John Bloom

A worthy reason to hold your fire on memorabilia.

A worthy reason to hold your fire on memorabilia.

Although I don’t consider myself a sign expert, I have several, lighted, neon, and porcelain signs. I have a very Close friend who lives across the street from me who is deep into the stuff. I feel like I’ve learned a lot about price and value from hanging around with him. It looks like someone tried to touch up with paint the glass portion. That’s a shame because it probably would’ve been more valuable left alone even if it was flaking off. However, the Can alone makes it an easy buy at $500. The can is legitimate. There’s almost nothing at that price point that isn’t reproduction stuff. I have an antique dealer friend that I’ve purchased several Automobile related things from over the years including signs. He knows I’ve been looking for a neon statement piece and called me about 16 weeks ago. Big, legitimate, bullnose with artwork, It’s been sitting outside. Rust, flaking paint, all the neon broken. Very cool but it had no connection to me. It wasn’t auto related, it wasn’t from my hometown, it was actually for a chicken hatchery family business. As rough as it was, he offered it to me at $2500..... but because I had no connection to the piece I took a pass. He gave me the first shot at it before he told anyone else about it. He took it to an auction two weeks later and sold it just like it was for 9,500. lighted and neon signs are ridiculous. I would encourage you to buy it, even if it was to sell it to one of the Packard guys on here and put a little bit of money in your pocket. As expensive as these great signs are, there’s a lot to love about them. After the initial pain of writing a big check, you hang it and enjoy it. You don’t have to insure it, license and register it, replace batteries, rebuild generators and starters, chrome, paint, re-core radiators....... their simplicity pays dividends on into the future after the purchase.

I don’t come to this site for reality and sobriety. I come for fantasy and dreams. You’re wrecking me. that Packard is worth it. Gorgeous.

This car checks a lot of boxes for me.......The electrical issues and the Holley carb are not what you want to hear. But there is a price point where you could live with it and resolve it in the future. Poor timing for me. I've wanted a roadster of this era with a long WB. The rake of a roadster windshield really pulls hard at me, but this car with the Dietrich bloodline and 136 inch WB could make me live with the upright nature of the windshield.

Steve and Ed, I really like the look of this car too. I think it’s an attractive body, and has the same engine as the bearcat with estimates looking like it could be 10%-25% of a bearcat. As you said Ed, perhaps it gets bid way above the estimate but if that number would hold true, in particular if it drops to the low end, this looks like a really cool car for somebody to have. I only know enough about Stutz to be dangerous, but I pay attention to all of the Indiana makes.

1918 Stutz Series G Victoria Tourer Coachwork by Stutz https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/29953/lot/318/1918-stutz-series-g-victoria-tourer-chassis-no-g3658-engine-no-3462/#photos This Bonhams auction will be selling this Stutz. I believe the 360 Cubic inch Four is the same as the stutz bearcat (correct me if that is erroneous). What thoughts do people have about this car, its Estimate (55K-75K). Bearcats from this year are pricey. Is this interesting to those in the know, or not?

Not mine, I love these years of Fords and this scruffy flathead 35 in the low 20's (says or best offer), could be lots of fun for someone. My Father in Law has a 36 and I really like the styling. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/412337228177637/

Who doesn’t aspire to be an “overfed long haired leaping gnome”......? Starring in a Hollywood movie........ THEN.......you know you’ve made it. Spill the Wine............

She looks great just as she is.....change nothing. Someday, your kids may have the Stearns Knight, and at that time white walls on Classics may be all the rage......you want them to leave the blackwalls on and say "dad had it with blackwalls, its staying that way". The look in the yard, spring and summer headed your way after winter, same look and vibe we've had here. it puts a charge back into me. Love those warm days after winter telling us that Summer is coming. Great for taking these cars out. I don't care how "bipolar, or confounding those Cords are, I'd like to have one. Update us how that longer trip goes if you can.

I don’t know anyone who didn’t get their license the first day they could...... that has changed now. If you told kids today they could go get their license or the new iPhone, you’d be headed to the apple store.... man have I become an old curmudgeon. my best friend even found some loophole where you can get your license before your 16th birthday if you were the breadwinner of the family. his dad helped him through the process and wrote letters and got a judge to endorse it and he was maybe 15 years and nine months and walked out with his license. We thought that was the coolest move ever. His family had plenty of money.... no shortage of bread that needed to be brought home.

If you like the car, and there is a number in your mind that where you'd pull the trigger (whatever that number may be), keep the relationship going with the seller. Become friends with him, let him know you love the car. If you feel the asking price isn't where the market is, or isn't a check you'd write for it, let him know that "gently", while still keeping a positive friendship going. Then let some time pass...... check back in after a month. I find that this stuff between two individuals (vice an auction) is a little like a dance. For nice driving classics that aren't at the top 1% of the market (think Duesenbergs, Dietrich Packard 12's, etc...) it really is a buyers market. There is more stuff that needs to be moved on to younger buyers than there are buyers who are serious and have the cash in their pocket. You might risk loosing the car by being "friendly and passive", but I'd bet the more likely outcome is the seller will hear criticism about his car from potential buyers who haven't given him the courtesy of going to look at it in person, lowball offers sight unseen, and in general have one unpleasant encounter after another with periods of no interest in between. That is your opportunity to circle back to him as the one reasonable nice guy who would pay a fair price (although a little less than he hoped for) and let him come to terms with letting it go to someone he likes (or at least doesn't hate). I have done this dance at least a dozen times successfully. It helps that there are more sellers than buyers. If you love it, stay friendly and hold to your number and give him some time and space. In the end, maybe even come up a couple grand from your number to make him feel like he negotiated the best he could.

Matt, I’m happy for you. I think making it yours and more time behind the wheel will just endear it more to you and I love the fact that it’s a family car for you guys for several decades. i’m 59 and I have almost always had some smaller nimble sports car or two in my garage for the last 40 years. Now I don’t. i’ve had British Roadsters and alfas, and a Porsche but now nothing like that. I’ve always been a fan of those 356s. That looks like a great car to grow old with and make some great memories and take care of and pass down to you son. for people that love prewar cars, I don’t think it’s difficult at all to make a case for having one car around like your family’s 356. It’s scratches a completely different itch. Another wonderful thing Ive found through the years is that buying a car of a make that I’ve never had before always seems to introduced me to wonderful people that are passionate about that make. I make some interesting new friends that I didn’t have before. In spite of all the Porsche stereotypes, I know several great people that are into them and I think you’ll find a new interesting friend or two through that car. Don’t forget to give us some updates and action shots of you with your 356 like you have given us with your Lincoln.

Congratulations. A well deserved invitation for a gorgeous car.

I'm not sure how many, others on here may have a better answer for you. The early stuff is rare as hen's teeth, the 38 and 48 were not produced in large numbers but were very expensive so have a reasonable survival rate. the series 90's were also large expensive cars as Locomobile was in decline and they produced a jr series at the end as well, similar to Marmon, Franklin, and other makes of expensive classics. The AACA forum on Locomobiles is impressively active for how few cars there are. Tons of great stuff on that forum topic, dig in on it, you will enjoy it and get an education.

mystery has already been solved, but I just read this and I remembered I have a couple books that could be helpful. Posting just for others in case they find it interesting. Page 59 of this book:

Can some of you guys give a little perspective on the differences between a Ghost and a P1? I knew next to nothing about these cars a few years ago but I've been paying more attention to them and spent time looking at examples on line. Different engine and weight of the chassis? what makes them different from an engineering perspective? How are their relative strengths different? did the coach building offerings change substantially? Maybe this has been addressed in this thread and I didn't search properly to find it....

I’m always mildly curious when I see an ad like this at how the seller would respond if you showed up with 20 comps in the last two years (and that is realistic considering how many you see) and didn’t throw out the high or the low, the actual sale prices and showed mean, mode, groupings, one standard deviation above or below that.....plot it out, and told him that an analysis would put his car at $21,000. does he just grin at you with some insane clockwork Orange look? Get angry and tell you you’re an idiot? Or stare in disbelief and say “I had no idea”? I can only feel sorry for him if it’s option number three.

Locked in a cage match on my property trying to get rid of the buckthorn in the wooded areas.....this battle has been raging for years with me losing ground, until this year. I feel like I finally swung the momentum a bit and have taken back more than I lost. I do this until the warmer weather kicks in and brings the mosquitoes with it. Then I am done till fall after a good frost. very little car time till the window of “Spring yard push” closes....

I am a lover of Alfa Romeo ‘s. I’ve had a couple although I don’t have one now. The spiders of this era are very soft pricewise. This one states it’s been sitting for quite a while before brought back to life, and I think there are a lot of them in that category. they are fun, but if you know nothing about them, bring a knowledgeable person with you to check it out. for the first time in forever, I don’t have some little Italian or British Roadster in my possession. Experiencing them gets in your blood. This isn’t much money if someone wanted to dive in and have that experience. Just be prepared for lots of little things that would need your attention.

Hang on to that one. A good story in 50 years for your Great Great Grandchildren to tell.....

AJ, I sure love those open Cords and it is really cool yours has been in the family for such a long run. Did your dad restore it years ago or is it "as he bought it"?

My wheels would be turning trying to find a way to keep the Studebaker and grab the A. That era and design of Studebakers is iconic to me and is truly my pick of all three vehicles. Sorry for being no help in your question, this is the downside to posting this kind of stuff publicly, and grabbing an A is something you can do at any time. They are plentiful. Relative to your question......should you do this..........I sense from your posts that you are excited about this trade and want to make it happen, so I would say go for it.

My favorite post of this thread. I think you speak for a lot of us.

We may never know, but it is a “buyer beware”. the hood scoop in the bonnet gives you pause wondering what is really going on with the car. that is so cheap, that my first reaction is “scam”, but I’m not so sure......as AJ says, if it is problematic, it isn’t a deal at 8500 unless parts are worth that and stripped off. These aren’t traditional body on frame or even the familiar type of monocoque..... think of an erector set because the cage that makes up the front end is atypical and more critical than a new Jaguar buyer might appreciate. the saying “there is nothing more expensive than a cheap...........” certainly applies to etypes. a decent #3 driver 70 roadster can be had for 75K....... a bad engine, rusty, trashed interior, with structural problems can’t be made right for 75K even if it is given to you for free........ but it doesn’t keep people from dreaming and trying. if anybody learns what happens to this, post and let us know. I have had one, so I am always interested in following them.