60FlatTop

She can be touchy, but she's a darn good mouser. B

That is nicely done. Many times the European body builders cut the beltline a little lower than appeals to me and add external irons. Integrating the trunk and spare into the short overhang was well done. I think the US Lincoln Continentals had about 6 inches more overhang to work with. This car looks really good. As to the name, Van den Plas in Belgium; Vanden Plas in Britain. The Brits have had a thing about Anglicizing names names for a while now. Ask an Irishman. Bernie

We ain't so liberated as to men doing turd cleaning and the like. So that stuff just kinda defaults to the women. I like to make it obvious I'm just sitting and doing nothing but clicking the channel changer all evening. That gets my wife all aggressive and ready to take on the rodents. Bernie

No judging? I was planning to bring my convertible and park with it's peers, fully expecting a 50 point deduction for the roof being whacked off. I didn't want to be squeezed in between a couple of hearses or ambulances. That's a bright side! Bernie

I used a UPS store to ship one of the small sized porcelain Mobil Pegasus signs. I packaged it well. The drop off point told me I had to pay an extra fee because it would have to be hand carried around the automatic processing "machine". It arrived at the buyers location with the wing folded over from getting caught in the "machine" and the porcelain ruined. I refunded the costs and had it shipped back to me. According to UPS anything I just wrote is a fantasy and I made it all up in my head. Maybe they are right. I never have been able to find my way back to their store. Do you think any upper level management at the USPS or UPS has an old car? I wonder if they got back from Hershey yet. Bernie

X2. Even if a good one showed up (poor Jay) the stigma of what is out there is worse than anything you could track into the house on your shoe. TV today, for those of us whom remember, is like the aluminum window and siding industry of the 1950's. Bernie

Pink hair is when you comb it with a wash cloth. B

Yesterday I took mine up for the annual New York State inspection. The record showed I drove it 1100 miles last year. I'm up to 81,406. I bought it with 69,000 in 2002. We left it that home and took the Chevy out for the lunch ride. I bought that almost 4 years ago and saw that car has just about 4,000 miles more than when I purchased it. My truck has an hour meter and, no matter how I drive, the average speed calculates to 35 miles per hour on a tankful. Applied to the old cars that's about 30 hours of driving per year to make the 1,000 miles, or 30 hours at fairly low speed. Minimize the winter driving and own more cars than a sane person and that ends up being a big chunk of one's spare time. Bernie

Those plug wires have been in a hot confined space for almost 20 years. That was my first thought. Bernie

Thanks for posting this. I only got 4 rechromed parts with the last car I bought and was excited. Its good to see a project picked up and completed. Bernie

An old story comes to mind. "A man from the car manufacturer came to our house and offered us a new one in exchange for our well kept old one. They were so impressed and really wanted it." Been told thousands of times. OK, so which new car would you trade yours for? You can't sell it. You gotta keep it. Bernie

The picture in post #1682 is me and here is the car I owned at the time: White car and pink hair are about the only differences. Bernie

The kids, huh. When my kids go to sell MY cars they might have to explain why the previous owner requested the ash trays be left full. It's gonna be a deal breaker, for sure. Bernie

The next town over is just far enough to warm up the engine, splash oil around the inside, burble through the torque converter a few times, and cook the moiture out of the rear end vent. Lunch is always pretty good, too. And we still paint Buick sized parking spots up in these parts. Bernie

And then there's another perspective: ; hood ornaments, port holes, and a pelican. Shiver me timbers, where's the sailors. Oh, here he is, mates! Bernie

Sarcasm really needs at least two cynics to be appreciated. You know how they say been there, done that, got the T-shirt. Well: Of course it's my own shirt. I think everyone overlooked the best part "If I were to publicly offer it for sale is there a good chance I could get more?" He was worried money might be left on the table! Bernie

So these two first generation Riviera owners find themselves at the Pearly Gates. Both had owned their cars for about 50 years. One sat pristine and polished in a garage that looked like a shrine and the car was pampered and cherished. It smelled lightly in incense. The other was a little ragged on the edges, piping on the seats worn, carpets rumpled with a few pine needles and leaves stuck in the weave. Just inside the gate was Bill Mitchell. Both guys recognized him. The show winner walked over singing praises and telling how delicately his car had been cherished. Bill smiled and nodded. The other guy said "Hey, Mr. Mitchell, do you think it would have been too much to add about an inch and a half of elbow room in that car?" "And when you took the chrome surround off the quarter windows couldn't you put something there to keep the weatherstrip trim from falling into the quarter panel?" "And who had the idea of making a pot metal window lift arm?" Well, Bill and the second guy walked off talking, while Bill kept shrugging his shoulders and holding his palms out in a helpless gesture. Sometimes they both laughed. The other guy stood alone for a while, then looked for familiar names in a big book. The last thing he heard was Bill saying "It's only two little pieces of die cast on the sail panel, Harley is the guy who liked that stuff. It was just a carry over." Buy 'em, use 'em, enjoy 'em. Bernie

Is that the car Henry fondly referred to as Evangeline? Bernie

The brake reliner I use has three levels of shoe non-asbestos material, gentle stop, performance, and "put you on your nose". For the past 15 years or so I have dropped off the shoes and drums to be renewed, ground, and fitted. The cars stop fine. Sometimes it is hard to remember that the cars are 50 years old and working at a different technological level than that 3 year old daily driver. My car was built 5 years before we put a man on the moon, a pretty significant event of the late Iron Age. One has to remember it is a braking system that can include mud filled wheel cylinders, delaminated hoses, and weak return springs. Mix that with liberal amounts or "my mechanic says" and "I looked it up on Google" and a flawed perception results. Take a 22 year old woman out on a date and then try a 50 year old (one still in good shape). There will be a difference there, too. Bernie

Now you have the real spirit of being fussy and have your priorities right on. I make that comment often, one of my favorites; along with "Why should I sell this nice thing I own on Ebay when I have so much crap I could sell first!" With your damaged parts, try contacting a musical horn repair place. The one near me calls himself The Horn Doctor. They have skills at really intricate metal straightening and may be able to do an amazing job. Second place to a Backaruda? You know what they call the girl who won second place at the beauty contest- a raving beauty. I'd donate that trophy to the Lions Club. Bernie

I spent some time doing a non-destructive investigation prior to the new paint job. My final decision was to mask them carefully. If you have any imperfection in yours the best time to attempt removal is after you come home from 400 point judging with a score of 399.75 points because of the ding. Option 2 would be to watch Ebay for a perfect one or pair. Every once on a while a set shows up that have been gently massaged from a parts car. Buy the perfect one or set and you will be good to go. Bernie

Do any other Darwinists see posts like this as a conspiracy plot? Bernie

So the steamer driver wasn't acclaimed as a hero for putting himself between the parade and the oncoming Jeep? The idea of defensive driving is pretty much lost in today's "Me first" society. I have a friend who is a "professional" driver and he has been in a number of accidents where the other person caused the incident by not doing what they were supposed to do. When I taught my son and daughter to drive, I asked each if they understood the right of way. They did. Then I told them both that their right of way was revoked. If someone does something stupid in front of them stop, avoid, of whatever it takes because when you are sitting in a wrecked car saying "I had the right of way" you are not getting much sympathy from me. If you can't see don't drive was a pretty strong instruction during that training; as well as a few other apparently un-obvious tidbits. On a long, open stretch of Interstate near us I showed my son that he could go as fast as he wanted with no traffic and clear vision, as long as he knew if he got caught it was his fault. As soon as we came to a wooded area in the median, I told him "Slow down here. There could be deer or police in there. Its pretty dumb to have a run in with either when you can't see." Last weekend we were driving my '60 and a car approached from a side road. As we drove past I said "You could tell I didn't trust him, couldn't you?" When it comes to all of those seemingly minor decisions we make during the day, the best action, no matter how young or old, is the one you'd tell your Dad if you had dinner with him tonight. Bernie

I've had six Jaguars over the last ten years and I ALWAYS agree with any horror stories about them. I'm doing my best to keep the price down, however I keep selling them to guys a little nutsier than I am. My style Chevy hasn't been used as a cop car in years, but I do notice an air of caution when I approach from behind. Wrong make but here's the concept: Bernie