Adventures in Restoration

[Restorer32]

Murphy's Law, Article 15, Subsection B, Paragraph 2...."If you are finishing the restoration of a 1954 Buick Skylark and have little more to do than assemble and install the 2 halves of the NOS grill that your customer purchased many years ago at great expense in a flea market you will find, upon opening the box, that it actually contains 2 right side grills and no left side".

[Friartuck]

Does this mean the Subsection B, Paragraph 3 says you should be looking for a Buick Skylark collector with two Left Grills on his shelf of NOS parts??

[Rick Hoover]

Now that's not good!! It's possible Greg Cook in Gettysburg can help you locate one. I use to have a very nice spare grille years ago, but I forget who we sold it to. If it comes to me later on, I'll let you know. It might have been Greg?

[West Peterson]

Ahhhh... but if you read a little further... in fact, paragraph 3 of Subsection B, it will state that upon calling Greg Cook, you will find out that said left side of 1954 Buick Skylark grille will have been sold just two days prior... to an overseas collector.

[Restorer32]

Paragraph 4 goes on to state that you will indeed find a good left side grill, but, for the plating to match, you will have to replate BOTH halves, including the near perfect NOS piece and shortly after the newly plated pieces return from the plater, possibly the same day, an NOS left side grill will show up on E-Bay.

[Dave@Moon]

If the Buick book is anything like my Triumph book, you should be getting to the subchapter that says the ultra-rare, ultra-expensive NOS part (in my case a $135.00 ea. parking light lens) that you're ready to install is now available for 90% less than you paid because it's now being reproduced.

It comes after the subchapter that says that one of the pair you bought in 1995 during a 3-day stay at Carlisle with proceeds from your own sales was stolen, with an old used one substituted in the box sometime afterwards (probably at the swap meet).:mad:

[Ron Green]

Paragraph 4 goes on to state .

Reading the addendum to paragraph 4 to Murphy's Law, Article 15 it states: "that during the replating of BOTH halves one will become damaged (twisted) while stripping off the existing finish of which will require extensive repairs". This addendum has also been quoted by Confucius.

[poci1957]

Boy do these stories add to the dilemma of a long term restoration project. To wit:

Do you stockpile parts years in advance to insure your supply, then find when you open the box you have a problem?

Or like Dave, buy a hard to find part soon reproduced for 1/4 the price?

Or, like poci1957, delay purchasing common repro items like spinner hubcaps and rearview mirrors because they are in every catalog for 10 years at reasonable prices, but then the supply dries up and they are no longer available at any price?

Tune in tomorrow, when you will hear poci1957 say:

".....I understand they are your last ones, but HOW much did you say for the hubcaps!?!..........."

[trimacar]

You guys forgot the subparagraph that states: As you're walking the field at Hershey, a friend will find the part that you need to finish your restoration, that you've searched for 10 years or more to find; it won't be marked with a price, but he'll yell to you as he stands in front of the vendor, "Hey, here's the part you've been looking for forever, that you said you'd pay anything to finally find"............

[Shop Rat]

Or the one small piece of missing chrome (that got popped off when the original owner damaged it when he hit the door frame of his garage) that you finally find after looking in junkyards up and down the whole east coast from Key West to Nova Scotia....and some idiot took it off of a car and bent it in half for no good reason and threw it on the ground. But we bought it anyway and Bill was able to straighten it and buff it out to where it looked okay. At least it was no longer missing.

We got to know a lot of junkyard dogs in our search. One in particular, a young German Shepherd, was named "Frog" because as puppy he jumped from one piece of furniture to another. He was at a junkyard near Hershey/Harrisburg.

Edited February 17, 2010 by Shop Rat (see edit history)

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Some of this could be addressed by viewing article 16, subsection A (See special rules for Hershey for my situation) "If walking past an item you really want (such as really clean used bumpertettes for Model A) to contemplate the purchase, you will generally turn back within an aisle or two in order to see someone happily bagging their new purchase - the item you needed. Wait another year, then purchase the parts at double the price through the mail."

You see, this nicely balances things, making it more expensive to run out of patience and buy the reproduction item.

Susan, if you were ever in CT you could meet two very nice German Shepherds - they sleep on the furniture but not the cars!

[rocketraider]

Corollary states that when swap-meeting with a buddy who forgot to bring any wheeled contrivance to haul parts, he will find a correct date coded intake manifold for an FE Ford engine that he just HAS to have. Possibility of this occurring increases exponentially the further away the heavy part is from the car.

Said friend will then find a beat-up hand truck in the swap meet for more money than a new one would cost, but he'll buy it because the heavy Ford intake has dug ruts in his shoulder.

Based on a true story...

[poci1957]

Hey Glenn, see also the amendment that figures in the chance of rain that day.

OR (he said with a sneer) does Hershey 2009 prove that we are now all too soft to stay at the swap meet if it rains? Todd

[Dave@Moon]

Corollary states that when swap-meeting with a buddy who forgot to bring any wheeled contrivance to haul parts, he will find a correct date coded intake manifold for an FE Ford engine that he just HAS to have. Possibility of this occurring increases exponentially the further away the heavy part is from the car.

Said friend will then find a beat-up hand truck in the swap meet for more money than a new one would cost, but he'll buy it because the heavy Ford intake has dug ruts in his shoulder.

Based on a true story...

Did you at least get a new t-shirt out of the deal? My brother (and his g-d original 1970 W-30 intake manifold) bought me one at Carlisle once! It took some convincing, though!

Do you get the idea we're all leading the same lives?:eek:

[Bill Harmatuk]

Let me tell you about the Carter BB-1 that I got bid out of, with 2 seconds to go, on EBay.

He went 10 dollars higher than me.

Bill Harmatuk

[Ron Green]

Corollary states that when swap-meeting with a buddy who forgot to bring any wheeled contrivance to haul parts, he will find a correct date coded intake manifold for an FE Ford engine that he just HAS to have. Possibility of this occurring increases exponentially the further away the heavy part is from the car.

Said friend will then find a beat-up hand truck in the swap meet for more money than a new one would cost, but he'll buy it because the heavy Ford intake has dug ruts in his shoulder.

Based on a true story...

This also applies for buying a battery at a swap meet. By the time you get to your vehicle all your fingers are purple from lack of circulation and totally numb from the cheap twine they gave you to haul it with.

<DT><DT><DT>Confucius say "It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop."

</DT>

[old car fan]

Well folks welcome to the world of restoration,its grand

[Shop Rat]

Corollary states that when swap-meeting with a buddy who forgot to bring any wheeled contrivance to haul parts, he will find a correct date coded intake manifold for an FE Ford engine that he just HAS to have. Possibility of this occurring increases exponentially the further away the heavy part is from the car.

Said friend will then find a beat-up hand truck in the swap meet for more money than a new one would cost, but he'll buy it because the heavy Ford intake has dug ruts in his shoulder.

Based on a true story...

You are preaching to the choir rocketraider. Quite a few years ago Bill found a very nice (HUGE/HEAVY) tire for the 1939 Dodge for $1.00 in the old Green Field which of course was at the opposite end from where we were parked. After a short time it was cutting into his hand pretty badly. I went and got a large styrofoam cup out of the trash and flattened it so that he could put it between his hand and the tire. Even that got to be too hard. So I paid $30 to a vendor for a repainted Radio Flyer wagon to haul it in. Yeah, he made fun of me, but that wagon has now gone to lots of Fall Hershey's and has been worth every penny I spent for it.

Susan, if you were ever in CT you could meet two very nice German Shepherds - they sleep on the furniture but not the cars!

Steve I would love that.

Edited February 17, 2010 by Shop Rat (see edit history)

[West Peterson]

Susan

Tires are round for a reason. :confused:

[rocketraider]

Hey Glenn, see also the amendment that figures in the chance of rain that day.

You must have been walking around Spring Charlotte 2004 and seen us. It started pouring rain while we were going back to the car with that intake. I laugh at Kenny sometimes now over buying that intake. He had the unarguable reason though- "where am I gonna find another one already cleaned up this cheap and easy?"

OR (he said with a sneer) does Hershey 2009 prove that we are now all too soft to stay at the swap meet if it rains? Todd

I've never been to Hershey though I want to go before I can't. I'll walk Carlisle in a raincoat or trash bag, but I will not walk Charlotte in one. Rain in the forecast, I won't go. Starts raining while I'm there, I pack up and go home.

Dave, a W30 intake weighs nothing compared to a cast iron FE Ford piece. Now a cast iron Olds is a different story. Lot of us have learned the hard way to leave the heater water valve in place to have something to grab hold of when lifting the clumsy-ass things.

[Dave@Moon]

Dave, a W30 intake weighs nothing compared to a cast iron FE Ford piece. Now a cast iron Olds is a different story. Lot of us have learned the hard way to leave the heater water valve in place to have something to grab hold of when lifting the clumsy-ass things.

Oh, this bugger was definitely the cast iron job. Reading up on 442.com ( Olds FAQ -- Intake Manifolds) I think this thing was probably a 1969 W30 intake. Walked the width of Carlisle to the Armory parking lot with it on my shoulder. Ate through 2 shirts!

That wasn't even my worst adventure there. I once bought 2 bumpers at the same time for my 1969 Coronet 500, and carried them both at the same time from the back fence along the Turnpike to my car, parked near the KFC on route 11. That's about 2 miles. By myself.

I was a lot younger and dumber then.

[West Peterson]

1970 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 with the hot W-30 package: weight reduction was essential in getting optimal performance from the 455cid/370hp powerplant. The fiberglass hood with molded-in functional scoops was 18 pounds lighter than the steel version, as was the aluminum differential cover. In addition, the intake manifold was aluminum, its inner fender liners were plastic, and the cars had less sound deadener than other 4-4-2s. General Motors built 3,100 4-4-2s with the W-30 package in 1970, which was available with either a four-speed or automatic.

[Dave@Moon]

1970 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 with the hot W-30 package: weight reduction was essential in getting optimal performance from the 455cid/370hp powerplant. The fiberglass hood with molded-in functional scoops was 18 pounds lighter than the steel version, as was the aluminum differential cover. In addition, the intake manifold was aluminum, its inner fender liners were plastic, and the cars had less sound deadener than other 4-4-2s. General Motors built 3,100 4-4-2s with the W-30 package in 1970, which was available with either a four-speed or automatic.

If you look at the link, West, the 1969 W30 intake was cast iron, and is described as very rare. I know my brother was practically giddy about finding it while walking something else (I forget what, this was 12 or 13 years ago) back to the car.

The bumpers I remember very well. That was 21 years ago.

[West Peterson]

I know. I was just pointing out that it was the 1970 W-30 that had the aluminum intake that Glenn was referring to.

[Shop Rat]

Susan

Tires are round for a reason. :confused:

Yeah West, we tried rolling it. While it might be fun at first, it got old fast trying to make sure it didn't crash into items for sale. It really is a big tire. :eek:

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Not sure if the others here have the same book, but mine seems to cover the vending side as well. In article 22, section IV, there is a glossary, seems dead on for those few times a year I set up to rid myself of duplicate automobilia and parts:

"You have some really nice stuff" really means "I just came here to look at all the nice stuff, but have no interest in buying anything"

"Could you do any better" universally applied - so price your mint tire patch repair kits at $6.00 instead of $5.00, to ensure the customer thinks he got a really good deal, because $5.00 just isn't good enough for a near perfect small for the garage or game room shelf..

Also, note, some of your better items seem to have personality, as the same people will come to visit them month over month, or year over year, to look, touch, and discuss - - but never buy!

But maybe this is it's own thread...

[Jim Rohn]

Let me tell you about the Carter BB-1 that I got bid out of, with 2 seconds to go, on EBay.

He went 10 dollars higher than me.

Bill Harmatuk

Bill, you have to understand HOW ebay auctions (and auctions in general) work

the high bidder obviously had a higher proxy bid than you did

It was not just $10 more as you think, the increment they used for bids was just $10, he could have a high bid $200 more than your last second bid, it would still only show that is was just $10 more than yours ...

that said the sniping that a lot of people attempt usually ends in frustration, as most people don't understand how the bidding works and they all say it was outbid by ONLY $x (fill in your own amount).

IF you really want something make SURE you bid EARLY and bid x % more than what you think the most you will pay for it.

AGAIN, all these stories of it went for $5, $2, $10, $100, etc more than what I bid. Know your limit and bid early. That way if you are outbid, you know you did/bid all you wanted to. IF hindsight tells you you should have bid more, then make sure you bid THAT amount. Especially if it is something you have spent thousands of dollars trying to find over the past several years trudging through muddy swap meets, etc. The amount you may have to pay to get it will seem CHEAP in comparison to the time, energy and frustration you have spent to try to find it already.