Car Collector Chronicles 02-09

A GDYNETS PUBLICATION © 2009, G. DAVID YAROS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Car Collector Chronicles ®

Volume II, Issue 2

Car Collector Chronicles

February 2009

Exploring: • Car collecting today

(More) TOOLS OF THE TRADE

• Classic rides

It has occurred to me that in our discussion of “tools of the trade” last month, l left out a few critical, albeit mundane, items that should be in every garage. These are quite common articles. They probably see more use by me than anything else.

• Reports from the field • Oldsmobile

IN THIS ISSUE:

(More) Tools of the Trade

1

GDYNets On the Web

1

The ‘85 Rivi

2

Classic Car Pics

5

I could not get by without my battery chargers. I use the plural, as I have a couple. Actually, I have 3, but only 2 charging units. I need more than one because my daily driver (a 1997 Nissan KingCab) does not get driven a lot. That is because I am able to walk to/from work daily. On more than one occasion, I have gone out and hopped into the truck, only to find a dead battery from nonuse. I have a single Deltran Battery Tender® Plus which maintains the battery on the Olds The second Deltran, capable of

5

Dave’s Den http://GDYNets.WEBNG.com Saved 62 http://www.freewebs.com/ jeandaveyaros Car Collector Chronicles -

EMAIL: [email protected]

What makes these babies great is that they are small, virtuaIly indestructible and completely idiot proof. It is a connect the cables to the battery, plug it in and forget it item. You won’t blow up the charger, or start a fire, if you connect it wrong. It won’t overcharge a battery. And, unless you run over it with a car, you can’t destroy it. Deltran info is available at http://www.batterytender.com Now we shall get down to the really mundane. One tool I have that gets constant use is a plain ol’ pushbroom. I do not know about you, but dust and dirt are always being tracked or blown into my garage. This is particu-

larly so during the summer months, when I like to work in the garage with the overhead doors open. I find myself, on an almost monthly basis, removing all the cars from the car barn and sweeping the floor. Nor is it at all unheard of for me to actually scrub the epoxy painted floor after completing some messy task.. When I do, a squeegee really comes in handy for getting the water and moisture out of the garage. If you prefer to not raise any dust, then I recommend substituting a more expensive shop vac for the pushbroom. Like I said, mundane, but necessary.

GDYNets on the Web WHERE YOU WILL FIND GDYNets (me) on the WWW:

Coming Next Issue

charging two batteries simultaneously, charges the truck battery and the Corvair battery; which is removed when the car goes into annual winter storage.

http://issuu.com/d.yaros

DAVE’S DEN is a website devoted to a myriad of interests. Foremost is extensive information on the “Steel City” of Gary, Indiana. There are also offerings covering the making of steel and U.S. Steel-Gary Works, the U.S. Marine Corps, the M14 assault rifle, of course Oldsmobile, and the tragic story of the murder of Gary, Indiana

Police Lt. George Yaros. SAVED 62 is a website devoted to my 1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 convertible. The site also has a lot of information on Oldsmobiles and its founder, Ransom Eli Olds. CAR COLLECTOR CHRONICLES; you are reading it. It is a work in progress.

Car Collector Chronicles

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THE ‘85 RIVI This is an article on a ride that has come and gone from the car barn. The car in question was a 1985 Buick Riviera. She was 1-of400 manufactured by Buick in 1985. Of course she was a rag top. Seems all our collector cars are/were convertibles? The E-body Riviera convertible had a production run lasting from 1983 through 1985. During those model years, a total of only 2,650 Rivi convertibles rolled off the assembly line (1983-1,750, 1984-500 and 1985-400). You could get one in any color you wanted, so long as it was red or white! Ours was firemist red, with a burgundy leather interior. It also sported wirewheel hubcaps.

“Rivi

Having previously avowed my allegiance to Oldsmobile, you might well ask, “What are you doing buying a Buick?” In my defense I say two things: It was a weak moment, and she did have a 307 c.i. V-8 Olds engine in her!

convertibles came in any color you wanted, so long as it was red or white.”

Here are the specs: Engine—307 c.i. (5.0L) V-8 Brake Horsepower—140 4-speed Automatic Transmission Front Wheel Drive Wheelbase—114” MSRP—$27,750.00 (That’s $52,809 in 2007 dollars!) A month or so back, I made mention of the fact my wife did not feel comfortable tooling the ‘62 Olds down the avenue. It was too big to suit her. She began making a pitch for a convertible she could drive. The Rivi was at a car show where we were participants. It had a “For Sale” sign on it. She was attracted to it. We didn’t even have to track down the seller. It turned out he was also participating in the show, and his entry, a 1973 Cadillac, was parked right next to our Olds! He had extensive documentation on the car, going as far back as

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The ‘85 Rivi – Continued from p. 2 the actual dealer invoice. I have to admit, this was the first time in my 3 score + years that I had ever laid eyes on an actual dealer invoice. While I knew there was, had to be, a markup on cars, I was shocked to see exactly how much it was. The dealer invoice was for $21,175. That equated to an over $6K markup; quite a bit more than I expected! Visual inspection showed the car to be in more than decent condition. Being a top-of-the-line ride, it had every conceivable gadget one could want. My wife is into the bells and whistles. To car guys like me, these options are just more stuff to go wrong! But then, I was not looking at this car for me. The nicest interior features were the thickly padded leather seats, and the burgundy color matched convertible top liner. Mechanically, the engine looked to be fairly well-maintained. It sounded ok, and the odometer reading was only in the low 43 thousands. Little did I know at the time how hard it must have been for Oldsmobile engineering to get those 307 c.i. (5.0 L) to produce all of 140 h.p.? That it was able to do so had to be quite a feat; not! I say this because, back in the late fifties, early sixties, attaining the brass ring was designing an internal combustion engine in which each cubic inch produced 1 horse power. Chevy did it with a 283 c.i. fuel injected Vette in 1957. Now let’s see, 307 c.i. yielding 140 h.p. equates to all of .378 h.p./c.i. But with that, you do get smog control. At the conclusion of the show, Jean and I took the Rivi out for a test drive. She seemed to pass that test with flying colors. My problem was, I had no real idea what this ride was worth. I knew what the seller wanted. I also knew I did not want to pay his asking price. Bottom line was, we gave him $50 to hold the car for us for 24 hrs., while we took time to think about it. During this “cooling off period” a serious discussion took place. It was necessitated by the fact Jean already had a 2005 Sebring convertible (with which she was not particularly enamored), and needed this Rivi about as bad as I needed more tools! The conclusion of the discussion was, “If we buy it, you are going to keep it!” Well, you already know the rest of the story; given that I stated at the beginning, this article is about a ride that is no longer in our car barn.

“307 c.i. yielding 140 h.p. equates to all of .378 h.p. per c.i.”

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The ‘85 Rivi – Continued from p. 3 Before we get to the why of that, let me say we did buy it, for $10,000. Within a month of the purchase we took the car on vacation. That trip added a mere 3,500 miles on the odometer! It was really nice being able to cruise the highways, byways and back roads of the U.S. of A. top down. The Rivi gave us no problems during the journey. Oh, a brake rotor began squawking badly at mile 3,417. I did have to replace it once we got home, but that was about it. The car even got as much as 23 m.p.g. on good days. Shortly after our return home the state notified me it was time to bring the car in for the bi-annual sniff test. When I took her down, she promptly proceeded to fail. Around $450, a MAF sensor and 1 O2 sensor, later a passing grade was obtained. While I was not happy about this, that is not why the Rivi departed the car barn. The truth be known, my wife became overly concerned over the fan base for the car. Let us just say it attracted a “gangsta” type crowd. That, coupled with hearing people repeatedly reference the ride with words like “pimpmobile,” managed to totally sour her on the car. She was getting to the point of refusing to drive it. With this turn of events, I made the determination it was time for the Rivi to find an owner who would appreciate her. Would that be possible was the question. ®

I put the Rivi up for grabs on . Much to my surprise, a seven day listing resulted in a sale of the car. Not only did the car sell, it sold for $3,100 more than our purschase price! The car is now garaged in IL. Its current owner happens to hold a lifetime appointment to the federal judiciary. I suspect the judge may be the talk of the town as he tools about in his ‘85 Rivi?

A 1985 Rivi Option Ok, I have had my say. Now it is your turn! I invite and encourage submission of your comments, opinions and contributions. Everything sent shall indeed be reviewed by me. Submissions should be sent to: [email protected] _______________________________________

-- RESTORE 'EM, AND DRIVE 'EM!

Car Collector Chronicles

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I owned one of these beauties back in 1962. It was my 2nd car. Mine had “poor man’s” lake plugs, a severe rake and more primer than factory paint. Imagine what it would be worth today?

My high school ride, a black Super 88 with a factory stick!

My college ride. I managed to total it on graduation eve night! Mine was Wedgewood Mist (light metallic blue), not red.

COMING NEXT ISSUE: • •

That First Ride Oldsmobile Mania