Flivverking Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 Last weekend I was having a dialog with another "old car crank" which led to a discussion of long established vintage auto dealers /collectors then and now ..and their reputations etc. I mentioned my opinion I had in the 1970's till today of one man and company here in Connecticut . This other car nut fellow said.."your right about him,thats where they got the idea of Captain Manzini for My Mother the Car"! He mentioned some old TV show writers and pitch men from back then and we moved on to other show biz crap,since some of my family goes back to 1920 in the film industry and TV about 1950.. Anyway it is very funny to me that the Captain Manzini charactor may have been based on a real guy. How many of you have been at this vintage car bunk long enough to have known or knew of such a stereotype charactor yourself..or the uncrupulous car dealer who jumps at the first chance to extremely low ball swindle some old bag's recently croaked husbands cars before the funeral is over..and all the other stuff like buying backing back his own" no reserve " cars at auction etc. I personally knew a dealer specializing in brass cars that use to stuff bananas in whole,like 6 ,8,or more in the transmissions and rear axles of brass cars(with new oil of course 😝) so they would be super quiet and easier to shift,that is for a while, and make them easier to sell and pass off as being in better shape then they were or even rebuilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 I've heard of the banana trick, also sawdust. Now we have 140 wt. Salesmen, politicians, and lawyers tend to have the same characteristics. Are their lips moving... 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlLaFong Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 Oh boy!! Time to share all of the anecdotal stories that you heard Ol' Uncle Booger and his cronies spin down at the bar and grill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCHansen1 Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 I'd heard about the sawdust thing too, but the bananas is news to me. Crazy. My 9 and 12 year olds enjoy watching MMTC. I'm trying to raise them right lol. They think the premise is stupid, of course, but they find it entertaining none the less... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 (edited) Reminds me of 'Mad Man Muntz' and some of his ads. First as a used car dealer, then a manufacturer of Hi-Fi and TV's. Craig Edited May 18, 2021 by 8E45E (see edit history) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studemax Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 (edited) Back in the 70's in high school auto shop I worked on an old Buick that had banana peels in the rear differential. Took quite awhile to pull apart and completely clean out before reassembly and new fluid. Edited May 21, 2021 by Studemax (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28 Chrysler Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 I had a 1937 Chevy PU that had perhaps a pint or more of cut up inner tube in the rear-end, all around 1/4" to 3/8". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 " 'Mad Man Muntz' and some of his ads" something about an automotive 4-track player and a Jet ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Luddy Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 I remember a dude with a 62 Ford Galaxie convertible with a weak 390 putting 90W diff lube in the engine while it was running and warm as he had it sold to somebody driving from a long distance that he told it would make it home for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 22 minutes ago, Ed Luddy said: I remember a dude with a 62 Ford Galaxie convertible with a weak 390 putting 90W diff lube in the engine while it was running and warm as he had it sold to somebody driving from a long distance that he told it would make it home for sure. He also could have used STP. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Luddy Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 Just now, 8E45E said: He also could have used STP. Craig I'm sure gear oil was much cheaper! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Luddy Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 Another one that was probably worse was a 1959 Corvette with wood shoved into the rotted frame rails and covered with that old timey tar goop "rust proofing". My 1st Corvette purchase was a 1965 convertible with Hooker side pipes put on it to hide the frame rail rust back in 1979. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 STP. Translation, "Stay Together, Please"? Many years ago, I took apart a model T rear end that I decided had had sawdust used in it. The gear oil had dried, and the mess looked like a hundred wine corks had exploded! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan G Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 Back when I was in the auto body business I had a customer buy an old Trans Am, their dream car. It was in fresh primer; seller was a notable "restoration" shop in the area. "Just needs paint!" We got digging, the rockers and the sides of the roof were packed with 2 month old newspaper covered in Bondo. Dad told of doing quickie all-overs back in the early 70s for a dealer 10 miles away. The challenge, he said, was a lot of them wouldn't run long enough to make it back there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studemax Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 On 5/18/2021 at 10:46 AM, padgett said: " 'Mad Man Muntz' and some of his ads" something about an automotive 4-track player and a Jet ? I know who Mad Man Muntz was, and I know his nutty ads. How the heck is the second part of your post connected to the OP's post? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 I think the whole thread has drifted off a bit. In an attempt to return somewhat to the original question and show, a bit of trivia. Avery Schreiber played the role quite well. But what the viewers didn't see, was that Avery didn't drive! I saw a Hollywood talk show of some sort where he told the story. He said that he had never driven a car more than a very short distance, and was uncomfortable doing so. He said he had a tendency to get flustered and not coordinate the various pedals and levers properly. In the show, cars driven in the distance were driven by doubles, and in the closeups, the car moves only a few feet, pushed by stage hands just off camera, or pulled by ropes below or otherwise outside camera view. I found the interview interesting, in part, because I had noticed in the show that it never actually looked like Avery was really driving. According to IMDb, Avery Schreiber was in eleven of the thirty episodes. On the other hand? Some of the other drift comments are quite interesting! Reminds me of another story my dad used to tell about a mechanic/used car sales fellow he knew where he grew up. His standard line was that cars were guaranteed for "five minutes, or crossing the driveway, whichever came first." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buick35 Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 11 hours ago, 8E45E said: He also could have used STP. Craig I guy I met in the army also did that to a 63 Chevy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 Sorry, I flunked linear thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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