For all of us who live in this northern climate, the collector car driving season is about to come to an end. (For those who trailer their cars everywhere, it doesn’t really matter; no need to read further.) Many of us are getting in a few more fall driving tours before the white stuff arrives. Actually, it’s not the white stuff in the sky that bothers me as much as the white stuff on the road—salt! Once snow starts to accumulate on the roads the driving season is officially over. I follow the usual basic steps when putting my collector cars away for the winter. I make sure the anti-freeze is fresh and radiator full and I always add a no-rust product. The gasoline tank is full and I add appropriate amounts of Marvel Mystery Oil and Sta-Bil. I have battery disconnect switches on all of my cars, but it’s not a bad idea to remove the car’s battery if your garage gets really cold. For the interior, I place a container of moth balls in the front and back. I don’t take any chances with critters chomping on the wool upholstery. Some collectors place their cars on blocks for the winter. Since I regularly start my cars and drive them if the weather permits, I don’t place them on blocks. For extended storage, i.e. several months, I recommend doing this. I always make sure the cars are clean—no road film or dirt—and I cover the cars with light covers. There are additional favorite winter storage suggestions I haven’t listed here; these are the basics. What do you recommend?
The Clock Tender periodically exercises your collector car's clock to extend it's life by many years.
Most collector car owners know how difficult it can sometimes be to fix and maintain clocks in vintage vehicles. The mechanical movements and points of these clocks typically wear out after only a few years of service, but now there is now an easy way to greatly extend the life of your clock— it’s called the Clock Tender.
The Clock Tender works by electrically activating your clock once every four hours, giving it a total of about one half hour of exercise per day. Some car owners believe the best way to preserve a clock’s life of their clock is to let it completely run down and stop after the electrical source has been disconnected. However, that method is not good for the clock because it needs to be exercised periodically throughout the day to maintain its proper operating condition.
Designed by a highly talented engineer who now serves as a professor of Automobile Restoration Technology, the Clock Tender is the perfect answer to maintaining the longevity of the clock in your collector car. With winter quickly approaching and collector cars being prepped for storage, this is the perfect time to put your Clock Tender to use. To find out more about the Clock Tender or to order yours, visit www.classicautoelectric.com.
According to the weather report for the Canton-Akron area on www.weather.com, it seems that today and tomorrow may be the best and possibly the only days left in October to get your classic car out of the garage for a cruise.
With temperatures from the mid to high 60’s and a fairly low chance of precipitation, I hope to see many collector cars out and about today. So pull off that car cover, open the garage door and put your foot on the gas pedal to enjoy a couple more rides before winter!
I'm certain that each person has their own favorite place to drive their collector car— and being new to the area I would love for you to share those places with me. Is it to the movie theatre? The ice cream parlor? Down a long, winding road where you can take in the beautiful colors of the trees?
I just returned from the annual pilgrimage to Hershey, Pennsylvania to attend the annual AACA Fall Meet. With 9,000 spaces, this is the biggest vintage automobile flea market in North America; I don’t know of one any bigger. The weather—which is a major factor for an outdoor event like this—was reasonably good this year. High winds on Wednesday uprooted a few tents, but it was milder on Thursday. There were intermittent showers on Friday and it poured on Friday evening and early Saturday, but the car show scheduled for Saturday took place. Approximately 1,300 cars were registered. (Remember, all vehicles 25 years and older now qualify for AACA membership, so that means a 1984 Dodge van can be displayed.) For the first time there were rooms available at the Hershey Lodge and other hotels. There were many open spaces in the flea market. AACA stated all spaces were paid for so these were expensive “no shows.” It was good to be there again, but the number of pre-war parts and literature (which interest me) is dwindling and there’s too much non-automotive junk for sale. Truth be told, most people probably go just to be around other car people, see old friends and tell car stories. If they find some needed parts, so much the better. There were many international visitors; I visited with people from England, Mexico, Netherlands, France, Spain and Germany. A number of cars were sold to foreign collectors.
For the first time this past weekend, I experienced the 24 Hours of LeMons held at the Nelson Ledges Road Track in Garrettsville and let me tell you, it was an event to remember! If you are not familiar with the 24 Hours of LeMons event, the brief description of it is a 24 hour race of cobbled together cars that have a total value of $500 or less (not including the cost of safety equipment such as a roll cage and safety harness). You can get all the details by visiting their website at www.24hoursoflemons.com. Some people may call it a “mockery of racing” but most just call it a good time.
Over 130 race cars entered the event—the most in LeMons history. Race teams showed up from all over the eastern United States and Canada with their race cars held together by JB-weld, bondo and even duck tape. Each team and car had their own story and personality—everything from a 1987 Russian-built Lada Signet to a 1961 pink Cadillac and a Chevy “Vanamino.” Battling Ohio’s wet, windy and cold weather, about 120 race cars entered the track at Noon on Saturday as the green flag dropped (those who didn’t start the race were ones who did not pass inspection—it may not seem like it, but the race does actually have standards!)
1987 Lada Signet
When the checkered flag dropped at Noon on Sunday, about half of the cars remained on the track— those who did not make the checkered flag faced everything from blown tires to blown engines. A 1996 Nissan 200SX driven by a team racing for the benefit of breast cancer awareness technically won the LeMons race. However, many say that the real winner is the car that earns the “Index of Effluency award”—which went to the 1987 Lada Signet driven by the Total Loss Race Team from Traverse City, Michigan. Both teams received a trophy and $1,000 prize— awarded completely in nickels.
Did any of you have the chance to witness the excitement of the 24 Hours of Lemon’s Lamest Day race? What was your favorite race team/car or story from the race? There were so many of them out there I am sure I missed many of the “interesting” ones!
The Lamest Day Winner 1996 Nissan 200SX
Chevy "Vanamino"
Team Ded Bull
Unsurprisingly, GM (I don't know if it was the new GM or the old GM) announced the other day that Saturn was being closed down immediately and permanently. It was originally reported several months ago that Roger Penske was buying all of Saturn, except for the Spring Hill Tennessee manufacturing facility, to fold into his vast automotive empire. Apparently, he recently came to his senses and killed the deal.<
GM had a huge opportunity in the creation of this brand to make themselves, and the U.S. a world leader in the small car market. Unfortunately, due to the corporate arrogance and lack of attention to detail which ultimately brought the entire company to its knees, they failed miserably. The eagerly awaited initial Saturn models were poorly engineered, horribly constructed and plagued with several fatal flaws. Things eventually got better, but the die was cast in the buying public's eyes. The very last Saturns were actually good cars, but most were imports from GM divisions overseas, which is totally counter to Saturn's original vision of a world-class, American made small car.
Despite this, there are a lot of Saturns out there. Heck, I'm almost ashamed to admit that my sister and her husband are proud(?) owners of his and hers Saturns. A big question remains about parts and service for all Saturns on the road. Will you or anyone you know miss Saturn?
If you were even remotely interested in anything automotive, the Glennmoor Gathering of Significant Automobiles was the place to be this past weekend. Collectors and enthusiasts from around the country converged upon the manicured grounds of Glenmoor Country Club in Jackson Township to celebrate their passion and revel in history.
Perfect weather made for the largest crowds ever. Organizers are estimating that nearly 25% more spectators attended the concours on Sunday than last year. Unlike other major automotive events that I have attended this year, a large part of the crowd was made up of families. Features such as Chef Brendan Meeker's cooking demonstrations, the scale model display and kids' "build and take" corner and the Summit Racing sponsored Glenmoor Garage were filled with active participants both young and old, male and female all day long.
Despite all of this activity, the focus on displaying the world's greatest cars 
was not lost. The collection of 1934 Ford hotrods curated by legendary author and automotive expert Ken Gross was absolutely stunning in its depth and history. The "French Front" class of elegant turn-of-the-century was a once in a lifetime sight. Three of the world's most important original, unrestored cars; the 1911 Olds Limited, Edsel Ford's Brunn Bodied 1922 Hispano Suiza and an historic 1964 Porsche 904 were all together in one place for the very first time. For enthusiasts of modern engineering, the World Class Performance Cars provided a great sampling of Lamborghinis and Ferraris while Jeff's Motor Cars special display included Spykers, Vectors and Alfa Romeo 8C and the ultimate exotic, a Bugatti Veyron.
I could go on, but I think you get the picture; it was an event not to be missed. Next year's Gathering is slated for September 17-19. Features already announce are Cleveland built automobiles and beautiful Bizzarinis. What other cars would you like to see featured?
Forensic mechanic and longtime drag racer Lyn Smith at the Glenmoor Garage
The Glenmoor Garage presented by Summit Racing at the Glenmoor Gathering will be a true hotbed of activity during the concours on Sunday, September 20. Forensic mechanic and longtime drag racer Lyn Smith and his band of "Glenmoor Greasers" will be challenging attendees with automotive mysteries and answering all of your quasi-automotive questions a la NPR's Click & Clack.
An exciting addition to this year's Glenmoor Garage is the "Pit Stop Challenge", where participants will compete against each other in NASCAR style tire changes. Another new facet will be an official NHRA drag racing "christmas tree", supplied by Summit Racing, where your reaction time will be recorded to see how you would do should you have the opportunity to challenge John Force to a race for pink slips. Show goers of all ages are welcome to participate in these fun and family friendly activities.
In conversations about the upcoming Glenmoor Gathering, I've heard people speculating about how many Edsels will be there. Well, I'm here to tell you that there will a grand total of ZERO!
Not that anyone has anything against Edsels. As a matter of fact, they were actually very good cars that were victimized by some of the worst marketing decisions in automotive history. The reason is, despite one of the events main features being "The Cars of Edsel Ford", he had nothing to do with the Edsel. In fact, he died fifteen years before the Edsel automobile was conceptualized and produced.
Even though he was Henry's son, Edsel's philosophy on automobiles was very different than that of his father's. Where Henry saw the automobile as a cookie cutter-like tool (you could get a Model T in any color as long as it was black), Edsel brought an artistic eye and sense of design to the company. He was responsible for the purchase of Lincoln in the early '20's, subsequent support of many of the country's finest custom coachbuilders and milestone Ford and Lincoln designs (such as the Zephyr and Continental) of the '30's. He was also an afficianado of the great European marques of the day. These are the true cars of Edsel Ford and are the ones which you will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to see all together at Glenmoor on Sunday, September 20.
As in previous years, the nice people at the Glenmoor Gathering have given us a limited quantity of tickets to share with our readers/commenters at no charge. To receive your complimentary ticket (normal price $20) to this great event, just contact Tabetha Salsbury at 330-966-3600 or tsalsbury@glenmoorcc.com and mention the Car Chase blog. The first eight people to contact her will receive one free ticket for the concours to be held on Sunday, September 20!
