ONLY FORD CAR IS A SYMBOL OF USA MIGHT SAYS THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

"Over the past century, American business has been driven by breakthrough technologies," says the newspaper. "Each decade has been associated with a technological icon that has seemed to capture its times.

Among these symbols is the Model T Ford, representing the 1910s. Others are stock ticker, 1920s; Empire State Building, 1930s; commercial airplane,
1940s; TV, 1950s; oil tanker, 1960s; computer, 1970s; DNA, 1980s; cell phone, 1990s; and paper shredder, 2000."

Don't you love that last one?

AND TO ADD TO LAST MONTHS LIST OF YOU CAN TELL YOU'RE AN OLD CAR GUY IF-

• You remember when the rear windows rolled all the way down.
• You remember when a full tank of gas could be had for five or six dollars.
• You remember when oil was one weight, not multi weight.
  (Submitted by John Kavanagh)
• And, You stepped on the gas and the windshield wipers stopped.
  (Submitted by Gary Brown, the famous Jupiter FL fisherman)
  Any others?

How toTell an Old Car Guy

Steve Thompson in October’s "Autoweek" was listing how to tell if you are an old car guy, or, as I would say, geezer car lover.

You’re an old car guy if---

• You repeatedly set of the car’s alarm by sitting on the remote in your pocket and you don’t know what could be causing it. This is the 21st century equivalent of an old car not starting after tune-up because the distributor cap is still in the pocket of your coveralls.
• You want to make sure the "delay" headlights really go off, then walk to the house in the dark.
• You can set points.
• You check the water level in your battery.
• You remember when all cars had bench seats and "three on the tree", when objects in the passenger side mirror were not closer than they appeared, the turn signal was the only stalk and the high beams were on the floor.
• You remember riding the brakes after going through a puddle to dry them off.
• You remember when six cylinders were found in economy cars.
• You still suspicious of unleaded gasoline.
• You are still suspicious of four cylinders and front wheel drive.
• You owned a car that didn’t have a windshield washer.
• You miss window vents.
• You remember when fuel injection, multivalve engines, disk brakes and radial tires were found only on exotic racing cars.
• You remember when the rear windows rolled all the way down.
• You remember when a full tank of gas could be had for five or six dollars.
• You remember when oil was one weight, not multi weight.
  (Submitted by John Kavanagh)
• And, You stepped on the gas and the windshield wipers stopped.
  (Submitted by Gary Brown, the famous Jupiter FL fisherman)
  Any others?

The list goes on. Maybe you can add to it. I’ll publish them here if you want to share.
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An Invitation to Our Old Friends

By now, most of you know that Rader's Relics has downsized. The corner on Fairbanks and I-4 became too valuable to have fun on, you will now find a Hess gas station. We have moved about a half mile from there. We only have room for about 12 cars and it's really hard to keep the place full as it's not easy to find replacements when one sells. For you folks that used to stop in on your trips south, the 10 cent coke machine is gone along with most of the old signs, but the phone number is still the same, give us a call and we'll tell you how to get here ( it's easy ) It's not quite the same and our wives don't come in anymore, but stop in anyway. We can swap a few tall tales about old cars and the folks that own them.

 

A PHILOSOPHIC NOTE FROM RADER
(Good Reputation Vs. Quick Buck)

Why buy from a full-time dealer? (As opposed to someone who just dabbles with cars but makes a living at something else.) Because we need a good reputation. We can't stay in business without it.

In a hobby as large as ours with as many publications available , word spreads quickly. A "curb-stoner" can "stick it" to a couple people a year with misrepresented cars and never worry about bread on the table. We have consciously and diligently conducted our business to earn an excellent ruputation for honesty, value and square dealing . After earning it the hard way (Is there any other way?) I'm not about to gamble on losing it. I have more to lose than I could ever gain in profit on a single shady deal.

(Oops! This sounds like the only reason I'm ethical is that I'm forced. Such is not the case. But you see the point. If I'm not honest for any other reason at least you can depend on my enlightened self interest as a businessman to maintain a good reputation.)

 

SOME CAR ADS SPEAK A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE

I enjoy the contradictions in some. One of my favorites is "Original-Completely Restored." Come on now. You can't have it both ways. Either the car is in factory original condition or it has gone through a nut and bolt restoration to bring it back to original appearance and operating condition. "All original" Oh really? Still got the original battery? On a different slant, every day someone tells me about a car that's "all original" and proceeds to tell me in great detail that it still has the original interior, etc, etc. I immediately want to tell them the junkyards (an antiquated term, but that's another subject) are full of original cars. Your car can be "original and with only 10,000 miles" and still be of no value if it has been sitting under a citrus tree for years. Watch this space for more rants. Maybe you have some of your own to share. Let me know and I'll print them here. See ya next month.

 

FROM SPORTS CAR MARKET JUNE 2002 BY KEITH MARTIN

"When our Healey lost power on the interstate, its hood-up pose was like honey to bees for passing enthusiasts. Soon we were surrounded by new-found friends who removed the fuel pump, adjusted its stroke, cleaned the points, and got us back underway. I have an affection for these old, imperfect conveyances that keep popping into my life. And I have an equal affection for the people who love these cars as well. Vintage car enthusiasts are generally thoughtful, often entertaining, and always seem to have a self-deprecating sense of humor. The latter must come from spending so much time around machines that keep finding new ways to fail. A life filled with these funny old cars, and the people who are drawn to them, is a rich one indeed." I think Mr. Martin said what we have felt for many years. Thanks Keith

NEW FREE ADVICE PAGE!

Welcome to the dear Abby and Doctor Laura of old cars. Dick is Laura with more mechanical experience. I'm Abby with more experience in values. His
comes from busted knuckles and mine from busted wallet. Anyway, since we are semi-retired and just hanging around the cracker barrel here whittling and appraising, there's a lot of experience and knowledge that may be of help to you. The best part is there is no charge for this service (assuming you call on your nickel) The hobby has brought us much pleasure over the years and now is our opportunity to give something back. Now we can't appraise your car over the phone but maybe we can get you in the ballpark. Having trouble finding parts? Is your car worth restoring?
Sell it or keep it?

407-647-1940 (Don't forget the semi-retired irregular hours) or
therelic@bellsouth.net for Bob or cptbuick@mpinet.net for Dick.

 

HOW CAN YOU JUSTIFY THESE PRICES?

Ever wonder where all these prize winning restorations come from that you see advertised? They may not say so but they PRICE the car as if it were a prize winner. If all the AACA and CCCA National winners from the last five years were for sale it couldn't equal the number of cars for sale priced as if they were prize winners. And you assume if it's priced so high it must really be that great. Not an unreasonable assumption. You spend all your time and money going to look, or worse, buy sight unseen. Maybe the seller figures "Ok, my car might not be worth that much, but the buyer might not know it and I can always lower my price." At Raders Relics we price sensibly and reasonably to begin with and frankly, my greatest fear is that people will not bother to come and look assuming that because our price is lower the car may not be as good as the overpriced car elsewhere. So a 10% deposit holds a car for 30 days and if you come see it during that time and don't like it for any reason your deposit is fully refunded. And we still have our famous two year buy-back warranty.
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This is from Dick Hardman in "Model A's of Greater Orlando" Thanks for sharing Dick.

Do you converse with your Model A? I do. I always address them by their name, ask them how they are feeling and listen carefully to their response. (Mine are named Henry, Clara and Evangeline-if you don't know why the name Evangeline ask me sometime.) I can't explain why and my wife thinks I might have a head bolt loose, but after driving Henry for 27 years, I KNOW he starts and runs better when I talk to him. Try it! AND, absolutely the best thing you can do for your A is to drive to our meetings on a regular basis. They get lonesome not being able to visit with their close relatives. If you lock your trusty A in a dark garage for months on end , it will sulk and not greet you with enthusiasm when you finally dash out into the garage and ask it to take you to a meeting. It may very well refuse to go. (I hope this wasn't too technical.)