W_Higgins

When much of the unfounded griping regarding prices and class warfare arises, people almost never take into account that the population of the world has doubled over the last 50 years (when the hobby was very much coming into its own) while that of the United States has stayed virtually the same. As the standard of living has increased across the globe, if it is fair to assume interest is collecting automobiles has remained at a constant (and probably increased), demand has increased. As we all know in a free market, demand sets the price, and like they say -- they ain't makin' anymore of 'em.

Physical differences aside, it looks like stitched-on wings on his jacket -- a decoration I'm pretty sure Ike didn't have, in addition to the fact I don't think any U.S. class A uniform would have had. So far as I know, all U.S. wings on a dress uniform would have been pin-on. The general cut and style looks very British.

Absolutely. One-ton dually Chevy truck with a Holmes 440 wrecker bed -- trailer has 8-lug 16" Chevy truck wheels. The trailer itself has several thousand loaded miles of trouble free Lincoln hauling to its credit.

It has to be in the ballpark if it's as nice as you describe. There isn't much out there that runs and is presentable for less than a few grand. Personally, I like Continental Coupes better than Marks. I think they're nicely proportioned. Watch out on the vinyl roof. It might need some sheet metal repair depending on what lurks underneath. They weren't well prepped from the factory and if it's been holding moisture for a long time there may be quite a bit of work waiting on you. See any big bulges? This is a little older than what you're looking at, but these were well prepped tops (except for the extension) and short of not having a top at all this is about as bad as it gets:

Looks very much like a Dodge Brothers of the '20's, but I can't narrow it down to a specific year. I'm looking at a '25 and there are some very minor bracket differences, but the blades look identical.

How was it planed? Some shops use large belt sanders or a machine that's a stone-in-table type grinder. Both are essentially a hand operation and no matter how good they are it's near impossible to get a truly flat surface. I bought a Van Norman Rotary Broach simply because I've had so much stuff ruined by shops that didn't have one (or a similar way to mill), or some of they ones that do are simply afraid to touch parts made from unobtainium.

I've done two 1932 Series 50's: They were straight shank keyed hubs. Seems I just supported them from the backside as close as possible, backed off the bolt a little, and they came with a sharp rap. Of course, I had the advantage of having the engine out of the car. If you don't go the puller route, can you just jack up the engine a little after taking loose the rear mounts? These are not friendly engines to work on even out of the car. Very specific order of assembly and very crappy service manual.

Center grill bullet for a '49 - '50'ish Ford, I believe.

If you're a graduate of the school of "buy low, sell nothing" they are an excellent value. I like seeing them at shows if only because so many of the great unwashed out looking for something to do on a Saturday afternoon leave with the impression that the majority of cars from past decades were convertibles and 2-doors:

Thanks for the suggestion. Everything is listed .99 cent opening bid -- no reserve. As long as it has one bid, it goes. Perhaps I'll post a note over there so long as their selling rules allow such for a newcomer. Time for early spring cleaning! Actually, the engine is doing pretty well already, with watchers on all the other auctions. I have a '29 closed cab pick-up I drove daily (no exceptions) for two years and put over 20,000 miles on and have worked on a ton of other Model A's. It's in hibernation at the moment. Someday I'll put it back into service. Cobbler's children never have shoes.

Steaming out the tank is the way to go. You're lucky to find a shop to do it. My own personal opinion is the sealing process is a waste. A sealer won't keep out any of the stuff you're now having steamed, and all coatings fail in time -- so if you keep the car long enough, at some point down the road you'll have to remove the sealer. See how it looks after it's boiled. Quite often you'll find a good bit of the original plating intact, and that's as durable a coating as anything.

It sounds like you know that stuff pretty well. On stuff that new the only language I speak is 430, otherwise it's just something I know casually. I provided a close-up shot in the listing, so hopefully the discerning buyer will know.

Thanks for the tips! Nothing like finding out from a local where all the best stuff is hidden.

I think you're right. That was a friends hunch, but somebody else has since come along and pointed out the manual choke means it most likely came from a truck.

Gone to Ebay: 216 Chevy Crankshaft, Hot Tanked, Std/Std -- Nice! - eBay (item 120679176745 end time Feb-07-11 18:59:36 PST)

Gone to Ebay: 235 (1962) Chevy Block, Hot Tanked, Standard Bores - eBay (item 120679175068 end time Feb-07-11 18:53:23 PST)

Gone to Ebay: 1968 - 73 Mercedes 2.8L Block and Crank, Hot Tanked - eBay (item 120679173512 end time Feb-07-11 18:46:57 PST)

Gone to Ebay: 292 Ford Engine -- Hot Tanked and Ready for Rebuild - eBay (item 120679167555 end time Feb-07-11 18:28:24 PST)

Gone to Ebay: Resurfaced GM Flywheel One-Dowel 3973456N F64 - eBay (item 120679157899 end time Feb-07-11 17:59:26 PST) Resurfaced GM Flywheel Three-Dowel 3973456N G281 - eBay (item 120679159648 end time Feb-07-11 18:04:45 PST)

Hey -- Youngstown: Youngstown Steel Heritage Foundation - Home This is on my list of places to visit. Ever been there?

I was thinking you need a bill of sale from the previous holder, or some such. I'll have to ask around about that. I almost bought one of those on a whim just because the new plates are so damn ugly, which I think is a lot of what's motivating the higher prices.

Was that the estate of the lawyer with lots of early cars north of Harrisburg? I believe what made those attractive is they were sold with paperwork that would allow them to be reactivated. They were removed from the cars so the value-added wouldn't be lost should the car buyer be from out of state.

Cripes, somebody better tell the manufacturers they're doing it incorrectly:

Yes, I did.

Just went through this very thing on a "running when parked" 1950 Chevrolet a friend bought and tried to get going without doing due diligence. Previous owner ran on gas just starting to varnish-up several years ago (goo by the time the new owner got it). Seller tried to get it going and failed. New owner tried and failed. We pulled the valve cover and all intake (only intake) push rods were bent and one rocker snapped. Long push rods are the weak link. It takes longer than one season for this to happen, but since the new gas goes bad so quickly I tell people to run them low before setting them up for the winter. When spring arrives, dump in a fresh can of gas, pour in a bottle of isopropyl alcohol to take care of any moisture that may have accumulated, and make your first trip one to the gas station to top it off and you're good to go for the summer. Since it doesn't sound like you're taking apart your head to clean it, dribble ATF on the stems and work the valves by hand to help wash out the guide and when you restart add some ATF to the gas to help "wash" your intake stems on the next tank. That will get the old varnish out so it doesn't glue itself together again.