Back to the 60's please. ... View more

I have a Cadillac that I bought from Johnny Otis (who?) He told he got it from Red Fox (who?) Do I consider it to be more valuable because of the attachment? NO, I do not! I owned a Continental MKII that was a gift from Elvis to the person I got it from. More valuable? NO! Interesting, Yes... Then there is the 1960 Cadillac Seville bought new by Jim Reeves (who?) This car has been magnificently restored to as new condition when Jim bought it. Jim's last car before he died in a plane crash back in 1964. The Cadillac was only 4 years old. It is now owned by a close friend of Jim's. Provenance, sure! But unless I mention one of Jim;s most famous songs, not many know who he was. More value? --- Sure to a person that has some connection to his song writing and can see the excellent condition of the Cadillac. Yes, I am an appraiser. ... View more

I used to tow my open car trailer with a ½ ton short bed pickup until I realized I was cheating death! Some small wiggles at certain speeds and bigger ones when being passed by as big rig or in wind gusts! So I upgraded to a ¾ ton Chevy. So much of an improvement I was now feeling safer. But then bought my first enclosed trailer and then was back to the wiggle and wind situation. So I bought a 1 ton crew cab dully and everything was where I was safe at any speed with any of the enclosed trailers behind me loaded with big-heavy antique cars! But I see these monster trucks that you cant get into without a ladder! And the big flat snout out front? I wonder who and why these trucks make it to market! And then they added DEF to the diesel engines! I use all three of my 1 ton, crew cab, dual rear wheel trucks as they are meant to be used, hauling loading, transporting. But I will never replace any of them with a too-tall, flat nosed, DEF choked diesel! ... View more

I do vehicle verification and appraisals in California. I have seen many Corvettes with this plate either spot welded or riveted. Because they are on the steering column jacket, they may come loose or who knows what may have happened during decades of ownership! A recent appraisal of an original owner 62 Corvette I saw that the plate had been spot welded to the column and one of the welds had come loose. Since the owner had all the original purchase records, there was no doubt the car was authentic. I advised the owner to have the broken spot weld redone. When I first read about this Kansas car issue, I could not understand why now one bothered to attempt looking at the number stamped on the frame. Yes, very difficult to find it, but it can be done. All this tells me is that non "car guys" have no business verifying a vehicle. ... View more

I was asked to help with a 72 Porsche 911 that was sitting in the original owner's garage since 1992. The car had been there under a nice car cover for years. Sounds great? Not so much! The garage had a washer and dryer just in back of the Porsche. condensation crept up underneath the car cover for years. The paint over the entire body had small pimples (yes, rust). Brakes were locked up, all calipers seized, all brake lines plugged solid. Gas tank had a solid mass of gelled gas as did the fuel lines. Engine was a mess! Exposed alloy parts had fuzzy growth on them. painted alloy parts had all corroded. Yep, engine was stuck. ... View more

I have my brothers dead 02 T-Bird out back. Ford dealers (yes plural) say it cant be fixed, no parts, may as well sell as-is of donate it. Electronic issue killed this one. ... View more

Air intake and box is critical. Air moving in at high speed has to be managed so it is equally feed to each intake. There are a lot of intake ports on that thing. Think about air movement that includes Venturi effect (vacuum) and the Bernoulli effect (pressure and velocity) and how all that works out under that engine cover as the speed increases, changing density and pressure. I know of one Salt Car that mounted and pressure gauges in the air box under hood to measure pressure differences which helped with making a few new air boxes for more equal flow. Yep, the stock production body car was able to make a one-way pass at 235 with a small block Chevy. 219 both way average some box adjustments made the difference on the second pass. ... View more

Several years ago I found 7 cars in a barn in Florida. One was a 1969 Mustang Mach 1. Yep, a 4-speed original car like this. All cars had been driven into the place and parked. After carefully removing and assessing all the cars. I then had a plan to move forward. I'll talk about the Mustang only. First thing was to see if I could rotate the engine by HAND ONLY. No Luck! Second was to pull spark plugs squirt a mixture of ATF and Acetone into each cylinder and let is set for a few days. Next pull valve covers and see if it looked like condensation or corrosion had been there.. All Clean! Now with a socket on the crank pulley, see if it would turn after it had soaked. NO LUCK at all! More soaking and after a few more days-- still stuck.. So NOW, into gear and rocking back and forth-- Still stuck! Keep in mind the guy I got these from and his family all told me about these cars and when and why they all were placed in storage. I had more than one person confirm this Mustang ran great. Well, it was not budging, So I pulled it out of the car and opened it up. What I found was the heat from the ground inside that metal building with a "sugar-sand" floor had been so hot over the years, the crankcase oil vapors had "glued" the pistons to the cylinder walls. Had I put a battery to it or trying pushing it, I am sure I would have broken pistons! Of course the valve guides were also so dry, valves would have clobbered pistons and the engine ruined! My patience paid off! A very through cleaning of all parts, lubing it all up and reassemble was what it took to get the engine running. The rest of course is all the fuel system brake system tires -- on and on. ... View more

Ambulance chasers and guys like Nader are always big news. No one ever complained about cars like the Opel Cadet that had the gas tank INSIDE the passenger compartment behind a cardboard cover on the right side. I saw a fatal fire collision from a rear end crash that I will never forget. Just imagine, raw gas plashing all over the occupants, then it ignites. And then the other one that is not mentioned here is the side impact on GM pickups with the external tanks and for many years, the gas tanks behind the seat in most all make pickups. Now we have these little Smart Cars that will squash like a bug, maybe not resulting in a fire, but who wants to become a pancake? ... View more

Here I go again. I have a very early project V-Twin De Dion-Bouton powered fore-car with a detachable Chater Lea Fore-Carriage. But I need some help with engine restoration. So far not single connection I have made has been able to help me get to a person that can re-cast a barrel and cylinder head. OR take the engine and restore it. My cylinder has been poorly repaired by nasty welds! May as well do it right if I am going to do it at all! ... View more

My cars are original and do just fine. My 1924, 1929 and 1947 have a set of points in them that have been there for longer than I have been breathing. As long as the condenser stays alive, the points will thrive. If I stand on the brake pedal at speed, the tires will lock up---- Why would I change to disc if the tires are just going to skid? I do have cars with updated systems, but really dont see that much of this is necessary. As for electronic fuel injection, I am undecided. Because our gasoline has been so messed up that carbs deal with evaporation of this gasoline and the way carbs work, this gas just doesn't do well unless it is feed into the intake under his pressure. I have been trying some EFI systems on a couple projects. ... View more

OK, My turn to comment. I am a novice when it comes to selecting a transport service. I have only been using transport services for more than 4 decades. Cross country, cross oceans by container or Roll-On-Roll-Off, open and closed, multi-car, single car whatever it takes. I have seen many operators leave the business because they cant make a living at it. I have seen plenty of "Online Transport Services" offering to move your car for the "best price" . What I find it most all the websites offering service are only a person with a phone and an account with the website centraldispatch.com where they post a request and small operators take what comes up that they may possibly be able to make a few bucks for the haul. So the person with the website "broker" agrees with the driver what will be paid to each of them. Some brokers take a hefty chunk and caution the driver not to cut them out of ANY deal that is made with a customer (me). As I always try to get a direct connection with owner operators so I can talk to them about exactly what I need the next time I have a car to move. VERY FEW will jeopardize the connection with the person with the website! Problem is, I want to know my driver, know his equipment and know they will secure my vehicle they way i want it done. If I al talking to a broker, they never know who will take the load and don't know what equipment they have or if they are experienced. I want my vehicle secured to the frame to reduce the wear on chassis, shocks and tires as it bounces across the country. NO wheel/tire straps! I want to know that the vehicle is not off-loaded several times in route or left in a yard to transfer to another truck when available. I want to know what total time en-route and I want to know the name and contact number of the driver. OH and so much more! ... View more

If we have ONLY these five to consider, I would go with the Audi Quatro. I have seen these in rally configuration and they certainly look fantastic in that scenario. ... View more

I shake my head and wonder each time oddball cars show up with no mention of a relatively inexpensive and somewhat available fun car such as the Trabant. Just why do most writers totally miss the mark when it comes to this one? Could it be they are unsafe? No, looking at these on the list, most are very unsafe! Could it be they are not expensive enough to be considered highly desirable investment? Just what it is that they dont make the list? The 2-stroke smoke? I doubt it, you can change the exhaust smoke by using careful mixing and special oil. Or the body made of paper/cotton? No, I think not, this stuff is not far off from fiberglass. Just what is it I am missing here? Yes, I own them and I know that they bring smiles from many and curses from environmentalists. All the more reason to own one, or more!   ... View more

You Kanot hab a Kar Sow Mitout Der Trabi! Here is vun uf mine Trabant Cars to show! This Trabant was found and came to me after a bunch of school kids were turned loose with paint, brushes, glue and a box full of buttons, small toy figures and beads. They were told to make it an art car…. This is how I got it! What can I say? Trabants are 2 cycle, smoke spewing relics of the Cold War Era. Designed to be built very cheap, but sturdy enough for the poor roads of East Germany during the communist occupation. A couple MILLION Trabis ran all over eastern Europe blowing out smoky exhaust. Folks say all the BLACK COATED buildings are a result of Trabant exhaust! With body panels made out of cotton and paper called Duraplast, they don’t rust, but they do have a thin metal framework with these panels attached by rivets. People said, If Two Trabants crash, no need for a tow truck, only a broom and dustpan! FYI- I have NO CLUE how to post an entry! ... View more

The Moskvich has a slightly better reputation than a Trabant, but I still like my Trabis better. ... View more

Looking forward to what Roger has done to improve the facility! ALSO wondering how to get Roger to autograph some Penske/Sunoco Camaro posters I will have in our charity fund raiser car show spring on 2021 in the Napa Valley. ... View more

I'm not convinced that a simulator can give you "seat of the pants" feel as you get in a real car on a real track. I have seat time in many race cars for quite a few decades. I have tried a couple simulators and I don't like them at all. I wonder what Dale Sr. would have to say about them. ... View more

If you take a photo of a car with front wheels turned, you need to know exactly how to capture that shot so the car doesn't look like the front axle is bent or broken. BEST to NEVER take a picture with front wheels turned! Place them straight ahead! ... View more