Turn off the radio and TV, grab a cup of coffee, pick up a wrench and twist some bolts on your collector car. Relax in the garage and listen to what I say. I have been in this collector-car writing business since 1972. I've seen a lot of crisis situations come and go. The current crisis -- which is being caled the "finacial meltdown" -- will also run its course and you and I will be collecting cars, trucks and motorcycles after it's gone.

During the years I worked for Krause Publications (1978-2007), each time the economy "tanked" the company thrived. I was busy working and never stopped to think much about this, but in retrospect, it says a lot about the way in which hobbies weather economic stress. Krause was strictly a hobby publisher and when the national economy slowed down, our subscription business and our bottom line seemed to pick up. 

It is my honest belief that people do more hobby stuff in times like we have today. I don't know why. Maybe they have more time. Maybe they think a collectible is a better investment than a stock certificate.  Maybe they are inclined to sell some choice items, which stimulates the hobby market. Maybe they are inclined to buy, when prices on collectibles drop.

I'm not a market analyst. I just know that historically, all during my career, the hobby publisher I worked for did better than the rest of the business world during harsh economic times. Go figure!

On Sunday I was one of the judges at the second annual Barrington (Ill.) Concours and I got to talk to many car collectors from all over the country. The speaker at the Saturday evening banquet was Malcolm Pray and one of the things he talked about is what he called "the revival of the Concours d'Elegance" in recent years.

The more I thought about this, the more I had to agree that number of these "fancy" car shows being held is really on the rise. I don't know if it's a revival of interest or new interest, but I tend to suspect it's that latter. It doesn't seem that long ago that only six to eight such events were staged annually. Now, the number must be at least double that level.

Surely, part of the reason for the growth is that the shows are accepting more diverse fields of cars. You no longer see only the big Classics at such venues. The concours I have gone to lately are welcoming mini cars, muscle cars and motorcycles. This gives the events wider appeal (and usually raises more money for the sponsoring charities).

Concours have a long history in the annals of car collecting. Chevy even did an add in 1955 showing a new Bel Air at the Pebble Beach show, which was much smaller then. It's nice to see more and more such events. The cars that they attract are a real treat to see.

I always thought that I would open an "unrestoration shop" when I retired. If you think about it, the idea makes sense. There is a finite number of old cars in the world. So what happens after all the old cars are purchased and restored? Simple - there will be no cars left for collectors to buy and fix-up! They will have to come to my unrestoration shop to get a car that needs to be put back together. Why, I'll even sell the parts to some vendors I know, so the car owners can have the joy of "treasure hunting" for them, bargaining on the prices and finding ways to get the big ones back from swap meets.

Unrestoration would be a great retirement job. It's relatively easy to take things apart (especially if you're not the one who'll be putting it back together). You could work fast. And you don't really have to possess any special talents. There's no need to understand how something works if you're going to "unrestore" it. You simply take it apart.

I'm just really surprised that no one has thoiught of opening an "unrestoration" shop before me. There must be someone out there who's as crazy as I am.

A few years ago, when I was still in management at Old Cars Weekly, I had the extreme pleasure of joining Greg Smith in interviewing candidates for the job of OCW editor. One of the people we interviewed was a young man from Minnesota who had recently graduated from college. I was told that this fellow -- Angelo Van Bogart -- had done an internship in the Krause Publications toy magazine and was well liked and very hard working. After doing the interview and talking to Angelo, Greg and I both felt that he was "made for the job." I still think we were right. If you ask me, Angelo is THE BEST of many good editors OCW has had.

What made me think of this was something that happened today. I stopped in to visit Jerry Kopecky, a local restorer who specializes in Chrysler fin cars. Angelo happened to be there taking cover photos with the staff photographers. A local car enthusiast came in. When we introduced him to Angelo, he did not recognize him as the editor, but he had a lot of good things to say about the publication that Angelo edits.

If YOU haven't met Angelo yet and you are heading for Hershey, I hope you'll stop by at the "Old Cars" spaces and intoduce yourself to the best editor Old Cars Weekly has ever had. When you meet him, I think you'll agree with my opinion and you'll be amazed at his enthusiasm and knowledge of cars.

A lot of people in the old car hobby are heading for Hershey, Pa. But how about those of us who stick closer to home? What can we do while our Bretheren are walking the aisles at the world's biggest swap meet?

I haven't been to Hershey in 10 or 11 years, but that doesn't mean I sit at home doing nothing in early October. Quite the contrary. With all of those hobbyists beating a path to the East Coast, it's the perfect time to look for swap meets and auctions in the Midwest where I won't have a lot of competition. What better time to pick up good stuff for low prices and modest bids than when you're the only customer? That situation makes for a real buyer's market, you know.

"Hershey week" is the perfect time to check local shoppers for farm auctions and estate sales with older vehicles consigned. And who else is going to be answering the classified ad in the local trader magazine next week? And not every classified ad in Old Cars Weekly is placed just to publicize Hershey space numbers.

So, while you're having fun in central PA, don't be feeling sorry for me. I'm sticking close to home and scarfing up the bargains.

I have just wrapped up a book on the restoration of bright metal auto trim. It is my first how-to-do-it book and that's exciting to me. One of the interesting people who helped me with the book was Mike Freund of Classis Plus Ltd. in North Find du Lac, Wis. (www.classicsplusltd.com)

Two of Mike's talents are polishing stainless steel and the restoration of steering wheels. Mike made buffing stainless trim look easy. He has these wonderful little hammers to knock out dents and dings, a trusty old, traditional sandbag to hammer against and a very simple, but effective buffing technique.

Mike isn't only talented. He was willing to share his talents to help other people.And that's what this great hobby is all about. If you get a chance, hop over to his Website and take a look at some of the fantastic cars Mike has done.

If you want to see great examples of metal fabrication art, check out www.theironhorsecorral.com. I met Matt Blake, the owner of the Iron Horse Corral, at the Antique Motorcycle Club of America (www.antiquemotorcycle.org) meet in Davenport, Iowa, on Labor Day weekend. Matt builds fenders, tanks, tool-boxes . . . even sidecars . . . for vintage Indian motorcycles.

Matt has an interesting background. His uncle is the great customizer Dean Jefferies, who created the Monkeemobile and other cars. As a kid, Matt worked for Sam Pierce, who single-handly kept the Indian name going in the late '60s and who also restored bikes for Steve McQueen.

Having recently done a big article on sheet metal fabrication tools, I developed an interest in the craftsmen who practice the metal fabrication arts to bring old vehicles back to life. To see someone like Matt making a successful living building affordable, exact reproduction parts for rare motorcycles, proves that doing quality work can pay off.

Even if you hate bikes and only love old cars, you'll appreciate Matt's talents when you visit his website.

In July I cleaned out my money market to buy my '40 Indian motorcycle. My friends thought I had gone nuts. In August, I started to think so, too. It was a bad month. I no longer have a regular paycheck. If no checks come in, I have no money. In August, no checks came in. I got a little worried about paying the bills.

Now things are on an even keel. And the way the banking and investment industry is going, taking the money out of my money market to buy a bike might be the smartest move I made in years.

I have this thing for Indian mascots on collector vehicles. This may be due to watching too many Westerns as a kid or it may be due to my mom telling me my grandfather was part Indian. He looked like was and maybe he was, but somehow I think I heard something lots of kids heard then.

For whatever reason, I developed a great deal of respect for the image of a Brave or Chief personifying a great culture and a proud race.

In 1972, I purchased an old Pontiac with an illuninated Indian face on the hood. Today I own three Pontiacs with Indian mascots. Recently, they met the Indian head on the fender of my "new" '40 Indian motorcycle.

By the time I went to the Antique Motorcycle Club of America (www.antiquemotorcycle.org) meet in Davenport, Iowa, on Labor Day weekend, I knew my bike was not supposed to have an Indian. Chris Daniel (cdaniel677@aol.com) confirmed this. Chris knows his Indian motorcycle fender lenses. He makes and sells a factory-style, 2-piece 1947-'53 Indian mascot that matches the color and detail of the original.

Chris' lens looks just like the one that's on my bike and I'm glad to have his as a spare. It may not be "stock" for my bike, but if you think I'm riding an Indian without an Indian, you've got another think coming! 

My '48 Pontiac Streamliner is driving me crazy with a noise we just can't trace. We used it earlier in the summer and heard a rattling noise that sounded like stones in a hubcap. Vince and I put it up on the Backyard Buddy Lift, pulled the wheels and checked everything. Other than a king pin that might need attention in the next year, we didn't find a thing.

This weekend Linda and I drove the fastback to Cowboy Bob's Pig N Piston event in Fond du Lac. Again we heard the noise. Later. after the show, the noise changed to a whhhrrrr when we took off, followed by a kind of "breaking loose" feeling.

Veteran car collector (and Masterpiece class winner) Jim Rugowski was following. We took his Kaiser Darrin to the Fox Cities British Car Club storage building, then started off again. This time the whhhrrrrr was very loud, followed by a pop-bam-bang-kaboom and that break loose feeling. Thinking we had thrown a rod, we rushed out to find --- nothing.

We drove slowly back to the clubhouse and put the car on the lift there. We checked underneath with a light. We found nothing. On the way home, we heard the original rattling noise once or twice. But after that, we heard nothing for 40-50 miles. We put the car in the garage.

I guess it's just one of those noises that old cars have. You can't fix 'em.