Thriller

I like the idea of the two hoods...put one on, go to a show, leave and return with a different driver and the other hood...that'll mess with some folks' minds.

OK...so the economy got stimulated, but what got the ball rolling was bad loans and people being over-extended on credit. So, how many folks bought new cars that were able to afford them in the long run? Rhetorical question there. A national economy is a much more complex animal. I also don't know that pollution is reduced. Granted, the pollution produced as a direct result of an individual driving is reduced if they get better fuel economy. However, pollution isn't that simple either - there is all kinds produced as part of the manufacturing process and creating the plastics that are such a large part of new vehicles. The largest exporter of oil to the USA is Canada. To reduce dependence on foreign oil really requires stopping burning it for all purposes, including heating and electrical power generation. Anyway, before fanning flames too much more, I had just wanted folks to think a bit more about the overall impacts and not just a narrow focus.

I don't know if they would have what you need (haven't exactly looked much for that era), but Classic Buicks would be one place to start. RockAuto is a good choice for some of the odds and ends. I am content with both of them, although RockAuto has parts coming from different locations, so shipping can get higher as they don't combine shipments from the different sources. I don't know if either of them have a paper catalog. Good luck.

Regardless of the fuel economy, I was surprised at a few cars there...2004 Rainiers, 20 '84/'85 Riviera convertibles and over 50 hardtops, and a pile of Roadmaster wagons that so many people are trying to lay their hands on. Granted some of these may not have been in the best of shape, but I'm really surprised (and disappointed) about some of them. I guess there may be no future collectible Buicks if they are all crushed when they get to be 5+ years old (not that they really seem to be making new collectibles, but that's another story). Perhaps not just the used car dealers will go out of business, but before long the automotive parts suppliers, body shops, restoration shops, the list goes on...along with the jobs and property / business taxes no longer generated. Being Canadian, I didn't pay much attention to this program. I know there were domestic and foreign cars purchased through this program...was there are requirement that they be North American built, or at least have a minimum percentage of American parts / engineering work / whatever? Or did Uncle Sam just throw a bunch of money to the land of the rising sun?

GSJohnny - your explanation now makes more sense to me. Thanks for the clarification. NTX - I would love to believe that the judges are taking their time, but it doesn't make sense to me. I have seen judging teams that average 20 minutes per car, then hand out a bunch of bronze awards. That to me is not trying to find fault in a perfect car. That is closer to killing the car. Now, if we introduced concours style judging with white gloves looking for dust, then I can appreciate it taking longer and trying to find fault. However, this isn't a competition between cars, it is trying to measure a car against a standard - that standard being as the car left the factory. It may be possible that I'm the one who doesn't understand the 400 point system, but every year I seem to come across folks who refuse to subject their cars to the judging. As another stated, I agree that I don't see the imminent demise of the BCA. However, the club is what we, the membership, make of it. If we aren't inclusive and try to drum up support, then the BCA will have a harder time. We need to be visible, positive about the club, and willing to share and discuss membership with non-members. I always have more to say, but I have to run....

Beresford, SD Now I'm starting to get ticked. I was thinking the price on this car was likely high...perhaps I'm out to lunch. There is a lot of restoration and dollars to be spent on this car. I went to go to Mannheim Gold Book online, my favourite...and there's a message that it is now delivered by NADA guides...ultimately go to their site and they only go back to 1926. Sigh. This after the Old Cars Price Guide dropped pre-1930 values. Sigh. Neat car. I hope it finds a good home...it just won't be mine.

Nice car Stuart. I'd be interested, but the barn is full right now and the dollars are few. Right hand drive doesn't matter much to me - they are letting a lot of the Japanese import RHD vehicles onto the road around here now...why not one that was made in Canada?

But, you are The Bull...or was MrEarl pulling our collective legs?

Ah...the Pacer...I have always thought that is a neat car, even if it is ridiculed. Is the Electra lowered a bit? The front wheel well makes me think so. Thanks for sharing the photos.

With all due respect, I'm going to call you out on that exaggeration. The vast majority of the cars are properly registered and the judging captain should have the master judging sheet for each car. If you know what you are looking for, especially for the "expert" judges who consistently only judge one class, it shouldn't take anywhere near an average of 15 minutes to find a car on the show field. Besides, even if one is harder to find, you would probably go by others in the class that need to be judged, so stop and judge them first (of course, the senior cars are the exception to that as they are to be judged first). As it is, there are judging teams that are taking 20-30 minutes per car when they are all together. Perhaps mixing things up is what is necessary to get these folks to listen to Pete and Alan when they say up to 10 minutes per car and don't kill the car. Getting off soap box.... GSJohnny - I wouldn't call it analysis paralysis. We have had quite a variety of contributors, members and non-members, from a wide demographic, make comment in this thread. As a majority of our Board of Directors are members of this forum (actually, there is only one who I am unsure of, although I know another isn't a regular), hopefully they are getting some ideas and thoughts about this feedback from the membership. The reality is that, while this may not be a true demographic sampling of the general membership, there is quite a cross-section, so the input is valid. There are differences of opinion without it turning ugly...this implies to me that we are either grown up or that this topic is something we value. Besides, most of us aren't doing any analysis...we're just offering our thoughts and reacting to the thoughts of others. Essentially we have 3 scenarios - one is to maintain the current level of membership...from the financial information we have seen, this provides insufficient revenue for our expenses, so either expenses need to be cut (difficult when nobody wants to make cuts to the Bugle), or revenues need to increase (dues increase which is already in place). The second is declining membership...this is a more difficult challenge, since it is hard to prepare for...what I mean by that is the size of decline may be difficult to predict, hence budgeting becomes more difficult. The best scenario is with increased membership. The easiest way to actually accomplish this is from the grass roots promotion. If each of us can talk to say 5 Buick owners who aren't members, and even if only one of them join, that would lead to a doubling of the membership. So, if we each talk to 5 folks, and one in 100 join, then we have on the order of 4-500 new members. I'd like to hope we could come up with better than a 1/100 join rate. But, if we all stuff our hands in our pockets, and tell the BoD that they had better do something about it, well, we may just be shooting ourselves in the foot. OK, so you may be able to count a bit of simple math as analysis...but I'm still typing, so I'm not paralysed

Mine came Monday, I think...I don't think I'd be as far along as I am if I had gotten it just yesterday.

Bienvenue Mino. Your Electra is a great looking car.

I like the idea of mixing things up a bit. Does everyone see the Rivieras or Reattas at a National when they are off on their own, not even mixing with other Buicks of the same year? I know the answer is no. Mixing things up would give a bit more exposure to different cars, both old and new. I've never liked the excuse about making it easier / harder on judges. If everyone would listen to Pete in the judging school, the teams would spend no more than 10 minutes on a car, so a class of 10 cars would be done in under 2 hours...the judges could be done in time for lunch at a National.

Whew.

Yup...been a while though.

I've seen the video. I'm happy that Mythbusters didn't make it work though...we have an overpopulation of car thieves in this part of the world...and the powers that be seem to take a dim view of letting me beat the punks with a tire iron.

Bonjour Michel. Ca va? I work for the federal government and occasionally get to Ottawa. If I can get there some time that isn't in the dead of winter, it would be great to be able to see your car(s). My work unit is supposed to be moving to Kanata in March, so if I visit after that point, I would likely be staying out that way. There is a group of Buick owners that gets together Tuesdays at a bar in Kanata...I don't recall the name at the moment. I was there in December...from Colonel By drive, it was a $60 cab ride...I still don't think I've recovered from that sticker shock.

Tom...should I be scared to ask why you need the fender? I'm cringing thinking about it.

Dick - do you know what year they came from? There are some differences across the years with the hub opening. Also, being 14", is it a safe assumption that they are 4-3/4" bolt pattern? Thanks.

If that is what is on the data plate, then I believe it would be a 1927 model 28. Back in the day, some jurisdictions licensed a vehicle based upon the year of purchase / registration, so an early 1927 model may have been registered as a 1926.

Nice. Another consideration is that, with these cars around 20 years old, some of the local car clubs start allowing them. Up here, you can get vintage plates (although they are currently worthless) for cars that are at least 30 years old. Great story. Today I made note of a similar vintage Regal coupe with the 3800. Unfortunately, it had rust in the rear wheel wells. Thankfully, there wasn't a for sale sign to tempt me.

Congratulations!

Thanks Jason. That's how I recall the '66 being, but I've never taken a really close look at a 430.

"Ruby" is also red jewel.... I'd get into an Enclave...Suzanne is less excited about it than I am though. Initially she was, but over time, she decided she doesn't really care for the design (not design elements, but overall shape...sort of like a plump station wagon or something...I forget exactly how she described it).

OK...so how far from Ames is there a drag strip? I found one in Cedar Falls, but that is about 100 miles. Ames used to have a drag strip - Ames Drag Strip. Yesterday I stumbled onto the Modified Driven class...so it got more likely that we will be driving the '76 as well as the '54. I'd be curious to see what Spirit and I could do...all in fun, not serious racing mind you. A few quick lessons from Roberta and I'd be happy to give a shot.