60FlatTop

My collector cars are insured through Taylor. I have been a customer since 1974. I follow the rules of the policy and appreciate that I can have my old cars. Higher rates might limit my toys. I asked about insuring my '38 Allis-Chalmers and Taylor said no tractors with attachments to the front end. It has a bucket loader. I took the No answer. When my kids started driving they got their own cars and insurance specifically not to jeopardize the Taylor insurance. Getting an old car insured to drive as a collector car or a daily driver are quite different intents. Once I wanted to add a 1935 Nash to my regular policy. The company refused because "the car was too old". When I asked what the age limit was they couldn't answer. When I told them I was going to change all my cars to another company they figured maybe there wasn't all the highway carnage they assumed with 1935 cars and just accepted the policy. Sometimes it's a little hard to get the BB in the agent's gray mush to roll in a different direction. And everyone knows the $30,000 new car is going to sit outside with that valuable project gets protected like a baby. A $30,000 '65 Riviera as a daily driver, parked in a car port? If the owner's judgement is on the checklist I'm putting a minus next to that one. That's a red flag Bernie

Yesterday I took my Brand X car to the RROC Tech Session at Doug Seibert's Garage in Rochester, New York. A beautiful sunny day and lots of talk about the intricacies of oil changes, brakes, and general car ownership. Today we went to the little town over in the next county for lunch in the '60 Electra. It was an interesting anniversary of sorts. In May of 1966 I was a month away from graduating High School and I bought this '60 Invicta flattop. 60 years later to the month I'm still in the same type of car. My kids say they will never call me a throw back. I haven't moved ahead enough to qualify! Bernie

Bump your AAA towing to 100 miles and drive the hell out of it. Fix what breaks and drive it some more. Keep your cell phone in your pocket and if you feel uneasy about the car only shut it off at friends houses. Thoroughly study and have a firm understanding of the concepts of this set of laws: http://www.murphys-laws.com/murphy/murphy-true.html. Then you'll know by getting the extended coverage you will probably never need it. I bought that extra coverage when I got my first Jaguar, thinking it the prudent thing to do. My Wife thinks it's funny because I have only used it on the Buick.....twice! Bernie

I'm pretty sure that's at the La Brea tar pits, one of the biggest disappointments of my life. I grew up in western New York with images of the Pits like this: And 40 years old I turned off Wilshire to park. Here is the corner today Now image how I did that 70 years later sitting in a house 3,000 miles away using a satellite connection and a computer powered from the Moses Power Plant at Niagara Falls. Didn't even need a tripod and an SLR camera. Bernie

It's not a lot of money for a neat car. All it has to do is appeal to a buyer more than all the cars costing less than 15,999. Appraisals don't really mean a lot to me. I've seen some pretty goofy ones. I looked through the ad and didn't see anything like "We drive it 200 miles round trip to visit my wife's sister a few times during the summer." Something about its usability makes a more compelling sales pitch. How long have you owned it? Is it currently licensed and insured? How long have you owned it? How many miles per year have you driven it? What regular service has it had and what, if any, major repairs have you done? If you decided to keep it, what improvement would you make first? There is room in a Craigslist ad to write that stuff and it really will help sell it. AND DON'T PUT "SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY" IN YOUR AD. When I see that the first word that comes to my mind is Jerk. It's right up there with "Don't waste my time." And then it ends with "LIVE YOUR DREAM". Does that mean only dream seriously? A serious person won't buy a benevolently neglected 80 year old car. Bernie

Just taking a break from washing whitewalls and working on a '48 Hudson for a guy. Maybe when one person is alone it normalizes things so the trinity of stereotypical characters isn't required. Can you imagine walking around a junkyard with a band droning that obligatory rock whatever music? The guy did pretty good until he drove away at the end. If he had been at the junkyard I hang around, pretty close to the same atmosphere, and he drove away like that we would have rolled our eyes and just made a one word, two syllable comment. Maybe I'll do a video, I critique this stuff so much I know it would be perfect. Bernie

Now you know the feeling of getting the right car. It ain't cerebral and you can't do it out of context through the forum. I had to smile while reading the first hand description of the Skylark. I'm at a point where I'm going to sell a couple of my good cars. I usually sell the ones I don't want or had for a short time. They are pretty cheap. My good stuff is good because I made it that way and it costs time and money spent on neglected service. My usual response to "that's too much money" is "go buy the other one". You just experienced the other one. You will probably own that Ford for the next 15 years, at least. It goes by fast. Over that time figure an average of $600 a year, a little front loaded. Gradually it may lose the mods and turn out like this: You learned a few good lessons. That top problem, I'll have it this fall, I leave the convert in the garage all summer with the top down and the boot on it. The fabric shrinks and folds a bit and it is HELL to get back up. Sometimes I have taken a week to stretch it back carefully, but that's me. Congratulations and good luck. Don't stop making it better and wear out as many parts as you can. Bernie

That flat body against the wind will collapse on the frame and leave you a pile of kindling wood with a little metal mixed in. Even 50 MPH would be hard on the body. Definitely hire a professional with an enclosed trailer. The first two words out of the U-Haul guy will be "I thought". The wheels will just be incidental at that point. Bernie

I was a little later and attended my first National at Strongsville in 1977. I had a 1939 Special, formerly with sidemounts, stream boards, and Century window trim. Ot was eventually restored by Bill Manoya, near Rochester, NY. I showed up in a red 1971 Ford LTD convertible. Here's the picture I took of the 1939's that day. Most of the cars were right in that 1938 to 1948 range, 25 year old, good reliable cars passed on by very conservative original owners in a lot of instances. It made me remember one of the rants about the 100 year old car recognition. The Club was really formed around a majority of good 25 year old cars. The older ones were in the minority. Bernie

I'm not much of a "mechanic in a can" guy, but I did put a can of Trans-X conditioner in my car a couple of years ago and noticed an improvement. I drove the car about 20 miles before I put it in and then immediately drove another 20 to give it good circulation. Bernie

I have a 30' length of #14 wire with a big clamp for the battery ground at one end and an alligator clip at the other. If a device doesn't work I run the ground directly to the battery; saves a lot of speculation. Bernie

The pump relies on its tolerence to maintain a prime through the surface tension of the fluid. Wear can cause a loss of prime overnight. Mine does that sometimes. Just let her sit and run for a while and it will pick up suction. Once it gets suction it's good all day. I figure whoever gets my car from the estate auction will wanna fix that right away. If your pickup is plugged it might make establishing a suction harder. Bernie

Too many GM cars. Bernie

I shifted to the NGK's after experiencing AC plugs that were unable to recover from an instance of flooding. They were recommended in the Kirby Palm Jaguar XJS living book, which is great reading even if you don't own a Jaguar: http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/XJS_help.pdf. They worked very well in a 1950 Super 263, a couple of Jags, and some other cars since I have been using them. I still have a stash of NOS AC45's and a big bag of sooty 44's. So it's either 20+ year old stock or the Japanese NGK's. For the rest of the ignition the only quality new parts I have found a Echlin at the NAPA store. Just imagine the kind of person who would cuddle up with a printout of Kirby's book for an evening; I gotta get a life! Bernie

I'm wondering about 1/4" fuel line. What's that go on? Bernie

It is expensive just to keep the doors open on a business. And if they do make any money on the job, 50% goes to taxes for an incorporated shop or 40% for a proprietor. Two guys working all day might get 150 bucks after working a 10 hour day. Don't forget, a restoration shop has to satisfy the customer as well as every friend and self appointed judge that strolls by on the sidewalk. "Did you know a fly left a footprint under the lip of the fender where beading is rolled over? Are you gonna get that fixed?" I don't blame a lot of shops for deterring the hobby business. Base coat, clear coat the soccer Mom's van and move out the production work. I was out in the garage with some 80 grit yesterday and planning the air line drops I want to pipe in. I know it's a 15 day job at $1,000 a day. And if the materials cost three grand I can screw it up 5 times, but I don't think it will be that bad. The professional painters I know usually only paint their cars two or three times to get them nice. A customer can only afford once with a shop. I'm lucky the cars I have that need paint I bought cheap and a long time ago. I didn't lay out the big bucks for a classic Studebaker or that kind of stuff, out of my range. Oh! Be careful and don't ever paint one of those four door cars white, not good at all. Bernie

I was supposed to be working but it's lunch time. I could see myself getting into this: https://milwaukee.craigslist.org/cto/5561716277.html Hood looks short, wheelbase looks long. I wonder if it really is a '38 Buick chassis under there. Bernie

I'm a lifelong AC45 user in just about all the GM cars I owned. Maybe 8 years ago I got introduced to the NGK plugs through a 12 cylinder Jaguar I had. Since then I have been dropping my AC plug on the counter and matching the tips and reach to the NGK's. I'm pretty happy with them. Just that says a lot. Bernie

About 1984 or '85 I bought a black 1978 Nove 2dr, V8, 4 speed, red bucket seats. It made me smile pulling through the gears. I bought it from the first owner who ordered it through Van Bortel's Chevy/Rolls dealership in Palmyra, New York. He had a tough time with the salesman who kept telling him he was confused and wanted a Camaro. Finally the order went in at their famous $1 over invoice price. I still have a bumper sticker advertising that somewhere. Anyway, the car came in through Hallman Chevy in Rochester and had to be driven the hour's drive to Shady Deals. People saw it through the impound fence at Hallman's and on the lot at Van Bortel's. Five calls had come in on the car and the salesman asked the buyer if he could sell it and order another for him. The little old man told him to sell them a Camaro and showed me the gesture he gave the salesman, Sicilian sign language I think. It was my driver for a few years. I think it is still around. I have seen an article on an FBI spec 4 door that I'd like. New car salesmen, no imagination. I'm trying to buy a new Silverado trimmed out with the options I would have bought on a 1970, basically the same as my '05. They can't comprehend the options I want. Bernie

Well! That was my laugh for the morning. And that was the ballroom floor for an alumni dinner before the furniture was brought in. Ever notice how some writing can just flow with all the right words.. Oh, and I have the original bill of sale and canceled check. The car was purchased in February, 1961 at $1,000 under the calculated MSRP. I bet they said "Phew, that white albatross is finally gone!" White cars; I mainly bought it to sell the front clip and part the rest...... 15 years ago. Bernie

White cars are kind of like plain sisters, and every once in a while, just like Cinderella, one gets invited to the Ball.

Go to the auction and save money. Bernie

On the hoses, if you are replacing hoses, triple wall OR used R-12 hoses will work. The entrained refrigerant oil will impregnate old hoses and provide a molecular seal. If you go out and buy a set of NOS R-12 hoses the charge will be gone in the morning. All that conspiracy stuff in post #2. I have been paying attention since I was about 11. All the conspiracy theories I have heard give WAYYYY too much credit to the abilities of the conspirators. At least that's what I'm trying to get you to believe. Bernie

I sold SMS some fabric sample books a few years ago. They paid fast! Now, that's the sign of a good company. Most companies, as well as most governments, look at suppliers as their private banks. Good company. Bernie

I had a little twitch telling me the financial part was coming up. It reminds me of the time my wife told men "Men tend to generalize." I asked her to tell me that just once more. It's good to know about warnings but the person is the key. In the 1990's I was a member of the Antique Oldsmobile Club of America and I always remember an article about an owner who had three nice cars. At the time they were all $8,000 to $10,000 cars acquired one at a time a few years apart. The owner told about finding the first one, a nice example, ready to go. He contacted his banker friend and probably paid $150 to $200 a month for three to five years. A part time job on Saturdays and maybe an evening or two would accommodate that quite well . For the commitment he had a driving car of known value and condition. Compare that to the hobbyist who laid out $1,000 for a project, worked each weekend, a few evening until midnight, and averaged spending a hundred bucks a week for parts, materials, and services. The services might be a crappy engine or transmission rebuild or a Sunkissed orange peel paint job. Almost the same man-hours and money, but one was sure less risk prone. In the article the owner went on to buy two more nice completed cars. Now, I have a little generalization of my own; "For every $1000 more that you are willing to spend, you can buy $4,000 worth of someone else's work." Sounds exploitive, but I bet you can think of examples. I have a banker that I worked out a little slush fund arrangement with. It is called the Circus account on the paperwork. PayPal required it and we enhanced its abilities The banker has a collection of banks in his office. One day I brought him an old Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company tin for his collection. It had a circus elephant all dressed for the show on the cover. I told him it was the origin of the bank account's name. Opportunity does knock, and often, many don't recognize it because he is wearing work clothes. Just be like a good chemist. Don't accept a one to one mixture; always work with a catalyst. You get more. Bernie