Matt Harwood

*SOLD* Wow! I don't know how else to describe this brilliant Cadillac convertible. With more than $90,000 in receipts on the restoration of a 41,000 original mile California car, it's really, really nice. Refinished in its original Fiesta Ivory with red leather combination (although it originally had a black top instead of the tan it currently wears), this is a one-car parade. As most of you know, 1949 was a pretty big year for GM and for Cadillac in particular and this might be the pinnacle of 1940s design. The first tail fins appeared the year before and when combined with the all-new OHV V8, these cars are very special. That's all original sheetmetal on the car with almost no bodywork required. A few dings were straightened and the gaps were tidied up, but the car needed no wholesale patches or panel replacement and in fact the body didn't even have to come off the frame it was so clean. The most notable feature is the unusual continental kit, which has been on the car since it drove off the dealer's lot in 1949. I've never seen another and while it isn't exactly factory-issue, it fits better than most of the kits of the period and certainly makes this ragtop stand out. My camera had a tough time capturing the color accurately, so it's a shade or two brighter in person, but there's no denying that this car has a TON of eyeball appeal. Heck, there's $30,000 worth of chrome on the car, all done by Jon Wright's Custom Chrome and you probably know how good they are. It's really impressive. Red leather is how this car came from the factory and that's what's in it today. The hides are incredibly soft and supple, probably more-so than originally but they look and feel so good that nobody's going to complain. New door panels, fresh carpets, and rebuilt gauges are part of the package and all the knobs and handles are freshly chromed or new plastic castings. The steering wheel is also brand new and looks just right, not too white and not too yellow. Everything works in the car: power windows, power top, power seat, gauges, clock, and radio to name the biggies. The front carpet in front of the driver is a little wrinkled and the heel pad has a few scuffs, but otherwise it's in almost new condition. The top folds properly and fits well and all the bows were also chromed before the new canvas went on. The trunk is just OK and the seller informs me that the storage facility where he keeps it also detailed it last summer and misplaced the trunk mat/carpet so that's missing but a replacement should be easy enough to procure. That's really the biggest demerit on the whole car. The game-changing 331 cubic inch OHV V8 runs so smoothly and quietly that I have to look at the oil pressure gauge to make sure it's running. Seriously, you can stand next to the grille and barely hear the woosh of the fan, let alone combustion sounds. It's powerful and smooth, yet familiar feeling to anyone who has driven a '40s Cadillac. Everything is as the factory intended, from the fuel system to the exhaust manifolds to the new wiring throughout. You'll note that it has very, very few miles on it as even the engine enamel hasn't burned off the exhaust port area yet. The Hydra-Matic automatic transmission was rebuilt, the rear end with highway-friendly 3.36 gears was rebuilt, the brakes were rebuilt, the suspension was rebuilt, the exhaust is new, and, well, you get the picture. The only visible deviation from stock are the shiny chrome wire wheels from a '53 and they wear 15-inch Coker Classic whitewall radials. This is a very impressive car that embodies the best of Cadillac styling and the best of Cadillac engineering. It's the car that started a hrosepower race and created the tailfin craze that would last a decade. If ever there was a milestone car, this is probably it. The fact that it's also a joy to drive is simply icing on the cake. It's not perfect, but it's really darned nice. We're asking $84,900 and we're always open to reasonable offers. Thanks for looking!

Great car, very appealing, too expensive by 20-25%. I sold my all-original, low-mileage 1941 Cadillac 60S which was the AACA HPOF car of the year in 2012 for about 3/4 of the asking price on this one, and the '41 60 Special is likely a more desirable car. Sadly, as much as I like 4-door sedans and survivors, there's a very hard cap on the values--even an ultra-low-mileage survivor like this isn't going to be worth more than other cars like it. I've found that quality survivors are usually worth about the same as restored cars, but their survivor status makes buyers willing to overlook deterioration and other issues that would not be acceptable on a restored car. It levels the field, but doesn't give the unrestored car any advantage. Price this one at $29,900 and it'll sell pretty quickly. But at $40,000 there are a lot of more attractive options. I bet you've gotten offers around $30K, no? I would consider taking one of them, it's the right price. Good luck, I like the car!

No, you're in no danger from the IRS for a wire transfer of that size. You'll have to explain the money on your taxes, but it is usually only cash transactions over $10,000 that trigger IRS audits (that is, you walk in and drop a pile of $100s on the teller). We do wires every day and it's a non-issue as far as the IRS is concerned as long as you declare the money and explain it when the time comes. DO NOT cheat on your taxes. They have been cracking down on car collectors who, I'm sorry to say, are pretty notorious for title skips, not paying sales tax, under-reporting purchase and sales prices, etc. They WILL be watching. Declare your income, but remember that it only counts if it was profit--if you bought the car for $10,000 and paid someone $30,000 to restore it, then sold it for $25,000, you shouldn't owe anything since technically you lost money on it. Your time, however, is worthless as far as the IRS is concerned, so only declare things for which you've paid someone else (and hopefully have receipts). Hope this helps!

Awesome find. You won't have any problem selling it at that price. We sold the green '65 a few weeks ago for close to full asking price of $29,900 and it didn't have factory A/C. Cloth interior is a nice bonus, too. Sooner or later, I'm going to have to get one of these for myself. They're just great cars.

*SOLD* The British Invasion continues here at Harwood Motors, and this is a good one. Originally purchased new in California, this is one of the cleanest, most original TR6s I've ever seen. I recall my neighbor had one when I was a kid and I'm pretty sure it started to rust the first time he washed it. Not so with this 42,234 original mile car, which still wears its original paint, upholstery, and top (more on that in a moment). It's had just two owners from new and has never seen winter weather and not much rain. That British Racing Green paint is all original save for the right front fender, which looks to have been repainted at some point a long time ago. There is some checking, a few chips here and there, but overall I wouldn't touch a thing. The gold stripes along its flanks are actually painted on and the TR6 insignias on the quarters were a favorite of mine when I was young. It's got an accessory trunk rack which is practical, albeit very heavy--opening the deck lid takes more muscle than you'd expect. The rest of the chrome is also original and in good order save for very light pitting on the rear bumper, but again, probably not severe enough to require anything but a polish. The tan interior gives this car a classic look and is a lot more user-friendly on hot days than the more common black vinyl. The seats, dash, and door panels are original, but the carpets are so nice I have to believe they've been replaced. The upholstery is in excellent condition with only a small tear in the driver's side panel above the seat release where it has obviously been rubbing. The wood dashboard is excellent and all the Smiths gauges are fully functional. In fact, everything works on this TR6, which is rather unusual for any old car, let alone a British sports car. The trunk is clean and includes a full-sized spare and a set of original tools. The top is original, but it's shot. We had to cut out the side windows just to get it to fold and it's rough. To be honest, I'm probably the first guy in decades to put it up, because it comes with a full tonneau cover, which is how the current owner has been using it since 1985--he says he's never even seen the top. So plan on a new top, but fortunately they're very cheap and you can install it yourself without the help of an upholstery shop. The original tan boot is in good shape and that's what I've got installed right now. The greatest part of the TR6 is the burly 2.5 liter inline-six under the hood. Not some wheezy little four, this big six puts out a baritone bellow that gives it an entirely different personality from, say, an MGB. Thanks to a stainless steel header and brand new stainless exhaust system, it sounds spectacular and pulls with gusto in any gear. Honestly, you're probably not prepared for the torque in a car like this. It's also got a new alternator, a shiny valve cover, and a recent service, so it's ready to go and runs superbly. It's not even much of a leaker! The undercarriage is spotless, as you'd expect from a California car, and it was just fitted two weeks ago with a set of brand new Panasport wheels and 15-inch radials that have less than a mile on them. The original wheels and exhaust manifold are, of course, included with the car. This ain't no MG, and finding a good, clean, original, low-mileage one won't be easy. This is a big sports car in disguise and it's an absolute blast to drive. We're asking $22,900, and I challenge you to find a nicer one. I really like this little car.

*SOLD* The British Invasion continues here at Harwood Motors, and this is a good one. Originally purchased new in California, this is one of the cleanest, most original TR6s I've ever seen. I recall my neighbor had one when I was a kid and I'm pretty sure it started to rust the first time he washed it. Not so with this 42,234 original mile car, which still wears its original paint, upholstery, and top (more on that in a moment). It's had just two owners from new and has never seen winter weather and not much rain. That British Racing Green paint is all original save for the right front fender, which looks to have been repainted at some point a long time ago. There is some checking, a few chips here and there, but overall I wouldn't touch a thing. The gold stripes along its flanks are actually painted on and the TR6 insignias on the quarters were a favorite of mine when I was young. It's got an accessory trunk rack which is practical, albeit very heavy--opening the deck lid takes more muscle than you'd expect. The rest of the chrome is also original and in good order save for very light pitting on the rear bumper, but again, probably not severe enough to require anything but a polish. The tan interior gives this car a classic look and is a lot more user-friendly on hot days than the more common black vinyl. The seats, dash, and door panels are original, but the carpets are so nice I have to believe they've been replaced. The upholstery is in excellent condition with only a small tear in the driver's side panel above the seat release where it has obviously been rubbing. The wood dashboard is excellent and all the Smiths gauges are fully functional. In fact, everything works on this TR6, which is rather unusual for any old car, let alone a British sports car. The trunk is clean and includes a full-sized spare and a set of original tools. The top is original, but it's shot. We had to cut out the side windows just to get it to fold and it's rough. To be honest, I'm probably the first guy in decades to put it up, because it comes with a full tonneau cover, which is how the current owner has been using it since 1985--he says he's never even seen the top. So plan on a new top, but fortunately they're very cheap and you can install it yourself without the help of an upholstery shop. The original tan boot is in good shape and that's what I've got installed right now. The greatest part of the TR6 is the burly 2.5 liter inline-six under the hood. Not some wheezy little four, this big six puts out a baritone bellow that gives it an entirely different personality from, say, an MGB. Thanks to a stainless steel header and brand new stainless exhaust system, it sounds spectacular and pulls with gusto in any gear. Honestly, you're probably not prepared for the torque in a car like this. It's also got a new alternator, a shiny valve cover, and a recent service, so it's ready to go and runs superbly. It's not even much of a leaker! The undercarriage is spotless, as you'd expect from a California car, and it was just fitted two weeks ago with a set of brand new Panasport wheels and 15-inch radials that have less than a mile on them. The original wheels and exhaust manifold are, of course, included with the car. This ain't no MG, and finding a good, clean, original, low-mileage one won't be easy. This is a big sports car in disguise and it's an absolute blast to drive. We're asking $22,900, and I challenge you to find a nicer one. I really like this little car.

The studies pretty much show that using a cell phone in any way is more or less equivalent to driving drunk. A recent study released last week seems to even suggest that the hands-free systems built into cars are WORSE, not better, than holding the device up to your head. Remembering commands, composing a text message verbally, etc., are all extremely distracting. I watched a video on the methodology and they used scanners to determine where you were looking, to watch steering wheel angles, speed, and positioning with regards to the stripes on the road. EVERY SINGLE PERSON using a device of any kind, hands free, Bluetooth, in-car voice commands, holding it with their hands, and worst of all, texting manually, was weaving, not looking forward, driving at highly variable speeds... exactly like a drunk. I took a lesson from that and have stopped using my phone at all in any of my cars. My new Cadillac connects to my cell phone and I can talk without touching it, but my wife even pointed out that when I use it, my driving suffers noticeably. No more. Not to diminish the tragedy of the real victims here, but imagine the horror of the guy who killed the folks in this Model A and how badly his life is ruined maybe because a phone call was too important to miss. Now imagine that was you.

Thanks for the kind words, Wayne. I have some advice for you and anyone else who is sitting on the fence about a purchase. I don't often get to say this simply because my position as a car broker makes it sound self-serving, but the smartest thing I've ever done is clean out my savings and buy my 1929 Cadillac. I've wanted a car like that all my life, I'm upside-down on the money part of the car by about 20-25%, and I simply don't care. The fun my family has had in that car made me forget the purchase price and subsequent repairs instantly. I never once regret buying the car or spending all that money getting it into top driving condition. I've been working with a potential buyer for about three years looking for a suitable 1941 Cadillac. He's pretty specific about what he wants, but I've floated about eight or ten cars past him that were "right." He passed on all of them simply because they weren't quite the right combination of cheap and perfect. One was only $1500 more than he wanted to spend, yet he still passed. Now he's three years older, he's missed three driving seasons, his kids are getting too old to want to hang out with their dad in an old car anymore, and, well, he's still waiting on the sidelines, not joining the game. Over a few bucks?!? That's just lame. I guarantee that even if he pays $5000 or $10,000 more than he wanted to, the minute he turns the key and starts enjoying the car, he'll stop worrying about the price. So if you can afford it, if you see a car you like, give yourself permission to take the plunge. Whatever you buy (I know you guys are smart enough to buy well) will always be worth about what you paid anyway, so you can always get out without a lot of damage. Don't sweat the price tag (well, don't do it if it'll put you in the poor house). The benefits will outweigh any financial concerns you may have. Money is so easy to get and time is impossible to replace. Get busy living and let the money take care of itself.

SOLD once again! Thank you!

SOLD once again. Thank you!

SOLD once again! Thank you!

I may have access to this gorgeous 1934 Twelve coupe-roadster. It will be VERY expensive if it's available. Is that something you'd be interested in? Sorry about the image size, I don't know how to resize a link.

*SOLD* It seems that we've been on a bit of a British car streak lately, and this cute 1947 MG TC is the latest. I'm not quite sure where to put this car in terms of condition, because there's quite a bit that's excellent and a few things that need tending. The car actually spent the last 10 years as static art in the owner's living room and has been recently recommissioned for road duty by one of the better mechanics in our area. While it was sitting, it was drained of fluids and was obviously in a climate-controlled environment. However, I don't believe the car has ever had a full restoration but rather maintained and restored as necessary. There's probably one repaint in its past, a replacement interior in tan vinyl, and a newer top, but I doubt the body has ever been apart and the chassis is quite original. And yes, it is right-hand drive, like a proper British sports car should be. From 10 feet away, the paint looks great. From 5 feet, it looks OK, and up close there are swirls, scratches, and blemishes. It's presentable and in decent driver condition, but it is by no means a show car and it probably looks better in photos than it actually is. The fenders and hood fit well and I can find no evidence of rust anywhere on the car, so it's in good shape there. The doors fit well although they don't latch very tightly, which is because the striker plates are a little loose. The chrome is decent and probably original throughout the car, with the radiator shell being excellent. The headlight buckets are a bit scuffed and there's a dent in the back of the left one, but I do like the sporting screens on the lenses that give it a rally-ready look. You'll note that one of the radiator grille slats is missing and we don't have it--it's not broken off, it's just gone. The tan interior is vinyl and looks approximately like what it might have looked like when it was new. The carpets are tired and threadbare, possibly original, and the door panels are in good shape. The wood dash is excellent and all the gauges are operational and I especially like the tachometer and speedometer faces--lovely! Once you're situated behind the 4-spoke banjo wheel, it's actually pretty comfortable, although the urge to reach out and touch the pavement is persistent. There's a folding canvas top that's in good shape, although it has shrunk a little bit and needs some extra muscle to latch it to the windshield--some time in the hot sun will probably cure this particular malady. The engine is a good runner, it starts right up, and idles well thanks to the recent service. It runs, drives, stops, and steers pretty well. The brakes are new, including master cylinder, flex lines, and wheel cylinders, and all the fluids are fresh. The engine looks so good that I'm guessing it's been out and rebuilt at some point and it doesn't smoke, although it does leak from the rear main seal a bit, which might get better with some driving--it sat for 10 years, after all. The chassis is original and grungy, but it's not rusty or damaged and there are no big deviations from stock beyond the modern replacement muffler. Just before going into the living room, it received a set of chrome wire wheels and brand new tires which are still like new, and the original wheels are included with the sale. This would be an excellent candidate for a show-quality restoration and it wouldn't break the bank because it's in such good shape. Alternatively, fix it up a bit as you go and have a fun rally car that has a wonderful old world look that needs no fussing. It's somewhere in between fixer-upper and high-quality driver right now and needs a push in either direction. Prices on these have been moving up fairly aggressively lately, so we're asking $29,900 which will leave the new owner room to fix things and still come out ahead financially. Thanks for looking!

Agreed. The open two-seaters (OTS) are always more valuable, all other things being equal. You should have seen the feeding frenzy for the XK140 OTS I just sold! Even at $99,900 I think I was probably 10-15% light on the price given how quickly it was snatched up for full asking price. I wish I had a showroom full of them--easiest car I've ever sold.

*SOLD* It seems that we've been on a bit of a British car streak lately, and this cute 1947 MG TC is the latest. I'm not quite sure where to put this car in terms of condition, because there's quite a bit that's excellent and a few things that need tending. The car actually spent the last 10 years as static art in the owner's living room and has been recently recommissioned for road duty by one of the better mechanics in our area. While it was sitting, it was drained of fluids and was obviously in a climate-controlled environment. However, I don't believe the car has ever had a full restoration but rather maintained and restored as necessary. There's probably one repaint in its past, a replacement interior in tan vinyl, and a newer top, but I doubt the body has ever been apart and the chassis is quite original. And yes, it is right-hand drive, like a proper British sports car should be. From 10 feet away, the paint looks great. From 5 feet, it looks OK, and up close there are swirls, scratches, and blemishes. It's presentable and in decent driver condition, but it is by no means a show car and it probably looks better in photos than it actually is. The fenders and hood fit well and I can find no evidence of rust anywhere on the car, so it's in good shape there. The doors fit well although they don't latch very tightly, which is because the striker plates are a little loose. The chrome is decent and probably original throughout the car, with the radiator shell being excellent. The headlight buckets are a bit scuffed and there's a dent in the back of the left one, but I do like the sporting screens on the lenses that give it a rally-ready look. You'll note that one of the radiator grille slats is missing and we don't have it--it's not broken off, it's just gone. The tan interior is vinyl and looks approximately like what it might have looked like when it was new. The carpets are tired and threadbare, possibly original, and the door panels are in good shape. The wood dash is excellent and all the gauges are operational and I especially like the tachometer and speedometer faces--lovely! Once you're situated behind the 4-spoke banjo wheel, it's actually pretty comfortable, although the urge to reach out and touch the pavement is persistent. There's a folding canvas top that's in good shape, although it has shrunk a little bit and needs some extra muscle to latch it to the windshield--some time in the hot sun will probably cure this particular malady. The engine is a good runner, it starts right up, and idles well thanks to the recent service. It runs, drives, stops, and steers pretty well. The brakes are new, including master cylinder, flex lines, and wheel cylinders, and all the fluids are fresh. The engine looks so good that I'm guessing it's been out and rebuilt at some point and it doesn't smoke, although it does leak from the rear main seal a bit, which might get better with some driving--it sat for 10 years, after all. The chassis is original and grungy, but it's not rusty or damaged and there are no big deviations from stock beyond the modern replacement muffler. Just before going into the living room, it received a set of chrome wire wheels and brand new tires which are still like new, and the original wheels are included with the sale. This would be an excellent candidate for a show-quality restoration and it wouldn't break the bank because it's in such good shape. Alternatively, fix it up a bit as you go and have a fun rally car that has a wonderful old world look that needs no fussing. It's somewhere in between fixer-upper and high-quality driver right now and needs a push in either direction. Prices on these have been moving up fairly aggressively lately, so we're asking $29,900 which will leave the new owner room to fix things and still come out ahead financially. Thanks for looking!

Cars have always been fashion and rat rods (a term I detest) are just one aspect of it. They may be built down to a price, they may be inspired by the original hot rods built from spare parts from a junk yard, and they may be intentionally trying to re-create a bygone era, but they're still about fashion. Go to any cruise night and you'll see a half-dozen of them covered in primer with various parts bolted on and they will be intentionally crude. Maybe it's backlash against the high-dollar, ultra-finished rods, but it's definitely a sub-culture with its own rules and standards (even if the rule is there are no rules). I do think some are cool and I like that guys are going out and having fun with their cars. I get kind of weary of the intentional "hey, look how cool this is because it's old!" kind of vibe that many of these cars give off, but they're also doing unusual things with unusual cars and bodies that would have otherwise gone to the great scrapyard in the sky. And for that reason, I'm OK with the whole thing. Just stop calling them rat rods. Please.

*SOLD* Thank you!

SOLD! Thank you!

"Barn finds" in the traditional sense have always been the holy grail of the hobby. We all peer into garages and barns when we're out in the country looking for some undiscovered relic. We love that, and there are still some undiscovered gems out there. But the term has gotten blown all out of proportion and for some reason, even experienced collectors are grabbing up grubby, neglected, downright abused cars simply because they're unrestored. A great survivor is a car that hasn't been restored but has always been loved and maintained. It's worn, scuffed, and maybe a little shabby, but it hasn't been shoved into an outbuilding for three decades and forgotten, slowly decomposing back into its base elements. And as much as I love the car and Jack Rich was a friend of mine, I think this was the car that started the current extreme "barn find" cult we're seeing on the auction circuit: Kudos to RM Auctions for completely inventing a whole new category of collector cars that they could use to extract money from well-heeled but not particularly well-seasoned collectors. And now it's a legitimate phenomeon--nobody wants to be the only guy without a "barn find" in his collection, right? Yes, it's cool that it's unrestored, but when they decided to leave even the disintegrated ancient tires flapping around on the wheels, well, that was taking "conservation" to a whole new (and stupid) level. As someone up above pointed out, having an original car is great, but if it's very deteriorated, original or not, there's not much point to leaving it deteriorated is there? You aren't preserving anything except the fact that the bolts haven't yet come loose. The factory sure didn't install the rust and rotted wood. I love that Olds Limited and think it's cool to see it unrestored, don't get me wrong, but my point is that Jack did put new tires on it and get it running, so it is once again functional as an automobile. Every heap of rusty scrap coming out of a barn isn't some relic worthy of preservation just because it hasn't totally reverted to iron oxide. What about that 1958 Chevy Apache pickup truck that was sold at the Lambrecht Auction for $80,000? It had something like 15 miles on it, but it was completely wasted. It had been stored outdoors for decades and nothing on the truck was usable in its current condition (is that the one a tree fell on, I can't remember). What the heck do you do with it? It's not usable as-is, it's not a benchmark for restorers looking for originality (much of the original markings and hard-to-replicate tags and assembly line details were long since worn away by the elements), it's just a deteriorated old pickup that happened to have never been driven. Restore it and it's just like the thousands of other restored ones out there. Someone paid twice what a restored one would cost to own one that will never, ever do anything more than sit there being broken. Restoring it cuts its value in half to current market levels. Leaving it as-is leaves you with an $80,000 hole in your wallet and a piece of static yard art that is neither pretty nor educational. What can a genuine collector possibly gain from that except being "the guy" who bought it? I also think there's a bit of vicarious excitement of the discovery involved. The guy buying the car at auction obviously didn't find the car, extract it from the barn, and get it home. But by leaving the dirt intact, the auction company is allowing the buyer to live that lie if he wants to. You will note that they used to clean the dirt off barn finds so you could see the car's actual condition. Not anymore. I just saw a "barn find" at auction that had a 6-inch circle of dirt wiped off the windshield so the driver could see out of it while rolling it out of the trailer at the auction, but the rest of the car was still caked with dirt and bird droppings. And I'll wager that dirt was carefully bagged and tagged so it could be reapplied later to complete the look (I'm only half-joking). There is no logic. It's the same as buying a new house, then painting everything beige because "the next buyer" will want it to be neutral. Meanwhile, you're going to live there for 15 years. Enjoy your time and let the future take care of itself. True survivors are gems worthy of preservation. There are many wonderful cars out there that are, as my friend and fellow forum commentator BillP likes to say, "unf*cked with" and that's a big, big plus in my book. But leaving a rusted hulk in its rusted hulk condition simply because "Hey, it's original and it's a barn find!" is illogical at best and foolish at worst. On the other hand, I won't claim that I'm not taking advantage of the lunacy--if guys want rust and dirt and a long-term history of sitting around doing nothing, I'm happy to give it to them. As a result, I have the following "barn find" available for sale. It at least fits the textbook definition and is available for about 10% of the cost of the Lambrecht truck. And mine runs! Caveat Emptor! Sincerely, David Hannum

While "matching numbers" in the usual sense didn't exist in 1941, the engine stamping number does decode as a correct 1941 Century block, so I'm inclined to believe it's the car's original engine. The engine number is not a hand-stamping, either, but factory. Rusty is right, it was not caused by a wayward rod letting go, it's in the wrong place and the damage isn't, well, spectacular enough. Just a hole. I've always wondered about it and my engine builder (the same guy who does the engines for the top 1940-41 Buick restorer, Doug Seybold) was the one who suggested that it was probably repaired at the factory. It is a fascinating wrinkle in the car's history, though, that's for sure, but I've been speculating on it for years and don't have any good answers.

I found the following when I tore down my 1941 Century engine. No idea what happened or when, or when it was repaired, but there was a big old hole in the block. There is some speculation that it might even have been done at the factory because the block was porous. When they went to hone the cylinders, they noted that it was already .030 oversize (fortunately, these blocks can handle up to .125 overbore), so it was obviously rebuilt once before. But it was pretty gnarly, so someone must have neglected it for quite a while. Then there were the rings: Nothing inside your engine looks out of the ordinary for something that's been on the road for 75 years. Buick engineers never once thought that someone would be driving it regularly in 2014...

Man, tough crowd. Isn't variety the reason we're here? There are tons of oddball cars but someone out there loves every one of them. I go to car shows and see all kinds of cars that I'd never personally want to own, but someone does own it and someone does have fun with it, and I'm glad of that. I thought that's kind of the point of the hobby. This truck probably wasn't easy to build, the guy's got some mad skills. Kudos to him even if his motivation is not something you understand. It's not like he destroyed some priceless artifact, it's an F150, the most common vehicle in the universe. If it's not your thing, that's cool, but no need to insult the guy. He's having fun, he's making people smile, what else do you want?

It's really not anywhere close to a real Boss 351, which was 1971 only, and they never built a convertible version and never with an automatic transmission. I wouldn't get hung up on what it's trying to be and just focus on what it is: a 1971 Mustang convertible with a V8. Base your value judgements on that and that alone. The cosmetics that make it look like a Boss have 0 effect on value. If it's solid, clean, well-done, and driveable, I would think that $16-18K would be a good price. That said, I do kind of like "could have beens" and there was a guy in town when I was in high school who built a bunch of cars that the factory could have built but didn't, like a 1970 Boss 302 convertible and a 1971 fastback with a 429 Drag Pack drivetrain. Very factory-correct looking just as if the factory had built it. Both cars fooled more than a few people and they were very nicely done, but he never tried to pass them off as anything other than works of imagination.

Maybe if you poured MMO on it...?

Spinney, it works exactly like this special rock I have here on my desk. It was given to me by a tribal shaman from India who imbued it with an enchantment to prevent tiger attacks. Since receiving the rock, I have not been attacked by a tiger. Not even once! I'm a believer...