NA - Classic Cars

Jay Honeck said:
Good advice, thanks.

Is there a national club worth joining? Sort of an "AOPA" for classic cars?
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You mean an annoying club that rings your phone and emails you constantly asking for money? None off hand.
 
Subsea said:
You mean an annoying club that rings your phone and emails you constantly asking for money? None off hand.
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No, not that one. lol (I just let my AOPA membership lapse, for the first time in 25 years, so I know what you mean.)

I'm thinking of one that might be interesting and educational, with a magazine that's even half as good as AOPA Pilot mag. Any recommendations?

I'm not into hot rods. I'm also bemused at the almost religious zeal guys pay to classic convertibles. Until you've owned a convertible, you don't realize how truly dumb, loud, annoying and impractical they are -- and I have no interest in owning another one.

So a group that pays homage to classic cars, with no hot rods and minimal convertibles. What's out there like that?
 
Jay Honeck said:
No, not that one. lol (I just let my AOPA membership lapse, for the first time in 25 years, so I know what you mean.)

I'm thinking of one that might be interesting and educational, with a magazine that's even half as good as AOPA Pilot mag. Any recommendations?

I'm not into hot rods. I'm also bemused at the almost religious zeal guys pay to classic convertibles. Until you've owned a convertible, you don't realize how truly dumb, loud, annoying and impractical they are -- and I have no interest in owning another one.

So a group that pays homage to classic cars, with no hot rods and minimal convertibles. What's out there like that?
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Try the Antique Automobile club of America (AACA). There is a Pontiac/Oakland club, I don't know much about it but it may be worth checking out. I belong to the Vintage Chevy club and it has a fancy mag, online forums, tech advisors, etc.
 
ColoPilot said:
Try the Antique Automobile club of America (AACA). There is a Pontiac/Oakland club, I don't know much about it but it may be worth checking out. I belong to the Vintage Chevy club and it has a fancy mag, online forums, tech advisors, etc.
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Thanks, I will check it out!
 
tecprotb said:
Nothing, if it did exist it would be a pretty boring club.
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Interesting -- not sure I see why?

Classic cars now cover, what, 75 years and hundreds of makes and models? It would seem that there should be enough interest in the non-convertible types (which are the vast majority) to sustain a club.

Hot rods are fun, don't get me wrong, but that's not what I'm interested in at this time.

BTW: Took delivery yesterday. That was the biggest car carrying truck I've ever seen. The hydraulics in the thing we're simply amazing -- like a real-life transformer.

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Ugh, those mag wheels gotta go...

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Sweet looking ride! ;)

BTW I like the wheels myself....
 
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Jay Honeck said:
Interesting -- not sure I see why?

Classic cars now cover, what, 75 years and hundreds of makes and models? It would seem that there should be enough interest in the non-convertible types (which are the vast majority) to sustain a club.

Hot rods are fun, don't get me wrong, but that's not what I'm interested in at this time.
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I just don't think you are going to find such a division of classic models. Every classic make and model has more hot rodded than not, and I don't think you will see near as many convertibles as you are suggesting. If you want a club of only your model classic you need to buy a Corvette, Camaro, or Mustang.
Good guys is a national club that represents early year classics up to 1972, they would probably be close to what you are looking for.
BTW you got your pontiac delivered really quick, I've heard of a lot of might mare stories about transporting.
 
Very nice,Jay! Looks like that will provide years of enjoyment and entertainment.
 
tecprotb said:
BTW you got your pontiac delivered really quick, I've heard of a lot of might mare stories about transporting.
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I know, right? I used Global Auto Transporation, and those guys ROCKED. They picked up the car less than 12 hours after I called them! Un-freaking-real.

Here's the guy I worked with. I highly recommend them!

Chris Smite
Global Auto Transportation
Direct Line 818-309-1371
Main Line 818-476-5005
Toll Free 877-645-2288
 
Mason said:
It's not your Grandfather's Pontiac.
Oh, wait....maybe it is!
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That was pretty much my goal.

I spent all day tinkering with the car, changing the oil and tuning it up. She's running beautifully.

There is something very centering and calming about slowly and methodically working on a car like the one your dad owned in the 1950s. Today I used some of Dad's tools -- and some of HIS dad's tools, too. It felt good.

All afternoon I felt connected to Dad in a way I haven't felt in years. He passed away 23 years ago, now, but I think about him every day.
 
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Jay Honeck said:
That was pretty much my goal.

I spent all day tinkering with the car, changing the oil and tuning it up. She's running beautifully.

There is something very centering and calming about slowly and methodically working on a car like the one your dad owned in the 1950s. Today I used some of Dad's tools -- and some of HIS dad's tools, too. It felt good.

All afternoon I felt connected to Dad in a way I haven't felt in years. He passed away 23 years ago, now, but I think about him every day.
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Yes, and they're so easy to work on. You can see, reach and understand everything under there.

For the last few Christmases, my parents have been giving me my grandfather's carpentry tools. I use them some but mostly appreciate having them. Now my dad is gone and we're cleaning up his stuff. Most of the tools he had, I already have my own. But just sorting and organizing them does bring back memories.

John
 
jsstevens said:
Yes, and they're so easy to work on. You can see, reach and understand everything under there.
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For sure! Reaching the back spark plugs was fun because I almost literally had to get in the engine compartment. That Straight 8 is a looong engine.

Speaking of plugs, check what I pulled out of this engine. Amazingly, it wasn't running badly with these things in it! It's running much better with new ones, of course.

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Tips all look like they were firing about right. Last one a little sooty. No doubt it needed new ones though.
 
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mscard88 said:
Tips all look like they were firing about right. Last one a little sooty up.No doubt it needed new ones though.
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Yep, she's running good, now.

Now, to figure out why finding third gear is such a mofo...
 
Night flight! What fun.

After a day spent tinkering on the car, it was time to "scoop the loop" with my favorite gal, so we cruised down to the drive-in for a malt.

All the lights work, even in the clock, although the headlamps are so old that the silvering is gone off the back of the sealed beam units, so I'm sure these 6-volt headlights are illegally dim. Something else to add to the "to do list"...

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Jay,

I had it on my list to visit your joint, but this definitely bumps up the priority.
 
Some fun with lighting to highlight the 1952 "jet engine" in the panel of the Chieftain.

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Just a quick update.

We have had the Chief for a couple of months now, and love it! I've spent a ton of time, and a little money (in AMUs) fixing it up, and we now drive it several times a week.

I finally got the period-correct wheels, wheel covers, and tires back on. Finding the original bias-ply Firestone whitewall tires was fun, and not cheap, but the car drives MUCH better than it did with those big, dumb, 8" wide hot rod tires.

The 5" wide tires also allowed me to install the skirts, which required some restoration, but make the car look awesome, IMHO.in

Here are a few recent pix. I've put the Chief to work at the hotel, where he is earning his keep!


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You need curb feelers. They were big back then. Now, you need the first GTO, a 64 or 65 business coupe with a hurst. I had one as a company car. Fun.
 
Man that car reminds of me so much of my grammom's sister's car. Great memories.
 
Jay, you're weird, not that I didn't know that already. I'd never want to have the same car as my old man, he had deplorable taste in cars, clothes, and just about everything else. If I were going for a classic car I'd get what I like, not what he would have wanted. If I want to feel connected to my old man I just fix myself a martini.

All that said, very nice looking ride. Kudos to all you guys who restore old things and keep them working well.
 
steingar said:
Jay, you're weird, not that I didn't know that already. I'd never want to have the same car as my old man, he had deplorable taste in cars, clothes, and just about everything else. If I were going for a classic car I'd get what I like, not what he would have wanted. If I want to feel connected to my old man I just fix myself a martini.

All that said, very nice looking ride. Kudos to all you guys who restore old things and keep them working well.
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lol True that!

I have no idea why the urge to go back in time hit when it did. Part of it was age (mine), part of it was nostalgia for a simpler time when America built stuff, and part of it was that I simply had a small, vestigial savings account that was earning 0.001% interest, and a classic car is a better investment.

I suppose I could have bought Apple stock, but I've decided that I will only invest in things I enjoy. And this car has been a real joy to own and restore.
 
Jay Honeck said:
lol True that!

I have no idea why the urge to go back in time hit when it did. Part of it was age (mine), part of it was nostalgia for a simpler time when America built stuff,
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Sorry, I just can't summon nostalgia for those old things. I tell my students that they had to be tuned up at least once a year or they'd explode. Not too far from the truth, either.

Jay Honeck said:
I suppose I could have bought Apple stock, but I've decided that I will only invest in things I enjoy. And this car has been a real joy to own and restore.
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Those were my thoughts when I started buying watches. Gotta sell some of those, too.
 
BTW: This is no "hangar queen". We routinely drive the Chief out into the Texas countryside, onto roads that are little changed since 1952.

Last week we stopped at a local bar in a little Texas town, and the whole bar (all 5 of them) came out to see it! We put 77 miles on that night. (Over the weekend, we put close to 100)

So...is it 1952...or 2016? ;)

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I'm with you Jay, something about those old days when things were simpler. I think it looks great. So how many miles on it now?
 
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