"Survivors" the new class we can all argue about next! But this seems like a good place to insert something I found to be humorous (and saddening) the other day: An ad for what looked like a really well-preserved 1968 El Camino. The seller stated it was a rust-free "survivor" car that only needed some interior TLC like armrests and a cracked dashboard (seemed likely from the pics). But then he boasted in his ad that just a month ago, he brought it cross-country (to our rust-prone North East are where survivors cars are even harder to discover) and quickly replaced the meek 305 SBC with a much peppier 350, so now it is allegedly great fun to drive ... Until the driver is embarrassed at a stoplight after being antagonized by a teenager in, well, just about any car made by Honda or Toyota (to add insult to injury) in the last 10 years with a V6... So now this beautiful, very original Chevrolet that had made it 53-54 years without being Cosbied, is still not going to win any drag races, still has a SBC under the hood AND he ended its life forever as a "survivor car," and its full appreciation potential. What's worse is, I think that was his business model. ... View more

I had a worse time with the NJ DMV, who told me the classic Jeep I had purchased from Connecticut ( a stones throw away from NJ) needed a title to transfer ownership, versus the CT registration and bill of sale I had.  I told her CT doesn't use titles for cars over 20/25 years old.  She said that was silly I needed a title and it was too late for her to call the main office in Trenton (that closed an hour earlier than them for some reason) to get a supervisory legal opinion so I'd have to come back tomorrow (I had already waited several hours in line and taken time off from work).  I was 100% correct and eventually got it titled another day, with a different DMV clerk.  And everyone knows you folks in NV and AZ are nicer and more polite than North Jersey folk. ... View more

Even funnier, we had one scammer on the phone and he said he was calling from a government office in Washington D.C. that gave out free government grants, but we could hear birds loudly chirping in the background.  I asked him what time it was over there in in his D.C. office? Long pause ...  Our number was blocked, so we strung him along for hours telling him we had sent him the application money via Western Union and he should keep checking his account.  Then told him we had sent it to an account number with some digits interposed.  I feel like we wasted a few hours of his time that he would have used to  scam other people - and we had a good laugh on our lunch break. ... View more

I had a similar experience over 15 years ago. I asked the scammer to send me the over-priced, certified bank check to my office address at the federal prosecutor's office.  He didn't check out my address and sent it straight to the DOJ address.  I called the issuing bank and they told me that check number had been associated with over $500K worth of fraud at that point.  We tried to do some further investigation for a sting, but they weren't located in the U.S. and wouldn't give any domestic addresses, domestic accounts or a real person to contact or meet up with. ... View more

Sajeev, What's with the article having strikethrough text still visible about Carvana title issues?  Is that a hint that although they are supposedly a "legit" national, company, that the same issue plague their sales being 100% online?  I recently was looking at a 2021 Jeep on Vroom, a big online car sales company that's been in existence for 7 years.  Vroom has been around about the same amount of time as Carvana but unlike Carvana, Vroom is not registered with the BBB. When I saw my very first Carvana commercial I had a good laugh.  I told my wife, you can't and shouldn't want to try to buy a car completely online! The giant vending machines and their funny-looking wheel cover-clad trucks made it seem even more surreal - and even funnier .  Well, the desperation of recent supply chain issues, compounded by the pandemic almost made me change my thinking (I have underlying respiratory issues from 9/11) and I started a conversation with Vroom about a "too good to be true" Jeep allegedly located in my home state. But I couldn't see or inspect it - they just want deposits, payment and guarantee your happiness upon delivery on their terms.  When I checked BBB's website I was mad at myself for even considering this considerable (large amount of $) online purchase.  Vroom advertises during the Super Bowl and Carvana is even bigger but both had tons of Craig's List-like horror stories (sorry Craig's List, I have found tons of good deals there on all sorts of goods & services) about customers who shelled out out their hard-earned cash - traded-in their old car, but not being able to get their cars delivered during daylight hours, or titled or insured due to absent paperwork and no customer service to backup the "guarantees" in their commercials.  This is on top of the normal complaints you'd expect about the car not being as good as advertised in the pics.  It seems the same caveats apply to online purchases or new cars from these specialty sites that apply to buying riskier vintage cars.  Glad these Hagerty articles & comments are here to remind everyone of the risks of buying anything you can't see, (including the paperwork) touch, inspect and test drive! ... View more

In the last pic, #6, there is an actual pitchfork visible near some hay, thus - It's a real barn find! But come on dude, unless you've been in a cave sine the 1990's when the collector car market went crazy, (you knew that it had SOME value) how could you not lift a finger in at least a feeble attempt to protect this car a little better? We need to start a 503c organization called "Tarps for Tools," where car guys (& gals) donate a few cents each so people like this are forced to get the big tarp for $3.99 at Harbor Freight! Maybe two for this boat. ... View more

I see a pitchfork in the background of one of the pics - It could actually be a barn! ... Or the old plant a pitchfork in the background trick. ... View more

If its soooo ugly, why did they put Vin Diesel in one in a Fast & Furious movie? (The Fate of the Furious). AMC Matadors don’t sell millions of movie tickets, but sexy ‘71 Roadrunner/GTX’s do. ... View more

Haters gotta hate! I love the 1971-2’s, and I had a ‘73 Road Runner in high school (which was still quick enough for most street encounters in the early 80’s when new cars were still WEAK. Top speed over 140 (tested). I do agree with Hater Bettyemae, however, that the 1976-78 AMC Matador is the ugliest American car ever made. (Maybe that makes me a hater too? But I wouldn’t say it after an article about Matadors!) But as my dad used to say, that’s what makes horse races, (everyone has their favorite) ... View more

Yeah don’t feel bad JagManBill, in the early 90’s I used to drive by what I thought was a “stupid-looking” ‘69 Dodge Charger on my daily commute on rural Route 55. I knew it was a Charger and it had a ‘69 rear end, but I thought who would force a stupid grill on it with fixed headlights just to pass inspection or something?! Everyone knows ‘69 Chargers are supposed to have hideaway headlights! ... Except if it’s the ultra-cool, uber-rare, built for NASCAR production numbers ‘68 Charger 500! This was wasting away at the edge of a field, by the road and mailboxes, with weeds growing around it - which everyone also knows is the universal sign for “Its for sale.” Well many years later when I realized what it was, it was gone. But hey, its not like I actually bought it and then sold it for only a hundred bucks more!! (Sorry Bill.) ... View more

Your article caught my eye with it's witty title, plus I've had a few old Jeeps in my time. But now that "going Commando" has become a well-known catch phrase, I want one! Think of all the opportunities to use that line. As the proud owner of a '47 Woodie Station Wagon I'm getting tired of people reversing the "woodie jokes" on me when I'm just talking about her in a serious manner. Your nightmarish clutch leg and tale of tempting fate with an overheated-motor while waiting for your turn to stage, sounds like every 4th of July parade I've participated in. I think one year I actually may have suffered a mild heat stroke trying to pass on a bit of automotive joy and history to the flag-waving masses lining the parade route. ... View more

Damn Jack! Pretty harsh delivery of the cold, hard science. I liked it a lot, and plan to share it. While you are up on the soapbox, would you mind informing everyone that the 94.5% immunity provided by "the vaccine" only lasts about 6-8 months. Oh, I'm still getting my shots (I don't have tin-foil on my head) and like you I'm hoping the medical research science AND the battery technology arrives in time! ... View more

Great article! At first I thought we had identical property-envy issues as well as day-dreaming-websurfer habits. But, you have built a real garage on your property. Except for the height limitations you can have a car or two, and open the doors and hood and work on it. My super-charming, 1920 gingerbread house’s garage doesn’t even afford enough space to open a door wide enough to enable working under the dashboard of my baby. Fifteen years ago my town’s building inspector even got his panties in a bunch when we re-built our unsafe, crumbling front steps topped with pre-fab, stone steps (you know, the slabs that rest on top of the brick structure of the steps, that are more wear-resistant to salt and ice) that he said were now a couple of inches wider than the old ones, thus putting me over the 75% lot development/improvement ratio for proper drainage under NJ law. (We sawed off the offending overhangs) The stone step “tops” do not even touch the ground, so how can they prevent rainwater drainage? Well, even if I had a math degree, if I wished to build your garage or even expand my garage ... fu-get-about-it! Of course my friend is jealous of my 0.92 car garage because his house, like many in the neighborhood, had their garage space converted to family room space and “sealed up” 35 yrs ago. Nevertheless, your article reminded me of my very same “we could get this for that” web-jaunts in search of VT, NH & ME real estate with a car barn-man cave that suits my ideal picture of retirement; Only my wife is not as keen on the idea as yours. When I show her the same type of gems that you featured above, she usually says something like “nice” but she’d “never want to live there.” 😞 So, I’m content just to look, while my tiny 50’x100” lot with charming house, full of character, just outside of NYC continues to appreciate to new highs (as do my property taxes - thanks NJ). But, I have found, as another reader here pointed out, that Hemmings .com has just the ticket - a tab next to their classified listings that is just for car-collector-friendly real estate, so car guys can dream about the cars they’d want and then a car-barn to put them in. Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to check out CarProperty.com. Since I’m just daydreaming here, it doesn’t matter that the listings are old and expired! ... View more

Cool! But wait, where does one find pipe cleaners these days where smoking is banned everywhere in the U.S. and pipe smoking is even rarer? ... View more

A CPA!? I think you are needed stat in another Hagerty forum that just started today where some guy asked about capital gains upon selling his MOPAR. I think he’s about to get a lot of bad “tax advice” from non-accountant types. ... View more

I’m not usually one to defend the authors of these conversation starting articles BUT, he did open by saying he covered pre-war hood ornaments in a previous article and that this article (and discussion board) was going to focus on the hood ornaments from “the Big Three” from the 40’s & 50’s. Well, I think we all know who the big three were in the 40’s & 50’s, so why are so many dudes shouting out their favs and bashing Hagerty experts for leaving them out? I too have a 1947 Plymouth (woody station wagon) and it sports the clear dome, over chrome (boat-like) hood ornament containing the little Mayflower ship, and yes it still lights up! I too used to think that Pontiac had the only stock, lighted hood ornaments, but was pleasantly surprised when I came across my Plymouth. (Plus the Mayflower is way more PC than a proud native American’s head with a light bulb in it - sorry Pontiac owners) Not sure why author chose to feature a pic of the plainest hood ornaments Plymouth made during this period versus the similar ones that light up? Probably the same reason he chose a picture of a DeSoto ornament on a Ford grill. (See, I ganged up on the author too). BTW, the lit ornament is not distracting at all and the ornament itself blocks most of the light that would shine rearward. So, to the gentleman that asked, I’d be more concerned about the old style, round, 6V headlights not lighting up the road the way we’ve become accustomed, than being distracted by this tiny light. With original headlights every little bit of light shining forward helps! ... View more

Yeah, we wanna see this trash can. At least give us a link. Glad that this auction in particular made extra money, sounds like (from the comments) he had to repay a lot of victims and never should have been able to purchase these treasures in the first place. ... View more

I concur with NoJodas’ comments except for the stock market being in shambles comment. The U.S. stock markets have rebounded (1/2021) since the onset of the pandemic when he posted his comment, and been doing quite well since February 2020. The whole world economy took swift a kick in the balls from the pandemic, including car events, collector car sales and yes, even traditional car auctions. ... View more

Don’t get me wrong, I’d choose the A-Team van to be parked in my driveway over the Mystery Machine every time.  But I’ve been to a lot of car shows, far & wide, and can say I’ve never seen a tribute A-Team van on the street.  ... View more

Zoykes! Sorry Matt, I concur with Spoom and RBS Welder, the most famous & most copied “van” has gotta be the Mystery Machine.  Where’s your research to back up your Fake news?  Next time just say “one of the most”  ... And as a preemptive blog strike, I pity the fool who starts up with the GhostBuster vehicles (Ecto1,2,3) ambulances are in a different class from vans.   🙂 Nice to see the A Team van though, brings back memories.   ... View more

These emblems are all little works of car-guy (or gal) art.  It reminds me of the diversity of the wonderful collection of hood ornaments on display in a room at the AACA Museum in Hershey, PA.  If you get the chance, check it out! ... View more

Loved seeing this car featured on your site.  My dad had one of these and I was also a child of the eighties.  Dad had lots of LTDs: a his and hers pair of 1972’s, a 1978 and then an 1981.  I remember his ‘78 LTD well though.  It was not as nice as this white beauty.  I went with dad to the car dealerships every chance I got.  I remember loving the looks of those hideaway headlights - - very classy!  I even collected a bunch of the brochures in the showroom.  Boy was I disappointed that the silver-grey one we took home had the base, fixed-quad headlights and roll-up (manual) windows.  It took us until the 1981 LTD to finally get some of those creature comfort power accessories.  (I got that well-worn ‘81 LTD from dad by about my senior year of college.)     I never got to drive our 1978 LTD, my first car was the surviving 1972 LTD, after it was handed down from mom, to sis and finally to me.  In retrospect my 1972 LTD was quite the ugly duckling; Fire engine red over red vinyl, white vinyl roof, matching red, steel wheels with poverty caps and sadly, 4 doors (of course the other ‘72 LTD my dad got rid of first was a hardtop coupe!).  My only chance at looking cool was that I had a 351 Cleveland and could hope that other people had seen the Burt Reynolds movie White Lightening! (In fact, I think every single car in that movie was a ‘71-‘72 LTD)  At 16, I was still short enough to lay across the expansive back seat and my head and feet wouldn’t touch the armrests!  Although since that ugly ‘72 LTD I’ve had proper muscle cars, a convertible, Jeep CJ, a modern pony-car, pre-wars, an antique truck, etc, but I’ve never forgotten that big-olde red, land-yacht.  In fact, just had a dream I was driving it the other night.  ... View more

I think it’s the coolest kooky car of the bunch. I also like the look of the Maverick Grabber. ... View more

The Glas 1300 GT Coupe kinda  looks like the product of a one night stand between a Ferrari Lusso and a Ford Maverick.   ... View more

I’m 53 and I been a gearhead long before I got my license the day I turned 16.  I have never been to a drive-in theatre nor have I seen one that was operational anywhere I have lived in PA, DE, NYC and now NJ.  I’ve seen a closed one from outside the gates when I was high school.  I would love to take my classic car to one of these things (or anywhere else at this point).  Where do I sign up?!  To me it would be like getting to participate in cruise night on American Graffiti or going to the Woodward Dream cruise.  Perhaps I’m glorifying it too much from car movies but it seems like fun.  I don’t really care about the ticket prices since I paid $20 for just about every car show I went to last year on Saturdays and Sundays. ... View more

I have to agree with Pagan_Wizard in certain cases, such as our Lemans ->GTO example know that you are devaluing that numbers matching Lemans and lowering its value.  It used to be that the performance (or threat thereof) with the GTO badges or V8 swap made it worth the effort, but subsequently resulted in one less Lemans survivor out there to share and preserve for automotive history.  However, nowadays, a 6 cyl LeMans will draw quite a crowd at a car show as people flock past all the tribute cars to examine your strange “LeMans” like its some of Canadian version of our more familiar Pontiacs.  So by preserving the stock Lemans you’ve helped your bank account, helped preserve automotive history and made yourself more popular, but what about the other consideration - performance or the treat thereof with the GTO badges?  That’s also now a no brainer.  No one at the stoplight is scared of the performance of a real GTO anymore, no even even a Judge.  The non-traction control, 0-6 times of the heavy, steel, legendary muscle arms of the 60’s and early 70’s can be embarrassed by a new V6 Camry so why bother!  Car folks will still love and respect the classic cars and you will enjoy the novel experience of driving them as they were made back then.    However, as others here have pointed out: What if you found it with the engine & drivetrain long-gone? (Like me 90% of the time) Then I agree with the other camp - go nuts with the mods YOU like!  In that scenario, you are only increasing performance and usability.  I actually DO like that that these new “retro parts” make the engine look more traditional.  It’s kind of like a “tribute treatment” for the engine compartment! I like the look of cloth wire surrounds over modern, insulated wires in my engine bay.  Hey, lots of folks were fine with the “tribute treatment” of the exterior! (SS badges on every single Malibu & Chevelle grill)  How is this any different?     If you think these parts are silly now, wait till they are only making these parts to make an electric MOTOR look like an old-school combustion ENGINE!  You will have to explain to your young-ins at the car show at the drive-thru joint, that vehicles used to run on fossil fuel combustion engines (illegal on public roads) powered by things that looked “kind of like that fake carburetor/air cleaner assembly” - and point at those “silly” fake parts.  ... View more

Wow!  Impressive feat with 1941 technology.  1,225,000 perfectly machined parts assembled in 55 minutes.  So why can’t we now mass produce PPE such as simple plastic face shields, paper masks, gloves, gowns and even respirators at a speed and quantity that the world has never seen before?  And if we are why isn’t it making the 6 O’clock news?   ... View more