A GDYNETS

PUBLICATION
2016, G. DAVID
YAROS. ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED.

Car Collector
Chronicles

Volume IX, Issue 1

Exploring:

Ca

Car Collecting Today

High RPMs

Classic Rides
Reports From the Field
Oldsmobile (1897-2004)
Cadillac (1902- )
Allant (1987-1993)

Corvair (1960-1969)

= Clickable Link

IN THIS ISSUE:
High RPMs

Ol Man River

SITEings

Did You Know?

Just last week, with temps

in the mid-to-high 50s I was
thinking of taking Saved 62
out for a spin. Fat chance of
that now. Two days ago we
got hit with 9, plus of snow!
For those with an interest,
you will find the 2015 CCC
Index on the scribd web site.
I want to thank all who
responded to my missive for
vehicle records software
programs. They did help. I
now have a simple spreadsheet with which I am toying . I also have worked
extensively with Tamas
Csrgo, the author of
mcAutoTrak, debugging his
program. We now have it
doing both what he intended
and what I requested/need.
Thanks Tamas!

January Automotive Milestones

01-1897: Winton builds 1st
car with steering wheel
02-1923: Chevy debuts 1st

CCC Forum
EMail:

OldsD88@gmail.com

air-cooled engine
05-1924: 1st Chrysler debuts
06-1954: Kaiser Darrin goes
on sale
09-1926: First Pontiac built
10-1979: The last convertible
Beetle rolls off of Volkswagen
production lines.
13-1942: Ford patents a
method of constructing plastic
auto bodies
14-1954: Nash-Kelvinator
and Hudson merge to form
American Motors Corporation
14-1958: Ford merges the
Edsel Division with LincolnMercury
16-1977: Dodge Omni and
Plymouth Horizon debut
17-1953 Corvette first intro'd
at GM Motorama as a concept car
17-1903: Cadillac premieres
its first car, Madison Square
Garden, N.Y.C.
17-1956: Ford Motor Co.
goes public
22-1950: Preston Tucker
found not guilty of mail fraud
28-1896: East Peckham,

Kent England issues first speeding

ticket to a motorist going 8 mph in
a 2 mph zone.
29-1886: Karl Benz filed the patent for the first gasoline-driven
automobile
30-1958: Rambler American debuts

- Happy New Year! -

GDYNets on the Web

Find GDYNets on the web:

What is it?

January 2016

CCC -THE FORUM -A web

site to discuss the newsletter,
the hobby and our cars.
Car Collector Chronicles
Saved 62 -Our 1962 Olds
convertible, Ransom Eli Olds
and things Oldsmobile related
web site.
The Gray Lady -1955 Cadillac
Coup de Ville web site.

SAVED 62: A website devoted

to our 1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 convertible. The site

also has a lot of information on
Oldsmobile cars and the company founder, Ransom Eli Olds.

THE GRAY LADY: This website features our 1955 Cadillac

Coup de Ville, lots of Caddy
information and an extensive
repair library.

DAVES DEN: -A site 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.
George Yaros.

Car Collector Chronicles

Page 2

Ol Man River

[W]hat I
recall as old/
obsolete in
the mid-50s is
suddenly new
and
innovative in
the 21st
century!

With the tick of the clock on 31 December, another page was turned. We have now
entered our ninth calendar year of publication of CCC ! I know not how many more
years we shall continue? That remains to be determined.
This month another milestone is also passed. Suffice it to say that with the passing
of this milestone I may no longer kid myself about my age. Without revealing my age
precisely, let me say that even I must now admit that I am indeed an old coot!
All this is by way of lead-in to reference of a noted turn of events that deserves the
preface of You know you are getting old when . A NY Corvair owner recounted this
incident:
So I order GM key blanks from Clarks and go to my local hardware store.
Young guy cuts the new keys and I go home and try them, but neither one
works. I decide to try them reversed and sure enough the round key opens
the doors and starts the car and the hex key opens the trunk.
Next time in the store I mentioned to the kid that he did the keys backwards.
He looks at me funny and I explain they are backward. He tells me whats the
difference, he never saw a car that had different keys for the doors and trunk.
Are we that old?
On the subject of keys, it seems the trend now days is to not have car keys at all. Our
Toyota Avalon has fob/transmitter that must be in the car for the starter button to work.
Starter buttons? The last one of those I remember was on our 1948 Olds!
While I certainly am not getting any younger, what I recall as old/obsolete in the mid50s is suddenly new and innovative in the 21st century!
In a related vein I ran across a Then & Now comparison which I found to be relevant
and a bit humorous. I would gladly give the drafter credit, but s/he is anonymous:
1957 vs. 2016

Scenario 1: Jack goes duck hunting before school and then pulls into the
school parking lot with his shotgun on his truck gun rack.
1957 - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and
gets his shotgun to show Jack.
2016- School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never
sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and
teachers.
Scenario 2: Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.
1957 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up
buddies.
2016 - Police called and SWAT team arrives -- they arrest both Johnny and
Mark. They are both charged with assault and both expelled even though
Johnny started it.
Scenario 3: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a
whipping with his belt.
1957 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college and
becomes a successful businessman.
2016 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to foster care and
joins a gang.
Scenario 4: Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.
1957 - Mark shares his aspirin with the Principal out on the smoking dock.
2016 - The police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug violations. His locker and car are then searched for drugs and weapons.

Car Collector Chronicles

Page 3

Ol Man RiverContd
Scenario 5: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the Fourth of July, puts
them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up a red ant bed.
1957 - Ants die.
2016 - ATF, Homeland Security and the FBI are all called. Johnny is charged with
domestic terrorism. The FBI investigates his parents - and all siblings are removed from their home and all computers are confiscated. Johnny's dad is placed
on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

SITEings
For some reason, I was able to get a lot of surfing time in last month? In the process I
ran across quite of few items of note; some interesting and helpful and others just plainly
absurd. Let me start with the absurd, as it formed the genesis for this article.
There is a web site that offers what are described as hard to find NOS parts. It says it is
Specializing in General Motors vintage and classic car parts. That said, there are also
AMC, Ford and non-GM part offerings on the site. The name of the site is Oldsmoblie Obsolete. I do not know the origin of the site name, but speculate the owner started out
selling Olds parts and subsequently branched out?
While perusing the site at my leisure I almost went into shock. I was more than astounded at the prices listed. I found myself asking if this guy really sells any of this stuff. I
would like to see his year-end ledger to determine if he is making any money.
Here are but two examples:
One may acquire this 5 worth of plastic for only $45.00! Yes,
you read that right, 45 bucks and it is yours! Here is the link to
this item. Who, or should I say who in their right mind, would
pay this price? OReilly Auto Parts offers a functional replacement from Dorman for all of 79!
Then there is the 1958 Oldsmobile thermostat by-pass hose.
It cannot be more than six inches (6) long, if that. Yes, it is a
genuine GM part. That it is should cause one to inquire as to how old it is. Am I wrong to
assume the age might have a bearing on the remaining useful life of the rubber of which it
is made? I think not. Moreover, I do not see any markings
on the hose which, once installed, we make it readily
identifialbe as NORS. It too is priced at $45. Why $45, as
opposed to $27.50, $39.40 or $55.65? When I see
multiple items all carrying the same price I question the
resoning that went into determing the prices.
While the About Us page of this site claims the business has been in operation for
fifty (50) years, one of the telephone numbers for Olds Obsolete on the site goes back to a
business identified as Bitterroot Banquet and Ballroom in Stevensville, MT. That seems a
bit strange, to say the least? At the same time, given the prices here, I can cetainly
appreciate the need for the web site owner to have a real job with a real income!
Moving on, lets take a look at an old car site that I found to be quite creative It is a
commercial site maintained by one Steven Erler. It is difficult to describe/characterize
Steven. In addition to being a car collector, he is a photographer and artist. He will gladly
create an image of your ride, for a fee. What I found of particular interest were the images
he created of Cars that Never Were.
What caught my eye in particular where his renditions of American station wagons.
There are a number of them pictured on the site. We are talking Buick, Cadillac,
Chevrolet, Chrysler and Oldsmobile. His creations of these cars harks back to the classic
lines originally found in the 1955-56 Chevrolet Nomad.

While
perusing the
site at my
leisure I
almost went
into shock
at the prices
listed. I
found myself
asking if this
guy really
sells any of
this stuff.

Car Collector Chronicles

Page 4;;

SightingsContd.

Who would not be proud to

cruise the boulevard behind
the wheel of the 1957 Olds
wagon depicted on his site? I
would most definitely be glad
to be among that number!
This may be common knowledge to a lot of you, but it
came as new info to me. It is
information that many of us
could make use of with respect to our rides. Almost
every old car I have owned
has had a mirror; be it rear
view, side view or visor; that
has seen better days. Correct
replacements are not the easiest items to find. Enter the
She will
Mirror Lady.
make that mirror look like new
again. While her prices are
not cheap, they are not at all
out-of-line when one considers
what they are getting. In this instance the maxim of one gets what they pay for is certainly applicable.

Did You Know?

I ran across this tidbit while surfing the net, and it came as news to me. Should you be traveling in either
the states of New Jersey or Oregon be prepared for a surprise when getting gas. Do not be suspicious, or
worse afraid, when a person comes out to pump your gas. That is because in these two states gasoline is
required to be dispensed by an attendant.
When is the last time you had someone pump your gas? Gas station attendants, of which I was one
back-in-the-day, are so rare today that Wikipedia has a web page which defines what one is:
A filling station attendant, gas station attendant (United States and Canada), or gas jockey (US), is
a worker at a full-service filling station who performs services other than accepting payment.
Tasks usually include pumping fuel, cleaning windshields, and checking vehicle oil levels.
New Jersey law (N.J.S.A. 34:3A-7) reads:
Training, Supervision of Attendants
No person shall dispense fuel at a gasoline station, unless the person is an attendant who has
received instructions regarding the dispensing of fuel, had practical experience dispensing fuel
under the direct supervision of an experienced operator for a period of not less than one full working day, and, upon examination at the end of that period, demonstrated his understanding of those
instructions. The instructions shall include a full explanation of the prohibitions of section 3 of this
act and any emergency procedures established pursuant to section 8 of this act.
Oregon Revised Statutes 480.330:
Operation of Gasoline Dispensing Device by Public Prohibited
An owner, operator or employee of a filling station, service station, garage or other dispensary
where Class 1 flammable liquids, except aviation fuels, are dispensed at retail may not permit any
person other than the owner, operator or employee to use or manipulate any pump, hose, pipe or
other device for dispensing the liquids into the fuel tank of a motor vehicle or other retail container.
Oregon is unique in that it has publicly declared its reason for the gas station attendant law. Typical of
government at its best, Oregon legislators came up with, count em, not one but seventeen (17) reasons why gas must be dispensed by a service station attendant.
I do not make this stuff up folks!

Car Collector Chronicles

Page 5;;

What Is It?

The tail lights are 1965 Chevrolet (and I am not sure they are all working?). The fins resemble those of a
1968 Plymouth Fury. The license plate is definitely foreign. The question is what is it? What I do know is
that I have never seen a Plyrolet in real life.

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 the newsletter, if so inclined, like CCC on Facebook by going here. To UNSUBSCRIBE send an email to ==> OldsD88@gmail.com
_______________________________________

-- RESTORE 'EM, AND DRIVE 'EM!

COMING NEXT ISSUE:
TBD