A GDYNETS
PUBLICATION
®
Car Collector
Chronicles
© 2009, G. DAVID
YAROS. ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED.
Volume II, Issue 12
Exploring:
 Car collecting today
TOOLS OF THE TRADE — UNUSUAL
 Classic rides
Well, here it is December,
 Reports from the field and another year is about to go
into the history books. My wish
 Oldsmobile for all CCC readers is that 2010
®
be productive and memorable
 Cadillac when it comes to working on,
and enjoying, our old rides!
 Corvair
One thing I am certain you
are doing this month is taking
pictures. Believe it or not, a
camera is in fact one of the
more useful tools of our trade.
If you have a classic ride, you
must/should have a camera.
Why? One reason is so that
you may share the joy of your
IN THIS ISSUE:
ride with others. However,
there are other, equally or
more important, reasons to
have a camera in your tool box.
Tools of the Trade 1
- Unusual The very first task of any pro-
ject involving your ride should
be taking photographs. You
GDYNets® 1 want a record of the before, as
On the Web well as the after.
Secondly, you may need to
Historic Hwy. 27 3
Tour of ‘09
GDYNets® on the Web
Coming Next 6
Issue
WHERE YOU WILL FIND
GDYNets (me) on the WWW:
Historic Hwy. 27 6 ests. Foremost is extensive
Dave’s Den -
Tour of ‘09-Pics http://GDYNets.WEBNG.com
Saved 62 -
http://www.freewebs.com/
jeandaveyaros
The Gray Lady- 55 Cad de Ville
Car Collector Chronicles-scribd
EMAIL:
OldsD88@gmail.com
®
December 2009
refer to a picture of “the be-
fore” in order to get to the
point of having a properly func-
tioning “after.” Once something
is taken apart, it simply is not
possible to view what it looked
like in “the before” stage!
Using a film camera to docu-
ment the before and after, while
better than nothing, is not all
that helpful. I was, and still am,
a huge fan of 35mm SLR film
cameras. I wish I now had all
the money I invested in camera
equipment over the years! Per-
haps that same equipment now
qualifies as antique, vintage or
collector?
Whatever their qualities, film
SLR’s lack instant viewing capa- made. Besides, even if you found
bility. For that, you need to go such, it would be outdated in a few
digital. The market today is short months. Get one that has at
such that acquiring a useable least 5 MP (megapixel) capacity. Get
digital camera will not cost you something that has automatic, point
an arm and a leg. and shoot, capability. What you want
is a camera that is easy to operate
One does not need the big-
gest and best digital camera ever CONTINUED ON P. 2.
DAVE’S DEN: A website SAVED 62: A website de-
devoted to a myriad of inter- voted to our 1962 Oldsmobile
Dynamic 88 convertible. The
information on the “Steel City” site also has a lot of information
of Gary, IN. There are also on Oldsmobiles and its founder,
offerings on steel making, U.S. Ransom Eli Olds.
Steel-Gary Works, U.S. Marine
Corps, M14 assault rifle, of THE GRAY LADY: This
website features our 1955
course Oldsmobile, and the
tragic story of the murder of Cadillac Coupé de Ville and
Gary, IN Police Lt. Geo. Yaros. Caddy information.
Car Collector Chronicles Page 2

TOOLS OF THE TRADE – UNUSUAL, Continued

and delivers pictures with enough clarity and detail to be of practical
use to you. It should also have the capability of taking close up shots.
To avoid blurry pictures, the purchase of an inexpensive mini-tripod
might also be a wise investment.
It goes without saying, your pictures won't be of much value to you
unless they may be downloaded to, and viewed on, your computer.
The purchase of any digital camera should automatically include the
software needed to handle this. I know you already have a computer
and are comfortable using it; after all, you are a CCC reader!
®

“The two best The two best features of going digital are instant viewing on the
features of camera, and being able to delete crummy shots. Take your pic and
look at it. Does it meet your needs? If not, delete it and try again.
going digital
Our digital camera happens to be a Kodak™ EasyShare, but the
are instant purchase of any major brand will do the trick. Ours also happens to
be a warranted, refurbished camera. Factory refurbished means less
viewing on the
cost, and we are all interested in saving money, right? To be truthful,
camera, and we continue to be astonished at the quality of pictures it produces. All
of the photos of our rides, the Yaros Car Barn, projects, etc. that you
being able to
see on the pages of CCC were taken with it.
®

delete crummy
How many times have you heard about how much documentation
shots.” enhances the value of a ride? How many times have you seen photo
albums on display with restored machines? With a relatively inexpen-
sive, easy to operate, digital camera you too can impress the world
with your vehicle documentation.
Have you ever completed the purchase of auto insurance for your
classic without having to submit pictures? I haven’t. With your digital
camera you can email those pictures to your insurance company.
Those very pictures may help resolve a damage claim, should any
questions arise during the settlement process. You will be able to
show the part was NOS, as you gave them a picture of it.
On a more mundane, but practical, level, when working on a project
you should no longer have to resort to scouring a wiring diagram to
find out if it is the blue or black wire that should be connected to this
terminal. Just look at the before picture!
Photographing the before and after is also a great way to involve
others in your passion for old cars. While they may not be interested
in turning wrenches, they may gladly become your official photog.
So, if you are not doing so now, it is highly recommended that you
do get a digital camera, become familiar with it, and start shooting.
You won’t regret the decision.
 Page 3

HISTORIC HWY. 27 TOUR of ‘09

In the August issue I hinted at the fact we were going to take SAVED
62 (our 1962 Dynamic 88 Olds, convertible) on an organized driving
tour of Old U.S. 27 in the state of Michigan. The driving tour was 5
days in length, and encompassed 10 stops enroute. Here is a map of
the driving tour:

You, along
with 200 other
like-minded
souls, head
out on the
road with a
You can see, it ran right up the heart of Michigan, on U.S. Hwy. 27.
police escort.”
Let’s go back to the beginning. In the fall of ’07 I found a driving tour
online for the summer of 2008. Unfortunately, it was booked, and not
accepting more participants. I was never able to find that trip again?
Wanting to spend more time driving our car, than showing it, I kept
looking for something similar. In early 2009, I stumbled upon the His-
toric Hwy. 27 Tour.

It was appealing for a number of reasons. That it passed through

Lansing, MI (the home of Oldsmobile and R. E. Olds), was but one.
What better place to take SAVED 62? Secondly, the format of the drive
was neat. Every morning, you, along with 200 other like-minded souls, head
out on the road with a police escort. At noonish you hit a town, stop, eat and
have a car show for a couple of hours. Then it is on to the next port-of-call
for another show, dinner/drinks and a night’s rest.

Equally attractive was the fact we would not be taking the tour alone.
Quite a while back a fellow Oldsmobile aficionado made contact with me
 Car Collector Chronicles Page 4;;

HISTORIC HWY. 27 TOUR of ‘09 – Continued

electronically. We not only shared a fondness for Oldsmobile, that interest was mutually
focused on the 1962 model year. His interest focuses on the Starfire. He has a true
beauty in which he has invested a lot of time, energy and money. The best thing about
his ride is that he drives it regularly, weather permitting! We have been exchanging infor-
mation, viewpoints and you name it, via email, ever since. In fact he even contributed an
article to the March 2009 edition of CCC on his first ride, a 1938 Dodge coupe. In the
®

process, I have determined that for a foreigner (Canadian), he is not too bad a guy!

I mentioned the tour to him in an email. He thought it sounded interesting. Ultimately, I

“For five
called him out by asking if he thought it was interesting enough to have he and his mate
days two old join Jean and I on the tour. They agreed. So, after a year or more of email exchanges
we actually got to meet David L. and Lola G. of Windsor, ONT CA; live and in person!
duffers, ac-
companied Our initial meeting took place in Lansing, MI, not under the best of circumstances. At
the time, I was under the hood of SAVED 62 trying to figure out why she refused to start!
by their un-
After a long, hard day of stop & go driving in hot and humid conditions, she simply did not
derstanding want to fire? I never did figure out why. I suspect it was vapor lock. Vapor lock is a con-
dition I have heard of, but never before experienced. After taking out/checking the points,
mates, were
removing the coil wire/cleaning the coil terminal and testing for the presence of spark, she
able to mo- took off without a hitch. I suspect the time taken to investigate the problem allowed the
engine to cool to the point where the vapor lock dissipated? What I do know is, we never
tor in their
found the cause of the problem, and SAVED 62 functioned like a champ for the rest of
Oldsmobile the tour. For five days two old duffers, accompanied by their understanding mates, were
able to motor the 2-lane through the heart of Michigan in their Oldsmobile machines.
machines on
the 2-lane In actuality, the tour started at the Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, IN. As Jean and I
had already been to this museum, we opted out; electing to pick up the tour at its MI start-
through the
ing point, Coldwater. Instead, we went to South Bend, IN and perused the holdings of
heart of the Studebaker National Museum. The last time I had visited here, the museum was
housed in a very small building that may have been a former dealership or auto repair fa-
Michigan”
cility. At the time, it was struggling to survive. Now, it is in an elegant, modern structure
and clearly has civic support behind it. Our evening was concluded by dining on excel-
lent prime rib and duck at the Studebaker mansion.

When one sees the craftsmanship that Studebaker incorporated into the construction of
conestoga (covered) wagons, an appreciation is gained for his solid reputation as an
automobile manufacturer in the early days. His 1920-30 vintage rides are mighty classy
looking machines, easily able to hold their own against the competition of the time.

We next traveled to Shipshewana, IN. In addition to being Amish country, Shipshe-

wana is also the home of the Hostetler Hudson Museum. It is billed as having the largest
collections of Hudson automobiles in the world. What I can tell you is that all the vehicles
are operational, and beautifully maintained. We even had the opportunity of speaking at
length with a member of the Hostetler family about the extensive collection. We are talk-
ing Hudson, Essex, pickup trucks, panel body delivery trucks, race cars, convertibles and
Car Collector Chronicles Page 5;

HISTORIC HWY. 27 TOUR of ‘09 – Continued

one off sport cars to name but a few.

BACK TO THE TOUR— Kudos have to go out to the organizer, Craig Parrish. He puts
in a tremendous amount of effort to assure things go smooth, and it shows. First off,
there is a police escort along almost the entire route. Just to have law enforcement at an
appointed intersection on an appointed day, at an appointed hour, requires massive
amounts of coordination. Law enforcement was on the scene, permitting our caravan of
200 + rides to cruise through traffic light controlled intersections without a hitch.

As a spectator, it would have been nearly impossible to not find a ride that held some
personal interest. This is because the number, model years and makes of automobile
on tour ran the gamut. One of my favorites from among all the cars was a 1960 Chrysler
300 F. It had ram induction with 2 fours, and swivel bucket seats.

I am proud to say that Oldsmobile was quite well represented; going as far back as
1939. Model year 1962 had 3 entries; two Starfires and SAVED 62. A number of Cut-
lasses and later full-sized Olds were also part of the entourage.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS — One of the neatest things about the tour was to see the joy in
the faces of spectators as we rolled by. Residents would come out of their homes to
meet/greet us. Oncoming traffic would pull over to the side of the road, park and watch
the caravan make its way past them. There were waves and smiles all around. For
Jean and I, it was really neat to be able to share the joy inherent in classic car ownership
with all the folks we encountered enroute.

It was neat to hear a spectator say, as we pulled into Lansing, “There’s another one
that has come home!” (SAVED 62 is, in actual fact, a Lansing built machine.) Finding
pristine copies of Setting the Pace; the tome when it comes to Oldsmobiles; at bargain
basement prices, and good food, also made the tour all the more enjoyable.

3 hardy souls traversed the entire tour route on Cushman motor scooters. Their feat
was all the more remarkable, given the prevailing weather; it rained 3 out of 5 days, off
and on.

Most gratifying was receiving compliments on SAVED 62 from fellow classic car own-
ers who were driving what I thought was some mighty fine machinery. I am proud to say
that she ably held her own amongst a group of pretty select automobiles.

For our return trip, we drove the 2-lanes around the southern shore of L. Huron and the
eastern shore of L. Michigan. At Luddington, MI we loaded/boarded a ferry that took us
to Manitowoc, WI. This eliminated having to make another trip through Chicago with
SAVED 62. By the time we arrived home, we had logged a total of 1,192 miles!

On the way to MI, particularly on the Indiana Toll Road, we were alongside an 18
wheeler in a construction zone. The road was curvy and sported concrete barriers. Had
the semi not been pulling 3 trailers, with the third and final one swerving side-to-side, it
Car Collector Chronicles Page 6

HISTORIC HWY. 27 TOUR of ‘09 – Continued

would not have been nearly as hair raising an experience!

The logical question must be, “Hey Dave, where are photos from the tour?” Below are
a few, solely as a tease. You may view all the pics taken at the Studebaker and Hud-
son museums, and on the Hwy. 27 Tour, on Photobucket.com.

Ok, I have had my say for this month, and 2009. Now it is your turn! I invite and en-
courage submission of your comments, opinions and contributions. Everything sent
shall indeed be reviewed by me. Submissions should be sent to: OldsD88@gmail.com
_______________________________________
-- RESTORE 'EM, AND DRIVE 'EM!

COMING NEXT ISSUE:

 Winter Projects
 Classic Car Shows
 Vol. II-2009 Article/Photo Index
Happy Holidays From CCC®!