Let's not be our worst enemy

[bclement]

Men, Women, Folks,

 

I recently went back down the path of restoration of a '41 Continental convertible. Many of you have been a tremendous help. Parts are limited as is to be expected. I have Lincoln parts I know I won't need and would like to see get out of my way!!! I am a simple garage mechanic that grew up restoring cars with my father and grandfather in the 80's and 90's.........just for the joy of it and maybe going to a carshow. How did we let this get out of control. 'Rotisserie' restorations? Million dollar drunken auctions? This entire market rests on the shoulders of people who had the forethought to do something or put something away. The TV barnfind isn't neglect it's representative of somebody who had the where with all to keep something as safe as they could. As I've been looking for parts I've noticed that the hobby has changed. People who know, aren't the ones selling the parts. Its people who don't that are impossible to talk to! If this forum can't be a place where people who know can communicate..........then what's the point? If the point is an event concourse or million dollar auction? Let those folks remember that they are standing on the shoulders of the folks that came before them and saved these cars from the crusher. It wasn't an 'amateur restoration' then, it was the community parade.

 

That's my rant for today. It's too hot in Savannah to do anything else. Be safe.

 

Brad

[Ray500]

We have lost some of the pioneers in the restoration process.  We have only their thoughts and ideas written in this on line blog to refer to in times of frustration in doing repairs and restoration of these vehicles.  Documentation on most of these cars from the mid 30's onward is limited at best.  Back in the day a lot of the mechanics were self taught, gaining experiences by working in garages on these cars with limited literature or information.  If a person who was interested in working or restoring these cars got lucky, they would have a mentor somewhere that could teach and guide them along the way.  Most of the vehicles are pretty simple to repair but somethings do require guidance understanding.  Flat head engines are pretty much the same in any vehicle, Lincoln with their strange distributors setup for 12 cylinders and similar ones in Ford could have been better engineered as were later cars.  The V12 had a bad reputation as to performance with low horsepower.  Even Henry's first V8's left a lot tot be desired in many aspects.  There was a struggle to get some power out of engines which took a few more years through a big war in order to achieve those goals.  Given the fact that most of these cars are over 80 years old with parts being scarce, it can be challenging to decide to take on projects like proper restorations.  Ford Motor Company hasn't been the best source when it comes to supporting old car repairs and restoration of their previous offerings.  They are market driven and expect people to trash old cars for new ones without regard to the classics and the desire to bring them back through hobbies that could certainly use some valid parts and restoration support.  It is also obvious that a lot of the younger people don't seem to have a burning desire to restore a lot of these old ones with more attention to technologies of other persuasions that might offer more support.  We do owe a gratitude of appreciation to those who still support this hobby with parts available even on a limited basis.  And yes, there is a hoard of parts in people's garages and collections that slowly make their way to the open market having been saved for future use.  Now that the most of the 'hot rod culture' has passed perhaps more attention can be paid to the restoration of the classics!