60FlatTop

I like the orange citrus paint remover from places like Lowes. It won't burn you and works well. It is about 20 bucks a quart and I always have some on the shelf. They make a neutralizer but soap and water works fine. Bernie

Nice radio. It warmed up a lot faster than my '60! No civilian cars on the base. Anyone remember the row of cars backed up to the rail road tracks at the Charleston, SC Navy base around 1970? There was a pretty solid mid '30's Plymouth pickup and a few other projects. I was driving a '64 Ford Galaxie Wagon, Ford blue, no wood. Handy wheels for a 21 year old sailor. Bernie

The last five cars I have purchased were licensed in my name immediately (with the exception of one I sold in 3 days). Two were real basket cases. I always do something to add value so before I spend money on them I make sure it is legally mine. I have seen the 10, 15, 20, and, really, 30 year ownership histories with multiple casual sales. Most are OK. An old engineer told me the odds are always 50/50. It's either good or it ain't. This is as good topic. Even the old guys whom have owned 100+ cars get a learning moment now and then. Back when sight-unseen cars became more common with the internet, I established three personal guidelines: 1. No car can be a total loss. 2. Cars I bought and didn't like usually made me a profit. (prophet?) 3. I can lose $3,000 on a risk annually without affecting the flow of groceries. With those concepts and the flare for detail of a barroom pool player I've done pretty good. Bernie

Pennsylvania? Isn't there a guy on an island three miles south of Harrisburg who can help? Bernie

I have purchased collector cars for good, solid, logical reasons. I don't have any at the moment. I sold them. I could easily spend $3k-$4k on my best car. I could easily spend $3k-$4k on my worst car. All the cars I own were purchased within two days of locating them. And I was in a panic to get the money out of the bank or empty the tin cans I had hidden. Bernie

There is no fair price for a 47 year old car. It's just the entry fee. Take out a yellow pad and write, 500 times "I an going to spend about 10 grand on a 50 year old car but I don't want to do anything dumb." Stack the 100 $100 bills on the table or put them in your pocket while you write; 20's are even better. If you looked at two cars, mulled over the purchase, and wrote into an online forum for advice I'd say you haven't found your car. There is a car out there that will drop you in your tracks. You will be afraid to leave it because it might be gone when you get back. If it costs more than you have you will search for every way to get the extra. You will tremble until it is safely home. Then you'll know it is the one you want and NO ONE will be able to talk any sense into you. That's the car! I'm excited just thinking about the next one I find.

Top dead center comes around twice if you are looking at the timing mark. You have a 50/50 chance it was right. If you removed the valve cover and turned the engine IN THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION while watching the valve action you would have seen the intake valve colse and both valves seat with a little play in the rocker arms. I usually go through two whole cycles while describing the valve action out loud just to be sure. On a long term storage car I like to use my MyTeeVac tool with the brake bleeder bottle attached to the fuel line to pull gas from the tank. I suck three or four bottles through the line and check that it draws, gets clear, and smells good. That brings fresh fuel up to the carb so the starter does have to crank long and wets the fuel pump diaphragm to keep it from flexing dry. Bernie

Buy the Ford. Please send me the contact information for the person selling the Buick. Thank you. Bernie That's a joke.... humor guys, humor.

Back then the butcher in a public place could take a break and lean back to smoke a Corolla. Well, maybe a couple decades later, but you can't today. Bernie

I remember when the Ford Falcon first came out. Putting the Mustang body skin on them never impressed me. When I was a kid it always looked like they were designed to steal buyers away from MG, not GM. Most were 6 cylinders. Bernie

Years ago a friend of my had a Cadillac Model 75 limo cleaned by a ServiceMaster branch and I remember how impressed he was with the job and the professionalism. It's an old company with an interesting philosophy. They even wrote a book about the corporation. I have never used them, but I would consider them. Bernie

There's that "my mechanic" guy again. I saw one that had a sign "I do it nice; 'cause I do it thrice." That's where the 3X comes from. Bernie

I have been considering one of those Imperials with Exner style headlights. I liked them when they came out. I even had an Exner JR. styled Ford convertible once. I like their designs a lot. Bernie

"So whatcha doin'?" "I'm adjusting this." "I know the difference between adjusting something and *********** with it. What are you **********I with?" I thought I was going to end up in employee relations just for witnessing that one. Bernie

Sunny and about 50 here. I just ran the convertible up to the edge of the muckland and back to splash hot oil inside the engine. Now it's time for a rerun of Superman, supper, and a rerun of Wonder Woman. Bernie

I remember that car. It was a prototype of a line strictly for individualists. To be eligible to buy one you had to be over 50, have a pony tail and tattoos, wear an ear ring, listen to very loud rock music, and wear shirts with NASCAR or Hard Rock Cafe on them. Any deviation from that individuality would disqualify you from ordering. Bernie

When I changed the pump on my '60 I painted the crossmember with satin black ValSpar polyurethane. I like that paint a lot. While the radiator was out I had it checked and cleaned. I gave the radiator shop a blank check but they said the core was fine. When they painted the radiator I requested the heat transfer paint only on the tanks and core. They did the brackets with the urethane so they have the satin finish they came with. I also had the "Don't stick your fingers in the fan" decal copied and made by a sign shop. It came out looking like no one had touched it. My whole life is a series of "not in my original plan"! Bernie

The 1/4-20 cap screws that seal the flange of the pump snap off pretty easily.The reaction between them and the aluminum cover is aggressive. In the mid '80's when I did my Riviera the first time I replaced the stand grade with grade 8 black Allen head screws. Those screws are a little more resistant to corrosion. They are still in the Riviera. The '60 had no corrosion and the screws had a light oily coat. I didn't change them. I also have a Heli-coiled and freshly painted timing chain cover hanging on the wall; a Murphy's Law part. Since the topic came up I wouldn't be opposed to take a few minutes and loosen and lube those 1/4" bolts just for GP. It's been ten years. I do stuff like that sometimes. Bernie

" The Democrats may choose to not appear there," That museum reflects a lot of personal wealth and discretionary spending. Have any been there? Bernie

Trust is something I am not very free with. When I took my '64 Riviera frame to a sandblaster I cleaned and degreased every square inch for fear Bobo (check Charles Lamb Dissertation on Roast Pig) would hold the gun in one spot for an hour trying to remove a fly speck. When I dropped it off the guy asked "Why is this here?". I told him "Just give it some tooth." I did a lot. They did a little; very good balance. I had them epoxy primer it and supplied them with satin black polyurethane for the finish coat. That was 1994. It looks great today. My level of trust is less today. Bernie

Here goes the neighborhood. My '48 Packard came from McKees Rock, Pa. and it's running in 2016; doing pretty good by comparison. Bernie, The Original-not Madoff or Sanders.

Every Buick water pump change was like that for me from my teen's until I was in my early 50's. At that time I met a woman who practiced magic and she taught me about my ancient Irish heritage. I gave her a car when she needed one and she promised to send me good luck. I have changed two Buick nailhead water pumps since. They took 1/2 hour each. I'm not saying there is a connection, but.... Bernie

I had a complete 1933 Essex-Terraplane 8 chassis back when Driving Miss Daisy was playing at the movies. It was going to become my Railton knock off. Mr. Bell, the owner of Miss Daisy's Hudson owned a Railton and offered to let me make a pattern. Something happened and I considered long term storage. That was when I realized that if it ever left my garage it wouldn't come back. I sold it and moved on to the happy life with too many cars I experience today. Long term storage is a crumby option. Bernie

If anyone is a member of ASHRAE, there is an ironic and somewhat comical article in this month's journal. It's about a poorly designed and poorly built AC unit with compromised orifices. That unit got band aided even though it shouldn't have ever existed. No substitute for just doing it right. Bernie

Where are the other 99? Bernie