60FlatTop

"You guys want to make a little lunch money?" Any time I want some heavy work done I go up to the gas station on Main St. and find a couple of helpers. Works every time.

I was so happy with the bench I made from my old Cadillac bumper. And then some old curmudgeon came along and complained it didn't have a back on it. Worked fine for me. It's a '69 Fleetwood.

It was a shop that advised the car be given a thorough dousing. It was a mess. Trails of rusty water stripes in the splash pans, dripping from the electrical conduit, floor boards soaked. There are people who think all that noise and activity indicate hard work being done. Me, quietly removing caked on evidence of the ages in the manner of an archeologist, would be and has been, called lazy by some. Their perception, their reality, as the annoying man said. I am a Navy spit shine shoe polisher. When I taught my wife to shine my shoes she was amazed at the light, gentle method. She was raised to think it was hard men's work. She had to relearn so much in those first few years, well, I guess she still is.

That is a big tire. I would stick with the original specification. Thousands of them were worn out on those tires. I remember a term called "over-tired" some guys used that might apply. Kind of goes along with wanting a 4 core radiator, new station wagon springs, and those other Heavy Duty things that are the topic when uncles get together in the living room after dinner.

I have used US Auto Seatcover, an Ebay seller in Texas for my trucks and a late model Cadillac I have. I am fine with installing the new style with the U-channel attaching and replacement buns. I have done some of the old hog ring covers and would hesitate to do a job on something valuable with the old style methods. The first one I did was a Tahoe and I had a tough time pulling it into place. I through that one into my pickup and drove to a local upholsterer with the cover half on. He surprised me with the brute force he put on the seat, crimped in a few hog rings and was done. His demonstration made me more confident and the ones I have done since were easier when I grunted when I pulled. Hesitate is a keyword here. I do not always follow my own advise. SMS has some fabric I need at about $150 a yard. my estimate is 8-10 yards to do one of my cars. Would I venture purchasing 4 yards to see how I could do? Sure. I ain't smart enough not to. For a few hundred bucks I will know for sure. Although I do lean toward just handing it to the person I know can do it well. This is a good time to note that the foam or padding fails before the upholstery in many instances. The foam fails and the upholstery creases, traps dirt, and wears faster. On my cloth interior '05 Chevy pickup I saw the creasing start and put in a new bun. That was at least two years ago and no signs of further wear.

Reminds me of a time when a friend went to a national marque headquarters for an involved service seminar. When he returned I asked how the presentation went. He replied "Not so good. I still think I can do it myself."

Ken, I would like to give you a long overdue compliment on the presentation of your parts collection. It is refreshing to see them displayed with care and the attention to the background. It adds value to the parts as well as the seller.

I have a shop near me that will let me bring material, either stitched or by the yard and for full bench seats like my '60 Electra they charge about $500 per full cushion. They do nice work. Especially if you look at some of the home brew jobs at shows and cruise nights. I would check on something like that when it is the big, forever job with the best material. She has been pretty good about some of my own jobs when I removed upholstery and asked her to do a repair. I promised her that she would never be mentioned after I put it back on. With the values of first gen Rivieras heading the way they are the economy of DYI might not be the best move.

It's hard to be ambiguous online.

It's hard to be ambiguous online.

A 42-46?

Triggered a memory. I went to Ontario, Canada for a cruise night many years ago. When I met the friend who invited me showed me into his living room. Books were piled everywhere, on tables, on the furniture, on shelves. He picked up a pile from the couch and offered me a place to sit. Seeing that I noticed he spiritedly told me "Sondra says I can have a mistress as soon as I get the house cleaned!" That incident has never seemed to distance itself from me.

I took my '60 Electra out for coffee this morning and since reading this topic I paid particular attention to the operation of the transmission in Drive. It was rebuilt 3 years ago due to leaking seals. It is a 401 with a Rochester 4 barrel. I am not a WOT driver. My cars rarely exceed 3,000 RPM. My car is smooth and responsive with no feeling of torque converter change. I would never think of calling it slow by any means. Half throttle from a standing start gives very peppy performance. Half throttle acceleration on a country road is good enough to make long time BCA member, Scott Heise giggle.

Giving people advice to spend a little time cleaning a car and taking the trash out of it before advertising it for sale and not posting pictures of it on a flatbed is sure going to make those "evil flippers" unhappy. Then again, it is only advice isn't it.

I have watched The Departed a few times and although Providence, R. I. is mentioned I didn't notice anything specific about the Department of Motor Vehicles. And my red haired daughter doesn't live in Winter Hill any longer.

My first thought was that the linkage was still lying on the bench.

Back in the early 1990s, when Duncan Bull owned 201RY, Roy Bertch, left, used to supervise the spring commissioning. Usually there were 4 to 5 of us on taking turns hand cranking that resistant engine while Roy sat it the driver seat gently tapping the oil gauge waiting for the needle to set stable off the peg. Only then could we begin the fuel feed and think about ignition. We probably cranked between 30 and 40 minutes to get the lube to acceptable starting conditions. My youth, early 40s, was still an impressionable time under the right circumstances. Shop picture courtesy of John Utz, Editor, Flying Lady.

There is a situation I refer to as "continuity in the hobby". The example is how I have always been involved in old cars, fixing them and studying them. Apart from my working life, a different field altogether, there has been the buying and selling of cars and parts as well as involvement with a wide range of people involved similarly. I just got a text confirming coffee in my garage tomorrow morning. Sitting here thinking about a potential rhetorical comment in the morning: "You mean you are 75 years old and don't know how to get a title for your car." Lacking that continuity I can see a potential problem. Hopefully one develops other skills.

Did you put the car in Neutral and see how hard it was to make it roll?

It's hard to get that 200,000 miles on a car that sits five months out of the year. And if you can let one sit a few months time can slip by and turn into years. I have lived a life both at work and at home filled with a great many non-events and gotten little recognition for it. I cannot remember sitting on the edge of the bed at night and thinking "You know, I was too cautious today."

Uhmmmm, the car that comes to the forefront in my mind as most damaged by a steam cleaning job was a model the maker called a 20/25. You wouldn't associate with any of that type would you? I worked on a couple of those tractors and dozers. If you think following behind the unknown fancy car mechanic has surprises those farm mechanics will cause you to wake up in the middle of the night.

Probably the flag barer.

That's car people talk all over, no matter the group. We were having coffee in my garage last Tuesday talking about those "too bad it's not" comments so frequently heard. My '60 Buick Flat Top was sitting across from us. I said "Yeah, I'm lucky. I don't get that "Too bad it's not a two door". Most know they only made four doors. Take out the seat belts for the new carpet job.

Made right here in downtown Rochester. The building still stands on Canal Street right off Main and Broad. All the car and truck related stuff was gone by the time I got to visit. Last time I was in there the ground floor had a store that sold paper bags and similar items. If you follow the old Genesee Valley canal bed from your place through Nunda it will bring you to the basin where the Genesee and Erie canals joined. The building is one block over. Selden, later Stewart Trucks, and Cunningham cars all came out of that neighborhood. George Selden successfully patented the automobile. His house is about 1 mile north of me in Clarkson, New York. Buried in Mt. Hope cemetery with his patent car on the stone.

In 1975, not long after I finely cut a 3/4" strip off the rear of the fender so the driver door wouldn't bind my 1965 Impala four door hardtop gave up its 396/Powerglide to a 6 cylinder Camaro swap by others. $150 would buy a lot of engine in the early '70s. My Impala was a pre-Quadrajet car and came with a Holley 4 barrel at 325 HP with the PG. I used to say that car had no need for a transmission, could have gotten by just fine without one. Great car, New York rust got it.