edinmass

What a car can do, and what it should do are two different things. A good rule of thumb on any CCCA classic is a minimum of 350 CID. That generally means you can climb any hill, and drive any back road with ease, and even jump on an interstate for 10 miles without causing any major issues. Can you get cars to run 70 mph all day long....sure. Just more money and effort. Still doesn't mean the brakes, steering, and suspension are capable of doing it safely. I actually prefer mechanical brakes in old cars.......so they can sit without issues and are ready to go in just a few minutes. Juice brakes don't like sitting for more than three months. Any standard or super eight Packard from 32 up is a great car. Buy the best car you can, it's cheaper in the long run. Preferably one that just did a 1000 tour. Any car sitting for five years is going to cost 10-20 k to make semi road worthy if you can't do it yourself. PS- Tires are still a pain to secure, so before you buy any car, check availability for rubber. Under 350 CID, and the modern roads and traffic become much more of a challange.

The 1934 56 convertible in our garage has two.

Never, ever sandblast ANY car with its paint on it. If sandblasting is necessary…….sometime it is, sometimes it is not. The car should be chemically stripped two or three times, allowing 1/3 the pressure and a much finer material to remove what is left. Very, very few people can sandblast a car and not warp the panels. Especially if one is working to a price………..it can take countless hours to properly get a car down to base metal. Sandblasting is usually done as a low bid/quick job. Thus usually black beauty and lots of pressure to get in and out. Dipping a car can also be ok…..or a disaster.

Dave, It’s called the dollar menu. 🥸

Napa, Carlisle line three ton stands. They were a gift. I usually use six ton stands, but in the case of the four post lift I had Snap-On six ton units under the rear end. The car is 5600 pounds.

I never ever gamble with my safety, or a chance denting a JN!

YES, there are two of them....upper and lower. Also you can see the cork oil level float also. The valve in the cover is the drain for the engine.....no drain plug on a J or JN, just a ball valve you turn from under the hood to drain the oil....

Someone has to do the big projects.......😎 Notice the Pierce Arrow shirt while finishing up the engine........😇

Unlike many others here...( I won't mention names.....but I should) we do actual work and we drive our cars. Here is a JN Duesenberg having its oil pump serviced.

HERE'S EDDIE!

WELL........if we get technical.............it's more than one. 😎 How about we take yours for a spin during fall meet, and then come down here and we will drive along the ocean during Boca? 😇

Example……dump the white walls, paint the wheels black, and a car with much better eyeball then the “Yellow Fever” car. PS- this is current market from last year.

300K will buy you a car three times better……..IE -more collectible and correct. And it won’t be barf yellow.

At least in the 1948 movie, they used good cars. Not made up junk, or plastic.

I know where there are three very similar and much better cars in condition and provenance for 1/3 of the number posted. The Gatsby car nomenclature is meaningless for a reason. There have been four cinema films of The Great Gatsby, one in 1926 which was silent. The “real” movie made in 1948 with Allan Ladd, and then the 70’s Redford and the 2010’s DiCaprio. Only the 1948 version was well done, and used real top of the line cars. I’m around Springfield cars on a daily basis……..and having been born and raised in Springfield I keep an close watch on the market. Could that number be real………only if someone with absolutely no clue as to values and provenance was bidding. I handicap the odds of that being a real sale at 10/1. I have been wrong many times over the years, but this one particular time I think my projection is safe. The J price is exactly where I would have put it…….except my 3 number was “all in”. Disappearing top cars are 5.5 all day long now. The one that just sold was recently done and hasn’t hit the show circuit yet……so that number is a current representation of the market today.

I don’t believe it for a second.

Much too nice for Phil’s car! Hell, then we would have to restore it! 😎

The Loco truck will probably be saved. A bunch of WWI lorry guys in the UK love to save the impossible. Looks like a five ton truck.

That’s what I was thinking when I saw it, so I thought a photo was worth the effort. When you think you have seen everything, and have a good gut feel if something is right or wrong……..you get kicked in the ass.

Most would use a MiG welder. Put some holes in the fishplate. Not a lot of stress on a small car with 40 hp. I’m no welder, but I would probably have a portable welder show up and Tig it. It’s not much money, and having an expert welding on a frame is worth it. One of those 30 years of experience deals where a self taught weekend car guru just hasn’t run fifty miles of weld. On frames and suspension……why risk it?

Since the tires are 1972-1976 era from the looks of them, they will need to be done.

Nice car, I have brokered a few of them in the 80’s & 90’s. They seem to be the same money now as then. Properly sorted a nice 45-50 mph car……….a bit heavy, but still very nice. 50 years in Massachuetts and I am not familiar with it……..interesting.

Sign porn………and also gas……..wonderful spot to visit.

I know countless Duesenberg owners……and only two of them have signs of any significance. Car guys are just that car guys…………different breed than sign/gasoline collectors. We can all realize our values by looking at our checkbooks……..I have no issue dumping huge amounts of wealth on a car……..on a sign……..nope. Doesn’t make me right or wrong just a car collector.

Having collected a world class automobilia collection from the 70’s onward, and then cashed it out in the mid 2000’s I can agree that the return on smaller collectables has been very good to me…..like 500 percent. Now the market for them is on a distinct downward trend. I’m fine with it, as I’m still buying………what I like. If it goes to zero, I’m fine with it. My limited experience with signs is there are two types of buyers……..impulsive with money to burn, and hard core collectors. Looking for an out on any sign over 50k isn’t an easy process. Then again, selling a car over 500k isn’t easy either. The question is how long will the music play……..