I am a fanatic about keeping my vehicles clean. Years ago I found a product called "The Absorber" Not a chamois or a terry cloth, it is made from something called PVA. It works just like a chamois but is by far the best drying product I have ever used on my cars. Use it, ring it out, roll it up and store it back in it's plastic case. I keep one in the trunk of each car and the crazy thing is that I bet I have had the same ones for nearly ten years now and they continue to perform flawlessly. Some of the best money I ever spent. ... View more

I can't speak to how the big auction houses have been affected as I have never attended one in person but I have access to a large New England dealer auction and prices have been near retail in my opinion for a year now. It is crazy what some are paying for a good used car or truck to put on their lot. However, I think the online auction has it's place and will become even more popular. I think it gives people a chance to think rationally rather than emotionally which can happen at a live event. Case in point, I just watched a classic GT car go through the dealer auction this week. I researched the vin number and found that it sold at Barrett Jackson in late 2019. Not a big dollar car but they paid what I thought was a premium price. The car sold at less than 70% of what the buyer had paid just a year earlier. If the dealer made anything on the sale then the person that traded it really lost some money or just wanted something else and didn't care. So yes the market may have done well during the pandemic but I will be interested to see what happens as the economy tries to right itself over the next few years. ... View more

I think this is exception, not the rule. BAT tends to bring some fantastic results depending on the car, it's condition, and many times the seller. There are some sellers there that are recognized by the community as straight shooters and their cars tend to do well. I would definitely drive an Allante for a short while just to experience it, but wouldn't spend anywhere near that to own one. Heck, I don't think I would spend more than 20k on an XLR. I follow Jags on BAT and if they are clean they tend to do far better there than the local market supports. This Allante having such low miles seems to have had its lucky day. ... View more

Some good advice all around. Mine is general in nature but I think it applies to working on cars. A few sayings I have learned over the years, "Experience is recognizing a mistake when you make it for the second time." This goes hand in hand with "Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." And perhaps my favorite is to think clearly when listening to advice from so called "experts" because sometimes "An ex is a has-been and spurt is a drip under pressure." Have a great day everyone!! ... View more

All very cool cars in their own way. I really like the look of the interior in the BMW. Nice to see these builds, all out of a State where the gov't wants to to be "zero emissions" by 2035. Hopefully it doesn't apply to resto's  ... View more

Can't beat an older Chevy 4X4. My 1990 with bed cap and paint matching trailer (yes I have too much time on my hands) hauls almost everything I get myself into. 350 throttle body V-8, no air bags or ABS. Perfect! And at 30 years old it qualifies for classic plates in my state and can only be taxed at $500 dollars of value. What's not to like!    ... View more

I read your comment and had to admit that I wasn't sure which car the SLC represented. I Googled it and found a very interesting article on the "truthaboutcars" website. I would have never known the success those cars enjoyed without first seeing your comment. Thanks for the learning opportunity. I have a new found respect for the car. ... View more

Not listed here, but for me it would have to be a Ferrari 288 GTO. Many years ago now I drove a car hauler for a Ferrari restoration shop as a one off hire for a couple of events. The owner of the shop had a customer appreciation day at the West Point Military Academy that I hauled a couple of car to for him. I got to be around some fantastic cars that day. One of his customers brought his 288. To this day it lives in my memories as one of the most intoxicating looking and sounding cars I have ever been around. I say that almost 20 years removed from seeing it that day.   ... View more

I wanted to tell you about the ones that got away but the tears running down my cheeks just shorted out my keybo... ... View more

Any '98-'03 W210 E Series Mercedes with 4-matic would do the trick for me.  ... View more

Ditto that. "Hey listen to the motor in my '69 Camaro....what you don't hear anything?" ... View more

Thank you. It certainly didn't look that good three months ago. I felt badly that I had let it go a little. The driver side has a cab corner that needs attention but that project is for Spring. Time now to make sure it is all working mechanically before the snow flies here in New England. Luckily I like the mechanical stuff! ... View more

My cars are older but paid for and I keep them super clean, washing and vacuuming once or twice a week. I constantly get comments about how good they look. However, when it comes to the nitty gritty of really detailing a car I just can't seem to take it on. I am happy to support my local economy and hire a detailer. Case in point, I just gave my 1990 Chevy Z71 4X4 some love, new body mount, new core supports, replaced both front and rear bumpers, cleaned and painted the frame, and wet sanded and then clear coated the tired bed cap. I enjoyed every minute of working on it. You'd think getting the buffer out and going to town would be easy after that... nope I couldn't bring myself to do it. By the way the detailer I hired made it look far better than I ever would have. You have to know your limits. 😁   ... View more

I did a few engine transplants when I worked for a local garage, but nothing to tell here. The swap I always wanted to do was to take the drivetrain from a SRT - 10 pickup and go old school putting it into a 1953 Dodge 3 window pickup. Of course we would have to tub it to get the look that is in my mind. ... View more

Well I can understand the siren song of 70's Corvettes. I have wanted a '71 since I was old enough to drive. Somehow I know one is going to end up in the driveway at some point. Yes, cars can reek havoc with your life, but why have a boring life! I recently bought an '05 Jag XJR after buying an '08 XJ and finding it a pleasure to drive. The only problem was that I hadn't sold the '08 yet. Stared at the '05 for several months while until that happened. Now that I have experienced the extra hundred horses of the supercharged XJR I keep staring at XKR convertibles. Horsepower and the top down....yup its going to happen eventually. Last year I saw an 01 Mercedes E430 with 50K miles at an auction. The interior looked like it had never been sat in, the engine bay so clean it looked new. It was so nice that I couldn't get it out of my mind. I didn't need it and didn't really have money for it. I couldn't take it.....I put what I thought was a low bid on it just so it wouldn't bother me as much when it sold. I ended up winning it. The conversation at dinner with my wife was "how was your day?" "Oh it was good honey, I won a Mercedes at the auction today" Bear in mind that I had never even mentioned the car to her. Well in the 30 years we've been together she's had 3 cars and I have had over 20. She just looked at me and all she said was " You are something." (God I love that gal!)  I enjoyed it for a couple of months and sold it for what I paid. Now on to that supercharged convertible! ... View more

“You watch the news and you think America’s really in a bad spot,” Tebo says. “If I go off what I’ve seen so far, I don’t know where the news is getting their information from.” Ryan Tebo is correct! The majority of Americans are good, hard working people just trying to do the best for their families. Wouldn't it be nice to see the mainstream media do a story on his journey. I can certainly understand the urge to see the country as I left college many years ago, after a summer job as a tour bus guide got me hooked, and I spent the next twelve years driving tour buses all over the USA and Canada. Do I sometimes regret not finishing school?  Sometimes, but I have gotten to do and see things that most people will never experience, and I had a cute blond one day as a passenger who has now been my wife for 30 years! Thanks Hagerty for picking up on this adventure. I feel the itch for a good road trip!!     ... View more

Take it for a drive is wonderful advice. I like you have to temper the itch to go too deep down the rabbit hole as I work on my projects. I am currently trying to give the frame on my old 1990 Chevy pickup some love and every time I go under it I want to fix a brake line or change that shock etc... The problem is that there are 3 other cars to take care of too so I have had to be smart about which projects get priority and the money. I have noticed that I have developed a serene patience for just working steadily and have just enjoyed the wrenching. Before the pandemic I was always rushing to get a job done. Now it is a bit like therapy and the satisfaction is deeper when I see the finished work. ... View more

I had access to company vans as fleet manager of a prominent Northeast racing school back in the 90's. Another friends family owned a package store and used to get free tickets to the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal from one of the larger breweries. With four other friends we made the trip to Montreal for 11 years straight for a weekend of great racing, camaraderie, good food, and overindulgence. The subway to and from the race track each day with thousands of fans was an experience in itself. The sound of F1 cars is etched in my memory for life. Those trips still rank as some of my best memories. The US dollar was strong back then and we would feel rich when we converted our cash. We rented the same couple of rooms in a little motel in the old city for years. A few years into our run we called to make our reservation and the owner said "yes I know who you are, you are the guys that bring beer instead of luggage" Racing, brotherhood, and beer. Ah those were good times!  ... View more