earl e rizer

I was going to make a 300 "Hurst' convertible a few years back, but ran into the usual roadblocks, ie; more dreams than cash & ambition. I just sold my 72 Imperial and I'm on the lookout for a 69 coupe. I would love to see you or someone build a convertible!

I can tell you the x-frame GM cars had serious rust and breaking problems from 58 to 64 from personal experience. I lived in Nova Scotia in the 50's thru 70's and had a few of those cars. They were the weakest of all the Big 3 cars in that era. We were constantly patching and welding them up to pass Safety check. Seen plenty of them driving and parked with sagging rear bodies due to rust and breakage by the rear axle.

Good luck on your search. One of my favorites also, but virtually non-existent where I live, in Canada. We got the Canadian Pontiac version which was the Parisienne, and same body shell almost but on a Chevrolet chassis. So no Wide-Track. They are even rarer! Yes I still want one almost as bad as I want a 58 Parisienne.

My daughter really likes these. Told me she wants one to play around with. Her boyfriend is into German cars and they want to modify one for rallying.

Can't wait to see some pic's. I might be interested in it for the right price.......

As with most German cars, parts can be expensive. Rust was a huge problem with that model here in Ontario Canada or wherever they salt the roads, so check underneath closely

I'm bidding!

My '66 Galaxie convertible had frame rot that had to be welded up twice to pass a safety check. That was in 1974!!! Of course I lived in Nova Scotia Canada where the salt air just dissolved those cars. Even the constant fog has a high salt content. The 352/ FE series warrants a removal of the valve covers to see how much gunk is in there. A common problem as I recall. If it looks gummy or shale in there you're in for a rebuild. I still admire the looks of the 7 Litre , hardtop or convertible. Gorgeous interiors far superior to Chevrolet in style and wear.

I would think 20-25% is a high rate of survival for any pre-war car. The Marmon16 was an exclusive car by any standards and I would imagine even at 15 to 20 yrs old they were recognized as something special. It would be fantastic to "barn find" one though wouldn't it?

Somehow I don't think the ugly will "Buff out" of that one.

What brand of car is it? Studebaker as in your avatar? If so there is a good supply of original parts available for reasonable prices. I can put you in touch with a person here in Canada that could probably help you.

Seems to be a large amount of "Malaise Era" cars in there as well as compacts. Time for the crusher!

Those VW ads were well known back in the day as being very clever and cutting edge. ala "Mad Men". Can you imagine the uproar it would cause today IF it ever made it past the "PC" police? There would probably be a "Occupy VW headquarters" movement as well as a retraining program for the copywriters or an all out firing! Just shows how much the world has changed since I was a kid.

I seen that one on a website for sale here in Canada. Nice looking car.

There seems to be an abundance of Model A's available right now. Is that normal, or just a blip on the OCR? (Old Car Radar) I don't follow the market but this is the place to ask the experts. I would like to see some pic's if possible.

I was in London England a few weeks ago and a Skoda Octavia with a diesel engine was one of the cabs we took. The driver said it was 10 yrs old and still running great.

You're welcome. The car is painted to exact match of a factory brochure scheme. Most people don't believe that until they see the original(not a reprint) color brochure. The only thing that strayed from the "as factory built" is the material for the seat covers and rumble seat cover. It really stands out in a crowd. Oh yeah, The whitewalls are incorrect also.

Ok Keiser31 here's some pic's of the 31 Dodge

I think this auction should drive down the prices of Model A's just by flooding the market! It would have been nice to meet and talk to Mr. Hartung. Is it true he lived in a trailer?

I'm surprised there isn't enough 65 Mustangs around to meet demand. I did love those cars back when I started driving and had quite a few in my late teens, 1971. But there seems to be a never ending amount of them for sale these days at fairly affordable prices. Go figure!

I was born in '55 and came of driving/ car buying age in the zenith of the "Muscle Car Era" I loved these cars and they were plentiful and cheap to buy used by the mid-'70's due to insurance and gas crisis. We didn't call them muscle cars then. Just "Performance' cars or hot rods. Muscle cars if I remember correctly was a term started by magazines, or people who weren't into cars. The term became more common by the early 80's when those cars were all but forgotten by most of the public. I bought a '69 Charger R/T that was a 426 Hemi car, with a 440 transplanted in the summer of '76 for around $1400-1600. A 1969 SS 396 Chevelle for even less. A '70 Torino Cobra 429 SCJ @ $1200. I was one of only a few guys crazy enough to want gas guzzlers at the time and ran them with bare bones insurance. When most of them were crushed by 1980-85 and young guys hated what was available to them is when I started hearing the term more often. Nostalgia started early for my generation I guess!

I'll see if I can get some pic's. It was shown at the Dodge Bros. last meeting I think.

I got to drive a gorgeous, restored 31 Dodge rumble seat coupe yesterday. It was a beauty day in a fantastic car. Then I got back to reality and sprayed the front frame rails with rust inhibitor on my '72 Imperial. Soon time to put away for the winter.

Post some pic's if you can. If there is very little rust there is definitely a market for it.

I've owned a few SL's of that vintage (W107 i believe). The 380's are underpowered compared to the older 4.5's and the newer 5.6's. The cast iron 4.5 is a more durable engine than the aluminum 3.8. I had a 83 380 that was too slow for my tastes. Otherwise it was the same as the older ones I had. Check out the chassis for rust around the front suspension mounts as this was a weak spot on certain vintages. Also floor pan rust. Fuel pumps regularly pack it in, but no big deal. All 3 of mine were leakers, but that was mostly from not enough use and dried out seals. If it's cheap, they make a comfortable driver. The 380's also had a oil line problem with deteriorating. these are located under the cam covers and not a big deal to replace, but the old ones can fall apart and clog up passages. I did mine in an afternoon along with a few beers.