60FlatTop

I know that I can turn the TV on tonight and see this same plot, deadline and all, the same characters (except the duck with an attitude will have pants. The music will be less tolerable, probably from the soundtrack from "Good Morning Vietnam" played too loud with stop motion photography before the commercials. I guess that's obligatory as are the old men with tattoos and pony tails. In 1964 the guy stuck his finger into my necktie and said "Sonny, the only thing that changes is the date." Bernie Oh, don't forget to give Mickey a little ZZ Top wannabe beard to keep him in character.

That's a lot like my take. I am critical to the point of expecting a seller to work as hard to get my money as I would to get theirs. And I do work hard to give a thorough presentation; including the price. I have a real business, too, and when I shake a client's hand I tell them my prices and ask about their reputation for paying their bills. I own two cars that I bought on Craigslist. One was 600 miles away and the other 15 miles away. The price was listed, I contacted them, and bought the cars for the fair asking price. I looked at the one close by. There are hundreds of cars that were listed on Craigslist that had no price and I didn't even read the description. Maybe I'm ahead. "Deceiving" is a very good choice of words. I grew up surrounded by back row used car dealers, one car wholesalers, shady characters, and connivers. Some weren't even family!. With familiarity, they can be spotted easily. Sometimes I even slip into the characters I have known. Like when the guy at the gas station asks what I need diesel fuel for. And I tell him I just bought an old car to sell that needs shining. But it always has a price. Bernie

Has anyone been into the hidden areas of CCCA recognized classics? I know that interior wood work would put Fleetwood body company to shame. And I have seen gobs of lead oozing out of panel seams. On a true Classic the shoddy workmanship get covered with upholstery and leather. This car actually outshines some of the front row coachbuilt cars I have seen at shows. Notice that both the topic car and the '41 Pontiac have exterior wood shaped to the body curves. That is a sign of quality. Most wood cars have straight outer timbers. Paint the sheet metal to relieve the rat rod wannabe look and the car would be quite presentable. Maybe even a little more attractive than some factory designs. There is a cruise in on the edge of Rochester, New York at a place called Stony's. The last time I went there were five or six old stiffs sitting on folding chairs looking so sour and miserable the air tasted like lemons. I don't know how they got that way, but somehow I just thought of them. Be careful when owners of these out of the ordinary cars show up. I don't go to Stony's, don't like the atmosphere. And I was about 12 when I first started going to car shows (and owned one that was in my back yard). The image of the people I met is very well etched in my mind; a weazened up old man wearing work clothes and pointing his palsied, gnarled finger at me telling me what I should think. Be careful. That could be you..... right before the conversation on how to introduce younger people to the hobby. Well, I going for a ride in my '86 Buick with the roof cut off. Bernie

Looks like a winner. A national honor. I don't have any problem with it and the builder HAD to have a sense of humor. I'd drive it, although I'd prefer a Blazer with a SBC. Of course, when the Stevens family came out with those Excalibers I remember being pretty excited over them. Actually going back to the first post, I remembered the of advertising copy "Somewhere West of Laramie". I was thinking "Somewhere East of Watertown." Bernie

Quite a difference a year makes. Bernie

That's a car shop joke, where the guy comes in with an untenable problem and the shop owner tells the car owners it can't be fixed but he will that the burden off his hands. I learned humor with an ironic twist from those old second rate lot dealers. I still practice the one where my Grandfather was adamant about never taking a person's last dollar. Every dollar up to that one was sure fair game, though. Back on topic, I had a 4GC that would squirt from the accelerator jet just fine on the bench, but on the running car it would hardly dribble. If I had that car back I would paint the accelerator pump well with some gas resistant paint. At steady throttle that could run the float bowl and a slightly low level. And those are float level sensitive carbs. Over time I have decided some porosity in the casting was draining the well by vacuum. Bernie

After seeing the car, I recognize THAT'S the carburetor problem that can't be fixed. I'd be willing to take it off your hands but, you know, we''ll have to allow for the problem. Bernie

Could be the belt or any number of components in the charging system. There is an instrument and test procedure for each. Load test he battery, check the voltage at idle, as well as the belt for glazing and cracks and the pulleys for wear. Even a detached harmonic balance damper could do it on some cars. I don't rebuild starters or generators. We have a good shop with friendly staff and they have never billed close to $100 yet. If I question one or get a new car and come across a spare I just drop it off and let them do it. There is a spare alternator ready to go for the Impala and the Riviera sitting over my tool box now. Those are Murphy's alternators. There is a lot of Murphy's stuff around the garage. One thing to remember is added loads. Once I got a call to check a Rolls 20/25 that pegged the ammeter to full discharge when the brakes were applied. It was diagnosed as a "short". I was alone in another person's shop checking every wire and connection based on their assumption. I couldn't see the brake lights but I saw the meter dive. A few hours later I turned down the lighting ready to go, stepped on the brake and the whole shop lit up. I had not seen there were about six stop lights and another six amber lights all tied to the brake lights. I disconnected one added light, checked the ohmic, plugged it into Ohm's Law, value and multiplied by 10 or 12, whatever number; and got about 20 amps, the limit of the 20/25 charging system and the meter. Now that's an example of anecdotal vs.measured scientific values. Get the other meter out. It's more fun. Bernie

Sign of an experienced mechanic; a row of pens, pencils, and tire gauge in the pocket. My Grandfather taught me that in the early '60's. If you pick something heavy up and it presses against your chest one pen or pencil will "break like a rotten egg" (a quote) a row will spread the weight out evenly. If you break your pencil "you might as well sit behind a tree and pour water over your head" (another quote). I would REALLY like to see some interviews with current owners of TV garage assembled cars. Maybe Sheri could bring the boys in to replace the Eldo. Do they make a customer satisfaction form for TV car buyers? Bernie

Does anyone respond to Craigslist cars listed for $1? I see those and they raise my own opinions from 50+ years in the hobby. I have never followed up on any. Wasn't so much the car, I just didn't care to meet the owner. Are there any forum members who do this and can shed a little light on the thought process. I know I usually just bring cash and pretty much pay the asking price without a lot of dickering. What kind of buyers are attracted by the $1 ad? Just curious. Bernie

Define "weak". B

Looks like the dog didn't know which way that Ford was going either. I'm imaging him dashing back and forth in the road like a squirrel before they hit him. Bernie

It's either a Rochester 4GC or a WCFB. Get a gasket kit and start snooping around inside. The accelerator well check ball is a good place to start. That's all after the vacuum advance is checked and the heat stove for the choke is gone through. That's one carb that responds well to an electric choke conversion. I have found the WCFB easier to work on. Just remember, it's only a pot of gasoline with some holes the gas sucks through. There are a bunch of other things that do a lot more work than the carb. They just aren't right on top with tempting screws on them. Bernie

Maybe it should have read: Regrets 1. Sold it 2. Sold it too cheap Bernie

Just because it's easy, find a place that can bubble balance your tires. That is the only way I do mine. And I use biased tires on all the old cars. I just got back from driving 25 miles round trip for coffee and didn't exceed 65 MPH the whole way. I did stay on the macadam roads today. When the spin balancers first came out I tried them but it ended up like the exercise machine in the corner of the bedroom with clothes hanging on it. I always triangulate the weight placement and use the smallest weights I can. Sometimes I will just mount the tires and drive them for a week to put some stresses on them, then check and balance them. There are some shops that still have the on car wheel spinner. I have thought about picking one of those up so I can get the wheel assembly and suspension all gyrating together for diagnostics, but so far it hasn't been a compelling issue. I use my current '60 about the same way I used the one I bought in 1966. I just have more trouble finding guys with Edsel Citations to blow the doors off. Of course I don't hang out at Oak Orchard Lanes on band night anymore either. Bernie

Somewhere around 1987 or '88 I think I was the only person in my circle of influence who owned a pitman arm puller. Then, in the early part of this century I used to tease my cardiologist about making being the last doctor to make house calls.... when he stopped to borrow tools. Oh, anyone tempted to connect me writing "my cardiologist" with my disparaging comments about "my mechanic" others make on the forum; Ted, my doctor passed away a few years ago and I do that work myself now, as well. Long walks by the Erie Canal and eating right. I do miss Ted, though. Bernie

To get to the newer green one you gotta around squeeze a black one, watch your head on the hood, duck the ceiling hanging stuff, and snoop under the cover. Neat vent windows on the '54. Bernie

My '60 Invicta engine would lay over and pull the throttle wide open, usually under power braking. Once the torque backed off it came down onto the pad and was OK. I could probably uproot the mount of my current '60 today. A potential case of runaway acceleration. Now the really amazing thing is thinking about all those Toyota's that were running out of control all over the united states. Has anyone noticed that company was able to find every single one of the problem cars and fix it. I don't believe there is a remote possibility of picking up the paper and reading about a runaway Toyota today or in the future. Is there an award that can be given to such a diligent company? The problem seemed so pervasive. Maybe a high official should present Japan with an honor for their work. Every single one found and not another incident. If I wasn't naive I'd be suspicious. Bernie

Yeah, I'm for Goober. He's not a stereotype like these gemokes I see when I am changing channels. Thinking about it, I'm laughing when I think of Goober playing the part of some of those porkheads. Goober down the rabbit hole holding his watch saying "Gollllllly! I'm late! I'm late!" I wish my producer friend would just do one show with me. But he swears there is no way the stigma of that stuff is ever going to be attached to him. Bernie

Has anyone ever noticed that and good topic can the ruined by droning comments about some fairly trivial detail. I see it on forums and at car shows all the time. It does make those days when I sit alone in my yard with one or two of my old cars in the shade seem a lot nicer, though. We have a Garber store near Rochester, New York, for what it's worth. I've never been there. It just looks like another multi-brand carnival to me; a place where the only relationship between the salesman and the Garber family is that both are bipeds. Jim, who runs the Bennett store now, was brought home from the hospital in a new 1960 Buick with Bennett dealer plates on it. That counter in the picture is where they handed me the last NOS wood wheel horn bar from GM stock in 1981. In June the Finger Lakes Chapter of the BCA voted to continue sponsoring the Guy Bennett Senior Award at National meets. Guy Sr. used to be in the showroom every day right up to the turn of this century. My wife and I pulled up in front of the showroom around 1999 or so with a shiny blue Cadillac. Guy Sr. said "Nice looking car. That's a 1967. Where are you from." "Brockport." He replied "Oh. I have a car from Brockport in the back room." and he took us through the big wooden doors to see a nice '67 or '68 full size car with low miles. He got in a little trouble for going back there, but he liked showing off the cars. Stopping in today, there's a chance you might run into Guy Jr. He has been there just about every day since he got out of the service in time to start selling '53 Skylarks. I don't ride around that neck of the woods often enough. Bernie

I like that picture of the Bennett building, must have been taken over 50 years ago. Bernie

Go to all the car shows and cruise nights you can get to. When you see a nicely done car that looks like the quality you want ask "Who did that and how long did it take?" And follow up. Look to your own marketable skills and the possibility of a part time job to cover the cost. My nephew is a mechanic and bought an older home that was kind of a fixer upper. When he started working on the house I asked why he didn't hire a carpenter. There are $15 per hour carpenters all over the place. He can easily make $50 an hour on small repair jobs. Work one hour and hire a carpenter for 3 hours, that's good math. Use the same approach to hiring car work. Some of the rates quoted seem like they would be from home shops that don't pay taxes, have insurance, or are compliant to any codes or regulations (see the recommendation to the nephew). They might not be a bargain in the end. One story I have heard over and over again is about the body shop guy who's wife got sick just after stripping someone's car. Always ask about the wife's health condition! Bernie

Always happy to inform and enlighten. Good topics to look into. Empirical data is when you stand on the east side of the Hudson River and say "Wow. Does in always smell like this?"

I was at Great Lakes Navy Boot Camp in 1967 when AMC was still in business. I went up there with one of the guys to check things out. It was dead then. And, after getting supper, we found out the last Chicago Northwestern left at 6 PM, no trains until 6AM! I think we walked back to North Chicago. Southbend, now, there's a Mad Max, after the bomb movie set. I think there is one motel out on the far side of the airport. Some of the Studebaker plant is still standing with about 10% of the glass left. I have a repopped Willard Battery sign that I bought at Newman & Altman hanging in the garage to remind me of that trip. Flying at night is actually more impressive. From Detroit to Milwaukee, there can't be a single light bulb turned off, no kidding. I thought a lot about AMERICAN motors failing during the auto makers bail out when GM/Toyota, Chrysler/Benz/Mitsubishi, and Ford/Mazda got help. Must have been tough on the Romney family too. Bernie

Just take it to a good exhaust shop and have them bend the pipe over. Judging from the trees in the background you live in a part of the country where they wouldn't even charge you. Take a $20 to tip the mechanic who does it. It could be the beginning of a wonderful relationship. I have a shop like that where I have had little things done since 1978, same place, two mechanics. Bernie