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 Monday, January 11, 2010
Repro Springs For Straight-Axle Vettes
Posted by John
For a long time, original style leaf springs for straight-axle Corvettes seemed to be made of “unobtanium.” Now, Eaton Detroit has brought them back. Eaton says restorers are better off using the new springs than trying to have their old ones re-arched. “Spring steel has a memory,” says Eaton. “Unless this memory is erased before repairs are attempted, the spring will return to the height it was at prior to being re-arched.”
Before Eaton’s recent release of its exact-reproduction Corvette leaf springs, restorers who wanted a 100-percent accurate straight-axle Corvette restoration had to live with either a temporary repair or the expense of having the springs’ memory put back in by Eaton (the only company that does it) at great expense. But, Eaton introduced correct reproduction Corvette springs at the SEMA Show in November. For information and pricing contact:
Eaton Detroit Spring, Inc.
555 Michigan
Detroit, MI 48216.
(313) 963-3839
sales@eatonsprings.com
Monday, January 11, 2010 3:11:39 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00) 
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Friday, January 08, 2010
Happy New Year
Posted by John
Took me long enough to post this year, heh? This would have been my dad's 85th birthday, but he passed away in 2008. I didn't plan it this way, but it's ironic that I'm starting a new adventure in life on this day and I hope it's a good omen. Today I'll be closing on "Gunner's Great Garage," the 3200 sq. ft. building I bought in Manawa, Wis. To say I'm excited is the understatement of the new year. The concept of "GGG" is to start a kind of old car mall in which people who dream of running a hobby business can do just that at the lowest possible cost. Essentially, I have five offices to rent to anyone interested in a hobby business. For instance, a car show, a gift shop, a parts business, oil additives, etc. I will use my 40 years of experience and my contacts to help these businesses succeed. I am also looking for a licensed dealer who wants to sell collector cars, as the location is perfect for that type of thing. Every hobbyist is invited to drop in and visit. We expect to have our official opening in the spring, but we'll be working there starting next week so don't forget to stop if you're passing by. We are on Highway 22, a mile north of Manawa at the corner of Suhs Rd.
Friday, January 08, 2010 4:20:39 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, December 28, 2009
HALF RIGHT ON '55 CHEVY E-ROD
Posted by John
Somebody actually reads this blog! Richard Smith sent in a correction to my blog on the E-Rod '55 Chevy and I should have known this, because my first car was a '55 Chevy 210 Del rey. But that was long ago and far away. Smith wrote: "Actually, the E-Rod '55 Chevy 210 does have Bel Air chrome moldings installed on the quarter panels and doors. The Bel Air spear moldings are dished out and painted in the center, while 210 spear moldings are narrower, all chrome and with no dished out area. Originally all '55 Bel Airs had off-white paint in the side spear. This GM-built custom car has blue paint in the area that normally is white.
Monday, December 28, 2009 4:18:19 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Saturday, December 26, 2009
WANNA BE A CLASSIC CAR APPRAISER?
Posted by John
If you need your collector-car's value for insurance, finance or any other legal purpose, an accurate documented appraisal can provide it. Growing numbers of insured collectors need an appraisal after an accident to help determine the diminished value of their vehicle. A good appraisal is the answer to getting the right value for your vehicle. According to David Williams, Auto Appraisal Network started professionally appraising vehicles in 1989 under the name Classic Auto Appraiser. The company’s two goals were: 1) To produce the most comprehensive and most professional automobile appraisal documents in the industry and 2) to focus on the unusual. “Anyone can look up a Honda Accord in the NADA Guide or Kelley Blue Book,” says Williams, who is Auto Appraisal Network’s VP of Franchise Development. “So we decided to target customers who owned specialty vehicles." Today, the company appraises every type of vehicle from a customized '56 Ford F-100 to all-matching-numbers big-block Corvettes.
Old Cars Weekly talked to Williams at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, in early November and the timing was perfect. With several big auctions coming up in Scottsdale in early 2010, the need to get new auction purchases appraised will be on the minds of many collectors who attend these events. Williams currently has more than two dozen appraisers in his national network.
Saturday, December 26, 2009 2:40:16 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, December 25, 2009
1955 CHEVY BECOMES "E-ROD"
Posted by John
GM got the write-up wrong, but it got the car “right.” The automaker’s description of its new ’55-Chevy-based E-Rod says, “The exterior wears factory-style chrome Bel Air trim, which accents the custom PPG colors applied by GM.” Well, the show car they built for SEMA is actually a Two-Ten. The heart of the E-Rod is a 6.2-liter 430-hp emissions-legal crate engine. GM Performance Parts says it was built to illustrate a typical install of the E-Rod engine kit. "It is a simple, clean and straightforward approach to building a '55 Chevy," said the car’s designer Dave Ross. "There are not many custom features that required labor-intensive fabrication; our goal was to depict how the E-ROD system could be incorporated in any classic vehicle, whether it's a '55 Chevy, street rod or '69 Camaro." The E-ROD package will be available through GM dealers, authorized GMPP retailers and the www.gmperformanceparts.com Website. It lists for $9,375.
Friday, December 25, 2009 7:35:16 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, December 24, 2009
HARLEY TIMELINE BIKE IS UNIQUE
Posted by John
The Timeline Motorcycle — a 24-1.2-ft.-long machine that has seven engines and carries 10 riders — evolved out of an earlier project that “Doc” Hopkins undertook in 2008. Hopkins owns Doc’s Harley Davidson, of Shawano County, Wis, and his first multi-passenger motorcycle was called the “Four-Tee-Five.” About halfway through the Four-Tee-Five build, Doc Hopkins formulated the idea of making a multi-engine bike that would illustrate the technological progression of Harley “Big-Twins” from beginning to present. The bike has seven engines: a 1200-cc 10E flathead, a 74-cid (1200-cc) flathead of 1944 vintage, a 1946 1200-cc Knucklehead, a 1948 1200-cc Panhead, a 1981 1340-cc Shovelhead, a 1993 1340-cc Evolution and a 1999 or later Twin Cam. They are mounted in a custom frame with two in-line front forks and wheels, double rear wheels and 10 seats. By June 1, 2009, the Timeline Motorcycle was starting to come together. Final assembly began July 7, 2009. By July 17 arrangements had been made to display the Timeline Motorcycle at Sturgis Harley-Davidson, in downtown Sturgis, S,D. during the 69th annual rally there. Ten people were picked to ride the bike. They left Doc's Harley-Davidson in Bonduel, Wis., on Aug. 1, made stops in Jackson, Minn. and Wall, S.D., and reached Sturgis on Aug. 3. According to Doc Hopkins, the journey to Sturgis aboard the Timeline Motorcycle was, “definitely the trip of a lifetime.” Both the Forty-Tee-Five and the Timeline Motorcycle are on display at Doc’s Harley-Davidson (www.docshd.com). Visitors are invited to stop by to see the machines and have their picture taken with these one-of-a-kind bikes. You can also visit his free muscle car museum.
Thursday, December 24, 2009 10:17:28 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Ramping Up
Posted by John
Race Ramps are lightweight plastic ramps that can be used to safely lift a car off the ground. We first saw them used last July, during the Kohler International Challenge vintage event at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wis.
On Saturday night, due to the growing popularity of the event’s street-car concours, it was necessary to drive low-slung, vintage sports cars over a low curb and down a walkway behind a resort hotel. Race Ramps provided a pair of ramps to help the organizers get the cars over the curb without ruining them.
Several low-to-the-ground cars were entered in the concours and the Race Ramps perfectly accommodated the low front ends. Another advantage with racing cars was that the Race Ramps worked well with tires up to 10 in. wide.
The ramps were so light in weight that when one of the powerful cars spun its rear tires, the ramp went sailing. But their light weight also makes the ramps easier to carry and handle then the heavy metal ramps we used years ago.
Plastic ramps are available everywhere these days, but not all of them are well suited for sports cars and racing cars. The Race Ramps are 8 in. tall, 12 in. wide and 56 in. long, which makes them perfect for such vehicles. At the same time, they are strong enough to hold 1,500 lbs. each. The 10.75 in. incline is perfect and the one-piece polystyrene construction eliminates any assembly steps like bolting on metal cross supports at the corners.
Race Ramps are ideal for enthusiasts. They allow getting under a car quickly, safely and without any frustrating hassles. Constructed in one solid piece, unlike many car ramps, Race Ramps will not slide across your garage floor, dig into your asphalt driveway or scratch your painted floors. They will raise your Corvette 8 in. And you never have to worry about them rusting.
Race Ramps are light in weight, easy to transport and come with straps for easy carrying. You can use the straps to hang them on a wall when done.
Thursday, December 24, 2009 6:46:40 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, December 21, 2009
GTO TEST DRIVE ENDS IN FATALITY
Posted by John
Please be careful any time you are test driving a car you are unfamiliar with. On Dec. 16, a Pennsylvania man died of head injuries suffered when he drove a vintage muscle car that he had just bought and it went out of control. He was killed diving out of the car just before it was hit by a freight train.
John Struble Jr., 61, of Derry Borough, Westmoreland County, was found dead near the railroad tracks. Police say he bought a 1965 Pontiac GTO earlier in the day and was returning home with it when the car may have malfunctioned. The Westmoreland County coroner said Struble died of head injuries suffered after he jumped from the car.
The empty car came to rest on the tracks and was hit by a Norfolk Southern freight train.
Monday, December 21, 2009 2:29:38 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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SCOTTSDALE WILL BE INTERESTING
Posted by John
The classic car auctions in Scottsdale this year should be very interesting. In general, if you ask an auctioneer how things are going, he or she will say things are great. They may really believe that, but over the past few weeks, I have seen signs that things are really beginning to slow. The hobby marketplace has held up much better than other markets. but if the jobs situation doesn't improve, the marketplace is going to feel it. In order to sell cars, you have to have buyers and the buyers have to be willing to spend money. A lot of buyers are beginning to feel the reality of tight money markets. Also, other markets like real estate may have bottomed out and the stock market is making gains. As these changes occur, the strength that the collector car market has held may no longer be the only good investment out there. I am not one who buys the thinking that the Arizona auctions are a barometer for the entire year in the hobby market. But still, as I say, it is going to be interesting to see what happens out west in January.
Monday, December 21, 2009 2:03:47 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Saturday, December 19, 2009
LIVING THE DREAM
Posted by John
In the very early '50s, when I was just a few years old, I had a tin toy gas station that was loaded with little cars and trucks. I hoisted them on the plastic lift that raised with a little crank handle and I gassed them up from the plastic gas pump that had a string for a hose. And I dreamed of having my own business where cars could be serviced and repaired. This past week, I signed papers to purchase a 3200-sq. ft. building in the nearby town of Manawa, Wis. The building has a bunch of offices in front and a large "meeting" room in the rear. In mid-January 2010, the large room is going to become a shop for fixing sports cars. A friend of mine is going to rent that room and do the actual work. In the meantime, I'll be looking for people who run other types of hobby businesses and need to office space or a lot for selling cars. What I want to do is help other people live their dreams by turning this "Gunner's Great Garage" in Manawa, into a fun place to go. If I'm able to do this, I will really be "living the dream" like never before!
Saturday, December 19, 2009 7:33:00 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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