a 60 series and ride quality starts to degrade. I don't have it anymore so I can't check the details beyond what I can recall. Sorry.

336-667-4282 102 Chestnut Street, Suite 101 PO Box 1509 North Wilkesboro, NC 28659

I bet Jenkins can make you one.

A lot of clubs seem to be wrestling with how to manage modified cars. Recently we had a judging seminar hosted at our facility and the bulk of it was trying to cover how to judge the modified cars that show up at this particular club's events. How, indeed? For most modified classes, it boils down to a beauty contest, and he who spends the most on chrome will win. That's a shame, but the relentless pursuit of trophies makes this very sticky. This club's seminar pretty much focused on looking at details as the way to weed out the good from the bad. Not whether they're correct, per se, but rather if they're well done. That's a pretty subjective standard. At least with 400-point judging, it's either correct or it's not. With this "system," if you use polished stainless allen-head bolts you'll win and if you use factory cad-plated bolts you'll lose. Nah, I'm sure nobody will get angry about that... As an anecdote, consider this: the Ohio Region of the CCCA hosts a big car show every Father's Day and it is strictly for unmodified vehicles. However, every year, a handful of modified vehicles slip in (either because their owners deliberately lie and say they're unmodified or because they don't know that a 350 and Rally wheels on a 1957 Chevy is technically "incorrect"). The notable one this year being a '69 Camaro that has had the full pro-touring treatment: fuel-injected LS engine, 6-speed transmission, big brakes, and, of course, everything was chrome plated. The car was topped by a pearl white paint job with ghost flames. The guy spent a fortune on the car, and while I didn't much care for it, there was a crowd around it all day. He entered it in judging, which is a kind of hybrid of AACA and CCCA judging, but the ultimate goal is authenticity followed by quality. Needless to say, his score was pretty low (like in the 40s). Moments after the trophies were handed out, he was at the podium arguing loudly with the head judge and the club director about why he didn't even win his class, let alone Best of Show, because his car won trophies everywhere else. He was FURIOUS, and got even angrier when we explained the judging criteria to him and that his car really didn't belong at the show. It blew up in everyone's face and nobody left happy about it. We still aren't allowing modified cars in to the show, but there was a big public scene that made it look like we were kicking out a crowd favorite. My point is, there's no easy or uniform way to put rules on modified cars. Either it's a test of authenticity or it's a beauty contest, but once you start to say certain modifications are OK and others aren't, or that the modifications have to adhere to a certain standard, well, you get all kinds of misunderstandings. I don't do judging on any of my cars because I simply don't care, but for those who do, it seems to be VERY, VERY important. And you're simply not going to be able to make a judging class that covers every possibility on every car. Sometimes I think you just have to say, "Too bad. Enjoy your car anyway." Trying to make everyone happy ultimately makes nobody happy.

Just don't use those goofball screw-off knobs with the green handles. There's a TON of resistance in those. I've had multiple cars that acted like dead batteries or were just hard to start. Removed these cheap cut-off switches and all was normal again. I have a 200-amp heavy-duty switch on my '29 Cadillac and it works quite well. The switch is accessible and doesn't require battery access to operate. Just reach down and turn it off and the battery is isolated. Every car in my shop is parked with a disconnected battery, either with a built-in switch or simply with the cables disconnected. Why take chances?

Most shops will use a two-stage urethane, which is common and durable, perfect for daily drivers. Touch-ups are easy and it's reasonably simple to blend should something happen. What matters more than the type of paint is the prep underneath, and that's where you'll spend most of your money. If the sheetmetal is good, then you're ahead of the game, but if there's bodywork required, you'll pay, and that's where prices vary wildly. A local shop that does collision work might do a quickie bondo patch job where a proper restoration shop will fix it right. Costs are commensurate with the quality. This is a worthy car and I think you do the car and yourself a disservice by doing it on the cheap. You don't need concours work, but shoddy body work stands out like a sore thumb and the minute after you write the check and look at the car, you'll regret doing it on the cheap. Also, it sounds like you're hunting for a color. The most economical way to paint the car is to paint it whatever color it was from the factory. That way, the door jambs, under-hood area, and trunk won't all need to be completely disassembled and repainted. A full color change will mean a lot more disassembly and obviously, more costs. If you do go with a color change, pick something that was available on Mustangs in 1969. Doing it some custom color will hurt value, and while you may say you don't care and just want what you want, should you ever wish to sell the car, you will take a rather big hit on value, probably equal to or greater than the cost of the paint job itself. This matters. I have a 1967 Corvette convertible in my showroom with 32,000 original miles, matching-numbers engine and 4-speed transmission, etc., but it's Daytona Yellow instead of the correct Sunfire Yellow (bright yellow vs. creamy yellow). Car is proving to be VERY hard to sell, no matter what the price. Picking a correct color for that car and that year will make a BIG difference when/if the time comes to sell and it will look right. I'm sure you can find something on the 1969 Mustang color chart that suits you. The cost of the paint itself is the smallest piece of the paint puzzle. Labor is far more expensive and the work you put in dictates the quality you get out. Good prep can make bad paint look good, but no paint, regardless of how expensive it is, can make bad prep look good. Good luck and have fun!

I'd recommend against going too big. One, 18/19/20 inch wheels ride like crap. You're going to hate how it feels and it's going to tear up your suspension and knock everything loose inside. Every bump you hit will feel like it broke the frame in half. It'll still be wallowy and soft like a luxury car, but the impact harshness will rattle the fillings out of your teeth.You like a car without squeaks and rattles? Keep some sidewall on the tires. Two, giant wheels with O-ring tires look stupid on old cars. I know it's a taste thing, but I look at a lot of cars, resto-mods, and hot rods, as part of my job, and I've yet to see one that looks right sitting on wagon wheels. I recon you'll find very few people who will say 19 inch wheels are the right choice for any '60s car. They just look wrong. I've attached a photo of a 1971 Hemi 'Cuda I have in stock that's wearing 20-inch wheels. Looks weird, no? And even though it's lowered about three inches, it still sits two inches higher than the stock Challenger I have sitting next to it. Look how much space is under it because of those giant wheels. I've also attached photos of two '63 Rivieras I had for a while with 16-inch (blue car) and 17-inch (red car) wheels. They both rode reasonably well, there was plenty of tire sidewall to absorb impacts, but they were big and flashy and filled the fenders properly. I preferred the look of the blue car, which was also lowered about an inch. The red car was lowered more than two inches. Its ride was notably worse than the blue car's, but not nearly as bad as the '56 Chevy I have sitting on 18/20s. And please don't do Torque Thrusts. Only every other car in the world is wearing them. I'm so tired of seeing them on everything. Nobody has any vision or imagination anymore, they just follow the herd.

A lot of people like to equate rare to valuable, but that's not always the case (in fact, it's rarely the case). There are plenty of cars that were rare when they were new simply because they were unpopular, and plenty that are rare today because nobody cared enough to preserve them. Rarity is but one qualification on the chart of values, and in the case of 99% of the cars out there, being one of only a handful left (whatever that may mean) has exactly zero effect on value. I would place a Pontiac as you describe in that category. Interesting footnote, non-factor in value.

Do you need 1940 or 1941? They are not interchangeable.

At least overnight, depending how small of a trickle.

I give it a very solid, "Meh."

This is a tough question to answer. It's like asking what's the best flavor of ice cream? I think you could do well with a V8 Mustang coupe or a Camaro with a small block or something like a Lemans with a 326, which looks like a GTO but costs 50% less. Or look at 1968-1972 Oldsmobile and Buick A-bodies (Cutlass and Skylark), they're cheap, reliable, and with small block V8s, reasonably quick. All those cars have back seats, V8 power, plentiful parts, and are inexpensive. Figure out your budget, drive everything in your price range, buy the one that makes you smile the widest. If you find something that tickles your fancy, ask the guys here their opinions on it and whether it will live up to what you want it to be. For instance, finding a clean early Plymouth Barracuda would be a great choice; a used Citroen DS would be a horrible choice.

Roger that, I just noticed that there were photos posted moments before I posted that message. The convertible coupe is among the most desirable of 1931 Buick body styles and this is a worthy car. However, it does need a full restoration and I think a reasonable price would be in the $20,000 range. The next owner is going to have a full restoration ahead of him and I don't see any advantage to keeping it in "as discovered" condition, so clean it up and make it look as presentable as possible. Barn finds are a great marketing gimmick used by auction companies on significant cars, but a buyer for this car is going to want to see what he's getting and you'll be ahead of the game if you get everything looking as good as it can. The forlorn, dusty, dirty, used-up "barn find" look is just hype and it usually only works at auctions where one rich guy doesn't want to be the only one in the club who doesn't have one. In the case of this Buick, your buyer is going to be someone who wants the car and is willing to invest in the restoration (in fact, I may have such a client and will forward this post to him). Even better, if you can make it run and prove that the engine is sound, that would be a big plus, too. It need not be ready to drive, of course, but if the buyer knows there are no major engine issues with any parts that are virtually unobtainable, that will only help your marketing. Good luck!

When you see top dollar figures at an auction, you know that's for a #1 quality car that has been vetted and has an impeccable pedigree. It does not set the market for all such examples, nor should it. I can't tell you how many times I've talked to a guy in my showroom who tells me, "I saw one just like mine sell for elventy-million dollars, so that's what I'd like to get." And every time he's exactly wrong about how the market works. A high tide doesn't necessarily float all boats in the collector car market. Any 90-Series Buick is a desirable car, a '31 90-Series convertible can be a VERY desirable car (I'd be interested), but if it's deteriorated and neglected, you can forget getting anywhere near top dollar for it. Being full of animal droppings is a big problem, because it's a health hazard and with wooden structures, it's hard to say whether the car has been compromised. It has already been restored once, so it's not a "survivor" in the strictest sense, either, so there's not much value to be gained or retained by leaving it in as-found condition. At this point, you're probably going to get a small fraction of what a restored car would bring at auction, so get those six-figure numbers out of your head right away. You do yourself no favors counting your money before it's in hand and all it will make you do is turn away reasonable offers because you don't think they're enough. Show us some photos and we'll be able to give you a better idea of its value. Desirable car, yes, but you're going to be disappointed if you're expecting a six-figure score, because I can think of only one or two non-#1-condition 90-Series Buicks worth more than $100,000.

How about call a buddy and have him help you remove it? My wife helps with various cars and their removable hardtops in the shop all the time. The Thunderbird's top is not particularly heavy or difficult to remove. Faster, easier, and cheaper than trying to rig something up.

Chokes aren't necessarily an all-or-nothing proposition. Try a little less choke? My '29 Cadillac likes about 1/4 choke for normal starting, about 1/2 choke if it's cold out. Never full choke and it won't run for long at full choke.

That's how it is in most states. What you're describing there is called a "title skip" and technically it's illegal (remember how they finally prosecuted Al Capone). Now, I'm not going to get into a discussion about whether it's right to be collecting sales tax every single time a used car changes hands, but I will say that it's one of the things that the powers that be are monitoring as closely as possible. Whether they're able to actually catch anyone (where's the evidence?) is up for debate, but they know it's happening frequently in the old car world and they want it to stop or at least make sure they're getting their cut of the pie. Be very careful if you've got a title from someone who never technically took ownership of it. I know paying taxes sucks, but it is what it is and the tax man, he don't give up so easy. And if such a title gets kicked by your DMV, then what? You're two owners removed with no legal recourse and in many cases, the guy whose signature is on the title is unavailable, unwilling to help, or, God forbid, dead. Good luck registering your car with that...

Also remember that just because you can go 75 MPH without over-working the engine doesn't mean you should. You're still driving on 80-year-old technology, ancient brakes, and a 1930s suspension. My overdriven 1929 Cadillac is happy at about 52, which doesn't stress the engine and still puts me within what I feel are safe parameters for the old suspension and brakes. The engine will easily push it to 60-65 (which is only 2000-2300 RPM), but there's no way I feel safe at those speeds. Your Buick is obviously a lot more capable but it's still not as good as a modern car, not by a long shot and those speeds are going to put you in fast company in traffic. At least with my slow car, folks give me a wide berth. So just because the overdrive means less stress on the engine, don't forget that the greater speeds are putting more stress on wheel bearings, hubs, spindles, brakes, steering, suspension, and tires, and none of it was designed for sustained high-speed travel on today's interstates. I'd say 60 MPH, maybe 65, should be your reasonable limit regardless of how easy it is for the engine to push it faster.

I occasionally block the license plates when sellers ask me to. I think it's odd, but if they're paranoid (a lot of guys don't want everyone knowing who they are or what they have) I'm happy to oblige. I point out this very fact to them (the plate is visible while they drive) but in almost every case, they're older folks who are terribly frightened of mischief on the vast, dangerous, unregulated intarwebs. They're just sure there's a scammer out there who will get that information, find them, kill them, and steal their car. So I block out the plate if they ask. If they don't, I don't.

I wish I could powdercoat the body on my car. I did the frame and all the suspension components of my 1941 Buick (you can see results in the link in my sig). No complaints, the stuff is durable, and it goes on thin enough that details are not erased. A lot of folks are afraid that it's a heavy plastic coating, but that's not the case. You can still see serial numbers and casting details, no problem. Do it!