Collector Car Market for Pre War Dying???

[60FlatTop]

2 hours ago, Matt Harwood said:

Come for a visit and you can drive any car you like!

 

You are just four hours down RT 90 (or 20) from me and I keep thinking what a good day trip that could be. You had a Silver Spur last year that almost got me there.

 

You know that story about hanging around the barber shop....

 

I am lucky enough to have driven a lot of collector cars of a wide range of types. The one car that stands out above all in my memory is the light blue 1949 Cadillac convertible that Dick Walthers recently sold. Two mistakes were made on that car. The owner sold it to Dick and I didn't buy it. Whoever owns it now has one of the best driving cars out there. It sets the precedent for an unrestored car.

 

Bernie

[padgett]

Guess I prefer small overpowered cars to land yachts. Remember being at events and how big my American V8s (A, F, and H body GM) seemed. Even the B/P '63 vette seemed big compared to a Sunbeam Tiger or 289 Cobra but was hard to pass when sideways.

That said I only have one V8, the rest are my first love, 6cyls: CIB, SOHC, & DOHC. 12 valves, 18 valves, and 24 valves. Range from 6 to 48 years old. Three AACA eligible. DD is an '01. Newest is the tow car.

Of course all have factory AC. No need now to consider anything else.

Is one of the nice parts of living in a target rich no rust area.

 

3D printer should arrive soon, are some small plastic parts that are just not available. These are the good old days.

 

[1937hd45]

12 hours ago, edinmass said:

 

I can't wait for the DV-32"s and the 2.9 Alpha"s to crash so I can have several of each. 

I'll take all the T & L Head Mercers you find inferior, and the underpowered 1750 Alfa Romeos. Bob 

[edinmass]

I do t find the Mercer’s inferior, I just was raised around the Stutz crowd. The 1750 Alfa’s are fine, I usually prefer the earlier stuff, but the 2.9’s are just a bit more intriguing.

[leomara]

You guys are all very friendly and engaging.  Thanks for all the input and opinions and if any of you comes across a 29 Chrysler 75 roadster please advise. 

[1935Packard]

On 6/28/2018 at 8:22 AM, 1912Staver said:

Some forum members have access to a wide range of drivable pre- war cars and a wide circle of fellow owners in order to get familiar with the driving experience of many different pre-war cars.

 For many of us however the opportunity to actually drive a pre -war car is a very rare thing indeed.  Even if there is a car locally for sale many sellers are going  to be hesitant to let a prospective buyer drive the car unless they feel there is a very good chance of a sale. And many of the early cars I see in my region aren't quite road ready, been sitting for several years as the owners age advanced, etc. 

 Even if you join a local club it seems few fellow club members are prepared to let someone else drive their cars , especially if you don't have a driving car yourself to enable a temporary swap.

 People in a situation like Matt Harwood are ideally positioned to drive many different cars and form an informed decision when buying.

 But for some of us it's more or less a crapshoot. Until you own it or are on the brink of buying it, you probably can't drive it.

 

Greg in Canada

 

Very true.  When I was looking to buy my first antique car, I spoke to a guy at a car show who had the same car I wanted.  He was incredibly generous in inviting me to take his car out for a drive so I could get a feel for it.  That experience was super helpful in me getting comfortable with that year and model car, as I had never driven anything remotely like it.  We became friends and would hang out together at car shows for many years after that.  (I bought my first antique, that same year/model car,  a year later.) On the other hand,  I would guess a lot of us have had the experience of  looking seriously at and even buying cars for sale that we had no relevant experience driving before.  In those cases, "going for a test drive" can mean not just evaluating the condition of that car but also trying to get a quick feel for the experience of driving that year/brand/model.  It can be a lot to process.

 

Edited June 30, 2018 by 1935Packard (see edit history)

[autoluke]

Why indeed a 1929 roadster. ?

 

Take a look at Harwood's 1931 Chrysler  Roadster..a more attractive design, with superb engineering.

 

[edinmass]

I have always let people drive my cars, especially when they are members of the clubs I belong to. The Pierce club years ago had a handful of people who began to swap cars between stops on tour. This evolved into letting new members and attendees taking cars for drives. I often let members from other parts of the country drive my cars on tour while I ride in the back seat/rumble seat. About ten years ago, while at the Gilmore Museum for a national show, a twelve year old young man said I had the best car on the field........far from it, but I enjoyed his comment so much I let him sit in the car. He turned to his grandmother and said “some day I will own and drive a car like this one” a 1932 Pierce Sport Coupe. With the Gilmore track right next to me, I asked him if he had drive a lawn mower. He said yes. I asked his grandmother if it would be ok to let him drive the car around the track. She said sure.."..the young man couldn’t believe he was going to have a chance to drive the car. I gave him a three minute lesson on how to clutch, shift, and control the gas. I explained to him that I would take over if there were any problems, and do exactly as I say. He drove around the loop in first one time, and was shifting through the gears and I had to hold him back from speeding! He was a natural driver.......the entire thing was on a cell phone video and placed up on you tube. It was quite a lot of fun to share a car that way. Over the years hundreds of people have driven my cars........and it’s been nothing but positive experiences. A few years ago on Martha’s Vinyard in the same 32 Pierce a guy came up to me telling a story about his grandfathers 32 Pierce sedan. I ended up letting him drive the car twenty miles around the island. Became good friends with him over the years, and now I stay at his place when we visit! The more you share your car, the more you get out of it.

Edited June 30, 2018 by edinmass (see edit history)

[alsancle]

3 hours ago, edinmass said:

I have always let people drive my cars, especially when they are members of the clubs I belong to.

 

This is very true.  Ed forced me to drive is Pierce Arrow and made me promise to join the club.  Now I'm a "Pierce Arrow" guy. 

 

Supporting the clubs is important, although I'm spread across so many that the best I can do is pay membership and push them on to my friends.  The guys doing the real work of keeping them going deserve our gratitude.

 

 

[edinmass]

I predict that after driving two different V-12 Pierce cars, AJ will soon own one.............just knowing what great drivers they are now.............he will soon get on board.

[TexRiv_63]

I didn't have any experience with prewar cars until about 12 years ago other than always being interested in them. I jumped in by answering an ad for a 1924 Cadillac sedan that (luckily for me) was owned by an older and very nice man. He let me crawl all over and under it, answered a million questions, took me for a ride, then let me drive it. I was amazed at how difficult it was to drive but also fascinated by the sheer mechanical connection you had with the car. I tried to buy the car but he wanted too much. However I was hooked and proceeded to buy three Full Classic cars within a four year period. This is where I learned the lesson, "Buy the absolute best example you can afford", because I did not do that!