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Best reasonable offer; I have always wondered how that works. Has anyone sold that way? Do you list offers for a fixed amount of time and at the end, notify the person who made the highest offer? If it is not a legally sealed bid can you tell a person the offer is too low? Do all the offers gets acknowledged at the end of some period of time? How long would I wait to know? If another car comes along can I cancel my offer? I see a lot of ads like that and just curious. Bernie

I have used a standard bell housing mount engine stand for a Buick straight eight. I had to grease the pivot real good and use a crow bar to rotate it. The engine was suspended by the lift when I adjusted the mounting arms and centered the pivot. I picked up the base and slid it on, then lowered the whole works to the floor. Although I could tell you are working at the limits of the stand it worked fine. Bernie

I'm looking up on my bookshelf and see a copy of On A Clear Day You Can See General Motors by John Z. and Delorean : John with Ted Schwarz the first is pre-legal problems, second is post legal. They are good to read together and probably more insightful than an owner's yellow journalistic opinion. Think about all those years Buick LeSabre won the Malcolm Baldrige award. They walked up to a Buick owner and asked "How satisfied are you with your decision to buy a Buick?". A Chrysler or Ford owner might admit to making a dumb decision, but NEVER a Buick owner. Or is that stuff a High School age guy shouldn't be told? Bernie

Yep, collector cars are an expensive hobby; always have been. Bernie

I like the car. I ran into the puking fluid once before on a '56 Cadillac that needed a brake job. That car also puked out a little coolant after driving it 20 to 30 miles. Will the car sit and run for half an hour without doing it or must it be driven? The best test is to put it on a level surface and see if you can push it with your foot out the door and push it in neutral. If you can't I will tell you a story about the Rolls-Royce engine rebuild. Bernie

Here's an old one; just found the right store to park in front of: Bernie

When you checked the power at the contact ends with a meter did you have 12 volts when each light was activated? When you switched the meter to measure ohms did you have continuity from the bulb socket to the negative post of the battery? I have a 30 foot wire with alligator clips to make a home run to the battery post when I troubleshoot a possible loss of body/chassis grounds. Bernie

I took the Riviera up for New York State annual inspection for the 37th time; same shop that put the new exhaust on it shortly after I bought the car, a Monroe Muffler. The mechanic is younger though, he's only been there 18 years. The car has 75, 411..... oops, 75,413 miles on it now. I think it showed about 53K when I bought it. Bernie

As this thread rabbles on I begin to have a more clear memory of a 1952 or '53 Cadillac that was for sale near me around 1990. The owner had restored it with all the best universal parts J. C. Whitney and Western Auto had to offer. The "cut and fit" weatherstripping and carpet stand out in my mind. And he had put a lot of time and money in the car. Everything needed to be replaced to make it acceptable, to me, anyway. I know the owner dealt with a lot of frustration trying to sell it. There were signs of angst when I was talking nice. I wonder if the car ever sold or if the family stashed it in some scared corner waiting for Cadillac to offer them a new car in exchange for their heirloom. Maybe J. C. Whitney has it on display? The greatest benefit of the 400 point system really is to the owner or their heirs. Bernie

I used a Clark's headliner on my '64 when I did the major refurbish around 1994. The removable sail panels help a lot. I got those new. as well. I am going to install a new one in a different color this time around. This time I will buy another from them. The only thing I didn't like was the folded edge of the bow seams faced forward. I don't know it that is the original way it was done. Looking in the window to show it off that fold shows. If it was reversed it would give a smoother look. And this time I am going to use silver, a lighter color. This time around I will also replace the tack strips with new. The original plastic U-channel above the windows was quite brittle in '94. I cut the long strips into sections about 3" long to have enough by leaving short gaps. I should be able to find fresh strips online now. The only other caution is the chalk mark to align the center. Go lightly. Mine was black and I think there is still a faint mark. After doing a job like that you hate to screw it up with the wrong cleaner. Anyway, I was happy with Clark's and happy with the job I did. Bernie

Just replace all the paper wound capacitors with modern plastic ones and, like NTX recommends, replace the speakers. You should be pretty happy. Bernie

Oh, Prius. Bernie

Although Ebay has lost the vision of it's founder and now has all the common sense of an algorithm they still have rules to follow. I have contacted many sellers and asked if they had a Buy It Now price. If they do I ask them to edit the listing to show it and I pull the trigger. All the terms of the sale are met and the hundred bucks of so that Ebay gets for putting people together for a nominal $10,000 ain't that bad. Bernie

Park the cars you want to drive when the roads are dry in front. The ones with big jobs waiting for the off season go behind. Bernie

I'm pretty careful about disclosing personal information since a guy stole my identity about ten years ago. He pleaded with me to take it back and I wouldn't. Then they tried to pin his suicide on ME! Hey, I was the victim! Be careful who's identity you steal, the life you save may be your own. Forum member since 2006 (8 years). Bernie

I bought an early Corvair Spyder at a yard sale somewhere around 1979 and joined the club for a few years. Memory and good search skills must be the devil's playground: http://clubs.hemmings.com/nvce/VacuumCleanerContest.html. The original story was that a member was attempting to repair a leaky tank and used the vacuum cleaner to purge the fumes, a more likely event. You know, sometimes history has a way of repeating itself: Maybe something similar with old hybrid cars? They have electric motors. Bernie

Since most of us have big, heavy, comfortable Buicks, how about more slim women. Diversity, I'm pretty sure its called an appreciation for diversity. Bernie

Although I'd never write anything personal or try to be offensive, I'm sitting here smiling and remembering advice and old time car salesman in our area gave his kids when he was teaching them to drive. He warned the kids to always be cautious if they saw a Chrysler product on the highway near them. He claimed those people had already shown poor judgement in the past. Ummm, this is post number 44 on the topic. Western New Yorkers remember Ray Caldwell? Bernie

I'd like to add a sound clip so people wouldn't think I talked like those stereotypical New Yorkers on TV. Up at this end of the state we sound like we could be from Milwaukee. And, no, just because you have a layover at the Kennedy Airport doesn't mean you can stop by. I'm 400 miles away. A harsh winter in Florida; hard to imagine. Here is us in a few weeks: Bernie

New York State doesn't title cars earlier than 1973. Those get a registration stub. The last four collector cars and two newer ones have been insured and registered in my name as soon as I bought them. That assures my legal ownership and I am not sinking money into a car that legally may belong to another person. By expediting the transaction I am pretty sure the seller will still be alive in case a question comes up. That happened once with a gas pump. I made a tailgate cash payment and said I would stop over and pick it up the next day. That night he died. The family inflated the value of the pump, that was lying in a hedgerow, and refused to let me take it. Expect the unexpected. Bernie

I've owned my Riviera for a long time. An annual oil change and brake fluid flush are about all it needs. What's a lift for? Bernie

If it is the white one I would say the buyer presented it fairly and honestly. Seller's remorse is not too hard to get over. You just curl your fingers around the roll of hundreds in your pocket. Buyer's remorse, well, that's a little different, one squirms a bit. I'm not uncomfortable buying a car by wire. I used to get out the club roster and have someone local look at a car. I'd send them a check for 50 bucks and some never cashed them. I have bought a couple of cheap cars, but they never stayed cheap for long. They never do. Bernie

Using the movie to cult following concept, a range of cars could be presented attached to the most stereotypical personality trails of their owners. Unlimited possibilities there; Bermuda shorts with black socks and wingtips, gold men's jewelery, constant whining of the underdog, knuckle dragging Tim Allen wannabes. Each car could have (or does already) have its own cult following. I'm not immune. I have had Buicks for years and you know what they are like. And I just bought a Packard. Now you can "ask me". Bernie

If this is the first and only time you plan to do something like this it is probably not a good idea. If it is the first time and you are willing to buy and sell on a fairly regular basis you will learn to buy better and what to do with the ones that don't meet your expectations. It evens out in the long run. For a quick check, if the money came out of a tin can in the garage where you stash money from hobby related deals, you can handle it. If the money came from the home equity line of credit, better grit your teeth and put it back. Bernie

Simply unbelievable; how do piles of stuff like that even start? Bernie