There's a new Old Cars "Community" being set up on the Old Cars Weekly website. They tell me it's like My Space.com, but being an old codger, I have no idea what that is. However, it seemed like it would be fun to try to set up a profile of my "bad habits" (collecting cars) so I clicked myself into the community and started figuring how to set up a profile. I'm told I was supposed to use the "Sign up" button, but I was scared of that 'cause I thought I might be signing up to buy something (which wasn't the case). So I hit the "Invite" button, which sounded more inviting, and I was confronted with a form on which to enter my information. This will create a profile so I can network with other collectors. Doing all the "paperwork" is kind of a job, but now I can talk to other hobbyists (for free) on line. Who knows when that might come in handy for getting a fact for an article or - even more important - tracing down a hard to get part for my MG Magnette.

In the old days, we used to say that carrying an attache case makes someone an expert. Attache cases seem kind of passe now and I don't have any. I'm also no expert. Despite my lack of expertise, I sometimes get asked to write about something I know nothing about. That's when I become a "researcher." A good researcher reads other books and visits lots of websites, but he also asks questions of people who really know the answers . . . like you.

The article I have to write in this case is about Z-code Corvette options. I'm trying to research all these options and come up with as complete as list as I possibly can.

If you know something about this topic, please contact me by using the comments link below or by email. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Last week I sold two signed copies of my books to Manfred Zumbroich of Hamburg, Germany on eBay. When Manfred contacted me by email, I told him that I could fit a third book in the Priority Mail International "flat rate" box with no increase in shipping. That gave me the opportunity to sell a third book and gave Manfred the chance to add another book to his automotive library without shipping cost. Manfred said he would accept this offer, but only if I threw in a Show Directory from last year's Iola Old Car Show!

This just goes to show you that the annual Iola Old Car Show, which is always held the second weekend in July, is an event that is known the world over.

Everyone readingthis is invited to come to the show this year Check www.iolaoldcarshow.com. And if you get in town, please look me up. I'll even sell you a book.

I was just doing some writing about Pontiac GTOs and used two great books for research. Both of these books were written by men who were there in the 1960s when GTO history was evolving. The first man is Jim Wangers, who I met for the first time in the mid '70s. Jim worked for Pontiac's ad agency. His book Glory Days: When Horsepower and Passion Ruled Detroit gives a remarkable insider's look at the history of many high-performance Pontiacs and the people who brought the cars to market. The second man is Milt Schornack, who I met about six years ago following a Pontiac show in Michigan. Milt worked for Ace Wilson's Royal Pontiac, a high-performance dealership with direct links to the factory. His book Milt Schornack and the Royal Bobcat GTOs is certainly must reading for enthusiasts.

Using these books made me wonder how many other men and women there are who were an important part of automotive history who haven't written books? Wouldn't it be great if publishers would seek them out and sign them up for books?

Years ago I had a chance to interview Ben Annibal, the man who was chief engineer for the first Pontiac of 1926. I was a young writer and I dragged my feet on getting the interview done and by the time I worked up my courage, Mr, Annibal had passed away. Now, I regret missing that opportunity and I hope that the younger writers who are doing research today will look up all the important personalities and get their first-hand memoirs into print befiore it's too late.

Now that the big Arizona Auctions are over, everyone is talking about the "trends for 2008," almost as if the year is over. People say all kinds of things about the big-buck auctions out west, but I believe only what I hear from people who actually went there to buy or sell cars. The buyers I spoke to were split. Some thought the auctions were an absolute circus that meant nothing in the bigger picture. The other group of buyers was very happy - in today's terms, there were deals to be had if you were buying. The sellers were not happy. Those who got 80 percent of what they expected to come home with felt they did well. But many got less than half of what they needed and expected and took a big hit.

So, that's the "financials" of the hobby. But if you think that headline auction prices make this hobby, you're sadly mistaken. Most of us who collect old cars don't think too much about their values, until we're ready to pass them on to our kin near the end of our life. Until that point, the"value" of the cars we own is in the fun we have bringing them to shows and the social relationships we build around attending car events.

Sure, I'd love to "make money" with my hobby. You probably would, too. It does justify the expenses. But since I'm not going to be buying or selling any cars this year (I'm too busy fixing them for warm weather use), I really don't care what Fords, Ferraris and Franklins brought out in Arizona this year. Keep your dollar signs and let me enjoy my hobby! 

Pierce-Arrow . . . now there's a real car for you. George Pierce started out building bicycles and transitioned into the carmaking business very early in the 20th century, building a car called the Great Arrow.

George had used an arrow logo on his bicycles. He cthen ombined it with his name to give his later cars a real "sharp" identity. The Pierce-Arrow became famous for its unique "trumpet" headlights. It was one of the three big P-for-Prestige cars of the '30s: Packard, Peerless and Pierce! 

Another interesting thing is that Pierce-Arrow used no radiator badge for many years, relying mainly on its kneeling-archer hood mascot for on-the-street recognition. In the early '30s, with the country deep in the Great Depression, Pierece-Arrow even brought out a V-12 to set it apart from cheaper cars that were changing to eight-cylinder engines.

My friend Wally Rank, of Milwaukee, used to be the big Pierce-Arrow collector. At one time Wally had 80 or so of those cars. In the past year, we've crossed paths with quite a few Pierce-Arrows. Last summer, we ran into two beauties in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Now, there are two others consigned to be sold at the Atlantic City Classic Car Auction at the end of February. One is a V-12 convertible sedan, which is way beyond my writer's reach. But the second is a 1934 Model 836A eight-cylinder 5-passenger sedan on the shorter 135-inch wheelbase that's probably a bit more affordable.

This car was restored in 1992 by Sam Rawlins of Dunwoody, Ga., who we just found out passed away right after Christmas. Sam was a collector and restorer of some note and I'm sure that this car will showcase his talent and craftsmanship for future generations of collectors.

It's just the kind of classic I'd love to own - a car with a great product history, as well as a great ownership history.

Tools have always fascinated me. My dad always carried all his tools (as well as his fishing gear, his bowling ball and his golf clubs) in the trunk of his '58 Chrysler Saratoga. The car was a tail dragger, but when he opened the trunk, the tools were always staring me in the face. In the early '60s, I went to Brooklyn Technical High School. It was an old place loaded with tools, equipment and machinery. The school had countless machine shops, an aeronauticaal shop where they built an airplane each year and even two foundries. I think I absorbed "vibes" from all of that hardware. Ever since that time, I have been a serious "tool enthusiast." Last night, I had the pleasure of touring Bennett Coachworks in downtown Milwaukee, with members of the Wisconsin Region of the Classic Car Club and Wisconsin Jaguars, Ltd. I'm surprised the "Tool Collectors Club" wasn't invited, too. Bennett Coachworks was a restoration shop and hot rod business loaded with beautiful cars (www.hotrodbuilders.com). But, while everyone else was busy taking pictures of Dodge Chargers, Olds Toronados and R-code Mustangs, there I was snapping photos of an English wheel and a sheet metal brake. It's no wonder people think I'm wierd. Who else do you know who would rather take a picture of a Mittner Brothers louver punch than a Dodge Brothers touring car? 

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While I was organizing my magazine collection (see previous blog), I ran across a 1937 issue of California Highway Patrolman magazine. It had an interesting story about how the CHP, the California Air National Guard and a CBS radio affiliaqte in Los Angeles teamed up to monitor Southern California traffic. Each Sunday, a CANG pilot would take to the skies over LA in a bi-plane. If the pilot spotted a traffic back up below, he would use a two-way radio to contact the radio station. The radio announcer would then broadcast the delay over the air. I wonder how well this worked back then. If I'm not mistaken, most cars on the highway in 1937 did not have a radio.

Has anyone ever heard of another early effort to monitor highway traffic from the skies?

So I told you last week that I was going to a racing car trade show at Lefthander Chassis, a business located just across the Wisconsin border in Roscoe, Illinois. And the president of Lefthander, Wayne Lensing, tells me he also has a museum I should see. So I'm thinking of a dusty little pole building with things like Richard Petty's go-kart and Barney Oldfield's goggles (oe maybe Barney's last cigar).

So I get off I90/I39 at the last exit before the Illinois Tollway, turn right and go not too far, and here's this big sign "TRADE SHOW." And at the end of the street is this huge building with a parking lot full of cars and "Historic Auto Attractions" lettered on it. I go inside and see a Ford V-8 chassis, a cut-a-way Stutz display engine and a similar Carterpillar engine and some large tin signs for sale. About what I expected. Then I go to the registration desk and the pretty little gal points me towards a set of doors off to my right. I go through them and I'm like a kid in an old-car candy store.

Here's a list: John Dillinger car, Bonnie & Clyde movie car, Al Capone beer truck (I remember the Chicago auction where this one sold), Conway Twitty's Lincoln, the Johnny Cash one-piece-at-a-time Caddy, an Elvis car, a '53 'Vette, a room full of Presidential cars from Roosevelt up, plus cars from the Royal Family, Peron, King of Siam (ex-Imperial Palace), etc. Then an old ambulance, a room packed with racing cars, a room of Super Hero Cars (including the Ghostbuster wagon), a room of TV cars, Stalin's '37 Packard . . . the list (and the cars) just goes on and on.

Like I said, it's called Historic Auto Attractions. The place is easy to find. I must have driven past it on the highway hundreds of times. It offers you a fantastic journey through time. It's definitely a must for your summer travel list if you live in the Midwest or if you're passing through the Chicago area. Visit www.historicautoattractions.com to get all the other details. It's definitely worth a long visit.

One of my first retirement projects is to sort out and organize my car magazines. Over the years I have collected thousands of publications from classic issues of Speed Age to the lastest Old Cars Weekly. Years ago I had nice book cases built by a friend to store my library, but then things slowly got out of hand. I found myself stuffing magazines in file drawers and cabinets. I have plastic bags and canvas bags stuffed with periodicals. I have cardboard boxes full of magazines that publishers handed out at the last three SEMA Shows. I have copies of Auto Trim and Restyling News, Modern Tire Dealer,Undercar Digest, Car Life, DUB, etc. I have just about anything you could imagine in car magazines.

Other folks say "throw them out" or "take them to the pulp factory," but I have been a car magazine lover since I hid Hot Rod in my math text book and read it in Miss Whitney's eighth-grade home room. If old Miss Whitney didn't get my HRM, the pulp factory won't either. 

Now that I'm working for myself, I'm trying to get my magazines oranized into 3-drawer plastic storage units that I stack on wire shelves. So far I have filled about 60 of these on seven wire shelves and I figure I might be 20 percent done at best. The magazines will be stored in my car building. They'll be a bit cold, but I don't think that will hurt them. A few bugs will get in the plastic drawers, but the alternative was stacks of magazines all over the house, and I don't think that was better.

The fun thing about this project is re-reading all those great old stories from the '50s, '60s and '70s. The sad thing is looking at the original prices of those cars and thinking how much I could make today if I could buy the same cars for those factory prices. Wow!

My magazines may not stay mint, but at least I'll be using them and enjoying them again.