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It seems like replacements could be recast in a foundry that does small jobs. I worked in a foundry years ago and we would cast our own parts for high wear items. Bernie

My Great Uncle worked for Simplex as a machinist. For a general idea of tolerance and assembly policy, the cost of an improperly machined flywheel came directly from the machinist's pay check the first time. The second mistake cost their job. However, machined parts that were considered seconds were placed in bins. Those parts were upgraded to firsts and the end of production runs to complete cars. He was with Maxwell when Chrysler took over and stayed with them into the '30's. He always warned me to be careful of late production cars and a good point to keep in mind. Check your manufacture dates. Bernie

You might be a Yahoo if you can be predicted to be found at a gas station/convenient store around lunch time. I live on the edge of town and there is one less than a quarter mile from me. In the last year or so I have needed to move my wife's drier (she doesn't have a collector car) from the basement to her new laundry room and unload a vertical 80 gallon air compressor from my truck. All I have to do is wait until noon and go up to the corner with a $20 bill. I wait no more than five minutes and I can draw a very accurate picture of the two guys and their vehicle ahead of time. It sure is better than doing the heavy stuff yourself. On the whole rear end rebuild thing; in 1972 or 1973 when I was "less innocent" I had a set of 4.11 gears for my '58 Chevy wagon that I left with a "mechanic" to install. That's back when we called a rear end a ten bolt because ten bolts held the ring gear on. (Counting the number of bolts that held the corner on never seemed to carry a depth of knowledge to me.) That was the set that required a spacer and long bolts, which I provided. After a month I liberated it with the gears installed, no spacer, bolts in a bag, and lots of slop. The old juicer told me the bearings needed adjustment. I had read the book, looked at the pictures or bluing and dial indicators, and figured it was complicated. Even at 24 years old I knew if they locked us in a room with boxes on the floor, there was no way I was going to share the banana with this guy. I took it home and put the housing in my Great Grandfather's vice nose down and took all his work apart. I put it back together right and set it up by feel. "umm, that's a little tight, that's and little loose, and finally, just like Goldielocks, things were just right. I ran that car hard for about a year, then sold it to one of the older brothers of a REAL Yahoo family south of town. He ran the crap out of it and the last time I saw it the engine was blown. I'd say that rear end held up pretty good. And it is one of those instances that molds to character of a youth. Yep, take it back from the so called professional and do it yourself good enough to be bullet proof against the Yahoo's. Now, where's that room with the boxes and banana? Bernie

The pinion bearing in one of the Roadmasters I owner went bad. I just bought a used rear end and replaced the whole thing, drum to drum. Most of the trailer package cars have posi. They are the cars with a mechanical fan. As I remember trailer packages had something like a 2.80 gear set and the peg leg cars have a 2.72. Just replacing the pinion gear is about a $400 and the few people I know whom have had the job done complained about howling (the rear end and them) or other noises. My preference would be a used rear end and hiring a couple of yahoos to come over and put it in under my direction, just grunt work. Bernie

I'll have to watch that Christmas Story again. All I remember was that Olds. And about wiping cars down with kerosene, since I wrote that I have been trying to add up how many red and maroon cars I have cashed in on with that trick. I used to buy running red cars at the junkyard whenever a runner came in. Bernie

You might want to just have someone lift up on the exhaust manifold with a pry bar and snake the mount out. Or use a stubby one from underneath and control it yourself. Bernie

Wiping them down with kerosene once a week does a good job. It's a Saturday ritual around here, right after you check the lights and fluids. Grandpa knows. Bernie

Chrome plating the big chicken on my Packard hood, both tail light bezels, and the license plate bezel was $500. I can't squawk on that. I can't think of a viable alternative. Of course, I was about 10 when all the neighbors started painting their Korean war period bumpers with silver paint and about 30 when all the silver paint peeled off the newer production cars. Some memories are more indelible than the top strata. Bernie

The loss of virginity, in whatever form, is always better in a Buick. Don't feel violated. It is a rite of passage. It would be a trauma to go through this for a Ford. Bernie

The bald guy used Alex Trembek's body language and gestures, if you have seen him hustling graveside insurance to senior citizens on TV. And the light, pensive background music came through in a little over-obvious mood modifier. P. T. Barnum would have smiled. Starting a car in a couple of hours after years of sitting is about the scariest thing I can think of. It gives me chills. I can remember three of us taking turns hand cranking a Phantom II to establish oil pressure after winter storage. Don't they know how dry some parts of the engine are? And when they were originally parked and walked away from, was the oil freshly changed or did it adhere to the bearings for a few years with mild sulfuric acid to etch a few thousandths off the babbit surfaces? To me that kind of stuff is more like seeing race horses with long curved hooves. Well, it is inspiring. I'm going out to start and drive everything except the one with no engine and walk around the garage with my detail sprayer and polishing cloth. Then I'll have some fun. There's only one way to get them dusty! Bernie

I was sorting some stuff in the garage and came across the spacers I used the two times I dropped the body of my '64 Riviera back onto the frame. These were set under the cowl supports to give me extra finger room while attaching cowl accessories and wires. They are obviously easy to make and were a great help. I didn't need any at the rear. It is comparatively light and you can raise it with one hand to get the mounts in. Bernie

Quote from the ad: "This car has been partially restored and will continue to be restored unless someone would like to purchase it." Translation: "I've had a moment of clarity and realize the cash would be nice. I don't really want to sell it, but when the question comes up, at least I can say I tried." I told my wife I offered my Chevy for sale the other day and she smiled pleasantly.. What's a fella to do? There is always that old philosophy of start high, you can always come down.... well, unless you are like me. I put a price on a car and when asked to lower the price I offer to remove something from the car. The battery is new. I'll keep that and put in a good used one. The tires are the correct size and Coker whitewalls. I'll keep them and put on a nice set of Bridgestone radials. They catch on quick. $80,000? That's only $4,000 a year for the next 20 years. How much would restoration costs be for the next ten years? Bernie

It's foreign. Remember the days when cars and trucks were US and foreign? I kind of liked that arrangement. Bernie

And the whole summer is ahead! Bernie

Before you dig too deep into the engine for the cause of the overheating park the car on a level floor, put it in neutral, open the door, and push with your foot. It should roll. If not, check the brakes. I do that randomly with my cars just from habit. Always remember, the cost of progress is problems. Gee, it never overheated when the clutch shook. Once I took over operations for 8 buildings. The boss was totally frustrated and said "Everything you do turns out to be a major project, ***** was here for 20 years and never had to fix that much." That was the same guy who said "Look at your hands. You can't be working, you don't have any bandaids on." Bernie

Yeah, maybe they were working night and made nocturnal omissions........... while they were awake! I think there's another name for that. Bernie

Ante up another $1500 and you get a little more HP. Not many of these unmolested and owned by a 67 year old. Bernie

I have never used a service to buy an unseen car. My best resource has been the club rosters. Over the last 20 years I have sent out a few $50 bills to local club members. That was when a 50 meant something. I would send at lease $100 or more depending on the car today. I started sending cash because the guys never cashed my checks. I think they were just happy to do it. About 15 years ago I had a great customized Chevy Fleetline from Goodguy's classifieds checked out by a Cadillac Club member. Actually, I think it was in Indiana. I looked at local members and found a guy who owner 3 or 4 mid '50's hearses. I thought, well, this ones is eclectic enough and gave him a call. It turned out he knew the car and worked in the shop that had installed the exhaust on it. He told me his opinion might be biased because the car belonged to a friend. I sent him a very objective checklist (like, are there water stains near the rear window trim and the like). Being a non-professional, he did a diligent job. He even offered transportation from a friend, which we used. It turned out to be a wonderful car. I serviced the car when it arrived and, as I remember, I only did about $350 worth of work on it. That is a benefit of membership, whether the AACA, BCA, CLCA, RROC, and many more, each with specific areas of expertise. I've probably listed 20 to 30 thousand members in that short list. And the local members know these cars. Very few are hidden away and unknown. The ones that are being used are known even better. A friend of mine promotes the resources of the club in every purchase. He says "Don't buy the car and then join the club, join the club and use its resources to buy the best car you can." That avoids the uncomfortable moment when one arrives all smiles at their first outing and someone says "Oh, you bought "that" car." All the members knew, the seller knew, the only one out of the loop was the uniformed buyer (and I have been looking for him since I was 12). That Roadmaster is a nice car and over the next 20+ years it is going to be hard whether to take the Buick or the Bird, Strive for a minimum of 15 miles per week on both. They will always maintain their highest value if you do. And while their value stays optimized, you will quickly forget the details of each expense. And ALWAYS wear out tires before they dry rot! Bernie

Always one to look at the most positive side of things, I often tell my wife that many people live much more blissful lives than I. Ebay Motors parts compatibility program is the extreme of relational data base programming gone wrong. Of course, when Ebay's new Man Machine interface Customer Representative tells you that O2 sensor fits your '64 Riviera you better find a threaded hole real quick. Bernie

Ever hear the one about the Hoosier who got Buffaloed into trading his Duesy for a Pierce? I think it happened on Oneida Street. Bernie If you got that cars could be an obsession.

So now you can spend the night cracking walnut shells in the driveway...... very slowly. (It gets boring up here in the frozen North). Those are the four bolts hidden by the flywheel, aren't they; I remember them from when I was a kid. Isn't that car silky to drive? Just think of that one hundred pound 80 year old woman in the showroom sliding in for a test drive. They made the clutch and the door handles just for her. I can imagine the conversation: "Hey! Where do these go?" "Oh Sh**!, they go up under the flywheel." "But it's all back together." "Well they over engineered a lot of stuff back then." "If he complains we'll put them in under warranty." June 2015 at the diner. "Remember that Buick with the extra bolts?" "Must be OK, haven't heard anything." "These home fries suck and the coffee tastes like soap. Should I tell the cook?" "Nah, he don't care." Good luck, that Roadmaster is a great car. Bernie

A Bentley would be a idea tour car as you describe, but they do push to the high end of a budget. Now, right in the middle of the two you are looking at is little sweetheart: http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C536340 I started building a replica of one of these Railtons on a 1933 Terraplane 8 chassis maybe 20 years ago. Simple, reliable, and if repairs are ever needed, very reasonable to fix. I can only think of one ride more exciting: That did it! I'm heading for the garage to get a car out! Bernie

I just leaned my head back and looked at the set of mechanic's books my Mother helped me buy in 1959; just wondering how old and old timer is. Finding an identifiably bad part is really a good thing. There have been a couple in the saga. I have to admit, I was concerned when you wrote the replacement was a 12 spring instead of a diaphragm clutch. Did someone miss Sesame Street the day they did "just like"? I was in a similar situation with my '86 convertible; new engine, rebuilt transmission, rebuilt subframe. The engine was running rough as a cob. I bought an old OTC 4000 meter for the ODB1, new injectors, and more. I couldn't pin down the crappy running. I disassembled every component of the fuel inject system and engine management. I did a homerun continuity check on every wire to the fuel injectors and found nothing amiss. I confided in my wife that I was going to put 200 miles on the car no matter how it ran and them go through everything again. That was 350 miles ago and over the weekend she asked when I was going to do that big job I told her about. It's running fine. I don't know what changed, just my abstinence and willingness the break the damned thing and let triple A bring it home. Given all the effort into finding a untenable problem, if it was mine, I'd say dammit, I'm putting 200 miles on it and hope I break what's wrong, let it shake. I'd just keep it off the show field and only visit my best friends. When all else fails illogic is the only logical path. Try it or toss it on a flatbed and send it up here. Sometimes busting the bronc has to be taken literally. Bernie

If you took the time to post the cars on the forum asking for advice you probably aren't really as excited as you could be about them. I think every time that Hudson moves power is provided by four Frenchmen. The Peirce-Arrow, being a coupe and in an undignified "wrong" color doesn't have the majestic look one of those cars should have. I bet you'd get a lot of "Nice Studebaker" comments. The car to find is the one that gives you heart palpitations until it is in your garage. Objective questions and answers will be cast aside in the rush to take possession. Five of the six cars I have were total impulse buys, consummated within hours. I am still excited to own them and usually walk backwards when I leave them parked just to enjoy looking. I'm pretty sure my next one will be the same type of illogical impulse buy. There are other places in life to be pragmatic, not cars. Especially in Italy, owning the car should be like being in Rome with Audrey Hepburn! Bernie