Car Collector Chronicles 12-08

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

Car Collector ® Chronicles Volume I, Issue 2

Car Collector Chronicles

December 2008

Exploring: • Car collecting today

The Ride I Still Want

• Classic rides • Reports from the field • Oldsmobile

That was a rather large chunk of change in the year 19 and 56! In fact, that sum computes out to being $34,820.35 in 2007 dollars.

Well, this is NOT one of those stories! I have never owned one of these cars. Fact is, they were way beyond my buying power. Even in their hey day they were beyond the buying power of the average joe.

The 56 Caddy had classic lines, which still look great today. Those lines represented refinement of the 54 and 55 model years. At the same time, those refinements resulted in a true work of art. They made a more than large vehicle look sleek and stylish. I suspect Harley Earl had a bit to do with that?

The ride I would dearly love to own is a 1956 Cadillac Coupe DeVille. Barring that possibility, a 1954 or 55 Caddy 2-door hardtop, would do.

IN THIS ISSUE:

The Ride I Still Want

I know the hobby is full of stories about the ride that got away. You know, it starts out with, “Yeah, I had one of them back in … .”

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GDYNets On the Web

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Never, Ever Enough Room

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Classic Car Pics

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Back in the day, the majority of non-owner rides in a Caddy involved a funeral; either in a limo as a surviving family member, or in a hearse, as the dearly departed! To drive a Caddy Coupe DeVille off the lot required the laying down of a mere $4,569.00

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

EMAIL: [email protected]

Interestingly, the original purchase price worked out to about $1 per lb, as the Coupe DeVille weighed in excess of 2 tons.

- What do you say we take a ride! Here are the specs: 365 c.i. V-8 engine, 305 H.P. 4 barrel Carter Carb 129” Wheelbase

221.9” Length (That is a mere 18 1/2 ft., for a 2-door car!) 4,445 lbs. Curb Weight

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

Coming Next Issue

Needless to say, the interior appointments were first class. You felt, and knew, you were riding in luxury. But then, at a price of $4,500.00 would/should one expect less?

GET BEHIND THE WHEEL

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.

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Never, Ever Enough Space!

Make Room for Another Car By G. David Yaros

Who among us has more than enough room to store all their rides and perform all the work that needs to be done on these cars to keep them on the road? I have yet to meet such a person. But then, I am not friends with Jay Leno!

“Where is the joy in owning a classic ride that one cannot look at and admire, or take out for quick spin just because one feels like it, because the car is stored off-site?”

The rest of us find ourselves in a constant struggle to try store our vehicles, tools and equipment so that they are always on call and available at a moment’s notice. Where is the joy in owning a classic ride that one cannot look at and admire, or take out for a quick spin just because one feels like it, because the car is stored off-site? Like you, I had/have this problem. At the time of acquiring our 1962 Oldsmobile, we already owned a car and a pickup truck. The Olds became vehicle #3 in the family. The immediate problem was one of not being able to squeeze three cars into a 2-car garage! Something had to give. When we first moved into the neighborhood, I made the acquaintance of a guy a couple of doors down who owned 1965 Chevy Impala convertible. It was his car from high school; thirty-five (35) years earlier. I never saw his car in the winter months. Nor would I have expected to see it out. But, I did not even see the car in his garage. In talking with him, I was able to solve my lack of space problem on a short-term basis. I put the Olds in off-site, enclosed storage during the winter. This major flaw with this solution was that the cold weather season was when I wanted to work on the car. Summers are for cruising and shows, not doing major work on the car, right? The answer to the problem was an obvious one. Turn that 2-car garage into a 3-stall car barn. I set about to do just that. The existing garage was in good shape, and in no way detracted from the neighborhood. Consequently, I saw no need to start from scratch. My plan was to tear down a side wall, extend the front and back walls to encompass a third bay, and put a new roof on.

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Make Room for Another Car – Continued from p. 2 I called some contractors, seeking bids. After the third guy said they would only tear down the entire garage and build a new one, for a mere 20 Grand, I began to despair. Eventually, I found a builder that would do it my way. When he went down to the city building department, he was advised the plans required a zoning variance. The contractor graciously offered to assist in procuring a zoning variance permit, at an additional cost. Well, this was not starting out well, to say the least! Needless to say, with the intercession of my councilman, I procured the needed variance on my own, so that construction could proceed. The idea was to have the car barn completed by early fall, so the car could reside with us for the winter, and valuable time was slipping away. The contractor came out and performed the required demolition in preparation for the needed construction. He then promptly disappeared. This was shortly after I had given him 1/3 down, in advance. Now, instead of watching my new garage go up, I was dealing with the BBB™. We finally relocated him (he had decided to take a short vacation without telling anyone), and got things back on track. The slab for bay #3 was poured. At that point in the construction we departed on a long planned trip to Alaska. The clear understanding was, the new car barn would be complete on our return. Rather than leave things to chance, an adult son took over riding herd on the builder. When we returned from our trip, we discovered that not a single nail had been hammered in our absence. My only recourse was to become the typical PITA customer. I played that role easily, and quite well. I was able get things moving, only because the contractor needed my money. I was no longer handing it over freely. By early August, the construction that was supposed to have been completed in mid-May was done. I finally had a safe and secure home for 3 cars. Problem solved, right? No! Why not? My wife felt uncomfortable

“By early August, the construction that was supposed to have been completed in mid-May was done.”

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driving that “great, big Oldsmobile.” She wanted a classic of her own to drive. Being the ever dutiful husband, I bought one for her. And, there is a story behind that purchase too, which shall be related at another time. So, here we where with a 3-car garage and 4 cars. THERE IS NEVER, EVER ENOUGH ROOM! 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! GARAGE CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS Fri/24Mar 2006-GDY Called for Estimate Tues/28 Mar-Bid Prep’d/Rec’d Tues/4 Apr-Bid Accepted. Contract Executed calling for: 10 Apr 2006 Start Date 5 wks from start to completion (15 May 2006) Paid (1/3) down – 4 Apr 2006 Thurs/7 Apr-Building Permit Denied Fri/21 Apr-BOZA Appeal Filed by GDY Mon/24 Apr-Request for BOZA May Hearing Thurs/18 May-BOZA Grant of Variance Tues/23 May-Building Permit Issued Thurs/8 Jun-Demo begins. Removed Siding-East Wall Only! Mon/12 Jun-Pad excavated by Mendoza Cement of Eagle, WI City called to inspect Tues/13 Jun-City inspected excavation (Passed) Weds/14 June-2006 Slab poured. Cement supplier; Gleason Redi-Mix (Norway) Fri/16 Jun-Depart on vacation Thurs/22 Jun-Andrew advises no work performed at all. Sat/24 Jun-LDTel Conversation with K’or: He assures me will begin work on Thursday, 6/29, and he will have garage complete by time we return from vacation on Saturday, 8 July. Thurs/6 July-LIFETIME DOOR on site and removes 2-stall door and hardware. THIS AMOUNTS TO ONLY WORK PERFORMED DURING THE ENTIRE 3 WKS WE WERE GONE ON VACATION! Week of/10 Jul-Sheathing (walls/roof/gable ends) installed. Weds/19 Jul-AK Constr. begins roof install. Interior wall finally taken down. Service door and former locksets installed. Thurs/20 Jul-Lakeside Gutter there at 0700 to make and deliver gutters. Roofer there, and completes job. Sat/22 Jul-Lifetime Door installs garage door opener on 2-stall bay and overhead manual door and track (temporary) on lbay #3. Tues/8 Aug-Mike of Lifetime Door calls to schedule rehang of door for Thurs., 10 Aug. Weds/9 Aug-Mike of Lifetime Door rehangs garage door. CONSTRUCTION COMPLETE

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1954 Cadillac 1960 Oldsmobile 1962 Oldsmobile Starfire Interior

1956 Cadillac

COMING NEXT ISSUE: • •

Tools of the Trade Collector Car Pics