John Bloom

I will second this and additionally quote a mentor and childhood friend of mine who has a stunning collection of prewar autos, as well as other things that are simply unbelievable. He is a great guy and I won't mention his name or collection in detail because I'm uncomfortable listing them publicly, but Ed does know him personally and can vouch for the level of stunning cars. We were visiting in the building that holds most of his collection and he is always gracious to mention his grandfather who was a giant in our home town and who started his grandson's interest and taste in autos (and other things). Many of the stunning cars were initially bought by his grandfather and he now has those cars as well as others he has purchased. Explaining how all of this happened to him and his grandfather he said "Most people buy a little of things they made a lot of, my grandfather bought a lot of things they made very little of"...............It is great advice.

Richard Gere?

Ed, I don’t remember if this has been brought up before, but with the low production numbers for Whites, and the few survivors that are left, I’m sure knowing the whereabouts of any other 1917 Whites might be helpful/interesting. I was looking in a book I have “Great Car Collections of the World” by Edward Eves and Dan Burger (copyright 1986). They list the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland Ohio and they provide a list of Cars in the collection circa 1986. Surprisingly the collection had Ten White vehicles. Most were surely Steam, but it caught my eye that one was a 1917 Town Car 16 valve 4. No information other than that. The book is 36 years old, not sure if the museum is still in operation, but some Ohio club members might know, and I wonder if the 1917 White is still there or what happened to it.

I will take a look at that. thanks.

Good words of wisdom......and I know that to be true in my life as well as seeing it play out in the lives of my buddies. It is good to be reminded of it periodically, saves grief and frustration.

Ok guys, years from now, I will say "it is Wayne's fault".......but I'm feeling a date in the future where we do the AACA version of "survivior/reality tv". A firm calendar day is set in the future as the shotgun start date. leading up to that date, you find a prewar car to buy that is at least 1000 miles from your home. We get as many players as possible, and you get to have a partner/teammate for the trek. No one can fly out before 6am that day. But anything after 6am is Go time. The car must be 1000 miles from home. fly, get the car, and drive it home. Document/stream the adventure. First one home is the winner. The traffic on that day/days might cause the AACA server to crash. I have dibs on Ed as my partner in the competition........ John

If you like that look and the glass top, keep an eye out for Mercury Sun Valley's as well.

On the other hand, it might make for a good basis for a comedy movie for me to go grab one of these 2000 miles away and with nothing other than a smile attempt to get it back home to Chicago!

Absolutely. This isn’t my first rodeo I’ve probably bought 12 to 15 older cars through the years. I have an enclosed trailer and two of these cars I would go get myself. The other one I’m looking at, I would fly out to see it and drive it locally, I would arrange to have it professionally shipped back. I will be taking things very cautiously and under no circumstances would I attempt to drive the car more than 5 miles until I have sorted through it and figure it out more intimately what I have gotten myself into.

Jeff, thanks for your interest. I am continuing to search and there are about 5 cars I'm seriously looking at. None are close by. One is drivable to see from my house (7 hours away). The others would require me to fly, and between work and going to see my father, I've not had any free time. I have conversations going with 3 owners about their cars. 4 of the 5 cars are pre 1935. The oldest is 1926. In spite of my thread here focusing on my desire for the looks of an earlier car, one of the 5 cars is a later Packard. I hope to do some more homework this weekend, I am working a half day today, then want to settle in with some college football in the background while doing more research. I also have a cautious vibe concerning spending money on a toy I don't need in the next few day because of the election. I'm not going to do anything until seeing the aftermath of next Tuesday. Hopefully there is resolution after the election and we aren't drug into chaos and a dumpster fire of unrest. I will sit tight till that passes if things don't go well. I'm not saying that to take this thread in a political direction, I just mean that buying a fun classic car isn't a necessity and it can wait a bit if things get ugly. As I look and think about what each car I'm considering brings to the table. I am already starting to go through the mental gymnastics of thoughts like "If I buy that early club sedan, I'll make my next purchase be a later convertible"..........when it comes to this hobby, I am still a kid looking at the counter at the candy store and overwhelmed by the choices available, and want more than I can afford or have storage space to hold.

My first car was a 66 Riviera, red with white leather interior. Bought in 1981 when I was 16 for 400 dollars. My summer savings from lawn mowing. Wish I had her back.

I have attention deficit disorder specifically in this one area (project cars/motorcycles). Before I finish something I’ve started, I fall in love with some “treasure” I stumble upon and buy it and drag it home and forget about the earlier “love of my life”, as I head into the next thing. Truthfully, sometimes I haven’t even started the previous project that I “had to have”, and go running after the next seductive project. I am 55, unlikely to change, know this is a weakness, yet live out my hobby like a 6 year old boy in his first year of Tball playing right field and chasing a butterfly and losing track of the game I started earlier. Not sure this is a fixable problem. My wife has mastered the look of pretending she is listening to me and understanding with sincerity as I explain why I need the next project.

I grew up in a small rural farming town in Indiana, with little to no foreign car exposure in the 70’s and 80’s. However there was a young guy in town who had what I would guess was an early 70’s DS. I have never forgotten it, nothing else looked anything like it. I will always have a soft spot for them.

First Duesenberg sold to public........that good looking........“Historic” works for me.

Congrats Matt, that looked like a good value, I bet the new owner will enjoy it.

One thing I forgot to say..........."they're worth it!"

Peter, that is interesting data. Thanks for sharing.

People are fickle. I agree that this may be a marketing stunt and the buyer (real or imagined) won’t be made public. I suppose on the bright side one can say “ It is a good thing that everybody doesn’t like what I like, because if they did the things I like would cost me a lot more“. I bought a book on hit and miss engines for 6 dollars this weekend. Most of the hard backs were $10-$80 in the used bookstore. It is good to like things that others don’t care for!

The Tbird is now gone. Looking for something to be my first experience stepping back into the classic era.

Ed, I hear you...... Whenever I read a headline like "Rembrandt sells for 70 million", I always think, "really?". There are only a handful of magnificent estates in the US that have sold for 70 million, and someone thinks a canvas that is maybe 48 inches by 48 inches is worth more than a 60,000 square foot ocean front estate? To each his own. When I see a Ferrari 250 GTO sells for 48 million, I assume it isn't a car guy buying it (perhaps I'm wrong), I assume it is a rich guy, who is coached to buy it. Why? the exclusive nature of having one. I agree with your comment about them not being beautiful. I don't think they are as good looking as an early 60's Giulia Sprint Speciale, and those are low six figure cars.

I think it is probably shrewd because it plays on the unfortunate ugly side of humanity. Lets say it is in the middle of the range and all three could be bought for 18 million. For numbers sake, we'd be saying the price is 6 million each..........There will be one guy with hundreds of millions of dollars who will think, "I'll pay more than 6 million each for all three of them if it means that "I have them all, no one but me has a BAT Alfa." If there was a bigger inventory, this probably wouldn't work, to hard to get them all and be the only one with them. With 3, it is doable and this seller is setting it up on a platter for a wealthy person who would get joy knowing "They're all mine".

I will be following this. I’ve had two Alfas. The first was a 74 spider, with the spica Fuel Injection and chrome bumpers. I am furious with myself that I sold it. I was young and dumb. It had such a different feel than the little Brit roadsters of that era that I’ve had. these cars are fantasy type designs. I will be curious if the new owner will be revealed to the public.

Ed, I read slowly through your list of important lessons. Then I read it through a second time....... then I thought to myself “has Ed been secretly following me around the last 30 years and used me as his example of foolish behavior?” I have made every one of those mistakes, and sadly, am frequently tempted to repeat them again and again. The White is fantastic. I am about a three hour drive from Gilmore and look forward to seeing it up there in the future. john

Not to take this discussion away from color, because i like hearing other opinions on color, but as I look at older cars with Babbitt bearings, what do I need to know about owning a car with them. If the engine runs well and It doesn’t need to come apart, don’t worry about it? I know just enough to be dangerous. I have this mental image of finding some mythical character, eccentric knome, living alone in the woods with a chalaise or crucible from an English castle melting metal to be poured into my engine. any sane feedback on babbitt bearings?

Stooge, you are doing what most of us did. Buying what you can afford. There are some guys out there who are wealthy and at age 55 jump into the hobby with their first purchase being a statement six figure car......that is not the norm. Most started with an inexpensive car, learned, gradually had more discretional income, and their experience matures over time. I know several guys with large collections and some of them are pretty impressive/expensive cars. None of them started out that way. They started with a driver Model A (or some other fun modest car) they bought for 7K and had fun and kept going down the classic car pathway. That is typically how this starts. Just like you are doing. Enjoy it for itself........and at the end of the day, I believe the cars are just a medium to meet other car people and the lasting fun of this really is the friends you make and the time you share with them. The cars just take us there. And that coupe you're working on is very cool!