Car Collector Chronicles 02-12.pdf

Volume V, Issue 2

1961 Chevrolet Corvair wagon-$3.85K 2011 Ford 8N tractor replica - $4.4K (Yes, I know it is not a car. Nor was Ford making 8N tractors in the 21st Century!) 1977 Lincoln Continental sedan -$4.4K

I can only speak for myself, but the B-J AZ extravaganza, a.k..a. “Collector Car Auction,“ just ain’t what is used to be. It seems as though I see more commercials than I do cars crossing the block,. Referencing many of the cars going across the block as “collector” any-thing is a bit of stretch. What is collectible about a 2011 Ford Explorer, with or without an accompanying guitar?

For me, a high moment was on Day 1, when a 1963 Ford Falcon Sprint convertible outsold a 1965 Ford Mustang convertible (both blue) by $6K! A low mo-ment was to see a ‘47 Cadillac Fleetwood Sedan covered in candy apple paint and outfitted with a red crushed velour inte-rior. Hardly representative of the Standard of the World!

In fairness to the folk at B-J, my dissatisfaction has more to do with the Speed TV coverage than with B-J. Speed TV needs

Bill Stephens back on the crew. He at least had a sense of hu-mor and added a bit of sponta-neity to the show. What I have learned is, the best way to view the program is in delayed broadcast mode; while heavily exercising the FF button!

Lest one thinks all cars that cross the B-J auction block go for prices somewhere in the stratosphere, here are the ten cars that sold for the least amount of bucks:

1968 Ultra Motorhome - $1,375 1971 Kelsen Sports Rider Electric Motorcar - $1,540 1979 Datsun 280ZX coupe-$2.2K 1946 Chevrolet flatbed - $3.3K 1979 Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9 sedan - $3.85K 1965 GMC Camper pickup -$3.85K 1974 Volkswagen Beetle -$3.85K

High RPMs — B-J

GDYNets® on the Web

Find GDYNets on the web:

CCC® -THE FORUM

http://ccc.activeboard.com

Car Collector Chronicles-scribd

Saved 62 - 1962 Olds web site http://www.freewebs.com/jeandaveyaros The Gray Lady - 1955 Cadillac Coupé de Ville web site

SAVED 62: A website devoted to our 1962 Oldsmobile Dy-namic 88 convertible. The site also has a lot of information on Oldsmobiles and its founder, Ransom Eli Olds.

THE GRAY LADY: This web-site features our 1955 Cadillac Coupé de Ville and Caddy in-formation.

DAVE’S DEN: A website de-voted to a myriad of interests. Foremost is extensive informa-tion 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 Oldsmo-bile, and the tragic story of the murder of Gary, IN Police Lt. George Yaros.

A GDYNETS® PUBLICATION © 2012, G. DAVID YAROS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 2012 Car Collector Chronicles

Car Collector Chronicles®

Exploring:

Car Collecting Today

Classic Rides

Reports From the Field

Oldsmobile (1897-2004)

Cadillac (1902- )

Allanté (1987-1993)

Corvair (1960-1969)

IN THIS ISSUE:

High RPMs — B-J 1

GDYNets On the Web

1

The Zimmer Quicksilver

2

Reader Mail Automotive Trivia

4 5

Humor on wHEELS

5

In the Year 19 and 62 (Ads/Events)

6

CCC® Forum EMail: [email protected]

Thanks goes out to Hemmings Daily® for the lead on this ride. That is where I first learned of it. To me, the car appears to bear DNA from a lot of marques. I see a Mercury Cougar, a Buick Riviera, a Lincoln Towne Car and the targa-topped rear window line of the 1969-1975 mid-engine VW-Porsche 914. It is none of those. It is a Zimmer Quicksilver. To further con-

fuse matters, the car is build on a Pontiac Fiero chassis. The Zimmer Co. began in the 50’s, making manufactured homes. Twenty years later It branched out into RV’s, yachts and van conver-sions. In 1978 Paul Zimmer purchased an Excalibur to drive around just for fun. Feeling the quality and design of the Excalibur was somewhat lacking, Zimmer decided he could do better. Thus was born the Zimmer Motor Car Division of Zimmer Manufacturing. He built his version, and people bought them. Even though 176 cars or more per year would roll of his assembly line in Pompano Beach, FL, the existence of back orders attested to his success. In all, about 1,500 some Zimmer Excalibur-type cars, actually dubbed the Golden Spirit, were produced between 1978 and 1988. In ‘88 the company went bank-rupt. It was ultimately purchased by Art Zimmer, no relation. One may still buy a new Golden Spirit today. They are built strictly on an “on or-der” basis, in Syracuse, NY. The cost? A mere $175,900! The Quicksilver model did not make its appearance until 1985. Production total for this model is all of 170. Today, no Quicksilver parts are available for re-pair purposes. As mentioned, the body sits on a Pontiac Fiero frame. To house the body the frame was modified by adding one foot extensions fore and aft. The body design is the work of GM stylist Don Johnson, whose signature appears on the doorsill plate, a la GM/Fisher Body fashion. The car carried a MSRP of $51,950.

The Zimmer Quicksilver

Car Collector Chronicles Page 2

“To me, the car

appears to

bear DNA from

a lot of

marques. I see

a Mercury

Cougar, a

Buick Riviera,

a Lincoln

Towne Car and

the targa-

topped rear

window line of

the 1969-1975

914 mid-engine

VW- Porsche.”

Here are the specs for the Quicksilver: Top speed: 121 mph (193 km/h) 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h): 9.7 sec Engine type: V6 Displacement: 173 ci (2,834 cc) Transmission: 3-speed auto Max power: 140 bhp (104 kW) @ 5,200 rpm Max torque: 170 lb ft (230 Nm) @ 3,600 rpm Weight: 2,920 lb (1,327 kg) Economy: 24 mpg (8.50 km/I) Here is what the NADA Blue Book has to say: 1985-86 Quicksilver 2- DR Coupe 8,300 11,800 15,900 1987-88 Quicksilver 2- DR Coupe 9,000 12,650 17,200

http://www.zimmermotorcars.com/

Is it a sheep in

wolf’s

clothing?

Car Collector Chronicles Page 3

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Reader Mail Last month I indicated I would be taking a look at reader mail. Yes, now and then I do get a communication that is collector car related. Here is some of what has landed in my email box from readers and web site visitors: ______________________________________________ Hello - Having some time to sit down and enjoy the Christmas season I came across your Aug. 2011 newsletter ref. us weird Canadians and their cars. Enjoyed it! [Ed.—Hey, I did not refer to “youse guys” as weird. Different, yes. You’re the ones who have currency known as a looney, not us! I find the differ-ences (sometimes subtle, sometimes not) to be of interest.] YOUR RIGHT – THAT WAS THE ‘LABEL’ I USED, WE LIKE WEIRD / DIFFERENT / LOONEY. I’M NOT SURE I’M THE ‘FRONTENAC’ GURU THAT YOU REFER TO IN YOUR NEWSLETTER – BUT I AM A YOUNG GUY WITH AN INTEREST IN OLD CARS – IN WHICH I’M NOT SURE THE NEXT GEN-ERATION HAS THE SAME VIEWPOINT? I am trying to do a few repairs on my 1962 Olds 88 Dynamic. Specifically, I need a diagram for the vac-uum hoses. Can you help? Hi Dave.... I wanted to say hello, and hope all is well.... The Hwy. 27 Tour is going great, about 600 regis-tered this year, keeps getting bigger every year.... Mark it down, August 21-26-2012, get in the car, come join us again… Take care Dave, stay in touch.... http://www.old27tour.com/ I am an "old school" letterman and pinstriper. I learned of your newsletter, Car Collector Chronicles, from Captain Bob with the Hotrod Radio Show. Keep up the great work on your newsletter! I really enjoyed it and passed along the word to many of my fellow car nuts. Just wondering if you needed any material for your news letter? [Ed.— Yes!] I found a 394 c.i. 4 bbl carb and intake manifold here in Tauranga, New Zealand. I have sand blasted and painted it (no, not the correct colour), Chevy orange. It came out great. No one here will worry about the colour difference. As I can not get the correct paint shipped here I decided that I would got with Chevy Orange. At least it is a GM colour. I had the carb rebuilt here by a Malasian bourn chap that really knows his stuff. He was able to rebuild as well as acid bathe and electro plate all parts. I have the correct air cleaner which I am having chrome plated at the moment. I have the correct decals sent over from Fusick's in USA. I was surfing on the internet and found your Cadillac website with information on the subject (repair of Se-ries III Bendix Hydrovac). I have three units to refurbish and repair kits for this hydrovac seem to be very rare. Can you help me? I need at least 3 repair kits for the hydrovac. I’m restoring a 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood (body 6019X). It come from the factory with an air conditioner with roof ducts. I have these ducts missing. I can't find on the web any photo or mention of these ducts. I hear that these were made in clear plastic because the back window post is very thin. Do you have any photo of these ducts? Thank you for all the information on your website. My first and only attempt at a website is primitive by comparison to yours. But it does convey my love of Oldsmobiles, and that was my intent. I would like to share my story about the Olds Coolbus (http://www.americantorque.com/page/0/235/) as well as the El Cutlass. As far as the dual engine project is con-cerned, this is a big week. We are removing and replacing the roof, "A" pillars, windshield and doors. That will leave just installing the hinges to allow the rear half of the roof to pivot. The engines operate in-dependently of each other. The front one doesn't know that the rear one is there. Either motor is able to propel the vehicle. The J-2 option has certainly returned in popularity. A lot of them are just a tri-power set up using the 571145 manifold casting with Chevrolet carbs and mechanical linkage. These are not original J-2's. The factory built a number of the first 1958 Dynamic 88's with a J-2 manifold and only the center Rochester 2GC. The end carbs were blocked off. This accounts for the abundance of 571145 manifolds showing up.

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Automotive Trivia From days of yore, a what is it —

It, is a power steering switch. Actually, a switch to turn the PS on/off. It was found on dealer demo Oldsmobiles back in 1952 (when Olds intro’d PS). It allowed the dealer to demonstrate the marvels of PS to the consumer. I wonder how many accidents resulted from throwing the switch to the off position while a customer was behind the wheel?

Humor on wHEELS Not a whole lot to say, or that needs to be said. Giving credit where credit is due (?), the manufac-turer of this footwear is Prada®. If you have a ‘59 Caddy, how could you resist not having a pair laying on the back seat when your car is displayed on the show field? NOTE: These babies are expected to cost as much as $1,450 a pair! – Ok, I’ve had my say for the month. Now it’s 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 [email protected]. –– Now that you have finished reading this month’s 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 … . ______________________________________

-- RESTORE 'EM, AND DRIVE 'EM! COMING NEXT ISSUE: Excalibur Milwaukee Automobile Manufacturing TBD

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In The Year 19 and 62

The World Which Greeted Saved 62 —Feb ‘62 Events Feb 7 - U.S. bans all imports/exports to-from Cuba Feb 10 – Captured American spy pilot Francis Gary Powers is exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel in Berlin Feb 14 – First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy takes television viewers on a tour of the White House Feb 18 - Wearing their dress blue Marine Corps uni-forms, the Everly Brothers use a leave to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, and sing "Crying In the Rain." Feb 20 – Project Mercury: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth; three times in 4 hours, 55 minutes Feb 26 - U.S. Supreme Court prohibits race separation on public transportation