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Even with the wheels left on the car, I bet you could still get more by sweeping the floor and closing the glove box. That kind of thing makes it look uncared for; like it was abandoned in a storage unit or the like. I bet it could be a nice car.

Looks like Arnold on his race to the White House.

I like the chapter new letters in email form, they are brief with current news, kind of like the newspaper. The Bugle is a nice large and engrossing magazine to lean back on the couch or easy chair to read. It is more like reading a book. I still read books. And I still drive 50 and 60 year old cars. And I look forward to the Bugle in the mail box. I carry a copy with my car featured in my truck arm rest. I would have to say that tangible benefit of the Bugle is my tie to the national organization. If I wasn't into tangible stuff I would own a couple of Buicks. Most clubs have 10% active and vocal members. Be careful, turning the Bugle into another email might make a large percentage of the silent majority yawn and go away. Bernie

You can keep the origin looks by soldering copper caps on the inlet and outlet of the heater. The 5/8" ones let the hose slide right over and clamp. that keeps an original look and doesn't disturb a lot. Bernie

I had a small squeak and some vibration in my '60 Electra. After 50 years this inaccessible u-joint failed. Smooth ride on the new biased tires. It is not too hard to get the rear end out, but a real PIA sliding the shaft back in. And then you gotta put it back in pretty. Bernie

I have seen cars advertised "accepting offers or "best offer". I never have figured out how that works. Now, does the owner have a pad or piece of paper that they write the offer on and compare them at some point? I guess you would get a call that you offered the highest. Maybe it is like and open ended auction and sometime months or years from now you win. Honestly, I was recently offered a bunch of Jaguar parts. The owner asked me to make an offer. I told him I did not make offers and I expected a person selling something to know how much they wanted for it. Otherwise his secret priced Jag parts and he could go on living together. He coughed up a price pretty quick and it was a good one. There is a huge marketing industry in the US which tries to bring a potential customer to your product. Billions is spent to get them to your door. Like Ebay's reserve auctions, if they find their way to you and you don't tell them the price, it is a secret. Ebay is not failing, but look at the number of unsold cars listed. Bernie

Bryan, It is good to get a reply. I work. I have a company that implements planned maintenance programs and we are in the process of applying for license to sell power off the grid to bundle wholesale purchasing power with the power of good maintenance. I tell people that I plan to work another 20 years and then play around the last ten. Experience shows that I will probably be working those last ten, as well. There is a book called The Treasury of the Automobile by Ralph Stein, copy 1961. It appeared new in our Brockport Public Library. In 1961 I saw the picture on page 228. It is a before and after shot of a Stutz Bearcat, a beautiful restoration. I spent from 1961 to 1983 trying to duplicate that effort. Hindsight shows me that I should have been figuring out how to get that restored car from the restorer! I have a copy of the book to remind me, but I still get stupid. In 1983 I was in the Quad Cities area straddling the Mississippi River witnessing a boiler test in Keewanee. I was in a second rate used car lot around 9 PM looking at older cars under the lights. That night I realized that the cars I really liked were well maintained cars about ten years old. It was not the 100 point show car that rang the bell for me, but just that good looking older head turner. I decided then and there to make that very achievable goal my future in the car hobby. My cars since that point have been what might be called higher end drivers. I have been very happy with the results. Preservation, component restoration, and detailing are my goals even though I still don't take my own advice ALL the time. This week I followed my advice and bought a very nice well preserved car. It was waaaay cheap compared to a restoration. some might think it is too new....... time goes by fast. It is only 8 years away from being a antique. I love the adaptability of this hobby! Here's the toy. Bernie

Being a used car salesman at heart, I always talk about "the eternal search for the uninformed buyer". Spend $50 and advertise it in the Good Guys magazine. You might list it in a 1950's collectibles site as well. Be creative and look for a medium where high $$ and impulse sales rule. And always remember, the correct reply is "is that a cash offer today?" Take the money! Bernie

Last fall I was looking at another project car. I had an interesting thought, though. My "nice" cars were becoming project cars due to deferred maintenance and lack of detailing. I pulled the plug on purchasing projects and focused on my 1960 Electra. I detailed the underneath and serviced a squeak in the drive shaft. We found that squeak has the potential for a catastrophic failure! New tires, shocks, brakes hos, re-undercoated, and looking just fine. I picked up a nice trophy at the Gathering of Buicks in Buffalo last week. I spent about $3500. This winter my '64 Riviera gets an overdue paint job and a new correct interior. I have owned the car for 33 years and done all the mechanicals. The paint was done in 1980; old lacquer. I figure $6000 or so for that one. I am going to be pretty happy next summer and I just added a mint '94 Impala SS. Since I am 62 I am quite sure the '53 Jag and the '86 Park Ave convert will have new custodians soon. There is a message in there about the '36 Roadmaster. Two nice cars can eat up ten grand for stuff that didn't get done. There are at least 300 $100 jobs on that Roadmaster. Bernie

This week I did a job in Ephrata, Pa. It is just west of Hershey on Rt. 322. Coming back I decided to ride past the Hershey grounds and since we were hungry for a late lunch we stopped at the plaza by Hummelstown. The plaza is populated with a Sheetz station, KFC, Friendly's and some other stuff now. When I first started going to the Hershey Fall Meet is was just a strip mall and one diner at the west end. that diner was the hot spot in the evening. Crowded with flea marketeers, sometimes trails of mud, noisy conversations; and you could sit at the counter and start a conversation with anyone. I also remember the line of people to use the phones; calling home and checking in. Everyone was impatient to get their turn. So yesterday I checked. The phone booths are still there.... for storage. The phones are gone. The memories remain. Those little things that used to be; they make me pause and smile, remembering another day. Here are the phone booths for those who used to use them:

I have too much stuff! And expanding my business. I have decided to pass the '86 Park Ave on to a new custodian. The picture was taken a couple of months ago. The car had a loud knock in the engine. I have a rebuilt long block that goes with it. the engine was done by Fightline Rebuilders, quality stuff. the transmission also does not move the car, needs one of those too. The car is the only one known. A few people have told me that had seen others and then sent me pics of my own car. It is Car Craft conversion from new. I had a 1982 Eldo by H&E and I think some points of this conversion are better. There is no rust on the body. It is still complete. Located in western New York at zip 14420. $2500 for a real nice and very rare car includes the new engine, uninstalled. 585-797-7421. Bernie

John, I was looking for you. I figured I had better take your place as the archival guy for this one. See you at the next one! Bernie

The meet was in Buffalo. They never have bad weather! I live 60 miles away and drove my '60 That was a Limited and it had spotlights. the owner thought it might have been a police chief's car. Bernie

Over the last few years a New York State Buick Club of America Chapters have hosted an annual Gathering of Buicks. This year the Niagara Frontier Chapter on Saturday. Here is a link to the pics I took: Index of /xjs/Dir5/Buick/2011Gathering And a few samples: The one I Wanted!

Back to the the Connecticut cars, there is a book titled "Horseless Carriage Days" by Hiram Percy Maxim that tells a fascinating story of the very early days of the Columbia cars in Hartford. My copy is from 1962 and printed by Dover. Just the descriptions of purchasing gasoline is worth buying the book. It really is a Must Read book for old car guys. Bernie

Is it media or auction hype that creates this stuff. I knew about this car when I was 12, 50 years ago. I have never seen it referred to as a Ghost car any of the times it has shown up over the years. It is just the transparent Worlds Fair Pontiac, certainly nothing eerie or ghostly was used until this auction. Just lame. Bernie

A work of art? I'll say. Here is a picture that has been in my living room for a few years, looks familiar. My picture is entitled "House on Copley Place" Bernie

I will take half the Barrett Jackson estimated price for anything I own Actually my wife knows the price I would sell any of my cars for while I AM ALIVE. She also knows the significantly lower price if she ends up with the estate. I have seen a few widows left with cars their husband overpriced and it is painful for them when the cars do not sell. I guess that is the true definition of a curse. Bernie

Was the car alright before you put the new points in? If they are not old stock Delco they might not be any good. And if you put a new condenser in you could really be in trouble. The Bosch boxed condenser I put on my '60 Electra had the condenser end wire just drop off while driving. Junk that took a long boat ride. I am stocking up on all the original Delco parts I can find, including generator and alternator parts. Mexico, India, Korea, just can't duplicate our old USA stuff. Bernie

I personally prefer watching professional wrestling, it has more reality than the car auctions. Bernie

Here is another pic of the '59. The owner said he had it at Ames.

She still smiles!

The Syracuse Nats is supposed to be the biggest event on the east coast. I have been going for something like 10 years now. I didn't take many pics because there were about 3500 cars to see. At the end I thought a few Buicks would be nice to share:

I removed all the hoses from under a 1969 Cadillac dashboard. They were color stripped and nice and flexible. I sorted them against the Riviera shop manual and used the colored sections where they were exposed. If the colored pieces were not long enough I spliced in standard black hose for the hidden areas. Bernie

The second post in five years and what a zinger! Before my friend, Joe, passed away he told me not to abuse a man's car or his dog. I do it sometimes. I guess it is natural. And there is the unexpected retaliation. I have tears in my eyes, pumpkin orange, indeed! : )