60FlatTop

I'm dismantling a '48 LC coupe with that unitized body. It's nothing like the other early uni-bodies; more like two frame rails minus the X-member and all welded to the body and floor panels. It's good heavy stuff. I watched all the details of that car being brought back together. Too bad about the car, lucky to be alive. Bernie

I told my wife that when I got my convert running good enough to sell it I'd want to keep it. Well, it's all sorted out and there are a couple of months left in the season here in the north. I've decided to offer it for $9500. A lot of work has been done; new engine, rebuilt transmission, detailed subframe, NOS wheels, new tires, NOS exhaust. And all the little bits that go along with it. I would drive it anywhere. Five old cars were running and driving this year and jockeying a garage spot was a pain. I am keeping the '60 Electra and the '64 Riviera. The '48 Packard is listed pretty cheap in the Packard section and the '94 Impala is one of the better ones out there. It has a $9500 price tag as well. Prices are negotiable, but to negotiate means I keep something like the wheels or tires, maybe a radiator, to lower the price. It's good stuff and been maintained and fussed with to meet what makes me happy. If you like driving and spending an evening spritzing on detailer spray, like I did last night, you'll be happy. They are in western New York between Buffalo and Rochester. 585-797-7421

All the creativity of 1950's country music there. Seems like I just never fit in with the individualists. I can't get in step. The change between the seats reminds me that I have been driving my convertible around all summer with the top down and a handful of change on the hump. I wonder if they lock the Ford. Bernie

Sometimes a styling event happens right in your back yard and one captures something timeless. Bernie

City? Them Pennsylvania Dutch paint everything green and put big yellow wheels on it. You'd swear every day was St. Paddy's Day, begorah. Bernie

You will find a long line of outspread palms willing to help you get it moved, running, and sold. It starts with "the street is too narrow for the transport truck and we need another $200 for a tow truck to bring the car to a large parking lot. Can you coordinate the tow truck and the transporter?" Then it arrives, not running at a location near you; a few hundred into moving it around locally, then more getting it running, then insurance and licensing to create a transferable title. Some sort of transitional storage would be needed. By the time you are done, if you are not a seasoned car hobbyist, you will swear Bella Lugosi left you the car and he's biting your wallet. If there is a neighbor, nephew, grandson, or anyone who has gazed into that garage over the last 20 years with a dreamy gaze and rose colored glasses, give them the car. What you never experience will be an unknown blessing. Bernie

Don't forget pictures tell little white lies. I am planning to list three of my cars for sale. This is the one I have owned the shortest time so it's not my typical "stick the key in and go anywhere" car. It is licensed, insured, and I can drive it up to town for coffee. The car shows 32,000 miles with no documentation. I think it spent a good portion of the 1980's and 1990's in an outdoor museum near Pittsburgh, Pa. It needs paint. You can sit in the interior without getting creepy feelings and some of the upholstery looks good, some I am afraid to uncover. The car has a new clutch and takes off smooth enough to crack walnuts on the floor of the garage. I put a new long battery in it. The previous owner put four new Coker tires on it, painted the wheel, and had a brake job done. The fuel tank was removed cleaned and new fuel and brake lines run. The swam hood ornament, tail light bezels, and license light bezel have been nicely replated. The lights and grille were removed by the PO to do the plating and paintwork that never got done. I have a new tail light harness kind of installed and all the lights need to be hooked up (hopefully after painting). I repaired the lower driver's door hinge, so that's good now. The car is tight and solid with some crunchy rust in the edge of the floor and trunk. It's not a bad car and priced pretty reasonable. Located between Rochester and Buffalo, New York at zip 14420. The other two are the black '94 Impala SS @ $9500 and the '86 Buick Park Ave convertible @ $9500, as well. Those are the go anywhere cars. About 2 1/2 months of northern car enjoyment is left this year. The Packard can take you to coffee and, with work over the winter, be a good tour car. This year everything ran and it was a pain moving them around in a small garage. I'm thinning down to the '64 Riviera I bought when I was 30 and my '60 Electra. Let's see how long that lasts... Bernie 585-797-7421

$5800 doesn't go a long way on a collector car these days and it's not hard to pour another $6,000 to $8,000. So predicting a minimum expense, you are looking at a $12,000 total on the car over the next couple of years. Is that in your plans? Personally, I would have had the car home if I had found it and wanted it. Taking pictures and asking questions on the forum is kind of like standing at the entrance to that suspension bridge in the Andes Mountains hesitating to get the view. The car is cheap. The car is messed up. The car is less likely to catch on fire than the original. The car will be fun, once running and reliable. No car is ever a 100% loss. Walking away can avoid seller's sentimental values. Walking away can avoid the cost of benevolent neglect. Getting over there today and buying it will get you more time to think it over. All my car buying regrets are over cars I didn't buy. Bernie

That would have been considered Folk Art in the 1930's and commissioned with a local carver. Locally, Richard Kron: https://www.behance.net/gallery/22049563/Interview-with-artist-Richard-Kron-of-Brockport-NY http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMMMF3_Ground_Zero_Brockport_F_D_9_11_Memorial_Brockport_NY has done a lot of work in that fashion. He carved a full sized child's Buick pedal car for a friend of mine. He might do a commissioned project, although hanging around the collection and talking for a couple of days would probably create a freer artist's interpretation, more in line with an actual period piece. Bernie

Restraint is my least recognized attribute. Bernie

I just read through that string of messages and couldn't stop thinking about how many cars I would have now if I hadn't been married. Bernie

It's been almost 10 days since I looked at that Seagraves pumper. AADD (Automotive Attention Deficit Disorder) is beginning to take over. Bernie

Join the Stutz Club: http://stutzclub.com/?page_id=25 Once you have the membership list you shouldn't have to make more than five phone calls before you get the trend: "Oh, you're thinking of buying that car." or "Wow, I never thought that car would come up for sale." Whatever make of car, the clubs are the best resource. All these cars are known by the members. And they usually carry a reputation with a history. "There are eight million stories in the naked car hobby. And the hobby knows them all." No surprises; no secrets. Bernie

It's a popular term that has been around a long time. Check out this 1960 R&C cover: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rod-Custom-magazine-September-1960-/321798193037?hash=item4aecaabf8d I remember buying that issue. Bernie

Here's my bearing cup with no needles, Stay away from the guy with the computer at the parts store, Just say u-joint, 1" cup, and internal or external clip (whichever you find). They are common. I just looked at your pic again. It's an internal clip like mine. Bernie

As a lifelong Buick driver I have always called them shoeboxes because any logical letters besides o & e got me in trouble. Bernie

One could justify "needing" a Chevy or a Ford for transportation to work or on the farm. Anything else is a discretionary purchase. No one "needs" a Buick or a Cadillac; or an antique or collector car. That is sport selling and sport buying. A recent car I sold got a security deposit and agreement to pick it up the following week. The buyer called 20 minutes after he left and asked what the total was so he could bring the correct amount. That is selling sizzle. Today's market has a couple of kinks, though. The aging buyers are tight. It's just a natural part of getting old for many. I joke about the sexagenarian with his leather snap change purse with quarters for tips. We all remember those guys from the 1960's and '70's and how they wore the same iron clad Sears work uniforms. Today the old guys are carrying debit cards and folding cash is rare. The work uniforms have been replaced with Rock Cafe or motorcycle event t shirts, shorts, and support hose with Nike's. The most common men's accessory seems to be a rubber band in a ratty gray pony tail or beard. There are still shows and cruise nights, take a look. The other is the guys whom took early retirements and skimmed off a percentage of their retirement account to buy their dream car over the past 20 years of so. The are looking for the money back or they can't keep the cars running (maybe they never did in the first place). Few young people want these cars we cherish. I don't blame them. The cars are an expense and a liability. Inheriting one could be a curse worse than the Brothers Grimm could dream up. The old farts with cars are just too damned serious about it. I have a garage full; more than a rational person would own. I'll probably drive four cars today and only change my socks once.... if I wear any. I'm having a hell of a good time. I watched those old car collectors when I was a kid and they taught me what not to be when I got to their age. I remember the car shows of the 1960's. All the true Classics were newer than my stuff is now. Bernie

Take a stack of 100 euro notes with you. Start putting them down on the bonnet until the seller smiles or makes a noticeable movement. Then put down two more. If he says yes it's yours. If not, scoop them all up and leave. Wait at least two days and come back with 200 more. If he doesn't take it the second time, wait a week. Then come back 10 days. Chances are, you'll get back to your car the first time you leave and he'll follow. It's more fun than playing poker. Bernie

More parts for your vehicle listed a control arm for a 2002 S type Jaguar. I guess it's the one I am going to buy to put the custom bumper on. That is Ebay's doing. They tie their brilliant algorithm to a relational data base that runs search functions and Ebay Motor Parts Compatibility data and every POS in the world fits my car; every book, blue light bulb, spinner knob, O2 sensor, and any other crap an Ebay "instant business" entrepreneur signs up for at $69.99/month. BTW, Iron Cross, that's the side that lost the war. I'll hold out for Medal of Honor brand; no matter how long it takes the NSA to verify their name. I don't need advanced search. I just stay away if I can, stop the search subscriptions, and save a few bucks. Bernie Oh, the 10 years of business reminded me of the 1981 Cadillac brochure that described testing of the variable displacement engine. They wrote that it had been tested one million miles. I read that and thought "So what did you do with those ten cars at the end of the test?"

That's quite a rat nest. You are lucky the starter drew your attention there. You have an example of the reasoning behind positive ground cars right there. Bernie

Seems like all we do is eat. Took the '60 Electra up to town for breakfast; then the convertible over to Holley for lunch. On the way back from lunch I complained about, what I call loud exhaust. I had already put two mufflers on it, a standard one and one called quiet-flow. Both had a drone at idle and under light throttle. Over the winter I had found an NOS muffler and tailpipe assembly on Ebay. It weighed about twice as much as the aftermarket ones. So right after lunch I ran the convert up to the shop and slipped on the third muffler. It's an improvement, still not what satisfies me. Nice to be able to do this stuff on Sunday. Bernie

I could enjoy a car like that. I like straight eights, anyway. The two piece hood was on the '49 Plymouths; and engineered so the seam ran right above the row of spark plugs. I mopped the water out of those depressions many times. Maybe Chrysler named the indentations depressions and the medical community applied the sadness after people told of their cars not starting. Some of you must remember those aftermarket cups held in place by the spark plug with a rubber sealed top. Yep, MoPar stuff. I have about 100 Chevy sales training recordings from 78 rpm records here and they are quite entertaining in their own right. I even had an Olds trainer that mentions Buicks 425 Wildcat engine. The announcer told salesmen to ask customers if it ran on cat food. It's fun. In the Chrysler video I think the best part is the wife's facial expressions. Priceless! Bernie

Over the last 50+ years I have noticed that Chrysler product owners have a family lineage of ownership. Usually it's a Father Son thing with a lot of other inherent traits. Many seen to thrive on the underdog appeal of it. And Chrysler Product owners tend to be the biggest whiners at car shows, as well. In general, of course. Corvette guys are close. Most of the heraldic MoPar owners I have seen move into a GM car are usually astounded at what a great car their, typically, Buick is. They only go back due to genetic serotonin imbalances or other neurological maladies. That 1950 (not 1951) New Yorker carried a 1949 Plymouth body with all linds of extensions in the fenders and bumpers. Those are long front fenders to fit the wheelbase. That's a Point Of Sale training video. We use the acronym POS today to describe that; interesting. The first car I ever owned was a '49 Plymouth and I was 12 years old. I was in 7th grade and my Mother was fretting over dress clothes and a suitcase for me to take on the school's Albany, Capitol of New York trip. I told her instead of spending $50 and clothes that didn't fit my lifestyle her and Dad could help me invest in the $25 Plymouth Uncle Frank had for sale. I got the car and had a good week with the hoodlums who didn't take the educational trip. That damned Plymouth had a two piece hood, split right above the spark plugs. It would never start with the submerged plugs after a rain 56 years later it is interesting to have been fingered as a hoodlum for staying home from the Albany trip and hanging out in a junkyard. Albany is where they haul 'em out in handcuffs now. Well, "Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Always Shady in Albany." Bernie, excuse me if I missed offending anyone. Bernie

Got the '60 Electra out yesterday; headed north about 8 miles to Lake Ontario, turned onto the Ontario Parkway and sailed about 20 miles to Charlotte and had lunch in the LDR Charboil where I took my wife when we were dating, walked to the end of the pier at the Genesee River outlet. rode the 1905 Carousel , http://www.bjrimages.com/Photography/New-York-State/City-of-Rochester/i-pBnC4dh/0/L/IMG_3029-Edit-L.jpg Then through Durand Eastman Park along the lake through Seabreeze, and to the outlet of Irondequoit Bay and back through the farmland. Bernie

I am kind of cautious. I never bought a car sight unseen from farther away that Seattle, 2700 miles from here. Oh, two of the cars in my signature were sight unseen, the ones I drive the most. Bernie