On Thursday afternoon I bought a truck and I bought it in a really cool place. Up until a few weeks ago, one of the 11 vehicles in my fleet was a full-size '88 Chevy pickup that was my everyday run around truck. It was a rusty beast, but it had been mostly rebuilt mechanically, so it ran very well. It lacked a few amenitities like a heater and a working radio, but so what? Then, my middle son overheated his car and ruined the engine. Since he was not in the position to rush out and buy another vehicle, I gave him my truck. Then, I began looking for a replacement. Last week I happened across a white Ranger pickup sitting on a car lot in Waupaca, Wis., 13 miles south of Iola. I did not really want a small truck, but it was a very clean 2003 Ranger and I was able to get it for just the price I had in mind. Considering where gas prices are going, I admitted to myself thar a small truck wasn't such a bad idea and I bought it. Picking it up was a pleasure. It turned out that the used car lot - Hansen's Auto - started as a pre-1920s Oldsmobile and Oakland dealership. The inside of the building is like a museum. It is loaded with Oldsmobile automobilia, models of old cars and old gas pumps and candy machines. The place used to be called the Yellowstone Garage because, in the old days, Waupaca was on the Yellowstone Trail. Folks heading in the direction of Old Faithful would stop at the Yellowstone Garage to get their buggies serviced. I enjoyed sitting in the old building filling out the paperwork on the truck. It made me feel like there was an old-car connection to the deal, even though I was buying the newest vehicle I have ever owned. 

Earlier this year I predicted that small cars would be a trend in the old car hobby as gas prices climb. I noticed a bunch of small cars at the Atlantic City Classic Car Auction that were getting heavy attention. They included a Fiat 600, a Renault 10, a Morris Minor Traveler, a pair of Volkswagen Things and an MG TC.

The next week I was at the World of Wheels Show in Green Bay, Wis., and noticed an even smaller car -- a Vespa -- on display. It was an unusual sight in amongst the hot rods and racing cars that are typically seen at such events.

The conventional wisdom is that we will see $4 per gallon gasoline soon. Unless I miss my guess, that's going to bring more tiny vintage cars out of the woodwork. As they start to catch on, expect to see their prices rising (but not going wild)..

Some folks I have talked to say it doesn't work this way. They think gas prices don't affect "real" collectors that much. I've been told, "Collectors are going to trailer their cars to shows, so fuel economy won't matter." What do you think? I'm betting that many enthusiasts still prefer driving and I say they wil gravitate towards little old cars.l  

During my recent visit home to New York, I slipped up to Valley Stream to visit Kevin Mackay's Corvette Repair, Inc. (www.corvetterepair.com) As Kevin says, his shop is a "hole in the wall," but the work done inside those walls is Holy. His talented crew was finishing up the famed Owens Corning race car when I arrived. But this is not about Kevin, or rather, it's about the person who got Kevin started.

Frank J. Dominianni opened Hi-Speed Power Equipment in 1947 or 1948. Frank began racing sports cars in 1950. He drove an MG TC at venues like Watkins Glen and raced against some people I've had the great pleasure of meeting over the years like Augie Pabst, Oscar Kovoleski, Briggs Cunningham and Brooks Stevens. When the Corvette came out, Frank became a fan and by '62 he had a "Big Tank" race car on the circuit. Young Kevin Mackay used to watch him loading that car on summer weekends. Today, the car is in Mike Yager's MY GARAGE Museum.

Frank Domininni is now 83 years old - and as sharp as a pistol. When I asked if I could do a story about him, his response was "You'd better write fast, I'm old." But, Frank doesn't seem as old as he is. He still builds custom racing engines, sets up fuel-injection systems and specializes in race tuning Corvette engines. His ancient speed shop houses an engine dyno and a chassis dyno. "It's a good one, from Italy," Frank pointed out.

While we were talking, two 'Vette lovers came in and asked Frank about a 427 that he had rebuilt years earlier. He was friendly to them, but he couldn't remember a lot of details on the big-block motor. He was too busy thinking about kicking up dust in his TC roadster nearly 60 years ago. At a certain age, you kind of max out your memory. After that, only the good things stay. All thoughts of the work that you had to do to pay the bills goes away. For Frank, it's the racing memories that count!

Linda Clark and I were selling car books at the "World of Wheels" in Green Bay, Wis., yesterday, when we saw a young boy walking past with a shirt that said "Street King" on it. Below the words was ae picture of an old car. We both noticed the boy, but Linda said it first. "Cool shirt for a kid, huh?" Then we both realized that the Shopko Hall at Brown County Areana, which hosts the show, was loaded with young boys and girls.

Show manager Bob Ashton and his hardworking crew make a point of reaching out to kids. Their attractions this year include Ben Jones who playsed "Cooter" on the "Dukes of Hazzard" TV show (plus a "General Lee" Dodge Charger of course, cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants, Jason Earles who stars as "Jackson" on the popular "Hanna Montana" TV series, the "Tow-Mater" tow truck from the Pixar-Disney "Cars" cartoon movie and Ron Kramer of the Packer Hall of Fame.

Many people in the car-collecting field talk about the problem of getting young people involved with old cars. This is something we have to do if we want our hobby to survive and grow in the future. It seem to us that the World of Wheels shows (produced by Championship Auto Shows) are reaching out to get kids to come to these events. Those boys and girlds may come to see a TV star, but when they get there, they are exposed to many old cars, hot rods and tuners that will help turn them into car enthusiasts.  

The Green Bay World of Wheels continues Sunday, March 9. Why not come and see the show - and bring the kids along.

The past 12 days were fun for me as I got to take one of my road trips. I don't travel as much as Angelo or Ron, but when I travel I pack in the stops. This time I drove my 1989 Caprice 9C1 state trooper car around 3,000 miles and it ran faultlessly, although you do have to watch those "cop car" ABS brakes, which were trouble when new). I left Iola on Feb. 23 and touched base with my old photographer buddy Mike Carbonella on Staten Island. Then I made three stops in Valley Stream, N.Y. Austin Azzeretto, a big Buick collector, runs a Goodyear store in the Green Acres Mall. He tackled a wheel alingment for me and I watched his '34 Ford hot rod being detailed for the Atlantic City Auction. About a mile from Austin's tire store is Corvette Repair, Inc., a famous shop that does Corvette racing cars. After stopping there, Kevin Mackay directed me to an old speed shop nearby, where the man who got him started in Corvettes still fixes 'Vette engines and injection units. What a day! On Wednesday night I scooted down to Atlantic City and I spent the next four days at the auction there. You have already read about some of the doings down there. Sunday I left AC and went to the outskirts of Philly for a next-morning stop at Ragtops & Roadsters, a British restoration shop of note. From there I went up to Eastwood to test some of their new tools and products. Then I headed to Pittsburgh to visit Glassworks/The Hardtop Shop, which I have already blogged about. On the way home I made one stop in Elkhart, Ind., to see a trailer maker. They make a very cool little trailer that breaks down so you can carry it in a minivan. Think about that. You could drive to a swap meet in an economical minivan, but if you find something big that you just have to have, you can assemble the trailer and get it home very cheaply. This trailer is called "Port-A-Chopper" because it comes in motorcycle form, but for swap meets you'd want the utility kit that makes it into a cargo hauler (there's also a boat kit).  For info call QC Metal Fab at 1 800 828 1374 or visit www.portachopper.com.

The past 12 days were fun for me as I got to take one of my road trips. I don't travel as much as Angelo or Ron, but when I travel I pack in the stops. This time I drove my 1989 Caprice 9C1 state trooper car around 3,000 miles and it ran faultlessly, although you do have to watch those "cop car" ABS brakes, which were trouble when new). I left Iola on Feb. 23 and touched base with my old photographer buddy Mike Carbonella on Staten Island. Then I made three stops in Valley Stream, N.Y. Austin Azzeretto, a big Buick collector, runs a Goodyear store in the Green Acres Mall. He tackled a wheel alingment for me and I watched his '34 Ford hot rod being detailed for the Atlantic City Auction. About a mile from Austin's tire store is Corvette Repair, Inc., a famous shop that does Corvette racing cars. After stopping there, Kevin Mackay directed me to an old speed shop nearby, where the man who got him started in Corvettes still fixes 'Vette engines and injection units. What a day! On Wednesday night I scooted down to Atlantic City and I spent the next four days at the auction there. You have already read about some of the doings down there. Sunday I left AC and went to the outskirts of Philly for a next-morning stop at Ragtops & Roadsters, a British restoration shop of note. From there I went up to Eastwood to test some of their new tools and products. Then I headed to Pittsburgh to visit Glassworks/The Hardtop Shop, which I have already blogged about. On the way home I made one stop in Elkhart, Ind., to see a trailer maker. They make a very cool little trailer that breaks down so you can carry it in a minivan. Think about that. You could drive to a swap meet in an economical minivan, but if you find something big that you just have to have, you can assemble the trailer and get it home very cheaply. This trailer is called "Port-A-Chopper" because it comes in motorcycle form, but for swap meets you'd want the utility kit that makes it into a cargo hauler (there's also a boat kit).  For info call QC Metal Fab at 1 800 828 1374 or visit www.portachopper.com.

I don't know about you, but I love seeing restoration work that qualifies as a "work of art." Sometimes that description applies to a whole car and sometimes it applies just to a part of the car. Today I stopped to see a couple of guys in Crescent, Pa., who have turned the restoration of early Corvette windshields and fiberglass hardtops into a true art form.

 Chances are, you or I could probably buy a Corvette and live pretty well with the windshield or hardtop it has. Or we might try to restore these parts ourselves and do a real decent job. HOWEVER - if we wanted the car to look like a "crown" jewel and win Top Flight Awards - then it's probably time to send our parts to Matt, Larry and Joe at Glassworks/The Hardtop Shop.

Youthful though they are, these talented craftsmen have literally perfected the job of making a car with one of their windshields or tops stand out from the pack.

But don't take my word on this. You have a computer (or you wouldn't be reading this blog) so visit U-Tube and search for Joe's videos on Corvette windshields and Corvette hardtops. He has created four informative presentations that any early 'Vette collector will definitely want to see.

If you can't find the videos, visit www.thehardtopshop.com or email Joe at glassworksjoe@yahoo.com.

"I won't sell it to you," is a hard thing for a collector car dealer to say, but that's exactly what Tony Averso, of South Hackensack, N.J. told a man who wanted to buy a clean, classic Cadillac and turn it into a customized car. "It's my car, it's too nice for that and if that's what you're planning to do, you can't buy this car," were Tony's sentiments.

Tony likes Cadillacs too much to let something like that happen. A few days ago, I told you about the "book end" '41 Cadillacs he was offering at Atlantic City and misidentified his business as Toby's Classic Cars. The correct name is Torby's Memory Lane, 67 Leuning St., So. Hackensack, NJ 07606 201-981-6420. If you want to buy a near-perfect '41 Caddy convertible and treat it properly, call Tony. If you want to turn it into a hot rod -- don't bother! 

It seemed to be a good year to be selling an Oldsmobile muscle car or a postwar Lincoln product at the Atlantic City Classic Car Auction. A gorgeous No. 1 condition 1970 Olds 4-4-2 Convertible was the high-priced car on Saturday. Grant Miller of Grant's Classic Cars in Lock Haven, Pa., paid what was probably a World's Record price of $195,000 to buy the shiny black car. Miller holds his own classic car auction in the Lock Haven area the third week of July each year.

A matching-numbers 1967 Olds 4-4-2 hardtop in No. 2 condition also traded hands for $33,500. Lincolns carrying "Sold" signs on their windshields included a No. 3 condition 1948 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet that fetched $48,000, a 1950 Capri two-door sedan in No. 3 shape that brought $24,000 and a similar-condition two-tone Yellow and Black 1956 Premiere two-door hardtop that found a new owner at a bargain $17,500.

 In order, other top sales of Saturday were: 1956 Mercury Montclair two-door hardtop in No. 3 condition ($31,000); Customized 1948 Chevy 1/2-ton pickup in No. 1 condition ($35,000); 1964 Pontiac GTO two-door hardtop in No. 2 condition ($36,500); 1967 Pontiac GTO convertible in No. 2 condition ($37,000); 1968 Camaro SS in No. 2 condition ($39,000); 1970 Dodge Charger 500 in No. 2 condition with 440-cid V-8 and four-speed ($47,500); 1970 Camaro RS/SS No. 2 condition Coupe with 396-cid V-8 and automatic ($54,000); 1961 Corvette No. 2 condition roadster with 327-cid 365-hp V-8 ($67,500); 1956 Packard Caribbean Convertible in No. 1 condition ($70,000) and 1969 Camaro RS/SS No. 1 Convertible with 396-cid 375-hp L89 V-8 and four-speed ($100,000).

During the Saturday auction, it was announced that hot rodding legend Boyd Coddington had died at age 63 and (wouldn't you know it) a hot rod 1947 Chevy two-door that crossed the block turned out to be a car that the "Boydster" had once signed. The No. 2 condition truck brought a strong (but not outrageous) $26,000.  

The auction continues on Sunday March 2 at the Atlantic City Convention Center. If you're in the area, come over to AC and meet the Old Cars Weekly staff.

Today was an interesting day at the Atlantic City Classic Car Auction Ron Kowalke has been taking down the auction results for Old Cars Weekly and estimates that 30-40 percent of the cars are selling. He hasn't spotted any real trends or swings in interest, but he thinks that all the cars being sold are trading at levels off the high prices of the past few years. In some cases, I spotted great buys. Future Classics of Lakewod, N.J., sold a beautiful, unrestored '40 Pontiac Six Coupe for $15,000. It was a fabulous original car that could easily win car show trophies. Tony Averso of Troby's Memory Lane in South Hackensack, N.J., let a gorgeous, restored '41 Cadillac coupe go for under $50,000. It was another stunning looking machine. Among the top "barn finds" in the sale was a 1941 Lincoln Zephyr V-12 sedan. This one needed some work for show, but it was fully driveable and would be a fun car to use for a summer or two, before refurbishing it. How about a 1929 Plymouth Model U coupe with a 45-hp Silver Dome engine in running condition? The asking price was justy $7,50 for this all original Mopar. People we talked to described the venue as a "buyer's market." Whether you wanted an old car, a '50s car, a muscle car or a sports car, there were plenty to choose from and the prices were the most reasonable ones we've seen in years.

The regular Thursday auction at Atlantic City is kind of a warm up for the weekend. A lot of newer cars crossed the block, so that the big crowd days -- Friday and Saturday -- will be loaded with more Classic cars.

Things picked up steam at the Borgata sale on Thursday night, which offered 50 "higher end" cars. Eighteen of these vehicles were actually sold. Here are the successful sales:

2007 Shelby GTH Convertible ($62,000); 1948 Chevrolet Fleetline Conutry Club Aero Coupe ($29,000); 1936 Ford Hot Rod Woody Wagon ($60,000); 1936 Chevy Coupe with dual sidemounts -- Old Cars Weekly cover car ($35,000); 1956 Pontiac Star Chief convertible ($67,000); 1957 Ford Tunderbird ($51,500); 1935 Auburn Custom hot rod ($67,500); 1952 Muntz Jet ($72,000); 1939 LaSalle convertible ($39,000); 1962 Chevrolet Impala SS 409 convertible ($76,000); 1965 Buick Riviera GS Sport Coupe ($41,750); 1966 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 convertible ($33,000); 1957 Ford Skyliner Retractable ($45,000); 1961 Chrysler 300 G convertible ($79,000); 1936 Packard phaeton ($100,000); 1962 Corvette with added FI ($80,000); 1969 Chevelle SS-396 ($45,000); and 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T with custom paint ($36,000).

Some of these cars, like the '39 LaSalle, were excellent buys.

The Atlantic City Classic Car Auction will continue tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday so we'll be bringing you daily reports.