A friend is trying to get a salvage title for a flood car he bought. Documenting any parts cars or parts themselves to rebuild the car can be a nightmare in some states. To make his car operate, be road worthy and pass inspection he didn't need any parts, only clean the interior and dry out the electronics that had gotten wet. He bought a wrecked donor car to replace his stained seats along with a few miscellaneous parts and made the mistake of trying to document that car as a donor. Even though he bought it from a salvage yard and has a bill of sale and title, they wanted more documentation. I told him to forget documenting the donor car since it wasn't needed for actual repairs, only cosmetics an not to make any mention of it when he goes back to the title office. If asked about parts, tell the truth, it was only flooded part way up the doors and no parts were needed to make it run or road worthy. He wasn't trying to break any law, steal or be deceptive in any way or trying to get a regular title instead of a salvage title. Lesson to be learned in all dealings with the government, never give them too much information, it only gets in the way of doing business. ... View more

My daughter owned a Sky for a few years and loved it but sold it because she never had time to drive it. As a busy realtor, the Sky was totally impractical for her. I considered buying it but I never have time to drive my Corvette and didn't need another car to take up space. The only problems she had were the VVT solenoids, inexpensive fix, and I had to replace the water pump. You must have a tool for that and keep the timing chain tight or else you will be pulling the front cover and resetting the ratcheting chain adjuster.    ... View more

Well, they're not as small as a Honda del Sol or MGB Midget. Even at my medium build 5'8", 165lb it was all I could do to get in my customer's del Sol. And I had to laugh at my wife looking at a customer's Midget and trying to grasp it's size compared to the MGB we owned 15yr prior.  ... View more

Very good tips. Being realistic about your abilities and knowledge is a good one for all collectors and I would add, if you can't fix it yourself don't expect a repair shop to fix it on the cheap because it's an old car. As an owner of a small repair shop customers sometimes bring in their collector cars they're unable to repair themselves. I'm one of the least expensive shops around but working on these can be expensive. Just researching and locating parts can take a lot of time and I expect compensation. There is no way to give a totally accurate estimate for the cost of repairs due to unseen defects because unless it is #2 or better it is almost a given there will be more wrong than first meets the eye. If you have a professional restoration shop restore your car it isn't cheap. Don't expect a general repair shop to be cheap either. Buying the best you can afford is important too. I'm not a big collector but as I retire I plan to get more involved. For years I've seen old dilapidated cars that deserve restoring but need a lot of work that I know I can do. But realizing the time and money involved, unless you just have to have that particular vehicle or have the love of doing the project yourself, it makes more sense to pay a little more and get something finished or nearly finished, at least drivable. Especially if you are limited in what you can do yourself.  Something always to remember; We've all seen the classifieds that go something like, "Over $50,000 invested, will take $15,000." That's because no matter how much you have invested the car is only worth what the market will bear. So be the beneficiary of somebody else's investment and buy the complete or nearly complete collector car. ... View more

This is a great tip. Something else to remember, when organizing plug wires on Ford small blocks with the 1-5-6-2-6-3-7-8 and FE blocks is not to run #7 and #8 wires together. Keep them at opposite ends of your looms. Ford did this because apparently some engines could develop a slight misfire or maybe #8 would fire prematurely due to a magnetic field formed between these 2 wires. I don't know how often it happened or even if it was even a real issue but Ford separated them from the factory. I don't remember if other Ford V8s had that problem and improved plug wires could have solved the issue.  And also, if you're competing for concours awards,  this could take points away.  ... View more

I've been a professional mechanic for 50 years so remember well the points & condenser ignition. Seldom did a condenser fail so from the beginning of my career I was advised by experienced mechanics you're less likely have problems if you keep the old condenser and lived by that rule up to the last points & condenser tune up I did. Of course that is not to say condensers don't fail as is what this story points out. And as the story said, the new ones built in countries where quality isn't the standard means you are now more likely to get a defective part. So, the old adage is very important today, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  Just because your US made condenser is old, don't replace it unless you have to. Then try to find a known good used or NOS parts if possible. ... View more

I would add the Willys Sleeve Valve engine and the rotating block engine that powered all 52 Adams-Farwell cars built from 1901 to 1913. And I see, 32hotrod mentioned the almost forgotten Adams-Farwell engine as well.  ... View more

While I'm not a fan of all the picks, I can understand why they're on the list. But for a couple of them, nothing says "blah" like a 4 door sedan. And I don't mean a 4 door hardtop without a post available in the 50s & 60s. My mommy drove a 4 door sedan. No matter what was under the hood, how they might handle or high style they might be, they just aren't "cool" in my opinion. But I understand the tastes of Gen X, Y, Z & Millennials are not the same as Boomers. Like what you want but I don't have to agree. ... View more

When "Redline 700" came out around 1964, I thought it was one of the greatest movies ever. When I watched it again 20 or so years later I, well shall we say, changed my mind. There was another terrible movie about that time that centered around SCCA racing  that I also watched after I grew up. I don't remember the title but do remember Shelby GT350s were prominent and driven by the wise guy young hero of the movie named JoJo who had one of the dumbest lines in any movie when he was trying to impress a lady: "They call me JoJo because I have Mojo." Well, at least some of the racing scenes in these movies were pretty good since they were taken from actual footage. There are other turkeys out there as well but don't want to remember. ... View more

I always liked the look of the C cab too and remember the first ones in 1957. From 1971 to early 1974 I frequently drove a 1971 C800 refueling truck equipped with the 391 gasoline truck engine coupled to an Allison MT40 transmission with retarder.  I thought the tilt cab made it pretty easy to service. The shift linkage on the ones with a standard transmission was a bit complicated but worked good when properly adjusted and lubed. While important to keep the clutch adjusted, also check the clutch pedal adjustment as well keeping about  1/4" play before the rod contacts the piston in the master cylinder. I've seen some C series restored in various configurations and if I can find one at the right price I might eventually have one of my own.  ... View more

These trucks scare me. Years ago I hit a 1985 Toyota Minivan head on with my 76 F150. I don't know what the impact speed was but I was doing about 30mph before slamming on my brakes and almost killed the driver because of no front end protection. One lady who saw the van the next day thought it had been hit by a train. These 60s cab forward pickups and vans have no crush zone so be extremely wary and careful if you have one.  ... View more

Maybe the marketing people should be required to do these things!! And maybe engineers should be required to randomly go to dealerships and fix the vehicles they design. As you know, that won't happen either.  ... View more

The attention to detail regarding the door pins is, not only an appearance issue but a safety issue as well. The longer the pins allow the door to sag it will become harder to latch. Turning a corner and having your door open is not just embarrassing, it's dangerous.  ... View more

People sure seem to be obsessed with gadgets, especially electronic. I suppose this is nice if you don't have to fix it yourself because you know it is going to break. You have people to do that" and can afford to pay for it. And why one wants this for their street car, I don't know unless it's bragging the rights of, "See what I have." You can't use it to it's fullest potential but you have it. But If one likes and wants this technology that's fine, it's their business and their money. Me, I'll stay old school when it comes to steering. I don't even trust electric power assist.  ... View more

Though it didn't go into production, the 1963 Cougar prototype is my choice. I saw this car around 1997 while it was on loan to Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. I hope when returned to Ford it wasn't damaged while displayed like Craig Breedlove's Spirit of America was.   ... View more

There is a 3rd 351 variant. The 351M for modified looks like a 351C but the two engines have very little in common. I'm not sure if he heads or intakes (2bbl engine or 4 bbl engine) will interchange but the 351M block shares it's design with the 4"x4" 400M, has a different bolt pattern for the transmission and motor mounts are different. It even takes a different starter. A transmission for the 429 and 460 big blocks as well as the starter bolts to the modified block. I believe the fuel pump is the only thing the Modified block has with the Cleveland.  ... View more