car collector chronicles 08-13

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  • 7/27/2019 Car Collector Chronicles 08-13

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    Volume VI, Issue 8

    Company established

    8/22/02: T.R. 1st U.S. Presidentto ride in a motor car8/26/57: Ford debuts the Edsel8/26/50: Ransom E. Olds dies8/29/1885: World's 1st motorcyclepatented by Daimler

    - Stay cool & enjoy your ride(s)!

    The weather just warmed upand it already is turning cool.Fall cant be coming this early,

    can it? I sure hope not!Our Olds convert, Saved 62,

    was hand washed and waxed byyours truly in prep for our firstcar show of the season. Then,the day of the show dawnedcold, overcast and threateningrain. At least I had good inten-

    tions?I need to back flush and refill

    the cooling system on the Olds.Everything needed to do it has

    been purchased and assembled.Does anyone besides me re-

    member the engine back flushkits made by Prestone? Theyhad the garden hose T-adapterand necessary clamps to splice it

    into a heater hose line.I will use the kit, but shall not

    permanently splice it into myheater hose. Instead, I shallundo the heater hose, installone end of tee into it and run asmall piece of new heater hoseto the old connection and the

    tee. When done, I will be ableto return the heater hose con-figuration back to the factory

    set up.Last month I made mention

    of, and pictured, what is reputedto be a 1-of-1 1979 PontiacGrand Am(ino). I have subse-quently verified that it is in facta 1-of-1. A Pontiac Tech Ad-viser informed me that it is infact a 1-of-1, built by Pontiac asa prototype to be consideredfor possible production. Need-less to say, it never made it into

    production.The unanswered question

    remains: What is this 1-of-1worth today? I wonder whatthe insured value is and how it

    was determined?

    AugustAutomotive Milestones

    8/12/08: 1st Model T rolledoff the assembly line8/15/56: Packard closes8/17/15: Electric starter pat-ented by Chas. Kettering8/22/01: Cadillac Motor Car

    High RPMs

    GDYNetson the Web

    Find GDYNets on the web:

    CCC -THE FORUM-A website to discuss the newsletter,the hobby and our cars.

    Car Collector Chronicles

    Saved 62 -Our 1962 Oldsconvertible, Ransom Eli Oldsand things Oldsmobile relatedweb site.

    The Gray Lady-1955 CadillacCoup de Ville web site.

    SAVED 62: A website devotedto our 1962 Oldsmobile Dy-namic 88 convertible. The sitealso has a lot of information onOldsmobile cars and the com-

    pany founder, Ransom Eli Olds.

    THE GRAY LADY: This web-site features our 1955 CadillacCoup de Ville, lots of Caddyinformation and an extensive

    repair library.

    DAVES DEN: -A site de-voted to a myriad of interests.Foremost is extensive informa-tion on the Steel City of Gary,IN. There are also offerings onsteel making, U.S. Steel-GaryWorks, U.S. Marine Corps, M14assault rifle, of course Oldsmo-bile, and the tragic story of themurder of Gary, IN Police Lt.

    George Yaros.

    A GDYNETSPUBLICATION

    2013, G. DAVIDYAROS. ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.

    August 2013Ca s

    Car Collector

    Chronicles

    Exploring:

    Car Collecting Today

    Classic Rides

    Reports From the Field

    Oldsmobile (1897-2004)

    Cadillac (1902- )

    Allant (1987-1993)

    Corvair (1960-1969)

    = Clickable Link

    IN THIS ISSUE:

    High RPMs 1

    GDYNetsOn the Web

    1

    The Gray Lady 2

    Car CollectorInsurance

    3

    Where in theWorld is Ollie?

    4

    CCCPresents 5

    CCCForum EMail:[email protected]

    http://ccc.activeboard.com/http://www.scribd.com/D_Yaroshttp://www.freewebs.com/jeandaveyaroshttp://graylady.webng.com/http://gdynets.webng.com/http://gdynets.webng.com/http://ccc.activeboard.com/http://ccc.activeboard.com/http://ccc.activeboard.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://ccc.activeboard.com/http://gdynets.webng.com/http://graylady.webng.com/http://www.freewebs.com/jeandaveyaroshttp://www.scribd.com/D_Yaroshttp://ccc.activeboard.com/
  • 7/27/2019 Car Collector Chronicles 08-13

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    46 days and counting. That is howlong The Gray Lady has been gone fromthe car barn. Even though I was seldomable to drive her, I do miss not seeingher in her stall!

    The work being done involves a num-ber of items: 1- Engine cutting out atover 40 m.p.h. 2- Brakes not functioningproperly. 3- Heater wont shut off. 4-Vacuum wipers do not shut off and 5-Gas tank sending unit gasket leaking.

    Having heard nada/zilch from the re-pair facility, I sent an email inquiry seek-ing a status report. Much to my surprise

    and pleasure, the very next day the shop owner called with an update. The preliminarydiagnosis has yielded the following conclusions:

    1- Engine problems may be caused by faulty spark plug wires combined with thewrong, or at the very least a loose, distributor cap. While I do not pretend to be an ex-pert, I do know enough to question whether the distributor cap is the right one for thecar. I simply cannot imagine a wrong cap having been on the car from the day I ac-quired the ride 4 years ago. Loose maybe, wrong not likely? Also, I made it clear I didnot want to pop the hood and see red, orange or purple spark plug wires on my engine!

    2- Brakes have rust in the system. That could very well explain why they work sopoorly. System will be flushed and the master/wheel cylinders rebuilt.

    3- Heater is staying on due to a faulty heater control valve.4- Vacuum lines all need replacing. When that is done the wipers should/will work

    properly.5- Gas tank sending unit has missing screws. In order to install the missing screws,

    along with a new gasket, the tank must be dropped.

    Four days after the call the shop sent me an email. It was inquiring whether I had asource for either a replacement heater control valve or its repair. At first I thought tomyself, You guys are the experts. Why are you asking me? Then, giving the mattermore thought I was glad they asked. After all, everyone cannot know everything. Norshould they be expected to know all. It is far more efficient to draw on the resources ofa classic Cadillac owner, than to recreate the wheel so to speak, solely for appearancessake, in trying to locate Cadillac parts or rebuilding services. In the end, with respect tothe heater control valve, the shop was able to rebuild it on their own, and not have toreplace it or resort to shipping it out to a 3rd party for rebuilding.

    Back in mid-June I thought I would have the car back by now? So much for thatthought! Hopefully, it shall not be too much longer and we and we shall be reunitedwith The Gray Lady.

    Of late I have been watching a program on satellite television called Fantom Works.

    It chronicles the goings on at an automobile restoration shop. In the last show Iwatched the shop owner had a face-to-face with the car owner coming to pick up his carto make sure he understood what was done, why and the cost for so doing. This con-versation took place before the owner was allowed to see his car. I fear I may find my-self in the very same situation in the not too distant future! Perhaps, no not perhaps butdefinitely, I should have set a dollar cap on the cost of repairs to be performed on mycar? Lesson learned.

    When all is said and done, and provided I get back a reliable, trustworthy ride, I con-tend the time and expense shall have been worth it. Time will tell? And what time doestell shall be told to you by me. To be continued .

    The Gray Lady

    Car Collector Chronicles Page 2

    Perhaps,

    no not

    perhaps but

    definitely, Ishould have

    set a dollar

    cap on the

    cost of

    repairs to be

    performed

    on my car?

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    Collector Car InsuranceMy collector car insurance came up for renewal at the beginning of July. For the last 8

    years I have been insured by American Collectors Insurance Co. I have never had aclaim, knock on wood. My only contact with American Collectors is to send them the an-nual premium. That being so, I really have no complaints as to their service. Additionally,I would note that the bill for the June tow ofThe Gray Lady (pictured on Page 2), was reim-bursed by it within a week of the tow itself. That speaks well of their customer service.

    Notwithstanding the lack of complaint and the decent customer service, I decided toswitch my insurer. The genesis for this switch was my concern over the presence of cov-erage when taking a plain, ol, simple pleasure drive.

    Seems like that should not be a problem, but is that the case? Pleasure drives are notundertaken in connection with any collector car activity, be it a show, cruise-in or what-ever. The fine print in some insurance policies suggests the possibly that one may not becovered while out for a pleasure drive. I decided I did not want to live with that ambiguity.

    I have seen Hagerty ads on tv. I spoke with some folks from Hagerty when attendingSpring Carlisle in April. I also studied their representations, as set out on their internetsite. One such representation is:

    What are your usage restrictions/guidelines?Simply put, we want you to enjoy your classic vehicle. While there are some re-strictions in the policy, youre covered for pleasure use, whether it's a drive on agorgeous summer day, a trip to the ice cream shop, attending club events or goingto shows.

    That seems to eliminate all question of whether I am covered when going for a ride with noparticular place to go? I want to say, I am not a lawyer, but it would seem to be prettydarn hard for Hagerty to make such a statement and then try to deny a claim on thegrounds of it arising while out for a pleasure drive. I want to say that but cant. I cantbecause I am a lawyer! And precisely because I am, I defy them to try and deny my claimon the basis of pleasure driving not being a permitted activity. There is comfort in knowing

    that I am protected from loss while out for spin in eitherThe Gray Lady orSaved 62,.The fact that the accompanying towing insurance covers all my vehicles, not just the

    classics made a favorable impression on me. That it does eliminates the need to pay foran AAA membership.Also, at Hagerty you are made to feel part of a group of like-minded individuals, instead

    of a mere customer. This feeling is reinforced by receipt of the magazine Hagerty ClassicCars. True, it is a small thing, but it counts.

    Lastly, and maybe firstly as it always seems to come down to money, the premium wasless than what I was paying before. Not a whole lot less, but less.

    What I am not enamored with is the towing plan constraint. A tow bill is paid by Hagertyonly if made by an authorized towing service. You get an authorized tow service providerby calling a 1-800 number. With American Collectors I called whomever I desired, paidthe bill and was reimbursed. I can live with this constraint. After all, it is no different thancalling the Triple A for roadside services.

    Of course, the proof in the pudding is in the tasting. Lets hope I do not have to testHagertys claim services, and that if I do they are all they lead one to believe they are.Speaking of claims, I learned that a 1959 Cadillac from Sweden taking part in the Lincoln

    Highway U.S. 30 tour was badly wrecked. I wonder how that claim is being handled? Willthe insurance company cover transit costs back to Sweden in order to have the neededrepairs performed? Will it pay the expense of shipping needed parts to Sweden for instal-lation? Will it require the car to be repaired here in the U.S.? If so, will it pay for the ownerto stay here while the car is being repaired or to fly the owner back to the U.S. at a laterdate to inspect the repairs and pick up the car? What a hassle! I would love to knowwhich company has the insurance and what is/is not being paid?

    Simply put,

    we want you

    to enjoy

    your classic

    vehicle.

    [Y]ourecovered for

    pleasure

    use, whether

    its a drive

    on a

    gorgeous

    summer

    day, a trip to

    the ice

    cream shop,

    attending

    club events

    or going to

    shows.

    Car Collector Chronicles Page 3

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    Car Collector Chronicles Page 4;;

    CCCCallingOf late I have taken up walking. Daily I cover anywhere from 4 to 6 miles. How much ground I cover

    depends on how I feel and the weather. During these walks I often come upon old rides. I flatter myself tothink these folksmight find ourpubl icat ion of

    interest. How do Igo about lettingthem know of itsexistence? Abusiness cardproved to be theanswer. It conveysthe info needed tofind and read CCCand is easilyplaced on a carwindshield. This iswhat the business

    card looks like.

    If you are in the SE Wisconsin area and find one of these cards under your wiper, you now know who theculprit is that left it. You are cordially invited to join the CCCfamily of readers.

    Where in the World is Ollie?Readers met Olllie Sinden a year ago. He is the English bloke who was touring the U. S. of A. in his

    1972 442. Both Ollie and the Olds are back home in England. Ollie reports that he does not drive it muchof late, due to the high price of gas. However, he did take the car to France, to watch the 24 Hours of LeMans. His Olds now has the distinction of having beed driven in four countries (U.S.A., Canada, England

    and France).I found Ollies critique of the television show Counting Cars in a recent email interesting:Must say I've been enjoying reading CCC. Particularly the recent article about the car shows - weget all the same ones here. I do watch them all but often find myself shouting at the telly (as wesay). Counting Cars in particular annoys me because we don't see any of the actual spanner-wielding - it's all waffle.

    Ok, Ive had my say for the month. Now its your turn! I invite/encourage submissionof your comments, opinions and article contributions. I also ask that you please helpspread the word about our publication. Everything sent shall indeed be reviewed by me.Submissions should be sent to CCC at [email protected].

    Now that you have finished reading this months issue of the newsletter, come start/join an ongoing dialog with otherCCC readers and like-minded car collector folk on the

    CCC Forum. Stop by, check us out and share your views .

    ______________________________________

    -- RESTORE 'EM, AND DRIVE 'EM!

    COMING NEXT ISSUE:

    TBD

    mailto:[email protected]://ccc.activeboard.com/http://ccc.activeboard.com/http://ccc.activeboard.com/mailto:[email protected]
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    Car Collector Chronicles Page 5;;CCCPresents

    1941 Ford

    1949 Olds 1941 Plymouth

    1960 Cadillac