If Looks Could Thrill, Today’s Sedans Would Look a Lot Like Yesterday’s

News Flash: Ford will soon stop producing sedans. But since none of their current models look anywhere near as pretty as this classic 1956 Thunderbird, will anyone notice?

By Mark Misercola

Ford’s recent announcement that it was all but abandoning the traditional car market (aka, “sedans”) to devote more resources to SUVs and trucks, brought two immediate reactions to mind:

• The same company that once proclaimed it “had a better idea” with iconic cars like the Galaxy, the 1949 Ford convertible, the 1956 Thunderbird and 1966 Mustang, is basically admitting it hasn’t had a fresh design idea in 40 years, and is raising the white flag. GM reportedly isn’t far behind.
• The great downsizing and reinvention of the traditional American automobile following the double oil shocks of the 1970s has also failed. How else would you explain that 40 years after Detroit proclaimed the death of the American land yacht, more than two-thirds of all vehicle sales are SUVs, trucks, and cross-overs?  And many of those are bigger than the aircraft carriers they replaced.

What makes this all a little surreal is the fact that it’s happening at a time when gas prices and demand are surging. We’ve seen this before. If memory serves correctly and pump prices continue to rise, it won’t be long before the headlines turn from “record SUV and truck sales” to “record inventories of SUVs and trucks.”

Bigger, Better, Faster

How many more times do American automobile manufacturers have to go through the same “Groundhog Day” cycle before they acknowledge and respond to the obvious.  We’re superficial. When it comes to buying cars, looks count. Big time. We love powerful, gorgeous cars. Why?

Ask Detroit. For decades, the Motor City fed us a steady diet of “bigger, better, faster,” and it’s still part of the American DNA. The highly chromed, jet aged designs that were inspired by Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell struck a chord that resonates to this day. Maybe not the same way it was in the 1950s and ‘60s, but how many people do you know – regardless of age or gender – that find boring cars appealing?  And when was the last time you got all nostalgic when you heard “My Little CR-V” on your favorite oldies station?

I’m not an expert on consumer buying trends but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out how this works. Many of us will buy or rent small, look-alike sedans if we have too, particularly when we’re first starting out. But as soon as we can move up to larger SUVs, four-wheel drive vehicles, or flashy sports cars, we do.

I’m also not a big fan of truck and SUV designs either. But when faced with a choice between a boring, look-alike smaller sedan, and a bigger, higher profile (and slightly less boring) SUV or truck, King Kong wins. If you have family and a lot of gear to tow, the decision is a no-brainer. That’s why the family SUV has become the station wagon of the 21st century.

So let’s start with this radical proposal: It’s time to rethink the aerodynamic shape of car designs. Decades of undistinguishable, vanilla platforms that resemble potatoes, teardrops, wedges and bullets have run their course. Toyota is as much to blame here as American automakers. Toyotas are great cars, but everything about them, including the company’s advertising slogan (“Let’s Go Places”), is about as exciting as watching paint peel.

Second, let’s stop blaming gas prices for unappealing designs. There’s no reason why dynamic looking large sedans can’t get great gas mileage. Some of today’s bigger cross-overs and hybrid SUVs are pushing more than 30 miles per gallon. The availability of gas has a bigger impact on consumer buying preferences than prices. When a gallon of unleaded gas hits $4, driving declines and prices eventually recede. So it would take a repeat of the gas lines and oil embargos of the ‘70s to radically change buying habits.

Oils Not Well

But let’s not kid ourselves about the economic and psychological impact of rising gas prices. Every single economic contraction since the disco era has had an oil connection – even the Great Recession in 2008 – and a reaction. We’re still paying for the first Arab oil embargo in 1973; it gave birth to the first generation of ugly, downsized American cars.

Today, 45 years later, we are still struggling with the thinking of that time and the never-ending boom/bust, glut/shortage cycles of oil and successive generations of boring cars. Take away the Mustang, Camaro and Chrysler’s retro muscle cars, which replicate the original designs of that era, are there really any vehicles coming out of Detroit that take your breath away?  It’s crazy, especially when you consider that we have the technology and know-how to permanently put OPEC on ice and end its hold on the way we travel.

Third, let’s stop rewriting history. Do a Google search on “Is America’s Love Affair With Cars Over” and you’ll see no shortage of stories going back decades that conveniently assign an endless number of reasons why we’re not as enamored with our cars anymore. But do they hold water?  

Technologically, today’s cars are far superior and more reliable than those that we continue to cherish from the Golden Years of American automobiles. So we should be spending less on repairs.

They cost more to buy? Maybe. The average new car in 1978 cost $6,379, or the equivalent of $25,831.75 in today’s dollars.  That’s not going to buy you a top-of-the-line BMW. But you can still find more than few pedestrian looking sedans at that price and they’re safer and more reliable than their predecessors.

What about higher gas prices?  If you paid $3 for a gallon of unleaded gas this week, you paid the same on an inflation adjusted basis as you would have for that same gallon in 1978.  And unless you’re still driving a Hummer, chances are your vehicle is getting far better gas mileage than the car you were driving when Jimmy Carter was president.

So no more excuses. I believe the real reason why most Americans don’t love their cars the way they used to is because today vehicles are about as forgettable as a can opener. When I get off the train at night and gaze out at the sea of cookie-cutter cars in the parking lot, it’s sad that they all look the same (mine included) and they all rate a big yawn. It shouldn’t be that way. Let’s hope somebody comes up with a better idea now that Ford has raised the white flag.

Why Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow on eBay Sometimes?

How high is too high?  This rechromed bumper for a 1960 Oldsmobile has been languishing on EBay forever at $1770 plus shipping.

By Mark Misercola

 

If you own a classic car, chances are you’re trolling the intranet for parts. You’ve got your favorite go-to suppliers, maybe a junk yard or two, leads from the local car club, and then there’s always EBay, which is fun to skim through and great for comparison shopping.  And if you’re like me, you spend more time on EBay than all the others combined.

I don’t think it would be overstating it to say that EBay transformed the way owners hunt for parts. Back before EBay’s arrival in 1995, the choices were often long-shots — area junk yards, annual scavenger hunts at Hershey, other local owners or the classified ads in Hemmings. EBay put all that and more in one place in an online auction format for the first time.

Over the years, I’ve bought a lot of parts on EBay for my cars and have rarely been disappointed.  My greatest finds have been pretty mundane: Bulk shipments of period correct oil filters and fuel pumps, dashboard switches, headlights, clocks, side mirrors, moldings and trim.  Occasionally I will find a long sought-after accessory that I never thought would appear.

For the most part, I’ve found the prices competitive and many of the sellers are motivated for repeat business. But that’s not always the case. I’m amazed at how many parts listings languish online at prices that are absolutely absurd. Usually these are for hard-to-find parts, rare NOS items, high-end or fairly large items like bumpers, hoods and engine components. In fact, some of the same parts that are on EBay today have been listed on and off again for years without selling.

 

All that Glitters

One of my favorites is the rechromed front bumper pictured at the top of this blog for my 1960 Oldsmobile. It has been listed and re-listed multiple times on EBay in recent years for the wildly optimistic sum of $1,770 plus shipping. The bumper – both top and bottom halves – looks fabulous. But I know if I pull mine off my car right now and march mine it up to my local rechromer I can have them both done to the same quality standard for about $1000.  So unless I was desperate for another one, why would anyone spend that kind of money on a rechromed bumper n EBay?

Next on the list are a pair of convertible quarter panel windows that would fit on any 1959-or ‘60 GM convertible, including mine.  The glass is cracked on one side and the chrome looks like it’s been through a war. So in addition to new glass, both windows would also need to be rechromed. But before you get to that point, you will need to cough up $1,600 for the windows plush shipping.  

The same can be said for parts on my 1966 Toronado. The vacuum operated hideaway headlight system, which was problematic from the start, is no easy fix. The headlight switch with vacuum ports tends to leak from behind the dash board. And the one-year only canister actuators at the front of the car often crack and are just as unreliable. Yet a quick search of headlight switches finds one “OEM Delco Remy” that may (or may not be NOS) selling for $345.  It’s a hard-to-find part that’s been listed before and at that price will likely be there again. That’s a lot of money for a part that may or may not work.  

A set of headlight actuators for the ’66 are also for sale now for $525.  This is a fairly new listing but at that price I’m betting they’re likely to become fairly old in short order, particularly when more reliable electric replacement actuators are now available at a much lower cost.

I appreciate that these are rare finds, mainly because there aren’t that many survivors left, and that the owners wants fair prices when they have something truly special. But when no one is biting, what’s the point of relisting it again and again and again at the same price?  If I was a motivated seller, I would take a cue from the lack of bids or “buy it nows” and drop the price. After all, isn’t that the point? Sell the damn thing.

Rarely Speaking

Shortly after I bought my convertible I picked up a back seat speaker grille for my convertible from another Olds owner. I bought it because it came with an original intact speaker that would have replaced the temperamental back speaker on my car. But when I disassembled it, the speaker head literally crumbled in my hands.  For $50, it wasn’t a big loss, and I still had the grille which was in decent shape if I ever need it. But then I noticed a similar rear seat and grille assembly (minus the speaker) pop up on EBay for $650. The big difference? This one was billed as “rare” and “in near mint condition.”

When I finished cleaning mine up, it looked in near mint condition too. So I took a chance and listed it for sale in the Oldsmobile Club of America magazine without a price.  Shortly afterwards, I got a call from the owner of a ’59 Olds convertible, which used the same part. “How much are you looking for it?” he asked. “Well, there’s one going on EBay right now for $650,” I replied. “I saw it. And at that price, you can keep it,” he said.  I got his point and it stuck with me.

 

Today, you can bid on an “original” chrome rear seat speaker grille on EBay “with a few light specks in the chrome” just like the one I have for $20.  Finally, some sanity has prevailed.

Just so you know, I haven’t sold anything yet on EBay, but my spare parts collection is getting close to the point where I’m considering thinning out the herd for more shelf space. When I do sell I’ll do my homework and price them to move. If I list a rare part, I’ll ask a fair price. And if it doesn’t move after a reasonable time, I’ll lower until it does.  

Meanwhile, I’ll continue to troll EBay for virtual prices and keep reminding myself that all that glitters online may not be as golden as advertised.

Buyers Beware the Ads of March: If It’s Too Good to be True, It Probably Is

The dream deal for this 1955 Oldsmobile convertible turned out to be a digital scam.

By Mark Misercola

As soon as I saw the online ad I knew it had to be too good to be true. The bucket-list, two-tone red and white 1955 Oldsmobile convertible of my dreams was staring back at me in fully-restored living color for $26,900, or roughly $30,000 below what it should be going for in the condition it appeared. But curiosity got the better of me last November and I sent an email to the owner and asked if the car was still available. The location was listed as Saddle Brook, N.J., a two-hour drive away.  But I never heard back so I let it go (sort of). It was hard not staring at the pictures and then looking at the nearly identical Danbury Mint model that’s been sitting on my credenza for years.

Right before the holidays I showed the ad to a friend and fellow classic car lover who lit up as soon as she saw the pictures. “Why don’t you send him a note and ask if the car still available?  Tell him if it’s legit you’ll pay cash.” I dismissed it as crazy particularly for a car on the internet. But then again, I thought, it couldn’t hurt to send the owner another note as my friend suggested.

A few days later the response came back from the owner, a fellow named Jacek, who said he and the car weren’t in New Jersey. They were both in Poland.  (Go ahead and roll your eyes.)  His story, as he wrote it in his own words, goes like this:

“Due to the high volume of internet scams, I give you the chance to receive the car at your home address BEFORE i receive my money for it. I appreciate your interest but I want to let you know that the car is located in Poland. I purchased the car in US and I moved to Europe, in Poland the law is different recording the registration of a vehicle that is outside of Europe, it is expensive and difficult to register this car in Poland, this is the reason of selling. Instead of letting it sit in the garage I’ve decided to sell it at low price. I can ship the car to you, also I can be responsible for the transport cost and you’ll pay after inspection. The car looks and runs fantastic! Within 19 days you will get the car and you will have a period of 2 days to inspect the car and when the inspection period ends, if everything is fine you can make the payment. CLEAN TITLE IN HAND, NO LIENS OR ISSUES!”

On the Hunt

I nearly dismissed it again right then and there, but after some prodding Jacek sent along the VIN number and more pictures. Another classic car friend quickly tracked down the VIN. And it turned out the number and the car were legitimate. This particular ‘55 Olds had been restored by a well know restoration shop in New Jersey. A year ago, it made its way to the world’s largest indoor classic car auction house in Atlantic City, but the owner rejected an offer of $46,000. Another friend from the Olds Club of America who attended the auction confirmed it and said the car looked as good as the pictures indicated. From there, the Olds appeared over the summer on EBay and (if I’m reading the expired listing correctly) sold for $57,000.  The odometer at the time had about 4,000 miles less on it than what Jacek said is on it now.

In later emails and two subsequent phone calls, Jacek said he bought the car here and didn’t realize it would cost him as much as $18,000 to register it in Poland. I was able to confirm the registration story through a friend of another classic car colleague who holds dual citizenships in both the US and Poland. So parts of Jacek’s story, and the legitimate VIN number on the car, made sense.

The conversation continued. Jacek said he would ship the Olds to the US at his expense. Once it arrived I would have 48 hours to inspect the car. If the car checked out and I was satisfied that it was everything that he owner said it was, I would buy the car.  And if it didn’t, Jacek would ship it back to Poland at his own cost.  

He never asked for money, bank accounts, or ID. And just to keep it that way, a classic car repair shop that I do regular business with agreed to accept delivery of the car and inspect it for me. So the deal was set, the car was ready to ship from Poland to Coral Gables, Fla., and then up to New England.  And then things began to turn. A week later paperwork came through from a shipping company in Poland with the rather dubious name of “PU Communications,” along with a shipping date, tracking number, and finally a note at the very end with terms, requiring me to send the shipping company a 30% deposit (or $8,070) before the car ships.

The shippers seem to have thought of the obvious as the very next paragraph below graciously provided the answer (in less than perfect English):

Why we need this deposit?

 

• We have asked for a deposit to our bank account so we can be sure that you are a legit buyer. Bank transfer is the only service that has ultimate authentication of the identity of the sender of funds;

• The amount you will send to our bank account will be on hold until you will decide to keep the merchandise ( vehicle );

• The deposit won’t be released to your seller until you will decide to keep the merchandise ( vehicle ) and at final will represent a part from the final price of the merchandise;

• In case that you don’t keep the vehicle the deposit will be return to you in full ( including bank taxes );

 

After you complete the transfer of funds we request the following details:

 

• The scanned receipt from the bank.

• Upon payment verification, we will ship the merchandise at the address you (or the seller) have provided to us.

 

• After the vehicle is received, inspect it and receiver sign for reception we shall transfer the funds to the seller.

I Wasn’t Born Yesterday

This is the part of the story where I called Jacek and said, “Do you think I was born yesterday? I’m not giving anyone 30% down for a car I haven’t seen. ”

His robotic response was just: “OK, fine. I will sell it to someone else, good bye.”

End of story? Not quite.  The good news for me is I never gave the owner a dime.  But a search of the shipping company revealed a flimsy website and multiple forum posts with stories about the company and scamming activities. How much of it all is fact and how much is fiction, I’m not sure. But my experience speaks for itself.  

So I’m passing along the story to all of you as a cautionary tale because the age old adage, “buyer beware,” is as relevant now to buying classic cars in the Digital Age as it was when they were new.  Shop carefully my friends.

Bull Market Ahead for Classic Cars: Isn’t it Obvious?

When the top goes down the price goes up. But is this 1955 Chevrolet
Bel Air Convertible worth more today than it was a month ago because of January’s
auction results?

By Mark Misercola

Jan. 29, 2018 — With the seemingly astronomical results from last week’s Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction, coupled with the $1.79 million selling price for the 1948 Tucker that served as Preston Tucker’s personal car earlier this month at the RM Southeby’s sale in Arizona, one might reasonably ask if this might be the start of the long-awaited bull market for classic cars?

And driving that question is the ultimate ulterior motivation question: “Is my classic car suddenly worth more?”

Hold on to your horsepower. While it’s true there were some unbelievable records set in Arizona in January, the marquee results are overshadowing the reality that total vehicle sales fell 5 percent over 2017, and 84% of the cars put up for action were sold, according to My Classic Garage.  

As the site notes, almost “all of the weakness was at the very top of the market” largely as a result of overheated prices in 2014 and 2015.

If you don’t own seven figure Ferrari, or a highly desirable muscle car, it will come as no surprise that market has been fairly stagnant for classic cars. Many typical Happy Days and Wonder Years cruisers are fetching about what they did five years ago or more.    

I’m not an appraiser, nor do I have a crystal ball that can predict where prices are heading. But as Yoga Berra once said, “you can observe a lot just by looking.”  The insights that I can offer on where prices are heading come mainly from having watched the classic car price cycle play out before.  So here’s my two cents, grouped conveniently by categories that reflect the obvious and the not-so-obvious.

The Really Obvious: The Impact of Barrett-Jackson

Barrett-Jackson’s impact on the collector car market can’t be underestimated, regardless of how you feel about how the company has changed the industry. I’m not getting into that debate (it won’t change anything) but I do believe Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction is different from every other car auction on the planet. Scottsdale draws some of the biggest collectors in the world and because it is so high profile, it stirs passions for older cars like no other show, including Barrett-Jackson’s own regional auctions around the country.

If I were to every entertain the notion of selling one of my Oldsmobiles, I’m convinced the best place for it would be at the Scottsdale auction, not the Northeast regional event in Connecticut, where I live, or in Las Vegas or Florida. The prices in Scottsdale and the TV ratings are all higher, and the emotions run deeper.

Do the results of Barrett-Jackson’s January flagship auction mean the market for all classic cars is strengthening and that one of my cars could fetch a price comparable to a similar model that crossed the auction block in Scottsdale? I wouldn’t bet the mortgage on it. My cars weren’t driven by Steve McQueen, they’re not as scarce and desirable as a Tucker, and I doubt if any former U.S. presidents will promote them as they comes across the stage.  

But it’s always better to have stronger prices in Scottsdale than weaker prices. And it doesn’t hurt to speculate about how much your classic is worth now that there’s a higher benchmark to compare it with.

The Not So Obvious: It’s the Economy, Stupid!

Generally, classic cars appreciation rates follow the economy. When it’s strong and people feel confident about their jobs and futures, they’re more willing to spend on extras that they wouldn’t buy during an economic downturn. Until recently, the U.S. economy has been pretty anemic going back to 2008. And if you track classic car price guides you will find that everyday American classics – the boulevard cars that ruled the turnpikes in the the ‘50s and ‘60s – have languished in the shadow of the Great Recession.  

But that may change if the US economy is finally emerging from its slumber thanks to a combination of tax cuts, low unemployment and inflation, bonuses that didn’t exist a year ago.

Obviously: Some Other Good News

Unless I missed something, no one is producing old cars in mass quantities anymore. And as much as we’d like that to happen, the stark reality is every year there are fewer and fewer old cars – and potential classics – on the planet.  

A good rule of thumb is that about 1% of a car’s original production run will still be on the road after 25 years.  In fact, a 2006 study by Oak Ridge National Labs compared aggregate survival rates in 10-year increments among cars produced in 1970, 1980 and 1990. Not surprisingly, fewer than 1 percent of the models built in 1970 and 1980 made it to their 30th birthdays. Cars produced in 1990 benefited from greater dependability and rustproofing techniques. But even still, only 6.6% of these cars are expected to make it to 2020.

The toll from last year’s hurricanes in the South may be the highest in decades. And a lot of those cars are never coming back. So no matter how you look at it, the supply of older cars is diminishing. If demand grows, prices should naturally follow.

Not What You Obviously Want to Hear

Is there a “next generation” of classic car owners who will embrace the hobby and care for the vehicles baby boomers own now? The evidence, at least so far, isn’t promising. An illuminating 2014 story by Hagerty Group VP Rob Sass in Car and Driver (How Baby Boomers Created Today’s Classic-Car Market—and How They Could Crash It) paints a not-so-rosy future ahead for classics. Consider: At the time of publication, Hagerty estimated there were roughly 5 million cars in the U.S., of whch 58% were owned by baby boomers born from 1946-1964.  Many are retiring and simplifying their lives.

“Our data says that the median age of collector-car owners is 56 years. The oldest boomers are approaching 70, and their interest in the hobby is starting to wane. We won’t see a generation of similar size until the so-called millennials hit their peak earning years in a few decades. It’s questionable whether they will care about the cars of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers—or any cars, for that matter.”

Nevertheless, the article concludes that car collecting as a pastime won’t fade away, but it will evolve and change. “The internet continues to transform it, ameliorating the scarcity of parts, bringing owners together to share information, and increasing the supply of cars. Many of the old rules about what defines a collector car and the relative ­values of different types are likely to be challenged. The Holy Grail or Hemi ’Cuda of the next generation may well come from abroad—an E30 BMW M3 or an Alex Zanardi–edition Acura NSX.”

I’m not sure I agree with all of it. Time will only tell for sure.  But the last line in this article is a gem; something I often think about whenever I start playing the “what’s my car worth” game in my head.

“One thing won’t change, however: The happiest people in the hobby are the ones who buy what they like first and let the market worry about return on investment.”

Would You Buy a Classic With Bitcoins, if You Could?

You could buy a classic like this 1959 Cadillac with Bitcoin. But is there more here than meets the eye?

By Mark Misercola

With so much attention focused on the buying frenzy surrounding Bitcoin and the inevitable comparisons to classic cars as investment values, one of the most overlooked and perhaps under-asked questions about the cryptocurrency in the automotive press has to be, “Would you buy a classic car with Bitcoin if you could?”

The short answer (with apologies to Dr. Suess) is yes, you could buy a classic car with Bitcoin if you find a seller who would be willing to accept Bitcoin as payment. But as with many things involving classic cars, there is always more to the short answer than meets the eye.

Before we get to the specifics, let’s take it from the top. First, for those of you who may not be familiar with cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is the world’s most popular virtual currency. Such currencies are not tied to a bank or government and allow users to spend money anonymously. They are basically lines of computer code that are digitally signed each time they are traded.

Second, buying anything on wheels including a classic with Bitcoin isn’t as hard as used to be.  New car dealers have been accepting Bitcoin as payment for several years, and the list grows by the day. It’s not just the high end of the auto market that’s embracing Bitcoin, you can buy Chevrolets and Fords with the digital currency as well. One online used car reseller – Beepi – started accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment in 2014.

You could even buy a house with Bitcoin if you wanted too.  In 2014, a buyer used 2,739 Bitcoins to buy a $1.6 million home site in Lake Tahoe. In 2017, a single-family home in Austin, Texas was purchased with Bitcoin. (The buyer used Bitcoin, but the seller had it converted to dollars during the transaction.)

In September 2017, British entrepreneurs Michelle Mone and Doug Barrowman unveiled a Bitcoin-priced real estate development in Dubai.

So it’s little wonder that classic car dealers are getting into the action, as well. Annapolis Class Cars, not all that far from the nation’s capital, advertises that it accepts Bitcoin for payment right on its website.

Which is great, particularly if you’re one of those people like my friend at Starbucks who bought in at $1,000 and has ridden the investment rollercoaster all the way to $24,000 (as of Dec. 31, 2017) and wants to take some profits off the table.

But Would You Buy a Classic With Bitcoin?

All of which begs the following questions:

• “Why would you use Bitcoin to buy a classic?”

• “What are the risks?”

• “What are the benefits?”

• “Will you ever be able to buy a classic from an individual owner with Bitcoin?”

Now it gets a little murkier, and even the best answers leave something to consider. On the one hand, advocates of Bitcoin site its security, speed and cost advantages. For example, Annapolis Classic Cars’ website says, “Bitcoin is a decentralized, digital currency which offers a faster and more secure form of payment for our clients.”

Campbell Ford Lincoln, a new car dealer in South Bend, Indiana, adds: “There are many advantages to buying a new car with Bitcoin.  From reduced fraud risk to lower costs that come from avoiding bank fees to Bitcoin’s peer-to-peer network and more, Bitcoin has a lot to offer. But the best reason at all?  Here at Campbell Ford, we’re able to provide those purchasing a vehicle with Bitcoin with flat-rate pricing due to lower payment processing fees

Other online sources are more cautious. A writer in a forum on bitcointalk.org recently warned:  “If you buy a car for Bitcoins you will need to pay a lot of fees to bring the car to your house. The transport fee is very expensive for this kind of stuff (at least where I live). And it’s necessary to find a trusted seller. I think the risk is higher because the price of a car is much higher than other stuff people usually buy.”

Betting the House

And therein lies the rub. Because Bitcoin is a digital currency and not printed, distributed or controlled by a central authority, many sellers won’t accept it. Because the price of Bitcoin can fluctuate dramatically, it’s hard to set a price of the car and have it sit for very long.  And because a Bitcoin-based purchase is essentially considered a cash transaction, buyers have little protection or recourse should something go wrong.

There’s also Uncle Sam to consider too. The IRS treats virtual currency as property for federal tax purposes. According to mymortgageinsider.com, the IRS considers Bitcoin as an asset, much like gold, equities or fixed-income bonds.

“If you sell Bitcoins to buy a house, profits from the sale will be subject to either the short-term or long-term capital gains tax. If the Bitcoins were held longer than 12 months, a 15% tax rate will apply. If they were held for less than 12 months, the rate could be as high as 20%. So using Bitcoin to buy a home could cost you much more than using dollars.”

A best case scenario for a classic car buyer would go something like this: The desperate owner of the red ’63 split-window Corvette coupe of your dreams agrees to a ridiculously low price and will accept Bitcoin as payment on Tuesday. By the time the transaction is finalized on Friday the price of Bitcoin jumps several thousand dollars and you’re delirious with joy, the IRS be damned. Your dream car is now a dream come true beyond anything you imagined.

But a worst case scenario could just as easily go like this: Between Tuesday and Friday the price of Bitcoin tanks and now the cyber currency funds you were banking on to pay for your classic are worth thousands less. You’ve agreed to the deal, so you’ve got to make up the difference. Then you discover beneath the fresh red pain lurks a rebuild that’s of such immense proportions that even Dan Short from Fantomworks would walk away. But because you had to dip into your savings to pay for the car, you don’t have enough left over to do a makeover.

And just to make matters worse, the IRS shows up at your door shortly afterwards (even though you came to the conclusion there would be no tax ramifications of selling your Bitcoins) because, well, that’s what the IRS always does.  Now that red, split-window couple of your dreams becomes your biggest nightmare.

So as with all things involving classic cars, if you’re thinking about buying one with Bitcoins think very, very carefully. What looks good from a distance, may not stand up under closer scrutiny, and what may seem like a great deal may in reality be something very, very different. That may change with time. We may even see want ads in Hemmings from individual sellers someday that state: “Will accept Bitcoin transactions.”  But we’re not there yet and you’ve been warned.

Since it is the editorial policy of this blog to always end on a positive note (it’s really hard being a pessimistic classic car owner), I will leave you with this “would-of, could of” note of hope on the topic: If the stars all aligned and I was able to come to terms on a bucket list classic car with a buyer who accepted Bitcoin what would it be? I’d rush out, cash in my Bitcoins, and buy what was considered the automotive gold standard of the world in 1959 – a red Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz with fins that soar ever upward – kind of like Bitcoin — at least for the moment.

Post-Holiday Triumphs and Setbacks

 

With some help from retired Oldsmobile electrical mechanic Charles Herles the recalibrated speedometer on my Olds Toronado is now installed and working. The same can’t be said of my side mirror.

By Mark Misercola

One of the last gremlins on my ’66 Olds Toronado is now history, thanks to a pre-Christmas visit and assist from Charles Herles, a retired Oldsmobile electrical mechanic from Shelton, CT., who wrestled for more than three hours with my finicky dash and successfully installed a recalibrated speedometer. This was the last of several interior electrical issues plaguing the car and the one that bothered me the most. Because unless I had the GPS on I was never sure how fast I was really going. When the speedometer said 50, I was actually going 40, when it said 65 I was doing 53, and when it was 80 the car was actually going about 65 mph.

I’ve learned the hard way that working behind the instrument panel on this car – as with many other classics from the ’50s and ‘60s – is a job best not attempted alone. Lurking behind the front panel is a snake pit of brittle wires, vacuum hoses and relays that rival anything you would have found at Mission Control during the Apollo era.  One wrong move and instead of one repair you could be looking at four or five. As Clint Eastwood used to say, a “man’s got to know his limitations.” And tackling this alone definitely falls in that category for me.

Without Herles’ assistance I would have been at it for days. The Olds service manual makes the job look fairly straight forward – drop the steering wheel, unscrew the dash panel, pull it out from the dash board, unscrew the back and front of the instrument cluster, remove the speedometer and replace it.

Dropping the steering column and pulling the panel out from the dash board wasn’t the problem. In fact, unscrewing six of the seven screws on the back of the instrument cluster was a snap. Then came the seventh one, which was blocked by the Wonderbar AM/FM radio, which was surrounded by wires and vacuum hoses. To get to it, Charles had to remove the brackets holding the radio in place and gently back the radio out of the dash panel. The brackets fought him for 45 minutes before they finally capitulated.

That was only the first act of the radio saga. The Wonderbar decided to fight re-entry as well, and that drama lasted almost as long (and was accompanied by a number of colorful metaphors). The good news is the recalibrated speedometer is working as it should. Best of all, we didn’t lose any of the other dash board controls, such as the turn signals, heater fan, or windshield wipers  in the process.  

Mirror, Mirror: What a Pain

The not-so-good-news is my remote outside mirror.  The one that came with the car is pitted and the chrome plating is nearly gone around the mirror bezel.  It’s also not the correct mirror for my car. (A little research on the part number revealed it was used on some Pontiac, Buick and Oldsmobile models from 1965-’68 and are much easier to find than the one-year mirrors that Olds produced in 1966.) Nevertheless, I found the correct remote outside mirror off a ‘66 parts car a year ago with no pitting and perfect chrome, and the game plan was to have it installed when the car was repainted in the fall.

What I didn’t know at the time was the interior remote knob was not working and could not be swapped out with the one already on the car. This was my mistake. I should have checked it more carefully when it came in. So when the car was being repainted in October, the owner of the collision shop called with the bad news.  When I picked it up, he said if “you get another one you have to find one exactly like the one that’s on the car because the base is a different size and we’d have to do some patch work on the door to drill new holes and repaint the door to cover up the imprint from the base gasket.”

That’s not what I wanted to hear and I’ve been kicking myself ever since. There are old Pontiac mirrors exactly like the one I need floating around on the internet at reasonable prices, but they would all need to be re-chromed.  New reproductions are available from Original Parts Company and that would solve the problem, but before I drop $200 on a new unit I have to make sure the base of the mirror is the same and it will fit in the holes on the door. If not, then I have to mirror that came with the car will need to be re-chromed.

I also have a gorgeous remote mirror from a ’67 Toronado that would work as well. But it’s got a different base configuration that would involve surgery and repainting the door.

As frustrating as this it, it’s not the first time I have had problems with outside mirrors. My ’60 Olds came with a really nice driver side mirror from a ’58 Chevy. It’s actually better looking than the mirror that came with the car. If I replaced it with the correct model, I would have to re-drill the holes and repaint the driver’s door.  At shows, an astute judge could ding me for not having the original bright work on the car.  But at some point you have to ask yourself how much are two points on the score card worth?

So stay tuned. I’m hoping my chrome guy in Hartford will be able to re-chrome the mirror that came with the car. If he can’t, then it’s on to Option B.

 

Be Careful What You Wish For This Year

Santa baby, please bring me eight (that’s right eight!) wide white wall radials that look like bias ply tires for Christmas!   Photo: Coker Tires

By Mark Misercola

In year’s past when my children were younger, I would do everything possible to work my classic cars into the holidays.  Perhaps my best effort was when Santa showed up at a local Christmas in July cruise and I had my daughter prod Santa as to why he hadn’t yet seen fit to bring me a two-tone 1955 Oldsmobile 98 convertible.  We rehearsed the question ahead of time, and qualified it with, “You know Santa, my daddy has been a really good boy this year …”

I suspect this particular Santa had a lot of experience with just such requests, as his response (as relayed directly to me shortly afterwards) was straight out of the Santa request playbook. “Little girl, tell your Daddy to keep being good and someday he’ll get his ’55 Olds.”  That was 10 years ago, and I continue to wonder if his continuing reluctance to grant my wish had anything to do with the fact that he arrived and departed in a 1964 Thunderbird convertible.

The ’55 Olds is still at the top of my Christmas list, but since I’m out of garage space (for the moment) it will have to wait. My Classic Car Christmas Wish List is a little more restrained and much more functional this year.  And unless Santa has an elf who specializes in repairing nearly impossible to repair parts and granting less than realistic requests, some of what I’m about to ask for might just be rejected out of hand. But what’s the harm in asking?

5. A Free Replacement Side Mirror

Yes, you read correctly. Free. My 1960 Olds has gone through three side mirrors in the past nine years. All have fallen victim to shoddy workmanship. Eventually, the mirror socket falls out of the base holder, and if I’m lucky it doesn’t scrape the car door and crash to the ground. Last summer on the way to the a cruise, I pulled off a nearly impossible feat while driving. I caught the mirror just as it was slipping out of the base before it dinged up my door. I have complained loudly about this to the manufacturer and suggested that the third replacement should be free, but the best I could get was a 10% discount and free shipping, since this is the only mirror that will work on my car.  I won’t name names, but I’m sure those who are family with late great Chevy parts will recognize where it comes from.  

4. A Rebuilt Vacuum Fuel Pump that Works Correctly

Some of you may recall one of my earlier blogs detailing my run of bad luck with fuel pumps. My ’60 has chewed up nine pumps in nearly a decade, and my ’66 Toronado went through three (non-vacuum) pumps before I found one that works properly. I thought I had finally gotten on the right track with the ’60 last summer when I picked up a rebuilt OEM US made fuel pump and then sent it off to a well- regarded rebuilder in Massachusetts for another rebuild.  It came back with new ethanol resistant rubber and screws that have held the twin saucer sections together like a drum.  That’s the good news. The bad news is there is no vacuum coming out through the top half of the fuel pump and it’s affecting the heating system and engine performance. So once again I’m looking at tearing it out of the car, sending it out for repair, and praying that someone can get these things operating correctly.

3. Two Antique Reproduction Batteries

Two of my Oldsmobiles need reproduction antique Delco batteries with caps that mimicked the look (without the water) of those that came with the car originally. I do this because astute judges will surely take notice that the Wal-Mart brand batteries that are in the cars now were not produced in 1960 and 1966, respectively. Depending on the event and how picky the judges are, I will lose 2-5 points each for not having period correct batteries.  At $300 a pop, period correct reproduction batteries are a pain in the wallet and often don’t last as long as the Wal-Mart specials. But they mollify the anal retentive beast in me who hates to lose even a point over a part that isn’t exactly like it was the day the car came out of the showroom.  

2. Eight Wide White Walls that Look Like Bias Ply Tires

I’ve had it with bias ply tires that don’t swim all over the road and are nearly impossible to keep clean. I’ve had two sets of Lucas Tires that have worn poorly and are pot-marked with grey dimples, despite my best efforts to follow the manufacturer’s cleaning recommendations. At $200+ a pop, they should hold up better.  I am more than ready for radials but if I show up with anything but bias plies at an AACA meet, I will automatically lose five points per tire. That means everything else has to be perfect (including the battery) in the scoring department to qualify for a badge. Talk about pressure!  At least one major classic tire manufacturer makes radials that look and are labeled as bias plies, which could solve the problem. So Santa, please pull off the impossible and wave your hand (or whatever you do for impossible requests) and bring me eight radial wide white walls that look like bias plies.

1. A 3D Printer that Will Reproduce Any Broken Part or Car

One of my very first blogs detailed the trials and tribulations I had trying to find a replacement turn signal actuator for my ’66 Toronado. There are virtually no replacement parts around, and when you do find one, they break because they’re brittle from age.  So a 3D printing company that I found in Hemmings reproduced the part and solved an age-old problem that has plagued many first-generation Toronados.  Now, as 3D technology improves and printing costs come down, I want more, including the ability to manufacture a new part – any part – on the spot with a 3D printer of my own.  And just to make it challenging Santa, I need it to be portable so I can take it in my trunk and on trips when my cars are most likely to break down. I’m tempted to go for broke here and ask for a 23rd century replicator from Star Trek that will reproduce the entire car on the spot. But I won’t get ahead of myself … just yet.

These are the biggies on my wish list. There is one more request that would really make my year, and at least three of my requests unnecessary – a full season of problem free driving in each of my cars. So far, that hasn’t happened. I’m not sure how Santa would arrange it (I hear he can work magic) but if that were to happen, I literally wouldn’t know what to do with myself in between car shows and cruises.  That, in itself, might be a problem for me, and why it’s probably a good thing that some of the items on my wish list remain wishes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Classic Blast From the Past: Drive-Ins and Old Cars

Drive-in theaters and old cars are still a classic combination!

By Mark Misercola

A column about drive-in theaters might seem a little out-of-place as winter weather sets in throughout the Northeast, but drive-ins and classic cars are two related topics I never grow tired of regardless of the weather. I’ve been an avid drive-in fan nearly all of my life. Drive-ins were a fixture in my family when I was growing up in upstate New York.  I try to take one in every summer with my family when we visit. And now, decades later, I’ve actually taken my classics to one of the few surviving drive-ins in Connecticut where I live. The experience is very much a blast from the past.  

Though drive-ins have been around since the 1930s, the golden era for outdoor theater came much later during the Happy Days era.  If you grew up in the 1950s and ’60s, chances are you have fond memories of drive-in theaters and classic cars before either were considered classics. Both are inextricably linked — they boomed together as baby boomers grew up, and some might argue they flamed out together as times, real estate costs, and the advent of home video.

Certainly, the statics bear this out: After peaking at more than 4,600 drive-in theaters in the 1960s, there are fewer than 350 drive-ins in the US today. In my home town, there were more than a dozen drive-ins in operation at one time and on the weekends they were all packed, too.  Today, there are just three survivors.

Drive-In Night

Friday night in my family was drive-in night during the summer. After the Flintstones were over at 8 pm, we all piled into the family wagon for a double-feature, popcorn and an evening of family bonding that seems so distant today.

Back then, getting to the drive-in was as much of an adventure as being there. Many families would pack kids into oversized trunks to sidestep the $1.25 admission fee (please don’t try this), and then pile out once the car was parked in an inconspicuous spot in the back row. Others packed neighborhood kids into the back of station wagons until they were practically hanging out of the tailgate.

The best drive-in cars were those with big wrap around windows for unobstructed views, which pretty much included everything coming out of GM, Ford and Chrysler, from 1954 to 1960; open air convertibles for a more heavenly atmosphere; and station wagons that could be backed into parking spaces so the rear seat was facing forward. Families with station wagons would often fold down the rear seats so that the kids could stretch out and fall asleep on the way home.

It wasn’t unusual to see kids sitting on top of cars or on hoods as soon as the main feature started. A friend in Connecticut has an unrestored ’54 Olds sedan with a cratered roof. The first time I saw it, I asked him if he knew where they came from. He said he thought they were from kids at the drive-in.

Flat front and back bench seats were also preferred by teenagers for activities that gave the drive-in a new right-of-passage name and purpose – the “Passion Pit.”

Vans came along later in the ‘60s, adding a whole new dimension to that term, as well as viewing challenges for those unlucky cars that parked behind them.

My favorite family drive-in memory involved my father’s ’60 Olds. It had plenty of room, giant wrap around windows, and four doors for easy access to the Snack Bar. But on one particular outing, it started to rain. But rather than go home, my father started up the car and ran the windshield wipers. That was fine until the dashboard generator light popped and the voltage regulator started clicking.

My father was a lot like Ralphie’s father in Christmas Story. He was a true “Oldsmobile man” and he always came prepared for just such an emergency. He grabbed a hammer from the tool kit in the trunk, opened the hood, and pounded on the voltage regulator until the light went off. It wasn’t a permanent fix or pretty, but it got us home, as the ’60 always did, until further remedial measures could be taken.

I thought of this last week because the generator light flashed on the latest edition to my Olds fleet – a four door ’60 Olds sedan — just like my old man’s. As soon as the light went on and the clicking noise started coming from firewall knew exactly what the problem was.  I thought about getting the hammer, but since we were in the garage and I had a spare voltage regulator, there was no need.  

Of course, today’s drive-in experiences are much different from those of the Wonder Years. The few that survive cater to families with activities that you often see at minor league baseball games and amenities that rival your neighborhood multiplex. Gone are the bulky window speakers (try ebay if you really want one) of yesteryear. Everything is broadcast via FM or available via the internet on your phone. Take note, if you’re bringing your classic car to the drive-in and it only has an AM radio, have a backup! And if you have a chance to support one of the surviving drive-in theaters near you, please do so while they are still with us.

Have a favorite drive-in story to tell? Send it to me and I’ll feature it in an upcoming REOSpeedBlog.

Looking for a Barn Find? Look Closely and Carefully…

Under the Hood: What you see is often what you get with barn finds. This is what was left of a ’69 Dodge Charger Daytona that was uncovered in an open carport in Alabama, restored and eventually sold at auction last year. Source: Mecum

By Mark Misercola

 

Nothing quite stirs the passions of collector car enthusiasts than the quest for a barn find. For some collectors resurrecting automotive archeology is almost a cult-like calling. Who among us hasn’t fallen prey to the fantasy? A frail widow is selling her departed husband’s classics for peanuts because “she just wants to see it go to a good home.” It hasn’t run in ages, but it’s been sitting unmolested in a garage or barn for decades.  It’s a true time capsule just waiting to be restored.  And now because of this unimaginable stroke of luck (or possibly because you are the Most Interesting Man in the Collector Car World) this diamond in the rough is sitting there waiting to be carted away for what amounts to a steal.

Fairytales like this don’t happen as often as they use to thanks to reality TV, which has turned long-lost and forgotten classics into modern day treasure hunts that play well on flat screens. Barn finds have everything a producer could hope for – drama, dreams, dust, patina and that increasingly rare shot at hitting the jackpot. But with prices surging, barn finds have turned into the four-wheel equivalent of house flipping.   

A quick Google search of barn find headlines reveals everything you need to know:

• This stunning Spanish sports car is a $1 million barn find
• Beat-Up 1969 Oldsmobile Barn Find Turns Out to Be Rare F-85 W …
• This Car May Be the Greatest Barn Find Ever
• Rare ‘barn find‘ Ferrari sells for $2M

Far be it from me to throw cold water on barn finds, but I have always thought of them more as “neglected” needles in haystacks. As with any other mechanical device that’s been left sitting for years in questionable conditions, you’d better be prepared to open your wallet if you end up jumping down this rabbit hold. And if the cars are really rare, locating replacement parts can be a huge challenge.

For starters, true barn finds are becoming increasingly hard to find. Owners know the score; they understand the appeal that barn finds have among collectors and they’ve watched enough TV and know exactly where to go on the internet to price them accordingly. It’s no stretch to say prices now are inflated across the board, even on cars that really aren’t much more than junk or donor candidates at best. Think about it. If the car was truly spectacular, it would have been gone a long time ago.

Have I got a deal for you

I’ve accompanied friends on scavenger hunts that almost always play out like this – a call comes in about “the car” from a friend who knows the ailing owner, who has a barn full of old cars and a ton of other stuff, and is looking to thin the heard.  More times than not, what we find is poorly preserved junk surrounded by a lot of other junk, and a lifetime of stories.

Unless you have an “in” – perhaps an uncle or friend of a friend who appraises classics and knows about their availability before word gets out — you’re probably too late to get in on the ground floor. If you’ve found out because someone you know sent you an email about the car that was forwarded from someone else, that barn may already be a busy place.

Second, condition is everything. And most barn finds, regardless of the pedigree, usually fall under the neediest of the needy categories. Not only will the mechanicals need restoration, chances are it will require some structural attention too – including rusted out bodies, floor pans and frames. I looked at two Oldsmobile Toronados in northern New England that had been sitting for decades in a well-kept garage with no heat and cement floors. The engines were seized, the interiors were covered with mold, and the undersides looked like the hull of the Titanic. The rust was so layered you would literally need a pick ax to chip it all off.

The floor just fell in

Structural repairs are expensive and tricky.  Watch the reality shows and listen to how much time goes into labor for repairing cracked frames, rotting floorboards, cracked trunks and vinyl top covered rooves with rust holes. Unless you can do all the work yourself, plan on adding a few zeros to the hourly total and then you’ve got a barn find of a bill to go along with the car.

So if I was contemplating a barn find what considerations would be driving my decision?

For me, more than any other classic car purchase, it’s important to divorce yourself from the emotional aspects of buying a barn find. Otherwise, you may find yourself dumping a ton of money into a car that will never be worth what you put into it. Jay Leno jokes about this with a Corvair Rampside pickup truck that he lovingly restored. It wasn’t a barn find but he candidly says, “The way it works is you buy it for $600, you put 50 grand in it, and you sell it for $12,500. It’s better than the stock market.”

There may be only one or two cars on the entire planet that I would consider doing this (and only because there are really strong emotional connections there). For everything else, I’d walk away and pursue a restored barn find that someone else had sunk a ton of money into and can’t unload. (They’re out there!)

Another option is to wait until you find a car that’s truly something with a high resale valuation special to emerge – say a ’67 Vette or a ‘69 Dodge Charger Daytona or Plymouth Roadrunner Superbird– restore it and sell it at a higher price. It sounds good on paper, but few barn find owners that I know have ever done that.  In fact, most won’t even answer the question, “How much are you into it for?”

A third option is to leave the car the way it is, complete with dust, rust and rodent nests and truck it from show to show as an unrestored barn find. But make sure it’s exotic, rare, and has lots and lots of “patina” as Wayne Carini likes to say. You might pick up a few preservation class trophies and wind up on Velocity TV someday.

If you’re looking to find out more about barn finds, there are no shortage of excellent websites on this topic such as www.barnfinds.com and books, including Tom Cotter’s seminal 50 Shades of Rust: Barn Finds You Wish You’d Discovered.  Shop wisely!

 

 

 

 

Baby it’s Cold Outside: Storing Your Classic for the Winter

Improperly storing your classic in cold weather can be a real non-starter in Spring.

By Mark Misercola

Storing your classic car for the winter is an annual event in the Northeast that I look forward to and dread all at the same time. I look forward to it because the break from cruises and car shows gives me time to catch up on overdue repairs and cosmetic enhancements that I can’t always get to in the warmer weather. But I also dread it because older cars (particularly mine) don’t like to sit. And while some of my cruising buddies have no problems reviving their hibernating classics cars in April, I prefer to keep mine running and on the road throughout the winter as long as there is no snow, sand or salt to contend with.

Why? A wise auto mechanics instructor once told me, “Older cars don’t like to sit. They need to be run.” My cars would have liked him. They get cranky after being idle for just a couple of weeks, let alone a few months. Two of my cars sat for long periods before I bought them and both were plagued by the classic symptoms of underuse – worn seals, rusty gas tanks, rotted rubber moldings, flat leaf springs, sticky brakes, and uncooperative carburetors.  Of that list, finicky carbs are what I really want to avoid most because they almost always lead to hard-to-start engines in the Spring.

Even if the roads aren’t clear, I will still start my cars up once a week in the winter months and run them to keep the fluids moving and the batteries charged. This is a point of contention among some of my colleagues – they don’t believe in running cars in place in the off-season – and feel that short, cold starts will do more harm than good. I don’t disagree, but I also make it a point to run my cars until they are fully warmed up.

Clay Bar Anyone?

Storing my cars has become an annual ritual, akin to steering the starship Enterprise into space dock for repairs every Thanksgiving.  It starts with a good cleaning. There’s no better way to burn off calories and work up an appetite than by giving your car a rigorous clay bar bath to remove impurities from the finish and restoring that original shine. In fact, my daughter and I once spent most of Thanksgiving Day giving the convertible a clay bar bath in the afternoon.  That’s usually followed by an application of Meguiar’s 34 Mirror Glaze Final Inspection. It’s easy to apply and the silicone base gives the finish a glass like shine.   

This year’s main event involved cleaning up all the buffing compound dust that settled under the hood of my Toronado while it was in the paint shop in October. Granted, this wasn’t as cozy as sitting by the fireplace and watching football, but for me it was classic car bonding at its best.

As with any project, preparing the space for a long hibernation is crucial. In my garage I move any hanging tools or nearby shelf items (especially paint cans) away from the car in case anything should fall.  (Note to Farmers Insurance: I saw your latest commercial and have no plans to do exercises in the living room right above the garage.)

I also check the batteries every few weeks. As soon as the voltage dips below 12.84 the charger goes on. But be careful you don’t overcharge them. I fried one of my reproduction antique batteries a few years ago, because I left my charger on too long, and have vowed never to let that happen again. Many modern trickle chargers turn off automatically when the battery is fully charged, but even still I frequently check the voltage when they’re on.

Battery turn-off switches are also great for eliminating power drains from clocks and other accessories in the off-season. But I removed them from my cars when judges started taking off points at shows. Now I simply disconnect the clocks in the fall.

I also change the oil right before the cars go into storage. This is really important because the last thing I want is dirty, weak oil to sit in a cold engine all season long and give the engine one more reason not to start.  I try to keep the gas tanks full, just in case I can’t get to the gas station before spring. This year might be an exception, but usually gas prices are lower in the fall than going into the heavy driving season in the spring.

I know many owners who put their car on blocks for the winter to prevent flat spots on the tires. Since I drive in the winter, I don’t feel the need to do this. But it’s not a bad idea if your car is going to sit for more than three months.  If the car isn’t sitting for a prolonged period, the flat spots will usually go away with a short drive.

Finally, it goes without saying that rodents and classic cars don’t mix. Rats and mice can wipe out a car’s wiring system, chew up the upholstery, and cause all kinds of havoc in classic cars that offer warm nesting places in the winter. So if your garage has visitors, do whatever you have to do to keep them outside.  

The Last Mile

If you missed my guest interview last week on Every Car Has a Story on 106.7 FM in Wilmington, N.C., you can listen to a replay here. You’ll find the interview about 16 minutes into the show.  A big shout out to legendary co-hosts Joe Pepitone and Bill “Dusty” Lincoln for having me on.