Spirit Magazine SPRING 2011 - Spirit of St Louis Region - CCCA

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A Guide to Fulfillment of a Dreamby Allan FranzAt some point in the life of a car nut is theburning desire to own a collector car. Perhaps asa youth there is an automotive experience thatmakes an indelible impression on you. It is filedaway in your brain to emerge at a later date. Inthis article I will guide you on your path to afulfillment of that dream.The first step in your quest is to join themarque club that holds your interest. You willgain valuable knowledge and gain helpful advicefrom the members. Then, depending on your ageand abilities the choice will be to restore the caror buy a complete turnkey restoration.Let us review the pros and cons of buyinga car to restore;PROS FOR RESTORATION1. You know what goes into the job andthat it is done correctly and authentically. (theclub you joined has probably published anauthenticity manual that you should follow)2. If you have the talent to do all or partof the restoration, you have the satisfaction of ajob well done which gives you pride and boostsyour self esteem.3. Searching for the essential hard-tofindparts and finding them is a rewardingexperience. Sometimes fellow club members cangive you sources that make your search easier.Also, you might make new friends along the way.CONS AGAINST RESTORATION1. The timeline for completion is usuallystretched, sometimes double the original estimate.2. The cost is ALWAYS more than theoriginal estimate. (many unforeseen issues ariseto add to the cost)3. There is no assurance that the peopleyou employ will be honest. It would be prudentto ask for references and to check them out.Failure to do this has resulted in some sad talesof woe. One was told by a gentleman our carclub visited last year. In his collection was a1957 Ford Thunderbird (nc). He paid therestorer periodically as requested but did notget details of what the money went toward.Eventually, he had paid enough for a completerestoration but the car was not nearly complete.He ended up removing the car to a secondrestorer for completion. A second tale of woewas told to me by a man from Ohio at a Lincolnevent in Iowa. I admired his 1940 LincolnZephyr Continental Cabriolet. He proceeded totell me his sad story. He saw a Lincoln he reallyliked at a show. He talked to the owner whogave him the name of the person who did therestoration. He took his car to this restorer andhe checked periodically on its progress. He tookparts for the restoration, but the car wassidelined while other cars were worked on. (thiswas a one man shop) After ten years and stillno completion, he removed the car to a secondrestorer who completed the car. Both thesemen were businessmen who should have hadthe intelligence to get references and checkthem out.4. If you are going to do the restorationyourself, there is a good possibility that you mayenthusiastically take the car apart at which timeyou lose interest as you realize it is beyond yourabilities. It then sits in your garage for manyyears while your modern car sits outside. We allknow people who have done this. Then you try tosell your project and you find it is a rare soul thatis interested in solving your jigsaw puzzle.CHECK LIST FOR BUYING A RESTORED CARYou don’t have to wait to enjoy it forentering shows or touring. To make this possibleyou must do your due diligence to avoid thepitfalls of a hasty decision. Part of this processwould be to request that a competent mechanicbe allowed to inspect the car. If the sellerdeclines, you should lose interest in that car andmove on to the next one. It is also a good ideato have your own written appraisal made andcompare it to the sellers appraisal. There aremany car auctions now, and they assemble alarge selection of cars which saves a lot of time.The disadvantage is that you can’t drive them orhave them inspected or appraised. If you readthe contract the seller enters with the auctioncompany you find that the auction companydoes not warrant anything and merely relayswhatever the seller says about the car. A rareexception to the normal auction was the JerryCapizzi Collection November 2006 ( See theSpirit Spring 2007 for details) This man had astaff of two full time restoration specialists andtwo part time maintenance personnel. His16 The Spirit
facility was perfection. Most of the cars were lowmileage cars that were restored to make panelsfit perfectly and given a perfect paint job.However, you could not drive them and they allsold above the auction company’s estimate. Inthis situation you probably would get a car thatneeds nothing.Lastly, if you buy a car from another stateit has to be inspected to determine the titlenumber and the vehicle number match. In St.Charles County they send a sheriffs deputy toyour house and after checking it out he givesyou a form you take when you apply for a title.This would apply to both restored andunrestored cars. Check with your county to seehow they do it.In summary, if you follow these guidelinesyou will increase the odds in your favor ofselecting a car you will enjoy for years to come.But remember to be tolerant as all these carswere designed to live shorter lives and betraded in. Just remember that when somethingfails, don’t blame the seller. Happy Searching!Membership Kick Off Meeting at Hyman LTD.by Allan Franzus a computer print out ofall the Arizona auctionscomparing this year withlast. All the auctions didwell. The exception wasMotoexotica which wasnew this year so nocomparison was made.On February 5 th , 60members and guests gatheredfor another start of whatpromises to be a year ofexciting activities under ournew activity team led byChairman Tom Roberson.Shawn Dougan, John Porbeck,and Wendell Smith make upthe balance of the team.Other features of ourgeneral meeting conducted by our new director,Don Hoelscher were; 1. Mark Hyman gave a reviewof the current market for collector cars. He andShawn Dougan had been in Arizona in Januarywhere several auctions are heldeach year, the biggest of which isBarrett- Jackson who celebratedtheir 40 th anniversary this year.Mark told us that the 50 to 250thousand dollar price group is stilla bit weak; however, cars aboveand below are strong. Shawn readSpring 20112. Wendell Smithand Barb Knudson talkedabout the successfulnational annual meetingat Palm Beach in January.Details are in this issuein Wendell’s article onCCCA Annual Meeting.3. Barb Knudsengave a progress reporton member’s delinquentrenewals, which is a perennial problem. Nextyear, national will collect regional dues togetherwith national dues which may solve the issue oflate renewals. She handed out 2011 rosterswhich featured an attractive art deco appearancecreated by Shannon Olson. Nice work, Shannon!17
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Spirit Magazine SPRING 2011 - Spirit of St Louis Region - CCCA

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