What do you always carry in your car?

[Grimy]

2 minutes ago, 60FlatTop said:

And it is amazing how many mistake over confidence as arrogance. Well, how would they know.

 

Fix my own car, check it, and go anywhere. I don't even run a bulb in my trunk light!

I'm aware of the distinction, Bernie, that's why I said 'overconfidence.'

 

The variables include the age of the car and the availability and repairability of its components.  Ten years ago, a cutout stuck on my driver 1925 Pierce at a waypoint on a 3-day tour in the Mother Lode, 150 miles from home and no trouble truck.  I changed it out in five minutes and was back on the road with the others.  The local parts store might have a regulator for your '60 Buick, but certainly not a cutout.  At home, I cleaned up the malfunctioning unit, dressed its points, tested it, and it's now the spare--but that was a 40-minute exercise best done in one's shop.

[60FlatTop]

Still here! But I might have to get a little work done.

 

I like the outrageous comment that smooths out the exaggerated ones. I think I really could find that trunk light bulb. It's back there somewhere.

 

And you can ask my Wife about her back seat ride 70 miles in a flatbed. She was still a little shaky from hearing the battery blow up and the hood blocking her view of me.

 

It's the Devil may care attitude that I enjoy and weave into my hobby, a calculated adventure.

 

A few years ago I was sitting having coffee in a convenient store/gas station when I saw a Pierce Brunn owner gassing up his truck. He had his trailer and was helping a friend move a couple cars across New York State. I had a couple teams working in Buffalo and they didn't need me, so I said I'd go. Called my Wife.  "Back in time for supper" were the famous last words.

Anyway we loaded the '31 Pierce-Arrow into the trailer and we took off in the '41 60S Caddy, followed by the truck. About 80 miles down the road the Caddy started acting up, no tools, no parts.

We got off the NYS Thruway and farted around with the Caddy and then headed down RT20 to a restoration shop in Morrisville. Not far into it the Caddy got real bad. We found a wide spot and pulled everything over. The Pierce came out of the trailer, the Caddy went in, and off we went. The Pierce rolled along nice and smooth with that unauthorized overdrive. (I think it has been out in your area for a tour since that new trans was put in). We made it to the shop, got the Caddy out, put the Pierce back in the trailer and off we went. We had a great time, Tony, Bob, and me. I think I got home around 2 AM from that 6 hour trip.

 

Minimal planning and preparation, I love it in my hobby. The rest of my life gets too structured. You probably know those co-adventurers, ask them about the trip across the state. Those are the trips with the fondest memories.

 

Time for lunch and I'm getting the Buick out.

Bernie

[Grimy]

2 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

You probably know those co-adventurers,

I certainly do know Tony and Bob, well enough to know that if they had some ignition parts along, EITHER probably could have fixed the Cad on the side of the road in five minutes  I had a '39 Cad 75 for 42 years until it had to go away to make room for another Pierce...  :-)  It lives two blocks away and I get to drive it periodically. 

 

About six years ago, an even-older friend of 50 years had problems with his '37 Cad 75 convertible sedan that he was supposed to use the following morning to haul two mayors over a long bridge for its grand opening.  He asked me to bring my '34 Silver Arrow over as a backup.  Arrived in 98* weather and told him "a beer for me and water for my dog, please."  By the time those refreshments arrived, I had his Cadillac purring as usual--point adjustment only, no parts replacement necessary.  Not every malfunction gets fixed as quickly and easily, but they are part of the fun and keep the old synapses firing.

 

Bernie, you need a pre-war car, preferably pre-1930, to increase your Fun Quotient!

[60FlatTop]

On 4/5/2017 at 2:50 PM, Grimy said:

Bernie, you need a pre-war car, preferably pre-1930, to increase your Fun Quotient!

 

For me, a pre-'30 car would have to be a pretty upscale model to satisfy my driving tastes, but I am close enough to Buffalo so one of those hyphenated cars may turn up in a dusty old garage.

 

All my cars are impulse buys. I have made calculated, logical purchases. I guess I sold them without heartbreak.

 

Two cars have dominated my taste since I was riding a bicycle in 1963. That was the first generation Riviera and the first versions of the Cadillac 60 Special. Four almost four decades, when car guys got together and talked about their dream car I have been able to say "I have mine." That purchase arose from a stop to look at a 1974 Lincoln Mark IV.

 

Pat Comesky passed away last year and we had been toying with the sale of a '39 60S project since the mid-1990's, no sense rushing.

 

If Fun Quotient means laughing, ask Tony about that Model T truck. I almost wet my pants with him learning to drive it. I think he kept that "Fun" for about a week.

 

The market and all the old guys dying off is going to bring some surprise deals. Until then I'll be shopping for an old car the way Roy Orbison shopped for girlfriends. Huh! I just remembered how I met my Wife.

 

Bernie

[Grimy]

10 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

For me, a pre-'30 car would have to be a pretty upscale model to satisfy my driving tastes, but I am close enough to Buffalo so one of those hyphenated cars may turn up in a dusty old garage.

But of course!  A man of your obviously discerning tastes requires a Pierce-Arrow, and nothing less. I used to pride myself on my diverse fleet (1923 REO touring, 1934 Buick 56S, 1939 Cad 75 7-passenger, 1947 Desoto Suburban, 1948 Lincoln Continental coupe, 1949 Jeepster) -- until I experienced my first Pierce, the junior varsity early-1925 Series 80 garden-variety sedan in 1994 (after >20,000 miles, I still have it and love it) acquired because it was a good deal.  The scales were lifted from my eyes.... in time, all the rest went away to make room for more Pierces, except that there's now a better 1948 Jeepster for good weather tooling around.  Either Bob or Tony can find you a suitable Pierce-Arrow, and the geography is ideal.  And I would have loved to watch Tony operate a Model T!

 

The early 60S is indeed a wonderful car.  The gent with the 1937 Cad 75 convertible sedan whom I mentioned earlier also has a 1939 60S one-family always-SF-Bay-Area car with about 44,000 miles, unrestored, just very well maintained. NO sidemounts, by the way, thank God. This 60S MAY become available in the next year or so. 

 

10 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

The market and all the old guys dying off is going to bring some surprise deals.

Absolutely!  I've been seeing a major generational transfer since I was the Pierce-Arrow Society membership bubba 2005-08, and it continues.  I've been incredibly fortunate in that five of the six Pierces I've owned have been offered to me first in the previous owners' belief that I would be a worthy Next Custodian--just as the current owner of the 1939 Cad 75 I owned for 42 years was the perfect Next Custodian to me.  That does NOT mean that I always got a special deal--for some I paid almost All the Money because I never could have obtained them in an alcohol, testosterone, and money fueled auction environment.  I don't care!  I'm by no means rich, but I'm a few years older than you and intend to maximize my fun while I can still drive more challenging cars.  I waited 18 years for the 1918 Pierce to become available, and I drove it 1,800 miles in my first ten months of ownership--only partially the New Toy Syndrome, as that car affords more smiles per mile than any other car I've ever owned.

 

VBR, George