oldcarfudd

New Vernon Coach and Motor Works, about 5 miles south of Morristown, in Morris County. Works on Ferraris, Rolls-Royces, Jaguars, MGs, essentially any post-WWII exotic as well as Aunt Susie's Toyota. Good people, lots of experience. Gil Fitzhugh the Elder, Morristown, NJ

Gary Moyer in PA has a 1910 Crawford. Michael Loewenthal in CT has a 1912. I got this from the HCCA roster; I don't know either person.

I drive my 1903 Curved Dash Oldsmobile and 1907 single-cylinder Cadillac to local (within 20 miles) shows all the time.

Why are the Lucas employees so proud of the new Lucas vacuum cleaner? It's the only thing they make that doesn't suck.

Driverless cars are nothing new. I've spent many a long mile behind the wheel of one.

That Lamborghini tractor would stir up the monkeys at a cars 'n' coffee!

Car-eating fungus.

I believe the Model B, which was a much bigger car than the 2-cylinder Fords, took a 32x3-1/2 tire, which would now be replaced by a 33x4 oversize. But if it has to be a clincher, your choices are limited.

I suggest you ask this question on the Model T Ford Club of America website. You'll probably be inundated with Texas Model T owners wanting to teach you all about them. I can only tell you, they're an absolute hoot!

The HCCA tours in Amish country a lot. Generally, the Amish enjoy seeing our cars, and several of us use Amishmen to make upholstery, tops, and new wooden wheels for early cars. A couple of weeks ago I took two Amish boys and their sister - one at a time - for short rides in my Curved Dash Oldsmobile. When the girl got aboard, her dad said: "You look like you're in a courting buggy!" I told them the car had been a courting buggy, and sang "In My Merry Oldsmobile". But there are hazards. I set out to pass an Amish buggy, and the chugging of my single-cylinder engine spooked the horse, which broke into a full gallop. I backed off, and got behind the buggy, and the horse stopped abruptly. Yikes! This kind of thing must have happened a lot, back in the day.

vintchry, right on! When I got back into playing with cars after a 24-year layoff (don't ask!) I started with a Model A roadster. Model As are wonderful cars, and you can go anywhere with one, even on an Interstate if you're careful. And I did. But I joined the two local Model A clubs, and found they only toured in a snake. Nose to tail, like circus elephants. Boring and dangerous, in my opinion. I sold the Model A, got a brass car, and have never looked back. But, once in a while, I miss the Model A!

I've been quite active in HCCA touring for several years. I have a 1907 one-lung Cadillac (soon to be for sale); a 1914 Model T Ford; a 1912 Model 35 Buick (the entry-level Buick that year); and a 1911 10-horsepower Stanley steam car. My only prior exposure to CDOs was 50 years ago, when a wonderful Minnesota collector named Norm Nielsen let me drive his. I drive pre-1916 cars about 5,000 miles a year. I mentioned going to a Cars and Coffee. The one around here started out meeting at a French bakery, now long outgrown, and has always been called Cars and Croissants. It's mostly modern expensive exotics. I was asked to join because "we like anything interesting, and your cars are interesting". I've told some of the guys that I'm sorry for them. They spend tens of thousands - sometimes hundreds of thousands - of dollars for cars with performance they can't possibly use unless they go to a race track. They can go from 0 to lose-your-license on almost any road in North America in 6 seconds or less. I, on the other hand, use all of the performance my cars offer, every time I go out on the road. The car and I have to work together and understand each other, or we don't get there. Or back. I don't have the mechanical smarts to do a progressive tour, where you might find your car at the side of the road and your trailer 700 miles behind you. If I ever drive an early car across the country, it will be a well-sorted Model T, where most repairs are easy and infrequent and most parts are available in a day or two. The guys I envy are the ones who make very long trips in Brand X brass-era cars, knowing they might have to do blacksmith repairs in a pinch. And, of course, those guys' cars are so well fettled that repairs are seldom necessary. But hub tours - going somewhere in the morning, coming back to the trailer for the night, and then going somewhere else the next day - are lots of fun. And the HCCA all over North America, AACA Snappers in the east, the Model T clubs and the steam car guys have many tours like this for brass cars every year.

1904 Curved Dash Oldsmobile. It's done the run three times with the prior owner and has VCC certification. I've had it 6 weeks and run it about 150 miles. It needed a new coil (the old one died on the BBC tour) and batteries and a bit of tweaking, but it chugs along quite contentedly at about 23 mph with plenty left for the many hills around here. I drove it 37 miles yesterday to a Cars and Coffee, to the amusement of the Corvette, Jaguar and Ferrari owners, and then to an ice cream place. Tiller steering sure is quick!

I just bought a London-to-Brighton-eligible car that has done the run three times. I'm too committed to go this year, but it's on my list for next year. I'll be 84 then, so I'd better not wait too much longer!

I'll guess 1911 Cadillac.