60FlatTop

I joined the AACA because I like this forum and want to support it and I wanted to be eligible to put my car in the Eastern Nationals in Buffalo, whatever year that was. Although I look at the Forum every day, I just forget to renew and I know I should. If it was 10 bucks more I'd never know. I'll get to it this week. For someone like me who has been involved in car clubs all their life the, the three pages generated so far have been rather comical and predictable of a big section of the hobbyists. A friend who was not into group participation used to ask me why I went to meetings with that bunch of "old stiffs". I always laughed because it was so appropriate. I think Nationwide should have been given the list of members in arrears of dues first. They could have used the savings to get caught up... me included. Although I saw the offer and ignored it. While reading, I kind of wondered why a forum member who worked for Nationwide hasn't contributed. I bet someone at corporate is going to be on the carpet Monday morning. Ahh, the innocence of corporate marketing. "Don't you know anything about men over 60?/" "Gee boss, there was nothing about this in my marketing class. I thought older gentlemen on a fixed income would jump at the chance of saving." If you are not getting a chuckle out of all this you are probably missing out on a lot of other stuff too. How can I NOT tell my wife about this at supper tonight. Lighten up. Hey, think about the next meeting if you did this for your own local chapter. I bet a certain person comes right to mind. Bernie

Take 85 crisp one hundred dollar bills to your local GM dealer, fan them out, and say "Boys, I got some cash for a car." Then you get a good respective of the value for a very clean car, collector or otherwise. A nice car from 5 to 10 grand. is a good deal. In 2011 I paid $8500 for a really clean '94 Impala SS. The dealer started a $13,000 when it first showed up. When my wife needed a new car I almost gave it to her, but got her a Tahoe instead. The catalytic, safety bumper cars forward, in my opinion, are not something you are going to scoop up for a future collector market. They are just cars one buys because they like them. The 30 and 40 year old's today are not younger versions of us. They won't treasure the newer cars. When laws are being passed about who gets $15 per hour there are a lot of other priorities for the kids. One of mine is paying $2500 a month for rent in Boston. Five old cars like the old man bought with money from the Reagan era isn't in their agenda. It's late lunch time. I think I'll get that Chevy out for a ride over to the next county. There is a long stretch where I can give it a real kick in the ass and make the digital speedo blur. My wife says "Mr. Daily, you have a nice car here." whenever I do that. 350 Buick engines do that too. If nothing else, you know how much one Impala sold for. Bernie

The biggest problem might be when Nationwide begins dealing with the group and tries to sell the list of names back. That could put the total around $75,000. Groucho Marx " Do you think I could buy back my introduction to you? " Bernie

A few years ago I was driving to a large car meet with a friend who was then in the home heating and air conditioning business. At a rest stop a tour bus was loading with a long line of senior citizens. He said "Man, what I'd give for a list of their names and addresses." Fifty cents apiece would have given him the blind stutters, as Woody would say. Oh, I meant to add, get over it. Bernie

This topic is running for quite a while. I guess I can give the tips I gave my kids when they were ready to leave High School. In selecting a business, career, or hiring out for a job understand motivations, just two; need and want.. I create a Cartesian graph with the X axis as want and the Y axis as need. You end up with four quadrants to generalize your position. Need and want, a stable course like a grocery store and a modest, predictable income. Don't need, don't want, just ignore it. Don't want, need, like my personal career in facilities management and power plants. Every nickel spent is an extraction. Then there is don't need, want on the lower right. That's the juicy one. Gifts are the classic example. People really want to buy a great gift and then they give it away. Most of the items I have sold on Ebay over the past 15+ years have been promoted as the best gift you can get for the old car aficionado. Gifts are the ultimate sale. The worst is selling a roof on a sunny day. As long as there was a bucket rainy days don't even motivate a sale. So plotting your customer mindset is an important key. I wouldn't want a job selling Fords or Chevy's, one could actually NEED one of those. A Buick or a Cadillac, one one needs one. I'll sell those. I can sell project cars all day long. Selling the details of restoration work is harder. Concepts are easier than details. I remember once when a concept of a '39 Cadillac DSM Model 75 left my driveway. No engine or front suspension, it hung off a truck trailer hitch. The fenders were in the rear seat and I didn't know the rear axle bearing had failed until the wheel bumped the rear fender (still attached). They drove slowly when they left. Give those boys some rose colored glasses. Also in the don't really need but want is the "my own business". Having an 8 hour job is easy. But I sell parts books and catalogs promoting them as great knowledge to make money with. Selling things a person thinks they will make money with is one of the best things out there. I spend quite a bit of discretionary money on it and know a lot of guys whom do the same. So draw up my little matrix and see where you stand. Put some pencil marks on there for car related stuff. But be careful. You might end up way down at the bottom right trying to figure out how to sell gifts to give to dead people. If you can it's better than restoration. And no customer complaints. Bernie

This a new resonator muffler and the picture of the application tag came out nice and clear. It fits what the tag reads.The price is $40 US and includes shipping to the continental United States. I take cash, personal checks, Paypal. Shipped from the wolds of western New York. Bernie

It looks easy '60's interpretation to me. The deck looks like it came from a closed coupled sedan of some sort. Here is more: http://www.classiccars.ws/sales/1930cadv16dimmitthotrodroadster/index.html Watch out for old guys with one off appearing cars. They like to pull your leg. Rhode Island, there's a pub or two there where they make up stories. O"Daily makes the up and O'Brien swears to them. Ever hear about my '56 Willys pickup that was used by the surveyors building the New York State Thruway? Bernie

E-7, huh, if all my rate changes had been advancements I would have been around that rank. Is he left handed? Bernie

You need to thoroughly check every function of your timing. Check the vacuum advance, some modifiers don't think they are needed. Be sure that both the vacuum and mechanical advance mechanisms don't stick in their advanced position when the engine is shut off. Sticky ones will sometimes creep back overnight but not in a few minutes. That's a starting point, could be the end point too. Bernie

Bumping the starter reminds me of a friend, John A, who used a breaker bar to rotate his engine once. He did it by hand. When the job was done he hit the starter and the breaker bar hit the frame rail. Funny how one can instantly recognize a sound they never heard before. Skip the OCD meds the day you do these jobs. Bernie

Here is where I take all my starters and generators: http://www.prorebuilders.com/pr/ They are friendly, helpful, and will probably send things to you. Bernie

If you are in the US it is easy to source through a starter shop. I had one put in my '39 Allis-Chalmers last fall. Overnight delivery and $27. My starter has a single locking bolt too! IT is hidden by the hydraulic line. Bernie

I have an Interstate battery distribution center near me. I have been buying what they call blems for the last 15 to 20 years, I forget just how long. I call from time to time and ask if any group 27 blems come in. I have one in the Riviera and one in the '60 Electra. I think the Impala and the PA convert are both group 24's. All Interstate blems, $45 exchange. I had to buy a new long 6 volt for the Packard. They had it in stock. Good place and always friendly staff. Bernie

"Another is a 1983 Jaguar XJ12 Coupe. Normally I don't even give consideration to 70's or 80's stuff. However this car is all original (a real survivor) In a dark green metallic finish with tan interior. It has less than 30KMI and glows in the dark even though it hasn't been detailed. The chrome, interior, paint are all spectacular. It's never had any paint work. It is driven occasionally to keep it up and running in good order and stored inside of course with no winter use. An 80 year old friend of the family is selling it. I know 12 cylinder jags of this era are nightmares mechanically when they get older so their is one bang against it. The condition just keeps telling me this car deserves a second look. If it were any nicer it would have had to have been just restored or still new on the showroom floor. Any thoughts on this car?" Was there something about this that wasn't supposed to be commented on? The Chevy hardly brought comments. It is just a mantle piece unless you live so far out in the sticks the sunshine gets piped in. "23 Chevy, yawn. '83 Jag, lots to discuss.

No, interpreted wrong. A older Jaguar is a risky buy. Due diligence doesn't make a difference on them. Here's a thousand pages of how to buy and own an XJS. I have read it all. http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/XJS_help.pdf I even paid to print out an easy chair copy. I'll buy another. Here's my first. Honestly, for the value of the cars and the performance of the V-12, I would probably prefer a SBC LS powered car next. On the one owned for 20 years, there are date tags on each injector hose, probably the age of the car. Getting into those, the distributor advance, servicing the AC (because it cools fuel IN the fuel rank), a partially plugged radiator on the passenger side, and a few other usually deferred maintenance items, the benevolently cared for care could use $1600 to $2000 in general maintenance. Like I wrote above, I would buy one, but I wouldn't recommend one to someone else. That's because of the "Oh crap!" factor and most people's resistance to bail out. Some will tenaciously hang on to an unexpectedly challenging deal deal. Bernie That's me before the stroke and heat attack..... I wonder....

I have owned a variety of Jaguars over the last 15 years or so. Two have been V12 Xjs coupes. I don't have any one. I sold them I don't mind buying one , but I wouldn't recommend anyone else to. I don't have any now. I sold them, but I watch the ads.. I am not afraid to do a little work. And I am not afraid to throw away a whole lot of work. If it gets bad just bail out. There is a long list of very affordable, really neat cars that can turn around and bite you on a moment's notice, Jaguar, BMW, MB; a lot of semi-exotic stuff. A friend of mine and I have discussed them and resolved that we would be willing to buy one of these cars and drive it until the BIG issue hit. Then dispose of it saying "Well, that was a good experience." Delving into the the expensive repair would exclude the "good experience". I did it with a pair of XJS Jags, he did it with a 928 Porsche. I will probably get into others since a lot of interesting things are out there and under $10,000. The other part is managing risk. When long distance buying became common I decided I could lose $3,000 a year without affecting the family. And I know that no purchase can be a 100% loss. There is a lot of room there and by keeping active buying and selling the odds of coming out ahead get higher. It all works out. A great example, two weeks ago I bought a disassembled AH Bugeye Sprite with a 1965 NYS registration with a person's name in the transferred to line. That could be a problem. Five minutes online and I found him in a town 20 miles away. I told him that the guy he sold the car to in 1969 hadn't finished it yet. Tuesday I meet him to sign the proper paperwork. If I hadn't found him I would have sold all the parts. That's the Jaguar answer. If you like it just get it. The Chevy is a different concern. On today's highways I wouldn't see much pleasure in owning it. The only value I can see is the difference between what you can buy it for and what you can sell it for. All those cheery 45 to 55 year old's of30 to 40 years ago who like those cars aren't so cheery and easy with their money like they were back then (). It is going to be hard to get anything out of them for a pre-WWI common variety car. OR, just buy both and tell the story of your experience. Bernie

What's a rainman, anyway?? Did I miss some kind of worldwide cultural event? Bernie

I give mine three pumps and crank for about 3 seconds until it starts. I have never found it an issue worth bothering with. The bowl vent idea reminded me of our friend, Lenny, from High School. His Dad ran the MoPar shop in town. Lenny drove a '49 Dodge in HS. Probably with his Father's guidance, he brazed a tubing fitting to the air cleaner and attached it to the windshield washer bag.... filled with waste oil. When he pulled up to the pumps at the Esso station near my street he would increase the idle and push the windshield washer button. The attendant got to know his car rear quick and wouldn't stand in the cloud of smoke. So, how many of you have functional washers and don't use them? Maybe that and the ketchup bottle and my idea are are not so good- So, it's a brisk Spring day and I am getting ready to bring the cars out. I decide a little exercise would be good. I put on a ski mask and a flannel lined raincoat. Then I put the five windshield wiper bags under the coat to carry them easily. And take a 3/4 time walk to the station to fill them. The attendant is concerned and calls the police Holy Hillary's Email! This is gonna take some 'splainin. Oops! A pistola. It's OK I have a permit. Just hold this plastic bag of gasoline while I get it out. Keep the battery charged and prosper. Bernie

If you don't already have one, this is a great little tool: https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-56500-Terminal-Tool/dp/B0009OR906 I have used mine a lot. I also have a good selection of plug connectors like the ones in the firewall body plug. Belden makes them and you can usually find them at NAPA stores. I have found corroded connectors inside firewall plugs that were bypassed to make previous repairs. With the tool you can R&R things correctly. I have also removed wires from plugs with pigtails so I can make a homerun and eliminate splices. Bernie

I have that documentary on a Beta tape if your browser doesn't handle YouTube. Bernie

I use Bleach White and I have a couple of 800 grit sandpaper folded in thirds and floating in the bucket. The fine sandpaper does a nice job on any discoloring. Talk about fussy; jack the car up and put jackstands under to wash the whitewalls. Bernie

Here is the full sized picture when I was cleaning the old sealer out of the channel. The paper covered the seats and dash area. I don't remember a significant V anywhere in the perimeter metal. we laid a single strip of tape about 3/8" around the outside perimeter of the glass with no other allowances, other than a steady coordinated "roll" of the windshield from the hood, resting it in the spacer blocks. Once pressed it place and the alignment checked, I let it sit over night and sprayed water from a small bottle inside and out the next day. I haven't painted and replaced the cowl panel yet. Tomorrow I will get a picture of that area; don't remember anything significant. Bernie

Could be a 50 year old production installer only concerned with a bag of groceries at the end of the day. Works in most cases. B

The Pilkington windshield is excellent. I bought mine through Prosource Glass International and will buy from them again. I did it with a friend and our combined experience is over 100 years. We used the butyl tape and thoroughly leak tested it with no need for added sealer.I'd look for another "glass installer". Well, maybe I wouldn't even look for a so called glass installer. If all they want to do is glue it in with a tube of caulk, ignore them. Buy and extra couple rolls of tape and do it yourself until it turns out right. He wasn't born with a royal decree that pronounced him glass installer. It is probably a job he defaulted into. I am sure you can do better, not if you try, but because you try. Always works for me. Bernie Oh, and you don't really notice an old windshield until you look through a crystal clear new one. When you do experience one you really get an unstanding of life's little pleasures.

You should check with the person who talked your wife into buying those cars. They must have been pretty slick to talk her into them, oily slick. On the 20 HP, call 585-325-7393. You'll get help. Drop my name. Bernie