Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Car Collector Chronicles 08-13
Car Collector Chronicles 08-13
Exploring:
Car Collecting Today Classic Rides Reports From the Field Oldsmobile (1897-2004) Cadillac (1902- ) Allant (1987-1993)
High RPMs
The weather just warmed up and it already is turning cool. Fall cant be coming this early, can it? I sure hope not! Our Olds convert, Saved 62, was hand washed and waxed by yours truly in prep for our first car show of the season. Then, the day of the show dawned cold, overcast and threatening rain. At least I had good intentions? I need to back flush and refill the cooling system on the Olds. Everything needed to do it has been purchased and assembled. Does anyone besides me remember the engine back flush kits made by Prestone? They had the garden hose T-adapter and necessary clamps to splice it into a heater hose line. I will use the kit, but shall not permanently splice it into my heater hose. Instead, I shall undo the heater hose, install one end of tee into it and run a small piece of new heater hose to the old connection and the tee. When done, I will be able to return the heater hose configuration back to the factory set up. Last month I made mention of, and pictured, what is reputed to be a 1-of-1 1979 Pontiac Grand Am(ino). I have subsequently verified that it is in fact a 1-of-1. A Pontiac Tech Adviser informed me that it is in fact a 1-of-1, built by Pontiac as a prototype to be considered for possible production. Needless to say, it never made it into production. The unanswered question remains: What is this 1-of-1 worth today? I wonder what the insured value is and how it was determined?
Corvair (1960-1969)
= Clickable Link
8/12/08: 1st Model T rolled off the assembly line 8/15/56: Packard closes 8/17/15: Electric starter patented by Chas. Kettering 8/22/01: Cadillac Motor Car
Company established 8/22/02: T.R. 1st U.S. President to ride in a motor car 8/26/57: Ford debuts the Edsel 8/26/50: Ransom E. Olds dies 8/29/1885: World's 1st motorcycle patented by Daimler - Stay cool & enjoy your ride(s)!
THE GRAY LADY: This website features our 1955 Cadillac Coup de Ville, lots of Caddy information and an extensive repair library.
OldsD88@gmail.com
Page 2
Perhaps, no not perhaps but definitely, I should have set a dollar cap on the cost of repairs to be performed on my car?
Page 3
My collector car insurance came up for renewal at the beginning of July. For the last 8 years I have been insured by American Collectors Insurance Co. I have never had a claim, knock on wood. My only contact with American Collectors is to send them the annual premium. That being so, I really have no complaints as to their service. Additionally, I would note that the bill for the June tow of The Gray Lady (pictured on Page 2), was reimbursed by it within a week of the tow itself. That speaks well of their customer service. Notwithstanding the lack of complaint and the decent customer service, I decided to switch my insurer. The genesis for this switch was my concern over the presence of coverage when taking a plain, ol, simple pleasure drive. Seems like that should not be a problem, but is that the case? Pleasure drives are not undertaken in connection with any collector car activity, be it a show, cruise-in or whatever. The fine print in some insurance policies suggests the possibly that one may not be covered while out for a pleasure drive. I decided I did not want to live with that ambiguity. I have seen Hagerty ads on tv. I spoke with some folks from Hagerty when attending Spring Carlisle in April. I also studied their representations, as set out on their internet site. One such representation is: What are your usage restrictions/guidelines? Simply put, we want you to enjoy your classic vehicle. While there are some restrictions in the policy, youre covered for pleasure use, whether it's a drive on a gorgeous summer day, a trip to the ice cream shop, attending club events or going to shows. That seems to eliminate all question of whether I am covered when going for a ride with no particular place to go? I want to say, I am not a lawyer, but it would seem to be pretty darn hard for Hagerty to make such a statement and then try to deny a claim on the grounds of it arising while out for a pleasure drive. I want to say that but cant. I cant because I am a lawyer! And precisely because I am, I defy them to try and deny my claim on the basis of pleasure driving not being a permitted activity. There is comfort in knowing that I am protected from loss while out for spin in either The Gray Lady or Saved 62,. The fact that the accompanying towing insurance covers all my vehicles, not just the classics made a favorable impression on me. That it does eliminates the need to pay for an AAA membership. Also, at Hagerty you are made to feel part of a group of like-minded individuals, instead of a mere customer. This feeling is reinforced by receipt of the magazine Hagerty Classic Cars. True, it is a small thing, but it counts. Lastly, and maybe firstly as it always seems to come down to money, the premium was less than what I was paying before. Not a whole lot less, but less. What I am not enamored with is the towing plan constraint. A tow bill is paid by Hagerty only if made by an authorized towing service. You get an authorized tow service provider by calling a 1-800 number. With American Collectors I called whomever I desired, paid the bill and was reimbursed. I can live with this constraint. After all, it is no different than calling the Triple A for roadside services. Of course, the proof in the pudding is in the tasting. Lets hope I do not have to test Hagertys claim services, and that if I do they are all they lead one to believe they are. Speaking of claims, I learned that a 1959 Cadillac from Sweden taking part in the Lincoln Highway U.S. 30 tour was badly wrecked. I wonder how that claim is being handled? Will the insurance company cover transit costs back to Sweden in order to have the needed repairs performed? Will it pay the expense of shipping needed parts to Sweden for installation? Will it require the car to be repaired here in the U.S.? If so, will it pay for the owner to stay here while the car is being repaired or to fly the owner back to the U.S. at a later date to inspect the repairs and pick up the car? What a hassle! I would love to know which company has the insurance and what is/is not being paid?
Simply put, we want you to enjoy your classic vehicle. [Y]oure covered for pleasure use, whether its a drive on a gorgeous summer day, a trip to the ice cream shop, attending club events or going to shows.
Page 4;;
CCC Calling
Of late I have taken up walking. Daily I cover anywhere from 4 to 6 miles. How much ground I cover depends on how I feel and the weather. During these walks I often come upon old rides. I flatter myself to think these folks might find our publication of interest. How do I go about letting them know of its existence? A b us i nes s c a rd proved to be the answer. It conveys the info needed to find and read CCC and is easily placed on a car windshield. This is what the business card looks like.
If you are in the SE Wisconsin area and find one of these cards under your wiper, you now know who the culprit is that left it. You are cordially invited to join the CCC family of readers.
Readers met Olllie Sinden a year ago. He is the English bloke who was touring the U. S. of A. in his 1972 442. Both Ollie and the Olds are back home in England. Ollie reports that he does not drive it much of late, due to the high price of gas. However, he did take the car to France, to watch the 24 Hours of Le Mans. His Olds now has the distinction of having beed driven in four countries (U.S.A., Canada, England and France). I found Ollies critique of the television show Counting Cars in a recent email interesting: Must say I've been enjoying reading CCC. Particularly the recent article about the car shows - we get all the same ones here. I do watch them all but often find myself shouting at the telly (as we say). Counting Cars in particular annoys me because we don't see any of the actual spannerwielding - it's all waffle.
Ok, Ive had my say for the month. Now its your turn! I invite/encourage submission of your comments, opinions and article contributions. I also ask that you please help spread the word about our publication. Everything sent shall indeed be reviewed by me. Submissions should be sent to CCC at OldsD88@gmail.com. Now that you have finished reading this months issue of the newsletter, come start/ join an ongoing dialog with other CCC readers and like-minded car collector folk on the CCC Forum. Stop by, check us out and share your views . ______________________________________
Page 5;;
CCC Presents
1941 Ford
1949 Olds
1941 Plymouth
1960 Cadillac