John Bloom

fabulous. If you haven’t seen this video of a 1906 Spyker.. work it into your day. Great craftsmanship. Worth your time.

I have a 1952 two door, Super, Riviera trim package. It is a fabulous car. In great driving condition with good cosmetics it is a car that would likely sell in the teens ..... your car has a great body style and someone will love it but the buyer will have to decide up front that to go through the car will mean being upside down. I would be curious to see the last time a 4 door super or special from these years sold for more than 16-18k. It looks like it’s sitting on a dirt floor, and I would hesitate to put a price without seeing what the underside looks like but I’m guessing somewhere between 2,000 and 3000 would find a buyer. goodluck. At the right price, someone will love it.

It is a great book. I have two copies “just in case”. My favorites are Beverly Rae Kimes books. I am on a mission to have one of every book she wrote. I’d like to suggest Dean Batchelor’s book on the Harrah Collection. I have bought 7-8 copies of the book through the years. I like to give it as a gift to other car friends. It is very thought provoking as you see lots of cars, but also a database of all the collection held. What an undertaking. Grab it if you don’t have it.

THIS. Time and experience will add to your skills.......and maybe even more importantly to your judgement. I will share a story from my youth. I am a dentist. In dental school I really enjoyed the discipline of removable prosthodontics. At the end of the four years, I had done several cases and worked part-time doing research in the field with the chair of the department, Dr Weibelt. He was a gentleman and a genius. Many dental schools used his text book to teach the entire field. I remember thinking that in that field, I had learned so much and felt really good about knowing perhaps 50% of what there was to know about the subject. Late one afternoon right before graduating, I was talking to Dr Weibelt about the field of removable prosthetics. He was quiet for a while and mentioned pretty nonchalantly, " I feel like I have a good grasp of about 3% of the field"........I didn't say anything. There was nothing to say.........I was a young idiot who didn't even know what he didn't know. Dental schools used his text to teach the subject and he had been the chair of the dept for 20 years. I have never forgotten when he said that to me. I would never present myself as an expert on Restoring and Mechanically dealing with classic cars, but I know that you need the gravity of many years, many situations, many different personalities of clients to even think of being competent in something as complex as running a restoration shop. Others here might chime in, but I suspect the judgement and skill with the cars is only half the battle. Dealing with the owners of the cars you are working on (and there are all kinds of different characters out there both good and bad), might be the skill that makes or breaks you. Another issue, I've heard from friends in the business is "collecting". If you are the kind of person who pays their bills on time, you will get an education when you are deep into hundreds of hours with someone and they don't pay their bill. I don't say any of this to discourage you! As I reread this, I am self conscious that I may be breaking bad on the idea and come off as negative. Don't take it that way. Believe in yourself, Bet on yourself. Come up with a plan and for God's sake, find a great Mentor. That is a difference maker. I saw a comment a few days ago asking about Fran Roxas. Every restoration shop of any success started off with someone wanting to own their own business and work for themselves. There are a number of guys on here who earn their living from Classic cars. Listen to them, don't give up after a few years and I will say again. Find a great Mentor.

Mine was related to “how do I organize all this stuff”. There are a couple of interesting software options for a personal library. It isn’t unusual for me to buy something I already have. I like your idea for this thread..... let’s see some people’s pics of their libraries.

“Automobile books and periodicals personal library” hey AJ, I started a Thread with the above title August 8. Mine related to a plan for organizing your library. I am a sucker for books.

Some of the booklets Walt posted showing the great classics in places like the Drake or Waldorf got me thinking it would be cool if a local CCCA or AACA chapter could coordinate with some of those old Grand hotels to bring in some heavy iron and set up a photo shoot for promotional purposes benefitting both parties.

I realize This old Hemmings stuff takes it off topic but what tremendous joy I have had from that publication and organization through the years. I will always have a sense of loyalty to them. That Auburn Boattail ad is from a Hemmings copy I just pulled out randomly, 1989.

Lol. Me too. I can’t “not subscribe” to the print edition when up for renewal. They stay in their plastic sleeve unopened and are added to my “hoard” I will look at some old copies for Bill McBride ads. It is fun to look at old ads and think “if only I could have bought that”

Steve, that name sounds familiar. Maybe from old HMN in the 70s. As a kid, the car influence in my life was a neighbor buddy and his family. They had a warehouse of older cars and were at the auctions in Auburn every year. He subscribed to HMN and paid for first class delivery to get it a day or two before anyone else. I lived down the street and would frequently sleep over on a Friday night eating pizza and drInking soda into the wee hours of the morning as we poured over every page in the new issue. We always wanted to find the most expensive car listed. Great childhood memories.

Just great stuff!!!!! Really like that 800 series (?) Packard Club Sedan. They don't seem to be appreciated much but I really like the look.

Steve, I think they did a lot to change the perception of people who saw motorcycles in the light of "Knuckle dragging, Ape Bars, Bobber," recklesness..... Also, they ran all day long and were engineered well. I am always impressed every time I pick one up, it seems like in a couple of hours, it is reborn and running. Walt's information about the shows at the most prestigious hotels is interesting. The backdrop of any photograph or Advertisement plays a huge role in the imagery. One of the things I like about the ACD Museum is the flooring. It is fabulous and is perfect in print and photos of those beautiful automobiles.....

Thanks Walt, if you are 85% there, keep going! I love the artwork/ads that include those shows in the fine hotels of the era. I find the vintage ads more persuasive than any modern ones.

A lot of competition for those who were competing at the top of the market.

Steve, Santa is bring me Beverly Rae Kimes book on Packard’s, so I know he has access to classic car books. I will look up the Einstein ad book, maybe my wife can get that in time for a romantic valentines present. I may contact a few printing shops in town and ask them about enlarging a photo or ad for personal display only and see what reservations they might have. I have two Honda motorcycles from the 60’s and I’d love to do a large reproduction of their period advertising from that era in their “You meet the nicest people on a Honda” marketing campaign. I think it would look great behind my 1966 Honda Benly and Honda Cub.

I love the advertisements from that era. I also love other photographs and online published pictures of cars in action. One of the neat things about watching videos of Jay Leno‘s garage, or other collectors storage facilities, is the large reproductions of advertising and interesting artwork that are often on the walls behind the cars. It adds a really interesting dimension to The display and experience of looking at the cars. I have often wondered, what are the laws regarding that? Is it permissible to take a page out of a magazine from 1929 that had one of these ads, and have some printing facility enlarge it to 5‘ x 8‘? What do you run into with copyright laws and other issues when trying to do enlargements for display only, not for resale?

I spent 21 years in the Navy. I appreciate the comments here about the vets that served. In 2003 I deployed with the Marines for the Liberation of Iraq. We went over knowing we were the superior force and would likely be victorious. There is great comfort in that. I pray our country will keep the military strong so that our children and grandchildren can go with that confidence if they have to go. Our grandfathers left not necessarily knowing that. They truly were the greatest generation. I am grateful for who they were and what they did. I make it a point to mention the families of the Veterans. They often sacrificed so much. When I deployed in 2003, we left having no return date. I left my wife in a strange town with a 7,5,3,and 1 year old. She was a rock. I was gone for 6 months and returned to lots of nice and thankful compliments, but virtually no one looked my wife in the eye and said they appreciated what she did. If you come across a veteran, make a point to thank their spouse, parents, and kids. It is a distressing time for them and they are a HUGE part of the equation. It's nice of the guys here to acknowledge Dec. 7th.

I know this car. Looked at it in Wisconsin 2.5 years ago. It is a bargain. It drove very well. it looks like he is being bombarded with interest. Not surprised.

Walk in with a cup of coffee, local baked goods and a smile and ask the current proprietor if he/she knows the history of their building.

I love that model. Super happy for you. Looking forward to more pics.

Steve, Absolutely! I have always liked the Duesenberg ads that don't show a car. Cocky but makes the point........

Starting bid 17K.....Maybe a 25K car if nicely done....? starting with a 25K end product..... subtract 15 for body and paint (you might need to know a guy to get it done for 15K) Subtract 8 for interior???? (unknown what is there) Drivetrain unproven......$$$$ ???? (who knows..) Doesn't have the title........never a good thing...... So what is it worth.....? I wrestle with this type of analysis all the time. Logically you can say it only has value as a parts car, if you want to restore it, you need to get it for less than free. However we all know it has some value. I know guys who buy something like this, put 1000 hours into it in their free time over a couple years, have 40K in it, sell it for 26K and look for the next project. God Bless them..........They often tell me they get enjoyment out of it that equals the amount of money they are upside down on the car.

Steve, I don't mind you "putting words in my mouth" because I think you are capturing my thoughts and question well. Good market value and optimizing my buy price (your words) are exactly what I'm talking about. In particular in a car that has languished on the market for a long time with no sale. I don't mind the seller making a profit at all. I have never bought a car where there was tension at the transaction because one party felt beat up. They have typically been a type of quiet (sometimes a little sad) celebration. We reached a price both parties were happy about and I conveyed that I was very excited about being the new caretaker and they got to know me a little and felt good about the buyer of their family treasure. Only once did I feel a little bad about a purchase of a car, that I was "stealing the car", but in fact I paid the full asking price in cash. The guy needed to get out immediately. Steve you are also correct that I am looking for a closed classic as my first purchase in the classic era, but these two cars I'm interested in are not considered classics, just really cool early twenties American cars. As you suggested, in the higher priced categories, to "miss" and make a mistake hurts a little more. You'd like to avoid that if possible.

I have never flipped a car. Some I’ve had for over ten years. None for less than four years. When I have sold (or traded), it was usually due to falling in love with something else, or storage space forced reality on me and something had to go. I can understand Matt being frustrated with a caller throwing the auction price at him in a call to ask about a car. Depending on what has been done and how long it has been for sale, it gives me a little insight into what wiggle room may be available.

I just reread my initial post, because I thought I made it very clear that I completely understand the overhead, need to make a profit and other components of being a car dealer. Of course they must sell cars for more than they paid for them. To be more specific in the two cars I have been looking at it isn't just the difference between what was paid for them and the asking price, but that they have been listed at that price for a long time.....without selling. You never know what kind of interest the dealer may have had in the car, perhaps he has almost had it sold several times at close to that asking price. Also, repairs to the car (both time and money in parts) have to be figured into the cost, but I always wonder after a car like that has been listed for a long time where they might feel a "fair to the buyer and fair to the seller might be". If I was a dealer, I'd try and buy cars at a value and initially ask for a substantial profit. If it didn't find a buyer after a while, I'd be more inclined to listen offers that didn't yield as much profit. Many of us see the same car listed by a seller forever..... As Matt mentioned, sometimes it may be a consignment and the owner has unrealistic expectations. I just wonder in that example of a "stale" listing, what others have seen when engaging the seller.