Car Collector Chronicles 11-09

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

Car Collector ® Chronicles Volume II, Issue 11

Car Collector Chronicles

November 2009

Exploring:

A Long Winter Nap

 Car collecting today  Classic rides  Reports from the field  Oldsmobile  Cadillac  Corvair

IN THIS ISSUE:

A Long Winter Nap

1

GDYNets® On the Web

1

Classic Car Pics

5

Coming Next Issue

5

By now you have retired, or certainly are getting ready to bed down, your classic ride for a long winter nap. What steps you should take are dependent on where the ride is stored. Is it in a heated garage? Is it on or off-site? Do you have access to your car 24/7, limited access by special arrangement, or only to revive and retrieve her? I store cars both on and off-site., with 24/7 access to all. My scenario is the same in both situations.

inside and out. Give it a final wash and wax.

Change the oil and filter before putting her away. That way, when she fires up again she is pumping fresh, clean oil. Check all fluid levels before putting the ride to bed; especially the anti-freeze and w/ shield washer fluid. You want her to be ready to go come spring, not exhibiting problems caused by freezing fluids. Do fill the tank and Stabil™ize the gas.

If your ride is a convertible, put the top up and latch it. The worst thing you could do is leave it compressed all winter! I recommend cracking the windows just a hair on every car, to relax the weather stripping.

Now, be sure the car is clean,

The same principle applies with regard to the brakes. Leave the emergency brake off. Place the car in gear, or [P]ark, and chock a wheel if the car is not elevated.

To keep unwanted beasties from invading, place a plastic drinking cup over each tailpipe. Placing mothballs in/around the car cannot hurt either. Cover the car. You use a blanket in winter, don’t you? Your precious ride should have one too. Before

GDYNets® on the Web WHERE YOU WILL FIND GDYNets (me) on the WWW: http://GDYNets.WEBNG.com Saved 62 http://www.freewebs.com/ jeandaveyaros The Gray Lady- 55 Cad de Ville

[email protected]

Air the tires and, if possible, get the wheels off the ground via jack stands.

CONTINUED ON P. 2.

Dave’s Den -

EMAIL:

Also make sure your storage area is clean. If need be, sweep or vacuum it out! Before parking the car, tape/secure a sheet of plastic film on the garage floor/ground, to form a vapor barrier between the ground and the undercarriage.

Car Collector Chronicles-pdfcoke

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

SAVED 62: A website devoted to our 1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 convertible. The site also has a lot of information on Oldsmobiles and its founder, Ransom Eli Olds. THE GRAY LADY: This website features our 1955 Cadillac Coupé de Ville and Caddy information.

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A Long Winter Nap —Continued covering the car, take out the battery and bring it home. You do have a trickle charger you can use to keep the battery fully charged over winter, ready to go, right? Sharing storage space? Lock the car. Run a cable through the cover grommets, and lock it on. Return home and rest easy, knowing all is well with your pride and joy.

LESSONS LEARNED IN 2009 Like you I am sure, I find every day/month/year of owning, maintaining and operating a classic ride is a learning experience from which I continue to be educated. Here are a few of the lessons I was taught in 2009. “I find every day/month/year of owning, maintaining and operating a classic ride is a learning experience … .”

Inch Pounds of Torque: 100 inch pounds of torque is equal to 8.333333333 ft. lbs. Conversely, 1 foot pound of torque equals 12 in. lbs. How/why do I now know that? 100 inch lbs. is the torque spec for tightening the front wheel bearings on a 1963 Corvair. While I do have an inch pound torque wrench, it only goes up to 80. Consequently, I had to resort to the foot pound torque wrench. Doing so required the conversion to get it close to spec. Corvair Brake Drums: So why was I fooling around with the front wheel bearing at all? Only because removal of the front brake drums on a Corvair also requires taking off the spindle (castle) nut. Another Corvair quirk is that to manually adjust the brakes, the wheels must be removed. This is because the brake adjustment access hole is on the front side of the drum itself, instead of on the drum backing plate, as found on 99.4% of all cars. STP® makes a great lubricant when installing window quarter seals. This summer I had the occasion to replace the quarter window seals on The Gray Lady. With the first, I greased the seal and track liberally prior to installation. Literally over an hour later, the seal was finally in place. It moved all of .0625 inches (do the math!) at a time, even when pushed with all the physical effort I could muster. That convinced me there had to be a better way, which led to the use of STP®. When I did so, I was able to install the seal in less than a minute with minimum effort! Live and learn. Corvair Electrical Problems: This is one you can take to the bank. If you own a Corvair, you are going to encounter electrical problems.

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LESSONS LEARNED IN 2009 – Continued from p. 2 Corvair electrical problems, more often than not, are related to ground. The relationship is direct. It is usually one of the necessary electrical ground being absent! Basic Law of Physics: It does not take application of a whole lot of force to put 2 tons in motion. The Gray Lady weighs in at well over 4,000 lbs. When installing the quarter window seals, she was parked in the garage, in neutral. [N]eutral ain’t [P]ark, let me tell you! As I began to slide the new seal (the STP® coated one) into the track, the car began rolling backwards. I was not able to stop it. Believe me, I did try. I ran to the rear of the car and put my back into it, gripping the rear bumper. This did succeed in slowing the rate of vehicle exit somewhat. However, she came to a halt only after the open door gently leaned up against a floor cabinet. Luckily, no damage was done and a neighbor came running, on hearing my screams. He was able to stabilize the situation by applying the emergency brake. My latest ‘55 Cadillac accessory is a brand new fire engine wheel chock! FLAPS: FLAPS is an acronym I picked up on the Corvair Center Forum — www.http://corvaircenter.com/. It is short for “From Local Auto Parts Supplier.” I am fortunate to have a number of FLAPS nearby. Less than a mile from the Yaros Car Barn is the SE Wisconsin NAPA® distribution warehouse. That is a real luxury. I remember the excitement of coming upon it when scouting out the neighborhood when house shopping. You know you are afflicted with a serious case of collector car-itis when the nearness of a NAPA® distribution warehouse is a positive in determining whether or not to buy a home! There also was a Checker Auto Parts® store very close by. It is now an O’Reilly Auto Parts®. The three times I have been there since the changeover, the staff have proven themselves to be totally ignorant when it comes to pre-1985 motor vehicles. Moreover, they exhibit no interest in trying to be of help. Consequently, the only business they shall be getting from me from now on is when I drop off my used motor oil for recycling! My question is, are all O’Reilly Auto Parts® stores similarly inept when it comes to serving the classic car trade, or is it just my local problem? What say you? I invite you to share with our readers your experiences with this derivative of a FLAP.

“[N]eutral ain’t [P]ark, let me tell you!”

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YEAR 1 IN REVIEW As you may be aware, Car Collector Chronicles first appeared on the scene in November of 2008. With this issue, we begin our second year of publication. It seems to be an appropriate time to take a look at where we have been, and where we are headed. ®

One thing is certain, CCC has no intention of becoming, and shall not become, commercialized. Advertisers are not welcome here! There is no desire whatsoever to be placed in the position of even possibly having our editorial integrity compromised. In other words, I want the freedom to say what I want, how I want, about anything I want. Such freedom diminishes once one starts to accept paid advertising. ®

With the October issue, the total readership of CCC has reached 15,445. The monthly figures break down as: Nov ‘08 = 111, Dec ‘08 = 60, Jan ‘09 = 238, Feb ’09 = 449, Mar ’09 = 644, Apr ’09 = 832, May ’09 = 1029, Jun ’09 = 1302, Jul ’09 = 1897, Aug ’09 = 2411, Sep ’09 = 2920 and Oct ’09 = 3552. While these numbers may seem small, I am quite pleased with them. One cannot help but notice that they are increasing every month. A goal is to have that trend continue in the future. You can help by spreading the word about both the existence and web site location of CCC . ®

“It would really be nice to have the female perspective on the classic car craze.”

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Another goal, is to get feedback and participation from you, the reader. I know you are out there. I also know that you have stories, tidbits, opinions and advice to offer. Have you ever been to a car show, car club meeting, or car forum where their was a shortage of opinion or input on any ride related topic? I sure haven’t! CCC could also use a bit of a feminine touch. By that I mean, the female point of view could use, and deserves, representation on our pages. While the hobby is male dominated, it certainly is not exclusively a “good ol’ boys club.” Women collect, drive and even wrench on old cars. Even those that do not, put up with their male counterparts that do. It would really be nice to have the female perspective on the classic car craze. Ladies, this is your opportunity to step forward and be heard! ®

The best way to make this pub what you would like it to be, is to share your views, knowledge and opinions. I, as well as your fellow CCC readers, want to hear from you! All it takes is an email. ®

Ok, I have had my say for this month. Now it is your turn! I invite and encourage submission of your comments, opinions and contributions. Everything sent shall indeed be reviewed by me. Send submissions to: [email protected] _________________________________________________ — RESTORE 'EM, AND DRIVE 'EM!

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1963 Corvair with an aftermarket third brake light, as well as back up lights converted to brake lights, yielding a total of five brake lights

Restored Cadillac Front License Plate Bracket

COMING NEXT ISSUE:   

Tools of the Trade — Unusual Historic Old U.S. 27 Tour Year 1 Article/Photo Index

Cadillac Exhaust Tip