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A GDYNETS PUBLICATION © 2009, G. DAVID YAROS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Car Collector Chronicles ®
Volume II, Issue 12
December 2009
Exploring:
TOOLS OF THE TRADE — UNUSUAL
Car collecting today Classic rides Reports from the field Oldsmobile
refer to a picture of “the before” in order to get to the point of having a properly functioning “after.” Once something is taken apart, it simply is not possible to view what it looked like in “the before” stage!
One thing I am certain you are doing this month is taking pictures. Believe it or not, a camera is in fact one of the more useful tools of our trade.
Using a film camera to document the before and after, while better than nothing, is not all that helpful. I was, and still am, a huge fan of 35mm SLR film cameras. I wish I now had all the money I invested in camera equipment over the years! Perhaps that same equipment now qualifies as antique, vintage or collector?
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Cadillac Corvair
IN THIS ISSUE:
Tools of the Trade 1 - Unusual GDYNets® On the Web
Well, here it is December, and another year is about to go into the history books. My wish for all CCC readers is that 2010 be productive and memorable when it comes to working on, and enjoying, our old rides!
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If you have a classic ride, you must/should have a camera. Why? One reason is so that you may share the joy of your ride with others. However, there are other, equally or more important, reasons to have a camera in your tool box. The very first task of any project involving your ride should be taking photographs. You want a record of the before, as well as the after. Secondly, you may need to
Historic Hwy. 27 Tour of ‘09
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Coming Next Issue
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Historic Hwy. 27 Tour of ‘09-Pics
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WHERE YOU WILL FIND GDYNets (me) on the WWW: Dave’s Den http://GDYNets.WEBNG.com
The Gray Lady- 55 Cad de Ville OldsD88@gmail.com
One does not need the biggest and best digital camera ever
made. Besides, even if you found such, it would be outdated in a few short months. Get one that has at least 5 MP (megapixel) capacity. Get something that has automatic, point and shoot, capability. What you want is a camera that is easy to operate CONTINUED ON P. 2.
GDYNets® on the Web
Saved 62 http://www.freewebs.com/ jeandaveyaros
EMAIL:
Whatever their qualities, film SLR’s lack instant viewing capability. For that, you need to go digital. The market today is such that acquiring a useable digital camera will not cost you an arm and a leg.
Car Collector Chronicles-scribd
DAVE’S DEN: A website devoted to a myriad of interests. Foremost is extensive information on the “Steel City” of Gary, IN. There are also offerings on steel making, U.S. Steel-Gary Works, U.S. Marine Corps, M14 assault rifle, of course Oldsmobile, and the tragic story of the murder of Gary, IN Police Lt. Geo. Yaros.
SAVED 62: A website devoted to our 1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 convertible. The site also has a lot of information on Oldsmobiles and its founder, Ransom Eli Olds. THE GRAY LADY: This website features our 1955 Cadillac Coupé de Ville and Caddy information.
Car Collector Chronicles
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TOOLS OF THE TRADE – UNUSUAL, Continued and delivers pictures with enough clarity and detail to be of practical use to you. It should also have the capability of taking close up shots. To avoid blurry pictures, the purchase of an inexpensive mini-tripod might also be a wise investment. It goes without saying, your pictures won't be of much value to you unless they may be downloaded to, and viewed on, your computer. The purchase of any digital camera should automatically include the software needed to handle this. I know you already have a computer and are comfortable using it; after all, you are a CCC reader! ®
“The two best features of going digital are instant viewing on the camera, and being able to delete crummy shots.”
The two best features of going digital are instant viewing on the camera, and being able to delete crummy shots. Take your pic and look at it. Does it meet your needs? If not, delete it and try again. Our digital camera happens to be a Kodak™ EasyShare, but the purchase of any major brand will do the trick. Ours also happens to be a warranted, refurbished camera. Factory refurbished means less cost, and we are all interested in saving money, right? To be truthful, we continue to be astonished at the quality of pictures it produces. All of the photos of our rides, the Yaros Car Barn, projects, etc. that you see on the pages of CCC were taken with it. ®
How many times have you heard about how much documentation enhances the value of a ride? How many times have you seen photo albums on display with restored machines? With a relatively inexpensive, easy to operate, digital camera you too can impress the world with your vehicle documentation. Have you ever completed the purchase of auto insurance for your classic without having to submit pictures? I haven’t. With your digital camera you can email those pictures to your insurance company. Those very pictures may help resolve a damage claim, should any questions arise during the settlement process. You will be able to show the part was NOS, as you gave them a picture of it. On a more mundane, but practical, level, when working on a project you should no longer have to resort to scouring a wiring diagram to find out if it is the blue or black wire that should be connected to this terminal. Just look at the before picture! Photographing the before and after is also a great way to involve others in your passion for old cars. While they may not be interested in turning wrenches, they may gladly become your official photog. So, if you are not doing so now, it is highly recommended that you do get a digital camera, become familiar with it, and start shooting. You won’t regret the decision.
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HISTORIC HWY. 27 TOUR of ‘09 In the August issue I hinted at the fact we were going to take SAVED 62 (our 1962 Dynamic 88 Olds, convertible) on an organized driving tour of Old U.S. 27 in the state of Michigan. The driving tour was 5 days in length, and encompassed 10 stops enroute. Here is a map of the driving tour:
You, along with 200 other like-minded souls, head out on the road with a You can see, it ran right up the heart of Michigan, on U.S. Hwy. 27. Let’s go back to the beginning. In the fall of ’07 I found a driving tour online for the summer of 2008. Unfortunately, it was booked, and not accepting more participants. I was never able to find that trip again? Wanting to spend more time driving our car, than showing it, I kept looking for something similar. In early 2009, I stumbled upon the Historic Hwy. 27 Tour. It was appealing for a number of reasons. That it passed through Lansing, MI (the home of Oldsmobile and R. E. Olds), was but one. What better place to take SAVED 62? Secondly, the format of the drive was neat. Every morning, you, along with 200 other like-minded souls, head out on the road with a police escort. At noonish you hit a town, stop, eat and have a car show for a couple of hours. Then it is on to the next port-of-call for another show, dinner/drinks and a night’s rest. Equally attractive was the fact we would not be taking the tour alone. Quite a while back a fellow Oldsmobile aficionado made contact with me
police escort.”
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HISTORIC HWY. 27 TOUR of ‘09 – Continued electronically. We not only shared a fondness for Oldsmobile, that interest was mutually focused on the 1962 model year. His interest focuses on the Starfire. He has a true beauty in which he has invested a lot of time, energy and money. The best thing about his ride is that he drives it regularly, weather permitting! We have been exchanging information, viewpoints and you name it, via email, ever since. In fact he even contributed an article to the March 2009 edition of CCC on his first ride, a 1938 Dodge coupe. In the process, I have determined that for a foreigner (Canadian), he is not too bad a guy! ®
“For five days two old duffers, accompanied by their understanding mates, were able to motor in their Oldsmobile machines on the 2-lane through the heart of Michigan”
I mentioned the tour to him in an email. He thought it sounded interesting. Ultimately, I called him out by asking if he thought it was interesting enough to have he and his mate join Jean and I on the tour. They agreed. So, after a year or more of email exchanges we actually got to meet David L. and Lola G. of Windsor, ONT CA; live and in person! Our initial meeting took place in Lansing, MI, not under the best of circumstances. At the time, I was under the hood of SAVED 62 trying to figure out why she refused to start! After a long, hard day of stop & go driving in hot and humid conditions, she simply did not want to fire? I never did figure out why. I suspect it was vapor lock. Vapor lock is a condition I have heard of, but never before experienced. After taking out/checking the points, removing the coil wire/cleaning the coil terminal and testing for the presence of spark, she took off without a hitch. I suspect the time taken to investigate the problem allowed the engine to cool to the point where the vapor lock dissipated? What I do know is, we never found the cause of the problem, and SAVED 62 functioned like a champ for the rest of the tour. For five days two old duffers, accompanied by their understanding mates, were able to motor the 2-lane through the heart of Michigan in their Oldsmobile machines. In actuality, the tour started at the Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, IN. As Jean and I had already been to this museum, we opted out; electing to pick up the tour at its MI starting point, Coldwater. Instead, we went to South Bend, IN and perused the holdings of the Studebaker National Museum. The last time I had visited here, the museum was housed in a very small building that may have been a former dealership or auto repair facility. At the time, it was struggling to survive. Now, it is in an elegant, modern structure and clearly has civic support behind it. Our evening was concluded by dining on excellent prime rib and duck at the Studebaker mansion. When one sees the craftsmanship that Studebaker incorporated into the construction of conestoga (covered) wagons, an appreciation is gained for his solid reputation as an automobile manufacturer in the early days. His 1920-30 vintage rides are mighty classy looking machines, easily able to hold their own against the competition of the time. We next traveled to Shipshewana, IN. In addition to being Amish country, Shipshewana is also the home of the Hostetler Hudson Museum. It is billed as having the largest collections of Hudson automobiles in the world. What I can tell you is that all the vehicles are operational, and beautifully maintained. We even had the opportunity of speaking at length with a member of the Hostetler family about the extensive collection. We are talking Hudson, Essex, pickup trucks, panel body delivery trucks, race cars, convertibles and
Car Collector Chronicles
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HISTORIC HWY. 27 TOUR of ‘09 – Continued one off sport cars to name but a few. BACK TO THE TOUR— Kudos have to go out to the organizer, Craig Parrish. He puts in a tremendous amount of effort to assure things go smooth, and it shows. First off, there is a police escort along almost the entire route. Just to have law enforcement at an appointed intersection on an appointed day, at an appointed hour, requires massive amounts of coordination. Law enforcement was on the scene, permitting our caravan of 200 + rides to cruise through traffic light controlled intersections without a hitch. As a spectator, it would have been nearly impossible to not find a ride that held some personal interest. This is because the number, model years and makes of automobile on tour ran the gamut. One of my favorites from among all the cars was a 1960 Chrysler 300 F. It had ram induction with 2 fours, and swivel bucket seats. I am proud to say that Oldsmobile was quite well represented; going as far back as 1939. Model year 1962 had 3 entries; two Starfires and SAVED 62. A number of Cutlasses and later full-sized Olds were also part of the entourage. TOUR HIGHLIGHTS — One of the neatest things about the tour was to see the joy in the faces of spectators as we rolled by. Residents would come out of their homes to meet/greet us. Oncoming traffic would pull over to the side of the road, park and watch the caravan make its way past them. There were waves and smiles all around. For Jean and I, it was really neat to be able to share the joy inherent in classic car ownership with all the folks we encountered enroute. It was neat to hear a spectator say, as we pulled into Lansing, “There’s another one that has come home!” (SAVED 62 is, in actual fact, a Lansing built machine.) Finding pristine copies of Setting the Pace; the tome when it comes to Oldsmobiles; at bargain basement prices, and good food, also made the tour all the more enjoyable. 3 hardy souls traversed the entire tour route on Cushman motor scooters. Their feat was all the more remarkable, given the prevailing weather; it rained 3 out of 5 days, off and on. Most gratifying was receiving compliments on SAVED 62 from fellow classic car owners who were driving what I thought was some mighty fine machinery. I am proud to say that she ably held her own amongst a group of pretty select automobiles. For our return trip, we drove the 2-lanes around the southern shore of L. Huron and the eastern shore of L. Michigan. At Luddington, MI we loaded/boarded a ferry that took us to Manitowoc, WI. This eliminated having to make another trip through Chicago with SAVED 62. By the time we arrived home, we had logged a total of 1,192 miles! On the way to MI, particularly on the Indiana Toll Road, we were alongside an 18 wheeler in a construction zone. The road was curvy and sported concrete barriers. Had the semi not been pulling 3 trailers, with the third and final one swerving side-to-side, it
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HISTORIC HWY. 27 TOUR of ‘09 – Continued would not have been nearly as hair raising an experience! The logical question must be, “Hey Dave, where are photos from the tour?” Below are a few, solely as a tease. You may view all the pics taken at the Studebaker and Hudson museums, and on the Hwy. 27 Tour, on Photobucket.com. Ok, I have had my say for this month, and 2009. Now it is your turn! I invite and encourage submission of your comments, opinions and contributions. Everything sent shall indeed be reviewed by me. Submissions should be sent to: OldsD88@gmail.com _______________________________________
-- RESTORE 'EM, AND DRIVE 'EM! COMING NEXT ISSUE:
Winter Projects Classic Car Shows Vol. II-2009 Article/Photo Index
Happy Holidays From CCC®!