Matt Harwood

I list a lot of cars on eBay, which is by far the most expensive advertising I do (I spend about $1000/month with eBay and to date Harwood Motors has sold (-1) cars there--more on that in a moment). It's actually rare for a car to sell through the eBay process, which I'm kind of grateful for due to the attitude of the typical eBay buyer, as outlined in the stories above. Expectations are always WAY out of whack with reality and they demand everyone to cater to them despite buying used parts and/or used cars, usually sight-unseen. They want all the protections and a safety net for their purchases, all financed by someone else. That sucks. I've had guys hit "Buy It Now" then E-mail me to say that they didn't want to buy the car at that price, they just wanted to stop the clock so they could haggle with me without someone else coming along and buying it out from under them. Infuriating. I recently had a guy win an auction, then say, "OK, I'll try to come up and see the car in the next month or so then decide if I want it." Um, what? You WON THE AUCTION, YOU OWN THE CAR. I'm not going to take it off the market, store it for a month or two for free, turn away other buyers, and hope that you like it enough to buy it when you finally show up. And the guy had the nerve to tell me that I was probably a crook him because I wanted a $500 non-refundable deposit to hold the car for him. Imagine Barrett-Jackson's reaction to a guy who won an auction but decided not to pay until he could get the car home? Oh, yeah, I should probably mention that this moron was a lawyer and the terms of my auctions are explicitly spelled out, including the $500 NON-REFUNDABLE deposit and the fact that winning the auction makes you the owner, not first in line for inspections, and this is in addition to eBay's terms of service. Aren't lawyers supposed to be all about the fine print? I think a Toyota Camry driver got a little excited but then realized he was in over his head with a $10,000 Corvette. What a doofus. Unfortunately, there's no way to force them to pay and now, with eBay's new rules, you can't even leave negative feedback for one of these dopes. They get a private, invisible "non paying bidder" mark on their record and if they get two in a year, they get a penalty. Sure, I get my listing fees back, but I don't get anything else back (it amounts to a rebate of $35 on an $89 bill). Plus the car is now burned in the market--everyone who was watching it and/or bidding on it will not be back because they saw it sell then it was relisted and think, "Well, that car must be a PoS if the guy didn't want it." Yeah, I could sue the non-paying bidders for the difference in what they would have paid and what a buyer ultimately paid, but who has time to chase all the rabbits down all the holes? Ebay is a necessary evil for many of us in the hobby. I treat every customer the same, but I have to admit that the guys on eBay test my patience to its limits. The protections eBay offers buyers makes being a jerk a consequence-free proposition for them and a serious problem for sellers. Not cool.

I have a strong suspicion that this is one of those "We didn't think that through very well, did we?" kinds of things. All the government types think it's a good idea, put it into effect, and the law of unintended consequences takes over and royally screws up everything. They'll backpedal sooner or later. There's just no way they can force all the people in a city that size to buy a new car by banning all cars older than 2011. Good luck with that, Paris...

There are cars on that show?!?

As with any old car term, it's going to be used and mis-used by a lot of people (classic vs. "Classic") and "survivor" is no different. I believe Bloomington Gold even tried to copyright the term, and while I don't agree with that, I think their definition is probably the one that most old car guys would agree is proper: The SURVIVOR ® Award is designed to recognize those Corvettes that are "worn in, but not worn out." A SURVIVOR Corvette is significantly unrestored, unrepaired, or unmodified and meets these requirements: [*=left]Is over 20 years old [*=left]Can pass a road test over 10 miles [*=left]Retains OEM engine [*=left]Remains unrestored, un-refinished, or unaltered; [*=left]50% or more in three of four sections to attain SURVIVOR Bronze [*=left]66% or more in all four sections to attain SURVIVOR Silver [*=left]80% or more in all four sections to attain SURVIVOR Gold [*=left]Retains finishes good enough to use as a color guide for restoration of a car just like it [*=left]Judges inspect four components: Exterior, Interior, Under Hood, Chassis. There are others who think the term survivor is any car that has managed to simply exist since it was built without being restored, but to me, a survivor still has to be functional as a car rather than some hulk that was abandoned in a field. Yes, it survived, but I don't think anyone wants to drive it anymore. The best survivors are cars that have been loved from day one, properly maintained and carefully used, but never wrecked or fully restored. They may have a few paint touch-ups or other repairs to keep them in operating condition and looking presentable, but they've never been disassembled and rebuilt from scratch. Some barn finds could be considered survivors, but not all of them. In my mind, it's only a survivor if it's operational and usable and mostly original,which is why I think the Bloomington Gold definition is a good one. Survivor: Not a survivor:

I'm the assistant director of the Northeast Ohio CCCA chapter and a frequent topic of our meetings is how to make events more affordable. We do quite a few day tours and try to have at least one club event each month. I've got a young family (two sons aged 6 and 9) and we bring them with us to everything. When events are planned locally, they're family-friendly. We're sometimes discouraged by events at the national level simply because of the costs involved but that's more because there are four of us rather than the fees themselves. We'll be attending the National Meeting next month, all four of us, but I can't afford, say, four $50 tickets for the riverboat cruise, so we'll sit it out. That's not the club's fault, it's merely us trying to compromise between being at the event, which I think is the most important part, and attending sub-events while we're there. And admittedly, for a great many CCCA members, I don't think $50/person is a big number and if it was just me and my wife, we'd certainly be there for more sub-events. I definitely think the local level is where you can best enjoy the CCCA on a budget. We here at Harwood Motors just hosted a CCCA-sponsored tech seminar on Saturday and had about 50 people show up--great! It was $12/person and included a catered lunch and about two hours of information from experts on appearance care. Last year we did classic car insurance and motor oils, and the year before that we did safety checks and valuations. Who knows what we'll do next year, but it has become an event that a lot of people look forward to and are happy to pay $10 or $12 to be there. Everyone said it was full of useful information and nobody complained about the cost. Yes, the national events can be expensive, but if you put it into perspective (cost of a decent hotel and meals) you're going to spend that much doing just about anything away from home. Compare the cost of a CCCA Caravan to a week at Disney, for example. It doesn't seem outrageous at that level, because even a modest hotel is going to cost more than $100/night and even eating locally, I have a hard time feeding my family for less than $50. The costs are what they are and I don't feel that the members of the CCCA demand premium services--they just don't want to stay in dumps, which is perfectly understandable. And really, this is a "comfortable" person's hobby. You don't have to be a millionaire, but anyone who owns a Full Classic isn't wondering how to pay next month's electricity bill. Perhaps some events could be more affordable, but this isn't a club that needs to cut corners to save a buck. Get involved locally and I bet you can do a lot of Classic car stuff for not a lot of cash--I know we do.

SOLD! Thank you!

SOLD! Thank you!

Wow, thanks for all the additional ideas, guys! I'll get to work checking the switches and I'm already going through the fuse box with my multi-meter so we'll double-check all the fuses. This is why the internet was invented. Thank you!

Wow, great find! And near Cleveland? How have I not seen this car before? Impressive car at a very reasonable price. There's a lesser 633 coupe for the past few months at Hemmings.com for 70% more money, making this look like one hell of a bargain.

SOLD! Thank you!

SOLD! Thank you!

Interestingly enough, I just put an identical car on a boat to go to Germany. Here are some shots of the engine, hopefully they will help. I believe you have a 413, which was the only engine available in the New Yorker. The documentation that came with that car referred to the engine as VC-3, but I don't know to what that is referring.

Thanks for the advice guys. I've totally struck out repairing any of the gremlins in this car. All fuses look OK, but I'll check tomorrow with a voltmeter. All interior lights are out except the one on the back of the console, which works fine with the door switches but not with its own switch. Courtesy light under the dash on the passenger side and sail panel lights, even with fresh bulbs, are non-functional. Radio, gas gauge, and horn also not functional. Some electrical gremlin has gotten in there and buggered it all up. I was thinking I could at least have some success with the horn, but I bet the relay is shot--I hear it clicking but nothing is happening. I hate electrical problems. Thanks for the advice, I'll report back if I discover anything new.

I have a '63 Riv that is on its way to a new owner and I noticed today that the round courtesy lights in the sail panels are out. I'd like to fix them before the car ships. I poked around a bit and couldn't discover the mystery of how the lenses are removed. Before I start prying with a screwdriver or something, can someone tell me how they come apart? They seem pretty fragile and I don't want to risk breaking one. Also, can anyone tell me which fuse is for the radio? I don't have a manual for the car. Thanks!

Even at $1.9 million, that Talbot was likely a decent buy. He'll spend another $1 million restoring it (any car can be restored to Pebble Beach standards for $1 million) and then it'll go and collect all kinds of major awards and will probably be worth $5-6 million when it's all done. Like I said, the guys with insanely deep pockets play at a different level, but this is one case where a $1.9 million rust bucket could probably be considered a reasonable investment. On the other hand, that neat little 1939 Panhard et Levassor Dynamic, which was equally wasted, sold for just over $15,000. It, too, will be an expensive restoration, but it's a worthy car that is much more attainable by mere mortals. If it had bid to $50,000 or beyond, we'd know that the hobby has well and truly gone insane, but the prices at that auction of "Barn Find" exotica had surprisingly sane prices.

I bet the transmission issue is a linkage adjustment. The amount of throttle opening required to maintain 65 MPH is probably sufficient to activate the kick-down. I don't know if there's a vacuum component of the mechanism or if it's purely mechanical, but my guess is that it could be adjusted. Dave Yaros, if you have a way to reach the seller, I would strongly recommend that he get that issue fixed before selling the car. It's going to be a HUGE question mark for any buyer and will likely warrant a substantial discount, probably far in excess of the cost of repairs. An unknown like this will make even a very nice car (which this certainly appears to be) virtually unsellable. My gut says that it's in the right neighborhood with the price, but not with a wonky transmission, even if it's an easy fix because buyers will be spooked. Get it checked out and repaired and I bet the car sells quickly. Hope this helps!

I don't think anyone is taking the number to be accurate 100% of the time, but a reset makes it 100% impossible for it to be accurate. And it also removes any kind of "archeology" that can be done to determine the car's age and history. We can all say we "believe" the mileage on our cars to be accurate, but what if the odometer said 9000 miles? Is it the second time around? Did it break in 1943 and stay there for decades? Is it from another car? That "clue" is now so far out of whack as to be completely useless to future owners. Nobody's saying that the current mileage shown on the odometer is accurate, only that it's MORE accurate and gives better clues about the car's history than resetting it back to zero. My opinion is that it is ALWAYS a mistake to reset an odometer, not for legal reasons or because I believe the mileage is correct, but because it's erasing one of the few pieces of evidence on a car's life that we have. I had the speedometer restored on my 1941 Buick and asked the guy who did it to put the odometer back where it was. It's got new numbers so it's bright and clean, but it still says 60-something thousand miles. Is that correct? I have no idea. But it's a better piece of evidence in the car's history than 0 would be.

Please don't reset it. Keep it wherever it is, regardless of whether you can authenticate it. It gets frustrating for future buyers trying to discern anything about the car's history when you reset it. At least at 83,xxx it's probably authentic, but setting it back to 0 and starting over, in 5 years it'll read 5023 or something, and now everyone will wonder is it 105,000 or was it broken or was it reset or what happened? There will always be an asterisk next to it. I've found that cars with reset odometers are frequently harder to sell, even though most folks know not to trust ANY reading on an old car's odometer. The reset seems to set off alarm bells in buyers for some reason. Besides, if all you're doing is rebuilding the engine, the rest of the car still has 83,000 miles on it. Unless it's a total frame-off restoration to perfection, I don't think just an engine rebuild justifies going back to 0 if the rest of the car is 83,000 miles. You're also erasing part of the car's history which is something we strive to preserve here, no? People will see that the car has obviously been restored, so there's no need to try to make it "new" by going back to 0. My vote is to leave it where it is.

I don't know that auction buyers are stupid, but they are motivated by different factors than many other buyers. It's been my experience that there are a few different types of buyer at auctions, all with different motivations. In regards to this conversation, there are indeed buyers for whom price is truly no object. Money that we'd think was all the money in the world is merely pocket change to these guys. This is not a political statement, but the disparity of wealth in this country is truly STAGGERING. To me, a $50,000 car is an attainable dream someday, but I don't dare dream of $100,000 cars in my personal stable. But for a good many guys, $100,000 is about ten minutes' work at their CEO job or a good day in their stock portfolio (on which they're only paying 15% taxes so it's insanely profitable, but I digress). I work with a few of these guys and there was a good example on the Barrett-Jackson coverage, maybe you saw him. It was the older guy who was letting his two young grandchildren (I assume) bid on cars. Both kids were under 10. The little girl bid a VW Beetle to $28,000 and the little boy bought something equally harmless for an equally surprising number. I think grandpa was out close to $60,000 when it was done, and they were all laughing and having fun. Good for them, they're going to have fun in old cars and obviously, $60,000 to that gentleman is like a $100 family meal to the rest of us. Adjust your ideas of what wealth really is, because this is how it looks. Then there are the guys who have a fixed amount of money, but they're going to buy a car--something, anything--just because they want to get into the game. An auction puts a huge buffet of styles, eras, colors, and quality in front of them, all ready to go instantly, and they bid on those cars they like until they win. Say you have $50,000 in home equity to spend. You bid on cars you like until you win one and have a lot of fun doing it. These guys have the money to spend, they're going to spend it. They're not necessarily intending on spending all of it, they're not being reckless, but they're PREPARED to spend it all and they'll over-pay a bit just to get it done. I don't feel that these guys enjoy the hunt, although they do like the thrill of bidding. They're not scrolling through the pages of Hemmings looking for a bargain or just the right car at just the right price, they show up to buy and get instant gratification from an auction, even if it costs them 10-20% more than it otherwise would. And that's perfectly OK. The auctions make it especially easy because they package everything in one place and you pay your money and a few days later, a car shows up at your door. Nice and neat, which is what these guys like. There are also buyers who go for something specific. There are some cars that are rare or special and you have to buy them when the opportunity presents itself. If you have a hole in your Ferrari collection shaped like a 250 GTO, well, there are only 36 of them, and when one comes to auction, you move to buy it, cost be damned. These guys are also type 1 guys with essentially limitless funds, but it happens at lower levels, too. Some cars are must-haves for some buyers and they'll pay a premium to have it because it might be their only/best chance to own it. On quality cars, a few extra bucks on the front end will usually make itself up in time on the back end. Then there are guys like me who are mercenaries. When I go to buy, I go with profit in mind. You make your money when you buy a car, not when you sell it. I pre-identify my candidates, inspect them carefully, bid to my pre-established maximum, then get out. I'm not who you see on TV, and I lose more often than I win. But sometimes I get a bargain. Auction fever is real, free alcohol and pretty ladies will inflate certain egos, but nobody's doing anything truly stupid (from their own perspective) at auctions. Their motivations and limitations are simply different than yours.

I'm thrilled with Hagerty and they even cover my business insurance needs. Given the single somewhat large claim I've had with them (no hassles at all) and the cost of my very affordable yearly premium with $0 deductible, it's going to be many years before I repay all that money back in premiums. I'm very satisfied.

I meant no offense, Fred. I was just pointing out that there's no need for the paint step when using powder. If you prefer the look of paint, that's cool, although I haven't found powder to look significantly different and done properly, it doesn't have a heavy coating look. Everyone thinks it looks like the plastic-dipped handles on a pair of pliers or something, when in reality it's not much thicker than paint and details still show through. Anyway, I didn't mean to step on your toes, I just didn't want anyone thinking that powder needs to be top-coated to look right. It's fine all by itself as long as the user is happy with the color and sheen.

The more I look at it, the more convinced I am that it's a made-up thing much like the others have said they've seen at Disney. A new-ish creation designed to be reliable and easy to service, but still have an old-fashioned look for parades and stuff like that. Probably lots of crude fabrication under the skin, an industrial 4-cylinder flathead engine of some sort, and basic suspension and brakes. It never was anything and was never intended to be more than a prop for people who don't look too closely at such things. Probably fun to use in lieu of a golf cart for getting around, but not something with any value to collectors. Maybe not quite along the lines of one of these, but something similar that doesn't need to run on a track: But sadly, it's not a real car any more than this is a real train:

Sadly, that happens far too often. For many guys, the thrill is in the build itself, not the actual car. And privately, many guys who build the "usual" hot rod (350 Chevy, 350 transmission, Ford suspension) are disappointed with the results. The cars are never as fast or entertaining as they'd hoped and they still have all the bad habits of an old car like noise, heat, and leaky weather seals. Home-built rods rarely turn out the way the builders expect. I'm flooded with trade requests on many of my cars, and 9 times out of 10 it's a garden-variety rod with garden-variety parts and amateur build quality. Never impressive and the sellers always know it, which is why they're trying to trade for one of my good cars.

SOLD! Thank you!