balthazar

Tangent: the first thing I sold on eBay : I saw a set of NOS "PONTIAC" letters, billed as 'early '60s' IIRC. Bought them for $17, ID'd them as '57 decklid lettering by the part #s, flipped them for an even $100 and shipped them out in the same box. Yeah- I should be grateful for the work (booked thru the end of the year if 75% of it comes thru... 3 years now with zero advertising... but I am SWAMPED. I should learn to say 'no' I suppose. And I AM grateful... but it gets stressful trying to juggle it all....

Where's the '57 at geographically, BP? I have done a vintage car inspection before ('59 Olds), but unless it's within 1 hr from me, I just don't have the time to do one; work is pressing like a 2-ton gorilla....

Just heard tonight my truck's original dealer, and my choice for factory service, is not going to get renewed in 2010. There since '55, in a town of 2000. Whole 'dealer-reduction' still doesn't make sense to me AFA GM is concerned ....

Being that they're judges w/ appraisal training for the AACA- I'd trust them as legit.

>>"$9500 car with $20000 of rims/ tires/ suspension and $106500 in cash in the trunk stolen"< fixed

Lovin' that '57 S60S on the carrier above. circa '70 Pinto 2-dr wagon, woodgrain sides, dusty but registered. '70 Dodge Coronet Super Bee hardtop, minty-fresh, crusin. the headlights of something from the '20s peering from a junk-packed garage.

I dunno- tho of course the values weren't there then... I'm of the same generation as you 66, and in '84 my friends & I valued those cars immensely. Jeez- it was '84- looks at the slop then then-modern car world was offering up.

What; no covert ops wear details ?? :wink:

Tasty Snowflakes....

>>"Why is it that every journalist assumes every car's checklist must include navigation next to things as typical as a windshield? I just don't see the point of it being a 'must have' that all manufacturers should include. "<< Agreed. It's a 'hot button' item that gets mentioned continually in the face of a lack of much emotion in a modern car: the car itself is a mere homogenized appliance/pod, so obviously we must continually be distracted by lights & beeps to avoid the inevitable ensuing depression. I follow people (none of whom are out-of-staters) daily on US Rt 1, which by me is arrow-straight for 15+ miles- and there's their windshield NAV with a single straight line in the middle of the screen. Makes you look real capable to your fellow motorists...

I hate to expose my softer underbelly, and I don't typically watch reality (or TV in general) much, but I'm a sucker for the sentimental, underdog storyline. He did real well. Thing that always occures to me RE the power of music: after he performs, how many of those chickadees in the audience watching intently could he roll with after the show vs. the zero before ??

'Apparent' quality doesn't mean much- it's the test of time that proves anything. Bought a more expensive pair of workboots once with quadruple stitching- cheap-assed thread kind of.... dissolved and the panels separated, plus the soles wore faster than usual. I like to find what lasts and buy twice as much so I shop half as often. This includes workboots- I buy 2 pair at once (Wolverine). I destroy clothes, I cannot keep anything nice for long... theredore I have very little that's nice. But I'm comfortable as hell. I haven't changed this approach in 3 years, or 13, and I doubt I will in the next 30. Jeans, t-shirts, shorts, workboots, cheap, tough, lasts as long as possible on this chassis.

Sweet merciful crap- I started a profile tonight (keeping an eye on #1 son). We're just gonna brush aside all the stated, implied & understood comments about 'those over 30', OK ? ....Everything is hidden except to friends- it's even more pointless than I thought. How are you supposed to laugh at the failures & deteriorations of others without them knowing about it ?? Still, I do have some folk to look up...

You sure that's just not just a few hundred ingrown hairs ??

Betting I'm the only person who recognized that the 'new GM' was organized under the FIRST name of the entity; incorporated as 'General Motors Company' in the state of New Jersey on 09-16-1908. GM's 2nd birthday was when they reorganized in DE on 10-13-1916 (GMCo was dissolved 08-03-1917).

My 2 cents: I never cared for the concept Lacrosse overall. The hardtop body, the grille/emblem up front, the utility out back are VG.... but the whole car has an unhappy 'pinch' in the middle that doesn't work for me, and it's too rounded off; nose & tail. In the same vein, I did not care for the Riviera concept at all, and there were details on the Velite that bugged me too. I'm a concept guy, I love the possibilites of restraint-free design.... and Buick has done dozens that fit this definition over the years.... but these are not the direction I would choose to point Buick in.

Franken'Pala. See what one can do when they're not accumulating 6100 posts on a message board ?? I read pages 1, 2, 22, 23 & 24- spent about 5 minutes crusing the pics/captions. It WAS only a Chevy, you know. Gimmee the set-up/approach, and where you are today and I'm generally good. Hope his lil' Hobart is amp'd enough to weld those A-arms spindles; high stress area than needs thorough penetration.... or all that welding/grinding may come undone after a few freeway potholes!

>>"President Barack Obama has warned the House’s carbon tariffs plan could send the wrong signal to trading partners."< Yeah; that we are completely idiots. Whoops- too late.

Monster cheat: '20s vehicles are very tough to tell yr by yr, and I don't study them... but this one had a '1923' plate on the front. :wink: I was driving by, slowing for a light- I was lucky to spot the Olds crest on the radiator shell, then the plate. Without those, I would've reported "1920's touring sedan". Today~ '38 Ford coupe, bright yellow, hot rodded/tubbed, cruising. '57 T-bird, red, perfect, cruising. Pinto wagon, tan w/ woodgrain sides, a bit weathered but all there.

See- your inherant good taste has been apparent for a long while here, and now; the proof has been revealed. There HAS to be a pic somewhere {waits, drumming fingers.....}

ASG - Horsewhipper

>>"A wing can be just as functional on a FWD car as it can on a RWD one."<< Agreed, & good point. I would think for a deck spoiler to have a measurable, discernable effect on handling, the car would have to be going much closer to 100 than 50, but that's just a hunch. I know (ummm... unrelated?) that Chrysler submitted a tech paper on their fins in the late '50s, saying they tested them as positive for improving subseptibility to crosswinds, but I believe they left out the tidbit that you had to be going 90 or more to feel it. Again as a hunch, I would think downforce = handling increase would have to be at least at that level, but would love to read anything technical/testing on the matter.

> I don't see anything 'wrong' with vinyl tops- when they first appeared (mid '50s) they were NOT intended to invoke an image of a convertible. It's just a different treatment for different tastes. > If we're going to mention fake hood scoops, which usually cannot be discerned as to whether they're functional or not from topside.... spoilers are ALL non-functional unless tacked onto a 150+ MPH car, and even then....

You are your own man; buy what you like. That said, I did not laugh (tho I did grimace). :wink: LOTS of cars can be driven with windows down & the sunroof open.... :wink:

I toyed with the idea of building up the nailhead 401... but the rest of the powertrain is/was funky with no aftermarket support, so it forced my hand. You can swing someone building your project, no? If a vintage piece, you have Ford roots- not expensive, relatively. You only go around once....