Cars of Dreams in Florida a private car collection anyone hear of this fellow ? His first car was a 1929 Pierce Arrow

[John_Mereness]

On 12/3/2020 at 10:48 PM, SC38DLS said:

 a Jaguar Mk IX. I’ve always loved the big jag for some reason. That would be it so I could drive them!  I would give anyone a ride if they wanted too ( post pandemic of course, mask required).  

A Mark Series Jaguar Sedans are lovely cars - they can be a bit expensive to maintain mechanically (and cosmetically too - lots of leather, broadcloth wool, wilton wool, walnut, and ....) and the sheet metal steel was not the best as their was still post war rationing, but you can get them to be very dependable cars with near no modifications from factory new. 

 

Did I ever mention my friend with the Jaguar Mark IX sedan in Cornish Grey - he sent it out for painting and then insisted on mounting the chrome himself - he went down to the hardware store and matched up all the hardware in stainless then threw all the original away - well, let's just say close and "cigar" are two different things - I basically re-tapped every piece of trim and or just muscled and stripped it all tougher.  It is still going strong, but it was a rough week of reassembly.

 

 

[60FlatTop]

There's an old Navy joke that ends with "Who you gonna please with that?", "Me"

 

The collector has a nice bunch of stuff. Limited visitors is a very good idea for many reasons. Maybe he made a mistake by allowing himself to be exploited by the wannabe video and TV show producer who was "in awe for profit" of his collection. A lot of that going around.

 

Yesterday I told my wife about this thread during supper. She knows I use the term dogma fairly often when I talk about the car hobby in general and especially the segment populated by the over 60 crowd. I told her I was going through and mentally highlighting what was not what I considered dogma. Just too many impositions of what is supposed to be.

 

And I was reminded of the times a car was thoroughly scrutinized at a car show and the scrutineer told me had a car just like it. "Oh, is it here?" "No I'm working on it. It's not done. But when it is it will be nicer than this one."

 

Joe Galina used to sell Riviera parts out of western New York. One time he told me you never knock a man's car or his dog. I remember that frequently. Maybe more due to the short list than to the details.

 

I used to list my cars in my signature on here until one old crank, in his ignorance, claimed there were in every supper market parking lot.

 

Best to remember what Joe said.

 

By the way, here's the big Jaguar sedan I had.

 

A group stopped by the garage. First comment- "When are you ever going to get that done?" "Maybe never" It certainly wasn't my requirement. And it was sold, infinished.

Edited December 6, 2020 by 60FlatTop (see edit history)

[wayne sheldon]

Some long-time friends (I am proud to say I knew them when they were struggling to pay the bills making their fortune) have a fabulous collection of automobiles. They are true automobile hobbyists, and very knowledgeable. I onetime found a small photo of an early Maxwell driving through the redwood trees of Northern Califunny. It was a real photo postcard mostly showing the trees, with the Maxwell only about the size of a dime. It was such a wonderful image, I blew it up on the computer and was shocked to find the detail was good enough to enlarge the car to the size of a dollar bill. Detail wasn't great, but the cropped picture still had a wonderful look. Since they had a similar Maxwell among their fifty-some pre-1930 automobiles, I printed a copy, framed it, and gave it to him (basically a thank-you for all the hours they let me just wander among the collection looking at the cars as I pleased). He looked at the limited detail and we discussed for several minutes the specific year and model of the car, he even recognized the model of horn in that small picture. That much knowledge for one of the minor cars in a sizeable collection. 

More than fifty cars, 1902 through 1927 (plus some later stuff!), nearly all of them sorted to drive, and detailed near show quality. They spent the money to have the work done, the time to learn and know the cars themselves, and shared the collection with many many friends. They drove a lot of the cars on numerous tours.

Unfortunately, they got bit once too much. They shared the collection not just with dozens of clubs, for tour destinations or banquets, but also business organizations. The hobbyists mostly very well understood their desire to not flaunt their collection. Pictures would be taken, and quietly shared. Hundreds of hobbyists appreciated their generosity. However, some busload business visits weren't so considerate. A couple videos were quietly taken and shared on the internet complete with directions to find the place. (I am not saying the name) was very upset. He and I sat for about twenty minutes one day after that and talked about it. He was upset. And I do not blame him for that.

They are good people, that collect the cars because they value the cars and the history they represent. They shared (within reason) for the sake of sharing. Unfortunately, after a couple experiences, and with advancing age, they aren't sharing it as much as they used to, or driving them as much. But the cars are still being cared for.

Not just mostly cars I really like, but my kind of collector!

I really need to get down there and visit again soon.

[Avanti Bill]

What would be the point of criticising anyone's collection, great or small?

Edited December 7, 2020 by Avanti Bill (see edit history)

[padgett]

Some people just love to criticize particularly those they envy. (#4). Can be a form of compliment.