trimacar

Value of lights, only if the Woodlites are real....there were reproductions made a number of years ago, and the ones on this car don't appear to have the correct badges on them.... I've seen worse modifications, but still a shame...

I have a copy of Edward Bland's "The Magnificent Packard Twelve of nineteen thirty four", 180 or so pages softbound, Issue number 19 (of a few hundred printed in 1977), hastaining on cover corners, and gradually decreasing staining on lower right side up until page 22 or so. Some staining on back few pages in same location. Does not take away from nice interior pages of a hard to come by book. If anyone wants detailed interior pics please let me know. Asking $650, postpaid in continental US. I don't like using the word rare, let's just say these don't come up for sale very often, and I know of people who've looked for years to find a copy. Thanks David Coco Winchester Va.

I think it's worth putting in Hemmings, it's good exposure, and they have an Internet site too that it goes on. At one time I thought Hemmings was just for overpriced cars that wouldn't sell locally, but these days if you're looking for a specific car then it's still a good resource. These days, condition is everything. A car that needs a lot of work is a hard sell. An overpriced car is a hard sell, as there are just too many choices out there of collector cars for sale. Good luck...

The best rebuild for the water pump is a Henry Portz kit, expensive but the pump on a Cord is difficult to rebuild. 9 times out of 10 the back plate will crack during disassembly. Short of installing all new on the drive axles (used to be a kit with Toronada front end, Richardson conversion I believe), either better used pieces or rebuild what you have. A well known ACD collector just acquired a large parts stash, pm me and I'll give you his contact info. He could also better help you with technical info. Good luck dc

Interesting thought, but then again, there are ALWAYS more collector cars than there are collectors. Simple math. It's rare that any antique car collector owns just one car. I have 11, many have more, but few have only one. Thus, there are many more cars than there are collectors. At any one time, what's your guess on cars that are for sale that fall in the "collector" category? I'd guess 10,000 or more, that's only 200 per state, so probably a low number estimate. All that said, there is still a huge interest in pre war cars, and there always will be. Anyone waiting to buy the car of their dreams "for pennies on the dollar when the market crashes" is playing a fools game, and all they're doing is robbing themselves of enjoyment and friendships that ownership and usage of car would provide. Yes, the market has ups and downs, but taking individual cases and making that the norm is not a true indication of market...

Has to be a Model 16 or 17 Buick. The hard part is finding a set with the three rings per wheel, a lock ring and two reversible side rings, so that you can use either a clincher or a straight side tire. If Don has the hard stuff, I'd jump on it if I were you, you can always have the wood added...

Very nice work, you're lucky to have a talented trimmer who appears to pay attention to detail. Tops are not hard to put on, you just need to know a few tricks, have a good eye, and have a ton of patience. Since we're showing off work, here are some cars I've done! Darrin and Cord, both once owned by the late Bill Pettit, an Autocar with a custom made top material (thanks to Eric Haartz who did 40 yards for me, note Pantasote replicated surface with light whipcord backing), and my very own '31 Pierce.....

I've bought over 200 collector cars over the last 50 years, and my rule has been from day one that the offer I make is good WHILE I'M STANDING THERE. If you leave an open ended offer, then all you're doing is starting an auction, with the seller telling the next guy "Well, I've been offered XX for it, you'd have to do better to get the car"...... You're under no obligation to honor an offer once the seller refuses it. The game starts over. I do agree that offering less later on is bad manners, but can see that happening if you only had x + y dollar bills and had already spent x on another car, and y was less than your offer, and it's explained that way to the seller. I've always tried to be fair when a car was for sale. If it's a great bargain, not much negotiation. If it's fairly priced, will push some, but you don't want to overdo it, if you buy the car you want both you and the seller to walk away happy. Word does get around about the way you act. If it's overpriced, I may make an offer, but many times I've done this the seller got mad at me, thinking I was trying to lowball, when in reality my offer was ballpark market. I've told the story here of a fellow who wanted $110,000 for a '36 Pierce convertible coupe that, at the time, was worth half that. I offered $50K, and he got really mad at me, and this was the owner of a local Chevrolet dealership, a supposedly reasonable man.. He later took to car to an auction 1000 miles away and high bid (and selling price) was $56K. He lost money on not taking my offer. Every situation is different. I once had a really nice '28 Model A roadster, back when they were in the thousands of dollars. I advertised it for $3500 in Hemmings, had not ONE call. I told my father I was going to lower the price, he said no, raise it, they don't think it's much of a car at your price. I put it in Hemmings a few months later at $4200, and it sold with one phone call.....one never knows....

Absolutely, Eric Haartz is great to work with on materials. As to tops, there are trimmers who can put tops on, and there are trimmers who can put tops on correctly. Steps needed: Remove all old material, including thousands of tacks and/or staples (a slight exaggeration, it just feels like that sometimes). Repair the bows as needed, usually a couple of tops at least have been on a car, and bows are full of holes and sometimes cracked. Recover bows with bowdrill. Install bows on car, and spend a lot of time getting them all in the correct position and square, this sometimes takes a day. Make pads (don't use foam, use heavy cotton batting as original), install pads and straps inside pads, sew pads closed. Mark you line for the top panel seams (I use a piece of cording, sewn at a few places to pad, and marked randomly with a magic marker for sewing marks). Fit and mark main top panel. Fit and mark two side top panels. Sew together, fit to car and if they fit correctly top sew the seams. Make rear window panel. Make and install all straps as needed. Fit rear panel to rear bow and body. Fit top panels, and mark sides ON THE CAR, it's straight on the car but not straight when you lay it on table. Sew reinforcing into sides, and bind as needed. Install top. Install wire-on or hidem welting at seams. Stand back and admire. All that takes me about 60 to 70 hours, but I may be slow. I fit the top to the car, using the old top as a reference, but NEVER as a pattern. Using Stayfast/Haartz cloth, materials will run about $1000, and if you figure $50 an hour then $3500 for labor. You can see why you don't want to use a cheap material for the top, most of the cost is labor. People do it for less. People do it for a LOT more for Pebble Beach quality. Quality is all over the place. The cars I've done have won national awards, so I must be doing OK. I'm NOT looking for business, but every now and then could sneak a top into the shop. Hope that helps. If you can get a quality top done for $2500, then jump on it. A lot of people don't mind wrinkles, and that's fine, they're using the car. Most Model T kit tops are very inexpensive, but don't fit well, because after 100 years the top has changed from original and the kits are done from original dimensions. It just all depends on what you want to live with.

Seen next to a convenience mart, and posted without comment, although I guess even saying that is a comment (kind of like the pages in a book that have "Intentionally Left Blank" when, in reality, printing that means it ISN'T blank)…….

In 1984 there was an article on Selden plate numbers. The research was just starting and it listed a few numbers and cars. Does anyone know if an updated list exists?

This forum has proved not to be the best place to sell a car. If I were you, I'd post it on the Model A Ford Club of America site, don't know if you have to be a member. Also, Ebay is a great place to get exposure for your car, maybe won't sell there but reaches a huge market. Either set it up as an auction with a reserve, or a buy it now with best offer (although I notice now that some "best offer" listings mean offer me MORE than it/s listed for!). I think it only costs about a hundred bucks to sell a car on Ebay, I could be wrong...

Nice!!

I've always gotten a kick out of seeing the tops half down, or as an optimist would say, half up! Reminds me of the saying about armadillos when I lived in Louisiana, that they were "born dead on the side of the road", since that's the only way you ever saw one. I've owned a '67 Lincoln convertible and a handful of 64-66 Thunderbird convertibles, and the relays are definitely a pain. I understand the frustration, both of keeping them operational and selling a car that has them. I once sold a '66 Thunderbird when I was in New Orleans, about a month later the owner called me yelling that the top was down and wouldn't come up, and as mentioned, I'd sold him a POS. Naturally, the top had failed down in a thunderstorm, and somehow he was hot under the collar even though his collar was soaking wet. I like helping people, and had he asked nicely I'd have gone to help him, but it just doesn't work when the first words you hear on the phone have to do with your family tree, or absence thereof..... I'm really surprised that no one has come up with a solid state solution to the problem, I like keeping things original, but a computer with the brain power of the mouse on my computer could easily sequence the different operations for these tops. Then, all you'd have to do is make sure the pressure switches work. Even those could be replaced with other types of devices that are more reliable, even electric eyes!

I'd wait and see where it ends up, bet it hits 15 k in the last few seconds of the auction....