Barn Finds, Day Two & Shabby Chic Cars

Car fans are slowly taking back their hobby from the speculator-investors. The money crisis that infected the world has chased those vultures from North American post war classics into the rareified pre war AACA classics, European exotic cars and speciality sports cars of the Vintage, Edwardian and 1930s era. In its stead, a rash of trends have come along. The Barn Find, Shabby Chic, Day Two muscle and the Pro Touring cars have filled the gaps where show cars and concours trailer queens used to be. I love factory original cars. In fact, I made a living decoding build sheets and helping people make their rids factory original again. The bottom line is to be competitive in the show world, you can't really drive it much. The downtime cleaning and retouching a car between rides is too arduous. The common denominator between all those trends is they're being used daily.The fact is you can take your 63 Chvy Impala ragtop to the cottage on a week end and not worry about a few stone chips on a dirt road if its a barn find that's been cleaned up and put on the road. You cannot do that with a show car six pack Challenger that's had $100,000 pumped into it. Another cool fact is pulling into a parking lot with one of these driver cars generates a LOT of interest. They're different and have character. I've seen a tatty suede painted 64 Chevelle draw as much notice as a 69 Hemi Charger that looked like it rolled out a showroom stand. The Chevelle's total cost probably wouldn't buy the paint job for the Charger. Two different cars, very similar reactions. The scene is tightening up more. 2012 will be interesting to watch which segment gets more action. I think we're going to see a relaxation among owners. They'll be driven more. Fanatical restorations will likely be done on true rare survivors instead of a questionable car missing its drivetrain or half the body. Its a hobby, why take the fun out of it?

Collector Car Market Moment 2011: Latest Trends and Predictions

If 2008 was a year of reckoning for overpriced muscle cars, 2009 and 2010 were descents into low prices and flat sales. It seemed as if 2011 was going to be a year of gradual recovery. The world economic engines however, seemed to have experienced severe overheating this summer. Between President Barack Obama's fiscal crisis in America, Japan's earthquake related woes and money problems in Europe and Greece, it seems the financial markets are going to be hurting for the forseeable future.
In the past, the car dealers used to sell the line that collector cars were a safe place to invest money as they were tangibles you could use and enjoy, unlike bonds, stocks and other paper related holdings. While this is true, it's a bit reckless to endorse collector cars wholly as a replacement for your 401K plan. No true collector car advisor would say such a thing. Instead they would suggest what I'm about to tell you; buy what you like so if you are stuck with it in the short term, you'll enjoy driving it.
Up until Memorial Day Weekend, sales of classic cars were doing well. Profits weren't great but iron was selling and it seemed as though the bottom had been reached. Right now as we approach Labor Day 2011, the waters are so muddy from the roiling stock markets and international unrest that it'd be foolish to speculate what the classic car market will bear going into 2012. Rather than try that game, I'm going to relate what I've witnessed first hand and frm reliable sources in the hobby what's been going on. The latest trend in the hobby appears to be the "trade your car for another" deal. Instead of making a cash sale, many have entered a straight trade for a car of equal value as assumed by two willing traders or a trade up or down for a different vehicle. For the right person, this can work as well as a cash deal since often the sale of one car is just to finance another buy or gain space for same. My own classic car sale ad has generated plenty of these offers, my 1972 GTO hardtop garnered a trade for a 2001 Harley Davidson fatboy, a Glastron 16 foot boat, a 1962 Ford Fairlane hardtop and 1947 Ford F1 truck combo, a lovely trade up deal for a rare 1939 Nash Lafayette business coupe with Chevy 454 engine. This one was the most tempting to be honest. In the end, I decided to keep the GTO and wait for the right cash offer. I spoke with other car nuts at cruise nights in Ontario and this scenario is common. While the climate is stifling money deals, it appears humans are trying to keep the hobby going via trades. Very heartening when you think about it!
Price Trends, yes, I think we can safely conclude a couple of observations now. Mopars are finally coming down to sane levels. Vastly over hyped and priced during 2006-2009 era, hemi cars are below $80,000 now for decent full size cars. pony car owners still ask $100,000 for good examples but actual sales in that range are few.In truth, what is happening is the best example are just stored away while non number matching cars or decent restored driver machines are selling. The top drawer stuff is being held off market or privately sold.
Restorations: Project cars are still being restored but the full boogie numbers matching cars are the only ones getting serious money thrown at them. Most cars are being tidied up, sympathetically restored or built as Day Two machines. The rolling sheds that used to be bought for home downpayment money have ground to a halt. In this climate, people are buying the most complete and easy to restore examples around and paying less for them. Makes perfect sense. You'd be insane to restore a car that's in #4 condition in today's market.
Trucks: Vintage pick ups are hot in the states and they're warming up quickly here in Canada. One reason is they're still affordable even with big V8s. Another is the ethos behind the truck hobby is still pleasure driven. It hasn't been spoiled yet with big dollar restorations and ridiculous stories. This could change in time but for now, it's grass roots and real.
Rat Rods and Old Skool: It is strong in the states but I suspect it has reached an Apogee and will die down like Tulips in July. Rat Rods and Old Skool rides are impractical, uncomfortable and hard to insure properly. we have the factor of poor weather for half the year in Canada as well. I honestly cannot see a growth market in this segment. The vintage 1960s style hot rods are more likely to gain traction. Tuck and Roll upholstery, a well done candyflake paint finish and a set of Stromberg 97s atop a flat head or 401 Buick is very appealing. Rust covered panels with matte paint and primative body and unfinished interior work?....not so much.
From my end, it looks like I will be putting the GTO on the dragstrip next spring if she don't sell. I like the Day Two look and will probably change one or two things. Add a padded custom sport steering wheel and a set of stripes on it. The stripes were on it when new. The steering wheel is a factory option and looks better than the ugly two spoke it was born with. Down the road, who knows? Maybe a nasty engine rebuild?

Introducing Car Counselor: buying advice for the novice

I've heard it time and time again. "If only I had someone who could help out with buying a car." Hard to believe for us freaks, but some people aren't car savvy and actually loathe the experience of buying a set of wheels. They could be seniors, looking for a simple easy to maintain car, students searching for college or uiniversity commuters, 1st time buyers, professionals seeking a focused search without wasting time and effort, or ladies who don't feel comfy making an uniformed decision.All are candidates for Car Counselor, a part of PHS Collector Car Appraisals services.Patrick Smith heads Car Counselor and offers a range of services to fit your needs.
The Market Research package offers a quick, focused analysis of suitable cars fitting your budget, needs and wants. It includes choices on reccommended options and suggestions. This is ideal for the beginner who wants to narrow down the choices to a managable selection of good candidates.
On Site Exam Package offers the customer an on location examination of a car selected by the customer as a possible purchase. It is useful for checking out a car which may have questionable issues on the customer's part. It saves time and money by avoiding a potentially flawed vehicle. This is only recommended for those with some experience buying cars already.
Pre Purchase Inspection Package: This is the most thorough of procedures offered. The car is examined on a hoist with qualified, unbiased technician and a report is delivered on the condition of car including faults, needed repairs as well as its good points.
The thing to remember about a service is how it saves you money, trouble and lost time. They are intangibles items in that they're not seen until something goes wrong with a car that wasn't properly checked out after you've bought it. Good Counseling doesn't cost, it pays.
Pat Smith
905 877 0452
PHS Collector Car Appraisals

Hot Rods Roadside Emissions check ups

This summer has been a wet, cool one for the record books. It's also been one for unusual activity of a discriminatory nature by the Ministry of Environment. The MOE has been busy in Brockville, Ontario, this summer flagging down cars to enter roadside inspection stations near Blockhouse Island. It appears they target older vehicles from the 1950s to mid 1970s for inspecting emission controls for compliance and installation. Closer to home, many Camaro Z28s and Pontiac Trans Ams are being pulled over by the MOE crew at roadside for inspection of emission control equipment. This isn't new, I've seen this happen back in 2004. In fact, my 1980 Turbo SE was pulled over one day. I'll tell you more about that event. It's interesting.
Fellow concerned car hobbyist, Don Caithness, made inquiries about this activity to his Member of Provincial Parliament, Bob Runciman. He asked if the inspectors had the legal right to pull over cars and inspect them at random. Barry Raison, Executive Assistant to Bob Runciman, graciously replied and assisted Caithness with a conclusive answer and some hopefully good news about the perceived harrassment nature of some of these inspections. Some of the larger car shows and modern tuner car shows in the Metropolitan Toronto area have been hampered by law enforcement near the events and runmors of MOE inspections. It appears none did show up at Prescott or Brockville's car shows which wer on the weekend.There could have been inspections on Friday however. This in turn, affected attendance for the subsequent events.Many of these shows are benefits for charities. I need not tell you decreased attendance equals a shortfall in funds for many useful charities.
Barry Raison said, "the Environmental Protection Act gives them ( MOE inspectors) carte blanche to stop you without a warrant and conduct any kind of search, test etc., as necessary to determine if the vehicle complies. It's very clear about this." In an earlier correspondence with Mr. Caithness, Raison also mentioned, "I talked to Bob about this and we're going to ask that the inspectors be more lenient in such situations. We're going to call and follow it up with a letter." The context isn't given in this letter, but I suspect from the date, Sept 25th 2009, and the location that the situation being referred to is Blockhouse Island's MOE test area and possibly the effect it had on the Brockville Car Show in downtown waterfront area during the summer as well as the nearby Prescott show.
The communication cleared up some things. The MOE inspectors are doing their job and have the legal right and responsibility to do inspections. Hopefully, some understanding about the negative effect on show attendance will reduce the heavy handed presence at same events. Since individual, random road side inspections are done, you can expect to encounter a team in the future.
My 1980 Turbo Trans Am was inspected by a two person team in the summer of 2004 near my hometown in a western Toronto suburb. They checked for emission compliance. They were polite and friendly at first until one inspector found what she believed was plugged PCV valve hole. It was actually the oil breather delete plug. It had a plug in it because only the Turbo 4.9 V8 Pontiac engine uses a special oil breather tube vented on the driver side, not passenger. The Edelbrock valve covers were made for regular V8 Pontiac engines so the other side was plugged. The PCV valve actually goes into the intake manifold area into the intake lifter valley. It was hooked up. I explained this deviation and offered to show them the Pontiac manual explaining this set up. They were satisfied. My catalytic converter, air pump, EGR valve, fuel return lines were all operational. This was a visual inspection.
Many older cars will have just a road draft tube or PCV valve for emissions control items. There were exceptions even then. By 1968, Air pumps were appearing in 49 state cars but Canada didn't use them on all models. The Canadian L79 Nova doesn't use one. A US Nova L79 does. Guess what many inspectors will use for charts confirming compliance? You got it, American manuals. The evolution of emission controls was rapid and jumpy. Unless the inspectors are well versed in what was compliant that year and in what Province, mistakes will be made.
The post 1975 Fords and GM cars are diabolical for deviations from basic emission control procedures. I have a manual 12 inches thick covering the configuration for diagnosis. that's just GM.
Here is my random roadside MOE inspection survival guide
1. Don't cop an attitude. They are doing their job. Being hostile or evasive isn't going to help you.
2. Know your car's system well and be sure it is working.
3. If you have a production oddity and is documented ie a shop manual or factory service instructions detailing the equipment or lack of, keep it handy for proof.
4. Record your conversation with the MOE inspectors if you fear discrimination or feel incompetance or lack of knowledge is affecting the inspection. You shouldn't cop an attitude and the same goes for the inspectors. You have no way of knowing who might cause a problem, but it appears the cars that are visually modified are the most strongly targeted ones. Pack a cam with microphone and be prepared.
If you've been to the drags and tuned it for maximum performance, take the extra time to return your distributor, spark plugs and carburetion to normal levels before hitting the road home. It's common sense and don't run slicks on the street.
5. If you have a kit car and it's improperly registered as a "homebuilt" or "HOM" on your ownership card, be aware you'll be subject to roadside inspection for emissions compliance AS WELL as Drive Clean testing. There are no exceptions to that rule. Your kit car should've been registered properly. Usually this happens because the owner fails to fill out his affidavit with the MTO correctly, describing it as a homemade on the affidavit.Homemade vehicles are constructed without using manufactured main components, eg body and chassis made from scratch. There is no VIN number as a result.The model year would be the year it was constructed. The drivetrain would have to meet the emission spec for the model year that engine was produced.

The New Chrysler Corporation? Alfa Romeo!

Things are getting interesting in new car land. It appears that Chrysler's merger with Fiat SpA. will produce some fresh european fruit very soon. Talks are underway concerning opening a new paint shop for the Brampton, Ontario plant. It happens to be a flexible assy plant currently producing the Dodge Challenger,Chrysler 300 series and Charger. Officials from Chrysler aren't confirming anything yet, but a meeting between Chrysler and Fiat management in June during restructuring talks included a powerpoint presentation which included some pics of intruiging new models which may end up in Brampton. One of those vehicles is the Alfa Romeo 169 sports sedan. The Alfa Romeo 169 is going to replace the 166 model for 2010. It comes with two V8 engines, the latter a 350 horse power variant.Another model shown during the presentation was a 200C which is a hybrid car. While teh European roll out will be in 2010, research firm, IHS Global states that Chrysler Canada would start building Alfa Romeos in November 2010 which would make them 2011 models for North America. Can Ferraris be far behind in order to escape the import tarriffs? Meanwhile, take a peek at the luxury 169 sports sedan. Isn't that a gas? It's rear wheel drive too!Photography is by Huckfeldt.

Market Moment Summer 2009: Strong Sales with Lower Prices

People ask me all the time what is going on with collector cars. Are they good investments? Is the market flat? Is now the time to buy or should I wait? There isn't one answer that fits these questions because it is different for every person. Just as there are so many different cars in various conditions offered for sale for every budget, there are going to be some that sell quickly for good money, some that sell for fair money and some that just sit around. The general trend indicates that sales overall are steady. People aren't getting huge dollars for their Chevelles and GTOs, but they aren't losing money either. Project cars are selling very well presently. The cars that are sitting around usually are very poor specimens needing restoration or rare cars that are priced dearly. I've sold lots of collector car parts to individuals completing restorations or gathering pieces to start a project.Many sales went to Sweden, USA and Northern Ontario. The poor economy hasn't affected the enthusiast level of the hobby. Cars are still being wrenched together and driven. At the other end of the scale, I've seen very nice quality restorations languish on the market because the seller was asking too much money. One 1969 Camaro Z/28 clone was well restored with excellent colours. It went on the market in the winter at $35,000 only to sit until it recently sold for $27,000. This is the most you could expect for a reproduction 1969 Z/28 in today's climate. It was a high production car to begin with and you have lots of competition when it comes to clones.
Speaking of which, clone cars apparently are selling again. According to Cars OnLine.com's weekly newsletter, the vendor has recorded a major flow of clone cars from sellers to buyers last week.A lowered price grid with realistic sellers combined with renewed enthusiasm for driver cars is the reason for this surge. What can we expect to see develop over the next 6 months? I believe a gradual shift towards street driven muscle cars mixed with rat rods and 1950s street machines will dominate the picture. The numbers matching factory cars and show boats from the '50s will be in the background and generate copy in buff mags, but it won't be the same level of hype and excitement as before. From what I've gathered talking to friends in the hobby, the high end cars are still being purchased but the buyers are avoiding publicity and dealing privately. Of course, a few are still being sold to dealers such as RM and Barrett-Jackson but the spot lights will be dimmer next January. Serious money will flow for genuine finds and real collector cars. I hope we don't see stuff like "the last 1967 Stingray" appearing in catalogs for 2010. Frankly, that car was ordinary and minus the build up, would've generated less than $200,000. In general, the hobby would be well served if less sensationalism was generated on ordinary cars.
To sum up, the age of hype and fantasy money for old cars is drawing to a close for now. It will spin up again soon but for now we can enjoy the hobby and actually drive the cars.

Our Automotive Future?

So much has happened in the American auto industry lately it has been difficult to catch up. As it stands, Chrysler decalred Chapter 11 and is in the process of becoming a part of Fiat Spa. GM is getting ready for bankruptcy and who knows what conglomerate will eventually buy it out. Right now they're talking about the US government owning it on paper for a quick turnover and fresh start. Have you EVER known the government to do anything quickly? I think it's interesting to watch this new playing field develop. We're almost back in the early days when the playing field had a shake down. By early days I mean the 1910-1927 era. Of course, there were shakedowns in the 1950s too when Packard, Desoto, Nash and Studebaker all took dirt naps.
I think we'll find Italian cars will make a comeback in USA. Fiat owning a piece of Walter P allows it to incorporate Fiats into the product line. Eventually a US plant will be built escaping the tarriffs and duties such cars would face presently. Alfa Romeo recently suggested they were re entering the market after a prolonged absence in the 1980s. This could get interesting!Now whether public acceptance of said vehicles will occur, that's another story.
Meanwhile we should prepare by learning how to drive like Italians. In actual fact, that would be mean learning how to drive motorcycles. It's by far the major form of personal transport there.Now in America we have this problem called winter. We can adapt by operating snowmobiles. Think about it, what kind of traffic jam could possibly happen with snowmobiles? They're small, very manoeverable and some of them are insanely fast. Of course I wouldn't want to tangle with 18 wheelers. I guess we'd have to make tractor trailer snowmobiles. Motorcycles and tractor trailers also pose a problem. I guess the solution there would be a dedicated truck lane. The motorcycles would be forbidden to use that except for entry and exit. It could work in theory but then reality comes along and wrecks it. Maybe that's the whole problem with the automobile, reality finally caught it with it.I'l be watching car ads more closely now. They've been selling fantasy for decades. The whole scene has gotten ugly in Detroit. How are they going to deal with a Big Two and A Half? How do they sell a 2010 Dodge Giovanni GT? Will Americans learn to enjoy Asian made Chevrolets?
We live in interesting times.