CRAP-TACTULAR '48 IN THE BUGLE

[Guest my3buicks]

Keith,

My BCA number I got in 1987.

Pete S AKA Tommy,

That is really a neat one, what is it? My records show you became a member in 2000, had you joined in 87 and then rejoined at a later date, 1987 numbers fell in 17,000's?

[Guest]

Keith,

you bring up another question I've alwaly wanted to know.

Yes I join, then I missed my dues for a year, the they gave me my number back.

But, are all those new members on the bugle's pages new, or people coming back after forget to pay their dues?

As for the AKA, I was one of the first to join our little forum, and I just made up a name, hence tommy1927. My email burnsmontyc@yahoo.com, but I'm not Homer's employeer.

[Guest my3buicks]

for the most part new.

[Dave@Moon]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Again Dave the hidden meaning in the thread is, IF YOU get over it, well that is good for you, but you dont have to get over it for the rest of us. If you feel like the BCA doesnt represent what YOU specifically believe in, well maybe you should start the MUST BE ABSOLUTELY WHAT I LIKE AND APPROVE OF CLUB! We will see how many members sign up for that.

If it isnt rusting away, being crushed or just plain neglected that IS THE DEFINITION OF PRESERVATION. This is not a regulated hobby, and to try and "tell others what to do with their car" is not ignoring the issue, it is actually confronting what you can control (your own car) and accepting the rest. And as others have mentioned it is the application of good upbringing that should prevent us from insulting someone elses car, or forcing them to feel poorly for their own decisions (which you may object to in the privacy of your home, or face the consequences of your rude actions being displayed in a public forum). </div></div>

You know what I said. You know what I meant. You know that this entire post, <span style="font-style: italic">every single word</span>, is you putting words in my mouth and thoughts in my head that aren't there and never were. George W. can make that work, he's good at it. You can't.

Debate your conscience with someone else.

[The Old Guy]

AS Keith stated in an earlier post, The BCA encompasses all Buicks. I have been a member since 1969, and the reason I joined was because my sons wanted to drive my drag car on the street. I got into Buicks because I had six children and a Buick was the biggest thing I could find. I love tham all ,as I said in my earlier post, and go to the meets as much for the people as the cars. Through the years the hobby has changed. There are clubs that are primarily brass era and other organizations that cater to muscle cars, and everything in between! The BCA throught he years in order to remain viable has tried to encompass all areas of the Buick . We have a performance group for the muscle cars, a driving enthusiasts division for the members that enjoy driving their Buicks, a Reatta division for the members that want their own niche, and last but not least, the newly formed "Modified Division" .If you check the age in the "Brass and Gas" and the other clubs that cater to "old" cars ,you will find they are ageing and also losing membership. i have been a member of the BCA since 1969, and have seen the changes and salute the board for trying to keep the Buick name in the forefront of the hobby

[Guest Rojo22]

The only struggle with conscience here DAVE is with you. Trying to be the conscience for an entire hobby must really wear on you.....

[Dave@Moon]

[Guest Rojo22]

Dont let the bed bugs bite...LOL...

[furrycritter]

I would like to chime in on this. I am 21 years old, I love all classic, antique, and old American cars in gerneral. I personally am someone (even though I don't have a classic or antique as of now, but probably will when I am older) who appreciates the restored originals, the street-rods, and the lowriders and the many other subcategories within these categories. I for one like mostly original cars. But rodding and lowriding at least keep the old cars alive in some form or fashion. I think it's better to build a chopped '48 like the one in the pics above than to crush it or let it rot in a barn.

Just my .02 cents worth.

[Dave@Moon]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I think it's better to build a chopped '48 like the one in the pics above than to crush it or let it rot in a barn. </div></div>

It's not an either-or situation. It is currently treated as such only because the original car hobby is dying, and there are so many more people interested in making street rods than restoring authentic cars that people simply forget that there <span style="font-style: italic">could</span> be more restorers, and (especially) that we could be doing more to bring that about.

Also when you look at a street rod these days there's absolutely no guarantee that it once was junk. Hershey starts tomorrow, and almost certainly a couple truckloads of trophy restorations will be purchased there in the next four days and shipped to rod shops. The leftover parts from making a "good" (i.e. salable) car out of a Senior restoration will be available for sale shortly on eBay and at Carlisle.

[Buicks Rule]

Dave,

Sooooo, what have you done lately to jump start the old car hobby in your neck of the woods? You've mentioned your family situation as requiring you to be a house husband. There are lots of things that you can do from home to help the hobby.

The Cincy Chapter BCA has been trying to regroup and become active again. Are you a member and helping to make that happen? They probably desperately need someone like you who is available during the day to answer prospective members' calls/emails, help do the set up for tours/events/socials--you know all the things that are extremely difficult to do after 500 PM when everyone gets home from work ( and all those places are closed ).

Have you started/become involved in an AACA chapter in the Cincy Area? Same thing? Or Horseless Carriage, or CCCA, or whatever?

Do you take YOUR car to lots of local shows/cruises along with your kids, and maybe let them bring a couple of friends so the kids can have a good time with the cars. Ever take a neighbor to a car show when the wife ( kids ) don't want ot go and try to get him/her involved in the hobby.

Maybe it's time to stop pointing out the problem and actually get involved on a local level and actually DO something. There are a lot of people on these forums ( yeah I know it's really fora ), that have spent many years and many $$ trying doing stuff on the local, regional and national level to keep the hobby going ( and some of us are still under 50 ).

If you've got some ideas about what needs doing, then GET OUT AND DO IT! Sign up 5 new members for one of the car clubs and then tell us how you did it. Better yet, go for 50.

[Guest Rojo22]

We get your point DAVE! These people should call YOU immediately upon completion of Hershey, and offer you the car for $1 so you can put it in a garage for the preservation of the stock hobby. All parts that are considered worthy of a stock restoration should be registered with you, and should include a permission slip signed by you, in order to be placed on any other vehicle that you so deem as fit by your judgement to be "honored" with the part.

Now back from your fantasy land.....The interest drives the demand. If they are interested in stock, and there is someone who can buy it for the price they demand, well the car will stay the way it is. If it has NO DEMAND FOR THE STOCK CAR, it has not got enough interest to remain that way. Maybe you could get a collection of money going to buy stock cars, and you can place them in a museum so the rest of us can come visit them.....You can build a museum of what you think should be saved, but then you would violate the "trailer queen" and "never gets drove" crowd sensibilities.

I gotta stop, putting all these words in your mouth is making me tired.....I need a couple of those permissions slips so I can get started on my 1950 Buick resto.....

[Dave@Moon]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Do you take YOUR car to lots of local shows/cruises along with your kids, and maybe let them bring a couple of friends so the kids can have a good time with the cars. Ever take a neighbor to a car show when the wife ( kids ) don't want ot go and try to get him/her involved in the hobby. </div></div>

How many "yes"'s do you need?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Sign up 5 new members for one of the car clubs and then tell us how you did it. </div></div>

Well, I last did it by being Chairman of the National Pike Chapter before I moved here. I'll check and see if I'm sill a member of the Rivertown Roadmasters at the Fall tour in 2 weeks. I might be getting the newsletter by mistake!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I gotta stop, putting all these words in your mouth is making me tired..... </div></div>

If only.

[Guest]

Let's not blame everything on Dave, just the Kerry/Edwards issues...

Two of my Buick were reclaimed from Kustom Shops because the guy said they were to complete to "cut up".

This sounds like a pro-life rally!

[Buicks Rule]

Dave,

Didn't you say in another post somewhere recently that you forgot to renew your BCA membership? Can't be a member of a chapter without that......

The group of neighborhood kids you take with your family to car shows and get involved with cars may in fact be more vital to sustaining the hobby than any individual car. People who stay active in the hobby do so because of the people they meet. And, people who stop participating in the hobby do so because of the people they meet TOO.

And, the people you have fun with often influence the next collector car you buy. Example, a good friend has a top restored pre-war Buick which he and his wife had a lot of fun with. They have become very active BDE'ers with their older cars and have a great time racing their Grand National ( the wife's ex-grocery getter ).

Everyone has a finite amount of time, money and space. Most of us have all the cars that we can support in a reasonable fashion. So, there will be some cars that get away; some will be crushed because no one wanted them; some will be rodded; and some will be bought by a restorer looking for a good start on a 100 point restoration.

And, it may all be a moot point in a few years anyway if ( when ) we all run out of oil. Whether by alternative fuels or alternative power plants, we may NOT HAVE a choice in the not so distant future if we want to actually drive our cars.

[Jyrki]

All these opinions are valid ones. It seems most postings here from non-rodders, so let me throw in my 2 cents (euro). At first, I would like to point out that positive critizism is the one you give face-to-face. Personally, if I like someone's work, I give positive feedback. If I don't like it, I stay quiet.

Now, I would urge to ask yourself, why do these rodders and customizers want to join the BCA and attend all the events? Why don't they stick with the rodding society? One possible answer: because they feel like they are still driving a Buick, they love Buicks, are proud of their own Buicks, and want to get and share information on Buicks.

I have been building my 1946 Roadmaster Sedanet for the past 4 years, and now it's moving again. I can fully undertand why people are restoring their cars, but that's not for me. I like to include a creative element. Moreover, I cannot keep cars that couldn't be driven in everyday traffic, so my Buick's got power steering and brakes, and a highway-friendly rear gear, and the I-8 is backed by a Super T-10. Most of you, and even my father, think that I have all but ruined and mutilized another fine car. I don't complain, I just think you are narrow minded. I wouldn't change a thing in a 1953 Skylark for instance, but most times I think there's room for improvement. The 1940's and early 50's GM cars are just perfect material for customizers. Just look at the Mopars and Fords of that era - they are just plain ugly.

I think that once you have seen one restored Buick, you have seen them all. Only the color, the quality of restoration work, and the story behind it differs. You might have a well preserved original car that you purchased for nothing back in the 1970's, or you could have a similar car with a frame-off resto that cost tens of thousands, yet without the story behind it, you cannot tell the difference between these two nor appreciate the work that was needed to et there. A custom car always speaks for itself. I think there's room for both.

During the years, I have posted many questions on this forum, and have gotten excellent feedback and invaluable information, because I never mentioned that I'm customizing my Buick. People like Ralph Crisp and Joe Taubitz know a lot!

This reminds me of an internet friend, Mark Sanders from Georgia, who came to Finland two weeks ago, and arranged an additional day here just to visit us, to see my Buick, have a ride in it, and talk cars. He mentioned he had posted a question on this forum, about converting his 39 Century to 12 volts, and someone had sent him a private mail, lecturing him about the conversion like this: "your Buick has been happy with the 6 volt system for the past 60 years, and it definitely doesn't need to be converted now or ever". Oh well.

Anyway, Mark brought me a handful of Buick Bugles, thanks a lot Mark, and I read them cover-to-cover. What I found there was stories about people's Buicks. Entertaining stories. For an overseas Buick nut like me, the only reason to join BCA would be to get the Bugle. I was pleased to find that a modified division has been established. Now, if that means that modified Buick are going to be featured on the Bugle, I am ready to join BCA right now! I would also like to see more tech articles.

I have many friends here in Finland who are into restoration. Some of them cannot understand why I am modifying my Buick, but all of them can still appreciate the workmanship, and we can talk cars, old cars. Not about turboed Hondas. And I have made many, many good friends all over the globe, both with the restoration community and the "others"

Jyrki Pykari

Finland

http://gamma.nic.fi/~marlin/Rmaster.htm

[chub chub]

hey jyrki,

i think my beliefs are similar to yours. you make some good points. as far as i am concerned, anyone can do what they want with their car. you can restore, chop, channel, section, hot rod, rat rod, slam your car or put the shell on a 2004 volvo frame. i am going to have some opinions and so are others. if you don't want feedback, keep your car in your garage. if you display your car to others in any forum you have to expect good and bad feedback. accept and relish both positive and negative feedback. we learn from both. we are adults here. if someone hates what i am doing to my car they can let me know. i will consider their opinion and make my own decision.