Old cars
 

I was watching the Barret-Jackson Auctions last night when one of the "expert" commentators said that if you had an old vehicle and expected to make it home at the end of the day, you had to be a mechanic. That is why people "improve" their vehicles by putting in late model drive trains, there much more reliable. To which I might add BS!!


With uninformed people handing out advice like that to other uninformed people, it is no wonder that the old car market is crashing!

Re: Old cars
 

amen

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Im with ya, total B.S. Im sick of seeing LS engines in cars that should have a flathead.

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I guess it was only mechanics that drove from coast to coast in the old days!

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The guy that made the comment can't keep his car running

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had to be a millennial.

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They ran good in the day and if will run good now if maintained proper ..I hate to see smallblock garbage in a antique car..So many 32 33 34 fords ruined by hot rodders,..this should get folks dander up..go on ebay so many hot rods for sale and few original cars.sc,

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Our 33 draged our caravan all the way to Ayers rock and back ,no dramas 7000klms

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There is some truth in what the guy said, we just don't want to hear it from the likes of him. Anyone who isn't familiar with the mechanics of his vintage car is blind foolish to set out on a trip alone. Besides camaraderie, another reason lots of guys travel in caravan, is to avail themselves of each other's assistance when one of them inevitably breaks down. Back in the day, however, city and country folk alike had more mechanical ability than the average boy toy owner has today, and that assessment includes those with garbage truck engines. Anyone disputing that, please recall those enthusiasts in your acquaintance who keep a set of Taiwan Metric wrenches in their trunks, "just in case".

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Sorry but I did not see any of the Auction because I had better things to do, one of which was working on my "old vehicle" to help assure that it would get to where I wanted to go in a safer and more reliable fashion.

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51 Merc-Ct hit the nail one the head. Building them, keeping them running and getting there, problems or not are all part of it.

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Tried to watch it three times and gave up. Decided it was for people with more money than brains.

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Barrett-Jackson is garbage. I haven't watched that s**t show in years. It's all TV hype and fantasy.

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I suspect that anyone who puts the megabucks into a new drivetrain could spend a fraction of that and get a very nicely running original car. Problem is they want power brakes, power steering, automatic transmission, air conditioning and more comfortable seats. The experience we go for is different than what they want.

I love original cars and have a few. I did see a 1949 Ford with a 302 in it for sale recently. It was restored to stock appearance and really looked nice. One of the few times I was tempted by a car with an updated engine.

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I watched the B-J auction to see how stock cars were faring. I saw a 1940 Plymouth 4 door that was nicely restored to stock with a "301 " engine. I'm not a mopar fan, but I think they were 201 cid. Very few stock cars other than Porsche, Ferrari, Rolls etc. Mostly a display of how we can destroy a 30's or 40's car with a new, better chrome plated engine.

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An "EX" is a connotation for "former" and a "Spert" is a drip under pressure. So much for Experts. The old cars were good enough for Grandpa but they do have some limitations. They will never be a "New" car no matter what you do to change them. If anything, late model running gear will make them more dangerous.

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You can check the results for "stock" or semi-stock personalized cars.
For example this '38 personalized 4dr convertible.

https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Even...E-SEDAN-224705

And the '40 stock Plymouth with the erroneous "301" engine.

https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Even...E-SEDAN-224537

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There are plenty of old timers that don't know the difference between their asses and a screwdriver. :rolleyes:

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Deove my 32 Ford to Oregon, Mn. & georgia among many other local trips. Believe in Driving them! Great memories ! Kerk

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My dad who had NO mechanical skills drove his 1939 Ford 2 door from 1941 to 1949 and never had a break down. I am sure he was not alone among drivers of his time.

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I can see this one a few different ways. I agree that really original cars should not be cut up and should be left alone. BUT. Sometimes being hot rodded means the car is being used and driven instead of rusting away. I don't have anything LS powered that didn't come factory that way but I have done fuel injected swaps in a number of cars-but kept it in the same engine family. It is amazing the improvement in drivability and mileage from a fuel injected swap. Almost all of it could be undone with very little trace. I have never been stranded in one of those cars. To me it makes them more fun to drive. Car guys go from purist to custom and mod everything. I think I have ruffled a few feathers at tractor shows with my 2N with a flathead that is very period correct. I try not to get too upset at people even if what they do makes no sense to me-I can at least appreciate the effort.

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YEP.. very annoying.. Someone needs to tell Wayne Carini that his shows are starting to become Barret-Jackson light...

I'm not interested in seeing cars that cost more than a modern navy vessel.. :mad:

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Reliability of Older car engines compared to newer car engines is the reason
there used to be 10 times more gas stations in my little town back in the
early 60's, and 90 % of them had a mechanic on duty.

Today the few gas stations in town have a pizza chef on duty.







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Re: Old cars
 

Well said; I don't look at new truck adds I don't watch money bags Jackson
and why - at my age no way in hell I can finance a $50,000 F250. they figure I won't live long enough ta pay for it period. my super deluxe does everything
i wish for. Only one thing maybe someday a South Wind heater mine is
wimpy, other than that, the car rules its got more power than a Judge and I
ain't got no so called modern junk on it either. These people think that putting
transistors in a toaster makes it that dreaded 'modern' word. sick puppies

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I agree with Mike.....you can’t judge a “car guy” by his age alone....Mark

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I made many cross country trips back in the 70s with my 11-year-old Ford pick up but I was always prepared with a few extra things like hose clamps, antifreeze and oil, anything to make a field expedient repair.
I only got stranded once, about 150 miles from El Paso I stripped the camshaft gear.

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I just had a conversation with a fellow that made a trip to California after graduating high school in 1969--He drove his 1950 Ford with a 6 cylinder engine--He said he bought a case of 40 wt oil for the journey--On the return he had to restock and used a total of 42 quarts for the trip--This guy keeps records of everything he has ever spent money on so I am sure of the count--

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Funny, but back in the day, some of the best running cars I had were serious oil burners. A '50 Merc was so bad that it needed some aircraft 60-weight in order to go 100 miles without adding more. Nevertheless, that Merc never let me down. I got the used but not abused 60-weight from an outfit that serviced crop dusters. I did a little "dusting" myself by suddenly letting off on the gas when some guy was riding my tail and left him choking on a cloud of heavy blue smoke. Those were the days!

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Gotta say the older vehicles R fun. Most of us who have and play with them don't consider it anything but fun. Truth be known Flatty's require more TLC than the dreaded small block. I had a stock 1957 Chev Nomad when I was 16. 283 Power Glide with 80,000 when I bought it. If it wasn't for the brain dead friend, not a mechanic nor was I at the time, telling me the way to make it lay rubber and go really fast was to rev it up in neutral and pull into low. Well it limped home and down the steep hill that was our driveway on what ever was left of the tranny. My Dad was very unhappy to say the least reminded me we were moving in two weeks and said, "IF THAT DAMN CAR DOESN'T MAKE IT UP THAT DRIVE ON IT'S OWN POWER IT GOES WITH THE HOUSE". Well long story short it was the beginning of me becoming a mechanic and eventually a mechanical Engineer. Changed the Power Glide to a 3 speed after befriending & started becoming a motor head myself. Great guys all chipped in junked 3 speed, bell housing, clutch set up all free and helped get it running and up the drive in two weeks to the old mans amazement.
I had that old Nomad till I was 35 and never did another thing to it except change the oil, lube it & flush the coolant for 19 yrs. I thought it got too valuable to keep and needed the money for young family stuff and thought I did great selling it in 1985 for $7500. If u know anything about a stock Nomad's value today ur probably laughing. So I have a soft spot for the old 265, 283 and 327 SB Chevy engines and never criticize them. Love my Flatty but she did't come into my life until I was 63. Having said that IMO Barret-Jackson bidder have more money than brains with the prices they give!
http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/album....ictureid=31213

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I think the problem is that, unless you do a complete "nut and bolt" restoration on a car, there are still going to be a lot of marginal parts in an old car that, while they look good, can fail. Face it, most of these cars we have have been used and abused for hundreds of thousands of mile. My '51, on the other hand was a one owner car with 61,000 well maintained original miles. It was purchased new by two batchelor brothers who farmed in western Minnesota and used it as their "Sunday go to church car". All the folks I have talked to (including several relatives of the original owners and the grandson of the guy who sold them the car) confirmed the fact that the guys brought the car back to the dealership for service on the Ford defined schedule. When I went through the car when I got it, I replaced the usual maintenance items (including the brakes and wheel bearings), but that was it. That was in 1987, and the car never failed me in 30 years and 30,000 miles (including a trip from the twin cities to Chicago without missing a beat. I replaced the engine a couple of years ago, but it was still running well, but down on power. I believe that if in top condition overall, these cars can be very reliable.

As an aside, in the sixties, I had a '52 Ford of unknown heritage that was constantly breaking down. It was completely worn out when I got it and it showed.

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Not sure if restoring vehicles are on the decline? What makes it so? I don't know... maybe so.


Old cars came from the factory with a tool kit, because they knew eventually you would be working on it. It was just nuts and bolts then too, no computers.

New cars don't even come with spare tires now. The thought process has changed. A 10yr old car is a heap today. Made to be replaced. In the 30-40s it was considered a major investment and you fixed it and ran it for many years. It's still a major investment, but we don't fix it.


Guess maybe it's just not worth it to figure out things. Or people can't handle trying to work on something and maybe failing the first time. It's not that hard. Don't know....


In the 1910s most cars had drivers who were also a "engineer" that oiled things while they were in a meetings. :)

I listen to sports announcers and I marvel at how they can keep talking for 3hrs and actually say anything worth while. Might be the same... filling space.


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Re: Old cars
 

In my opinion the space that needs filling most is often between their ears !

Karl

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Yep but the car was virtually brand new We would expect a modern car to drive trouble free for 10 years today. The issue with our cars is that they are 80 years old and have often be subjected to poor maintenance and any restoration they have had over the years has either been done with varying degrees of skill or with substandard parts.

I too drive my cars as much as I can. I have driven my 34 Ford 1500 miles to a rally and back. In 2 weeks time I will drive it 200 miles to an Art Deco event .People are amazed that I drive it such distances., But I have also spent a lot of time (and money) ensuring that mechanically it is up to speed

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That is an opinion. Hard to say for me, since I've never had to announce. I tend to be a bit more quiet, most of the time....

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I watch that Black 32, 3 window coupe that went for 110,000. It was not stock. Those people sure are loose with there money. Wish I live next to one. I would sell him a few cars everyday or so.

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We are only "caretakers" of our stock vehicles and when we are gone these vehicles we own are likely to be over 100 years old or getting close to it. If they survive, the flathead engines are likely to be about as foreign to their future owners as Curved Dash Olds motors are to us and future owners who want to drive them will update them with modern running gear to make them more practicable for the times they will will be living in. Those that keep them stock will be the "buffs" that dabble in "Brass era" stuff today and other stockers will just languish in museums as "static" objects of art. So I suppose in a way it is better than the car dying like we will, but this will not happen to my car on my "watch".

GB

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Just saw a 8ba flathead with a blower and beer can stacks... Culture is changing, Not in the right direction.

I agree I'm just a caretaker. When I'm out of this world, I don't car so much. It's for the next generation to f' it up. :)


and my vehicles are not that nice...





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