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I didn't really answer the question of challenge in my earlier post. I guess I don't notice any. I fix my own cars, generally buy with money from the hobby, live on the edge of a little hick town of 10,000 people (about half of my pictures are taken on dirt roads), and I buy cars that I personally like without much regard to how others accept them. Reverse any of those comments and I guess I'd have a challenge. There is a mile of woods and a couple of ponds across the street before you get to the next town so driving is pretty leisurely. It wasn't always that easy. Until my early 30's I tried to make everything better than new to meet an assumed standard I got from automotive journalism. Then in 1983 I was on a trip to the Keewanee boiler plant to witness some testing for a power plant project. I was staying in the Quad City area of Iowa. While the other guys were hanging out in a bar I found my way to the row of second rate used car lots in Moline. It was dark and under the lights was a black '76-ish big Mercury. That was a nirvana moment for me. I realized I liked clean, stand up cars about 10 years old and understood their condition. From that moment I decided my goal would be to own old cars in the condition of a well maintained 10 year old car. What a burden was lifted. For over 30 years I have maintained that goal and truly enjoyed my cars and the hobby. I can still be a PIA on some details but overall, the relaxed, but achievable goals make for a lot more enjoyment. I guess that's why the challenges escape me. My oldest is my age, a 1948. My newest collector car is a 1994. I still have the car I bought when I was 30. Well, my tractor is 10 years older that me, but that's equipment. Bernie

I put my signature in after the last big change and, like many, the default gray is almost unreadable. Brain fart this morning, I changed the color and it can be read. I guess if I was Korean I would have known that. Could it be yet another example of a programmer writing a program they never use? Nah, that never happens. Bernie

Just on memory, mid 1920's Pierce-Arrow. Bernie

I use the term, collector car. I know all the definitions and they are all tolerable unless they are used on TV with dated rock music and flashing stop frame video in the background. A car worthy of being collectible will usually be of a quality that will get through its fir 50 years pretty much trouble free. Then they start needing major repairs and all get costly. And everything wears out at the same rate. Today at a common meet most of the cars will be 1960 and newer. The older stuff is home broken or you see a few that had significant money spent on them. If a poll was taken you would find that 15 year rule to be quite common. Many hobbyists have cars that were purchased from a conservative second owner when the car was about 15 years old. I say conservative because they are generally blue, brown, or green. The red and black cars get used up in ten years for the most part. Those 15 year old cars are in good condition and no matter when the purchase was made you can us a $ inflation calculator to find the hobbyist paid the equivalent of 3,00 to 4,000 USD for then. They gain value because times passes so quickly. The more expensive ones have major work done to them. I bough my '64 Riviera under similar terms when it was 15 years old. My hobby expenses have come from hobby activities. I may have skimmed off about 5% of my work income, but I would estimate 10 to 15% of my life's income has gone to the hobby. And the majority from buying and selling, servicing, and otherwise leveraging my skills with cars. That includes the garage, too small with too few doors, extra storage, tools, trips, and various necessities. Be flexible with your commitments. Unload a car that doesn't meet your expectations. I have never suffered a total loss and most often made money selling my mistakes. And drive 'em like your stole 'em Bernie

Be very careful with that line of thought. About 1978 the banks started providing 10 year loans for cars. A friend of mine who was old, sickly, and frail decided to go out for a custom van at 12 or 14 K in '78 money on the ten year loan. The old timer thought he was going to stick them by dying in four or five years; poor old guy paid every nickel and lived to see the van turn to a pile of rust. On the car, I'm probably one of the marketing targets; just like I was when the '90's Roadmasters came out. Two weeks ago I looked at a Chevy truck for the same money. It had a V8, separate body and frame, elbow and ass room, and a long wheelbase. The back wheels pushed it. I like that configuration the way I like skinny women. My next car will probably be 8 Cylinders and something between 120 and 134 inch wheelbase. Ain't much new stuff fits that. Oh, I'm 68 and last week I told my son I'll probably buy 4 more new Chevy trucks. Bernie

"When in doubt throw 'em out." There are a few Destroyer parts at the bottom of the Cooper River in Charleston, SC to testify to that. If I needed at set and had those I would get the two worst seats ground and see how much more the valve stem stuck up than the best uncut one. I wouldn't want to see much difference, maybe 0.010 or 0.030 tops. I'm not sure about eating them, cast ain't bringing much; maybe the lunch special for one at a China Buffet, only with the senior discount. Oh, on that last thought, a Harbor Freight store is opening at the other end of town right next to the China Buffet Bernie

We used to vulcanize repairs and vulcanize recaps. My Grandfather had two old "cookers" that would put an old diamond tread on small 16's and 15's. We had customers whom would travel to get that tread pattern. Most cappers used a Firestone Deluxe Champion tread style. There were various size rolls of uncured natural and synthetic rubber for different processes. Curing was a one shot deal and hardness based on the rubber composition. The bulge is called a separation. It is caused by air seeping into a delaminated area of the casing build or the tread cap. Impurities during new manufacture or wet casings stored outside in rain before capping will cause it. It's close to the delamination you see in plugged brake lines. Capping requires grinding the hard cured rubber, under the softer tread material, to clean and provide grip. There are two hardness grades. Once the soft tread surface wears off we would regroove some casings either by hand or use an automatic Honeycut regrooving machine, paint the tread with rubber based paint and sell a tire that wore like iron, just hard with little traction. My Uncle was good at adding a few 32nds by hand. My Dad ran the Honeycut. At 12 I was pretty good at thickening the paint if they went a little deep and cut the cords in the casing. That was about the time I learned not to wipe off a knife with a paper towel, another important lesson. Bridgestone makes the Winterforce directional snow tires. I started using them when Firestone discontinued the Town & Country's about 15 years ago. Great tires I run them year 'round on the back of my Silverado. Once we figured I had bought about 50 of them for various family cars. I have problems going into tire shops I don't usually frequent. They always give the "who's this old know-it-all blowhard" attitude when they try to pump some of their BS into me. Like when they mounted my Nitto Invo's up for my '94 Impala and I told them I'd bubble balance them myself. As well as set the toe-in myself and didn't need the rest of the alignment. If I thought we could have a good discussion about the parallelogram formed by the steering arms and how in affected the Ackerman principle I might have let them touch the front end. But they didn't even have a plumb bob. Bernie

I don't like doing repairs and refinishing a part or area of the car to look dramatically better than the rest. Val Spar satin black polyurethane looks very natural on frame and chassis components. Years ago I put a new water pump and cleaned the radiator on my '60 Electra. I used the Val Spar on the crossmember, radiator brackets and fan shroud. They look untouched. Radiator shops sometimes use a heat conductive paint that is real glossy. The shop painted my brackets separately and soldered them to the painted core. It's a minor thing but made me happy. When you paint the engine try a few drops of gray primer mixed in. It tones the color down. I use the Hirsch paints and they flow to a glossy shine. Experiment with a little lacquer or high speed thinner to speed up the flash off. I did that with my new water pump. Once you get everything cleaned there is a tendency for small rust and dust spots to show. I like to take a paper towel and WD-40 to wipe the engine compartment down on weekends. It cleans things and creates a pretty good patina. If you look under the hood of my '60 Electra everything looks quite natural but it has all been touched. The only "new" looking thing is Booster Dewey's plating job on my power brake diaphragm. In the 1990's I had a daily driver that was a '56 Olds Holiday 88. Everything but the rear axle had been redone. I was asked "Are you the person who drives that Olds that nothing has been done to?". Yeah. Bernie

I think it is Australian. Sure looks southern hemisphere. Bernie

I'm with Spinney. What's this new application of the term vulcanization? I've used vulcanizers for sidewall repairs of passenger tires, large ones for truck tires after taking out a bolt or piece of steel embedded in them, and the really big one with a mandrel heavier than hell on tractor tires. I have vulcanized tubes as well with a little bench vulcanizer; big tubes. We ordered quite a range of vulcanizing supplies from that section of the catalog. Am I misunderstanding it? The tires got vulcanized from use over time'? I would like to see a service document describing this. It reminds me of the early 1980's when we went from pneumatic control to DDC. In electrics we use I, R, E, and P commonly. I was introduced to a transducer called an I to P. I asked "Current to Power, watts? What is that" The knowledgeable said "No, dummy. The P is for pneumatic." I think the boys at the tire shop need to read a book. This stuff gets on the net and becomes the word. Literacy can be such a burden at times. Bernie

I only use original old stock points or Echlin points from NAPA. The newer stuff in Standard boxes is inferior. If your dwell is stable I wouldn't worry about end play.

I see the GMC in the garage. So you are experienced at making good decisions. That old cornbinder ain't made to run like a Winnebago. Did Gramps run it more than a hundred miles or so to camp? An hour drive would be a pretty good workout. Three hours would be my limit. I'd keep that bus like it is and camp in a 100-150 mile radius. Going farther, just get the late model camper. I drove a stock '56 Willys-Overland 100 miles round trip to a cruise in a few times. I knew I did some driving. The wheels can be magnafluxed if you are an engineer, but not necessary if they are kept tight and you visually inspect them. The split rims stay on quite well in the seat is cleaned. Biased tires are safe if they are not aged for decades or bald. You shouldn't have a blow out over 45 or 50 or you have a severe case of driver error. If you are driving it over 50 you should be alone. Don't risk family or friends. It's a neat old bus, changes and modifications will screw it up. In my area the short buses were a special purpose; could make a joke about that and the idea of changing the chasssis. Bernie

I hardly ever let my cars get below half a tank. When I stop to top then off it's usually 10 gallons. EVEN if the gas was $0.50 more a gallon that's still only 5 bucks. That stuff makes me think of the old guy opening his leather change purse and getting out a quarter tip. If you are young and getting into the car hobby make it your mission to end these stereotypes. Five years ago I found a nickel and a quarter under the back seat of my convertible. I threw them on the front floor hump and leave the car unattended with the top down. It's a flagrant display of extravagance and recklessness to some. Above all, this is a hobby. Buying gas for your car is like buying bullets for target shooting. You just get more bang for your buck. Bernie

I like the SEC's. The rear quarters on those cars had an unfinished look to them that I never cared for. They lacked flow in the design. When I first started driving my silver '86 Park Ave convertible around town someone asked if they saw me in a Mercedes. I was not happy. If one has the discretionary money to own a $20,000 toy gas mileage shouldn't be any concern on a car driven 1500 or so miles per year. It's like the guy who asked me about the cost of my tires on another of my cars last week. I told him they cost about $900. He said "Ohhhh, I'd never pay that much." Did you see what they are attached to? I didn't even mention the sandbasting, epoxy primer, and Imron paint that went on the wheels before I put them on. Bernie

The value of the pump ( I think defrauding an insurance company is a crime) and the state of morality are less important than the opportunity to learn about security. My Grandfather ALWAYS taught me to beware of potential thieves. I have always laughed at the term "security light". You don't leave a light on for thieves. Keep it dark and leave stuff near the garage for them to trip on. If something good has to be stored outside put it under a pile of crap. If four bolts held that pump at the base I would have had one odd nut that required a chisel to turn. The pump had a light? Know what you can do with a N.O. mercury switch. You don't have to hurt then real bad before they move on. He had spent some time riding the rails and living in hobo camps during the '30's. He had a pretty good bag of nasty tricks. Once he felt he was overcharged by a garage we'll just call Bernie's service. He came back to the shop all smiles after nailing a sign that said "Bernie's Service is a crook" about 10 up a telephone pole near their shop. I told him they would just tear it down. That's when he smiled biggest and said they'd have to climb up there to find the dirty grease on the back side. Come sneaking over to my place some night. Bring a flashlight. You know I won't leave the security light on. Oh, I figured you might have the flashlight. This house and garage are protected by the experience and deviousness discussed during lunch at Jerry's Tire Shop. I'm in the black sweatshirt Bernie

I was really surprised that Lincoln waited so long to use safety glass. Authors, storytellers, and directors Do have liberties. Bernie

Since supper is still cooking I'll add an opinion. Although I have had interest in Mercedes cars, I feel uneasy to buy one. I have bought British cars with bad reputations and passed up the M-B's; not so hot on Japanese cars either. Maybe I just like cars from the side that won. A 10 year old CLK would interest me. A 20 year old 450, and it's derivatives, is at an age where major work could be quite disheartening. A clean early 2000's CLK might be worth the risk. Bernie

Stick with advice from actual owners of cars if you can. I had an '81 Cadillac Fleetwood D' Elegance. The car was fine mechanically, but prone to rust under the trim cladding. I'd buy another if a nice one came along. The Willys above was a POS before the acronym was invented. I had a '56 Bermuda 6 hardtop in 1966. It was better than the one pictured. Mine had a Conitnental 6 and Hydramatic. I wouldn't buy another. I think they came off the assembly line five or six at a time; in litters. B and C body GM cars are your best buy. Stay away from orphans and oddball stuff. Honestly, there is something about owning an orphan or odd car that will make the owner weird as well. And by the time you notice it will be too late. Stick with GM. Bernie

That's child's play rust in New York. Pete knows. Melissa Mohr heard a Texas guy's exclamation the first time he saw New York rust and thought "Wow! That's a book title." Bernie

I don't get the issue. There were starter prices and make offer. The clunkers weren't outrageous and the couple of sorta finished cars weren't shockers. Most needed about $40,000 worth of work if they were tackled. Can anyone who thought they were overpriced give an idea of what they estimate the price should be? I just want to get a grip on the percentage difference once the ~$40,000 is sunk into them. Take the '56 Caddy at $4500. Plus 40K would make it $44500. Cut his asking price in half to make it$2250; I'm figuring $42,250. What is the groaning about? Actually, this year I have walked away from a couple of similar cars I could have picked up and put into the hands of eager collectors. I left them sit because they weren't worth the cost and effort to resell them. I'd have to buy one, transport it, market it, pay Ebay, pay Paypal, and be filleted by either of the last two if the buyer whined. No thanks. Whatever I see is going to be left where it lies. Be thankful some sellers still put up with the BS to keep them circulating in the hobby. I might sell a couple of my own but no more for resale. Bernie

Seems very knowledgeable and experienced to need feedback. It even looks like some feedback is considered incorrect. Is this really an advertisement with no price? Just thinking, you know. Bernie

The small AFB's are 425 CFM. With a little throttle rod cutting and blocking off I could probably bring one down to 75-100 CFM WOT. The Straight 8 intakes have four runners. I could make that illusion. Bernie

Sounds like a novel car to me and apparently has some anti-fiction components. Bernie

Shouldn't that Phoenix rise again? Just thinkin. Bernie