Twitch

If you are looking for definitions I'll give my 2¢ worth- A restoration is bringing a vehicle back to showroom condition as close to 100% as your wallet will allow. Ground up and frame up tells me some one basically disassembled the entire vehicle methodically replacing even bolts with slightly worn heads as well as everything else. These definitions have a wide variety of interpretations no doubt. And the fact that sombody did pull the body off doesn't mean they had to unless there was a positive indication of rust lurking where it could not be attacked in any other way. Most cars gently kept for their lives in my opinion do not need body off and it's money spent for naught. Mild custom was the jargon of the day in the 50s. This would be nearly every car at some shows. I see cars with non stock wheels, non stock repro interiors, often aftermarket steering wheels, non stock pain jobs. Occassionally some chrome removed and lowering without the use of hydraulics. These cars could be 100% stock in a couple days. A full custom has had extensive body modifications and changes in every area really. True customs are heavy on chrome in the engines and uncarraige. Some are so radical they bear no resemblance to the original car. Values, and what people will pay is usually higher than a 100% stocker. People interested in this type of car appreciate the money spent for the result. A refreshed original is probably what I'd call my Packard. It has a driver paint job but very excellent rechroming thought the interior is original 1950. A rat rod is what we called any car in the 50s that was in the transition stages- primer and probably stripped interior all awaiting proper attention when the owner could afford it. These were daily drivers usually owned by younger guys.

Vintage insurance is great because of the "agreed upon" valuation. It's more like being bonded for a certain amount than insuring. Each company has different limits I'm sure with different levels before they require an appraisal to be made. But the whole scenario is far superior to "regular" insurance including their attitude.

Bought the 50 Packard on Ebay a little over 3 years ago for $9,500 Bought the 73 Z-28 new for $4,195

I had a '63 122S that I let go of at around 305,000 miles. I rebuilt the engine at around 150,000 due to a tiny chip off of the corner of one piston that allowed compression loss. These are strong, simple cars easy to work on.

I thought we covered every aspect of this and related subjects pretty well fairly recently. To bottom line it we agreed that investors manipulating the markets and money drunk auction participants have driven up prices in general. Despite Joes Doak's car being a piece of crap- he sees a #1 example and figures his is worth way more too. In reality it is to some extent because the prime examples of influence are- auctions, appraisers, insurance companies, classified listings and regional trends.

Go here http://www.socalcarculture.com/clubs.html for all of it. Problem is that the bulk don't begin till Daylight Saving begins in April. I know I'll be at the Fuddruckers show/cruise in Lakewood on March 1st afternoon. If it is warm 100 cars might show. If it is cool probably 50.

Don't laugh. In the past there have been comments here about bodies such as the one pictured sitting on an equally rotten chassis and how they should be restored.

Folks a way out in the hills- not the suburbanites that moved further out- swear by urinating on hands beat up by hard work. I'm not joking. I heard this in Arkansas. Hey look at it this way, it's free. If it don't work buy your fancy schmancy creams.

Bugman- as this thread runs away at full speed, your querry is still paramount. For the little you plan to drive almost any vintage vehicle from the era you mention should be adequate. For $8000 you should be able to get a decent vehicle- as you say you're not going for a 57 Chevy convert! Vintage vehicles are just like later model used ones in that YOUR particluar style of use may be quite different than the previous owner gave it. And what parts and accessories have been replaced in the reasonable past by the old owner can make a difference as well. Old owner starts car twice a day drives freeway at 65MPH 20 miles total. New owner starts car many times a day running lots of stop and start errands in city. Old owner almost never drives at night. New owners logs lost of night hours going to and from night school. So its easy to see why any vintage or used car can perhaps quicky need a starter, solenoid, generator or voltage regulator. Buy the most car in the best condition you can for your money...and have fun with it!

One thing any one can do is build a photo collection on their PC. It can be pics they take at shows and cruise-ins plus images found on the web. I have a freeware screensaver/wallpaper program from www.webshots.com that I can categorize all my pix. I have about 4,500 auto images now plus some 2,000 others from aviation, landscapes and etc. Just use you search engines and be creative and specific.

Bugman- It is dependent on your actual usage not anyone on this forum's. Are you going to make a daily drive to Tulsa or OK City? If so a vintage vehicle is probably not the best thing. If you are you going to drive 7 miles each way in the Stillwell area it is sensible. You are right, it will probably be better for whatever vintage vehicle you choose to be driven some each day than to sit ilde for long periods. You can add-on A/C and stereos to any car so do what makes you comfortable.

But get it running. If you do choose to sell it you can command a far greater selling price than if it is not. Also it'll give you an idea if it drives to your satisfaction. If not you may want to sell for sure.

I agree with Diz. The money and time you'll spend with do-it-yourself stuff is just a waste. You don't try to copy professional radiator cleaning/repairing so why the gas tank? http://www.gastankrenu.com/ LIFETIME guarantee!! There's 2 places in Indiana, 1 in Chicago, 1 in Bloomington and closest in Rockford, IL.

I tell people all the time that you don't need to spend $50,000 to have a nice vintage vehicle. That's proof.

The 56 Chevy was pretty well hidden under the flip down tail light.

Best is a matter of taste but I still like the DeSoto commercials from Graucho Marx and You Bet Your Life "It delightful, it's delovely, it's Desoto."

And Hitler had that cool Mercedes. Oh, US prezidents only?

No doubt a lot of those 4 door sedans sacrificed their lives and parts for convertibles and HTs so ultimately there may not be as many restorable ones as we think are out there though they will never equal their pretty brothers' prices.

It may not warrant a large investment to bring it back to showroom perfect but there's lots of levels below that yu can have fun with. Once you get the car running and mechanically sound you can at least be mobile. Even if your sitting on springs and the cars is rusty, hey it's running. Then you can do what you want when money permits. If you sand down the surface rust and prime it you have what is called a rat rod today but what we just called a work in progress in the 50s.

I'd agree it's far easier to finds parts online but cruise-ins and shows no. How do you replace driving your car there and looking at the other cars? Also people ask lots of questions from a different spectrum than a forum. Also ya can't win a raffle prize here on the forum!!

I bought my Packard on Ebay. The reason I bought this particular car was the seller posted 40 pictures in the ad imaging every conceivable part of the car and described it mechanically very thoroughly. What else can I say.

I am blessed with the fact that geographically there is always something going on within 10 miles of me in Spring and Summer.

Linc400 I like my Eldorado because 2 door doors are w-i-d-e allowing easy ingress/egress. If you are a big man like me this makes a difference. If you're a small person 4 doors are fine for you. Yes, we are awash in 4 doors today. The fact that about no one but Mercedes builds a 2 door HT is probably due to crash worthiness. But you'd think they could overcome that. I agree that it makes more sense to actually spend less money and purchase a finished car in as good a shape as possible. In the long run it's worth it cause there's no way the average person could take these wrecks everyone think should be saved and rejuvenate them for less money. For folks who like to do lots of heavy manual labor on cars that's a great opportunity ofr them. As most of us get older or have ongoing health problems there's no scooting around on the garage floor all afternoon and not paying for it the next day, if you do it at all any more. For those that can- go for it! Argyll- this is exactly my original point- that Tri 5 4 door sedans will continue to rise pulled by the convertibles and HTs. And it goes for all the 4 door sedans really as they become worthy to refurbish at least into driver cars from stored parts cars. If folks want to upgrade a car into a better driver or bring one back from a derelict 4 door sedans are now the only things available for competitive prices across the board.

I guess the occassional question on what kind of mileage it gets tickles me as if it was a daily driver.

Unless they've come up with some entirely new concept I remember this stuff from about the 1960s era of JC Whitney cataogs. A super low current flows through the car or some such deal. Just never ever drive in the wet!