Vintage Vehicle Appraisals

Vintage Vehicle Appraisals Collector Car Appraisal Professional in Calgary. Vehicle Appraisals for hobbyists, estates or insurance

Collector Car Appraisals in Calgary, Vehicle Appraisals and Valuations. includes muscle cars, exotics, sports cars, trucks, antique cars.

03/18/2022

The weather is warming up and thoughts of getting the old cars out cruisin are starting to stir. I went out to the garage to check on things on the week-end. Really not much to see but is was good to look at the cars and think that sometime soon I'll be able to get them out. I checked a few things to see how everything made it through the winter ok, and tire pressures and batteries were just fine. I seldom have battery problems. I never let them sit for any length of time and never let them discharge. If they are sitting for any time I put them on a trickle charger. I also check the alternator and generator outputs regularly to make sure they are operating fine. I install that largest CCA (cold cranking amps) battery that will fit and make sure my terminals have no corrosion on them. My batteries are 20-30 years old and I never have trouble and the voltage level is 12.5 - 13 volts. By the way if you have a new car, they usually come from the factory with the smallest possible CCA battery. They save weight and money that way but the batteries generally don't last more than 5-6 years. They should be changed out to the largest CCA battery that will fit in the engine bay at the first opportunity and you will have fewer battery problems. Maybe some of these tips will help someone avoid problems down the road.

03/10/2022

I listened to a speaker on TV recently who was strongly promoting Electric Vehicles and of course trashing anything that was diesel or gasoline powered. I don't know his background, but suspect that he was a Tesla salesman and at the very least a biased environmentalist (Not that there's anything wrong with that!) I don't have a problem with electric cars, they are a great idea, although I don't think current technology will support a total transformation to electric vehicles for transportation as this speaker was saying was taking place right now and will be complete within the decade. One reason he used to encourage electric vehicles was, in his opinion much lower maintenance and operating costs. Especially with currently very high (and probably increasing) gasoline costs, he said that the higher purchase cost of electric vehicles would be recovered in a 4-5 year period. That might be true but it is only looking at a small part of the big picture and seemed to be based on some shady assumptions. He didn't give out any data but stated that gasoline prices would continue to rise while electrical costs would continue to decline as new solar and wind power sources came on line. He did not mention that my (and probably his) electrical bills have steadily increased over the last decade and that trend shows no signs of abating. He also stated that maintenance costs were much cheaper for electrical vehicles because of fewer moving parts in comparison to gasoline powered cars. That is true but his cost comparison stopped after 6-7 years and did not include any information beyond that, when at some point in time, an electrical car's battery pack will have to be changed with a major increase in cost to the car's maintenance budget. I guess he figured that everyone would ditch their electric cars every 6-7 years and buy a new one. No mention of the cost to recyle all those electric cars with dead batteries. He also didn't include in his analysis the fact that as battery packs age, their driving range decreases and they require more frequent charging again adding to maintenance costs. When I purchase my next vehicle, I may very well purchase an electric vehicle or hybrid but I want to make my decision on factual information and not the mis-leading crap that this guy was spewing. I hope that not too many people were listening to him and ran out to buy a new Tesla.

02/14/2022

Soooooo ...... Electric cars are the next big thing eh???? Although I've been involved in old cars and trucks, muscle cars and rods for what seems like forever, I don't really worry too much about Electric cars. It's fine for governments to say no gasoline or diesel powered vehicles in 25 years (or less) but I don't see the death of the oil and gasoline industry.

I think the Electric car technology is in its infancy and has a long way to go before the majority of people want to buy them. There are issues with range which, on most electric cars is marginal and gets worse as the batteries age. Solve that problem and I might get interested.

The battery pack life has to improve. I generally keep my vehicles forever and maintain them until they simply die. My newest vehicle is 14 years old and I only got that because my previous one was rear-ended and written off. If battery pack life is only 7-10 years it is not likely that I'd buy a vehicle that the cost of battery replacement $ 10,000.00 ? is more than the vehicle is worth.

If they solve battery pack life, and cost and range then no one has shown me a plan to show me how they are going to generate all this electrical energy to charge the batteries every couple of days or on some cars daily. In mid summer or mid winter around here, we are already getting warnings to conserve electricity or shut off air conditioners (summer) and unplug block heaters (winter) because our electrical system is at its capacity. If everyone started to plug in their new electric vehicles then the electrical grid would collapse. We simply do not have the capacity to handle additional electrical generation. More windmills and more solar panels simply will not do it and you generate zip on calm or snowy or cloudy days. It takes 10 - 15 years to go through the regulatory process to design, build and put into operation new generation stations and as far as I can see no government is even thinking about this. Where are they going to get the power? Nobody wants to build coal fired, oil fired or nuclear plants. Very few even go for natural gas plants which is the next best option since most of the suitable hydro-electric locations have already been in operation for years now.. If we are going to drive all these electric vehicles we need to starting building plants right now.

If battery life, range and cost problems are solved, then they will also have to find new sources of raw materials for batteries. There is already a shortage of one key ingredient, Lithium, with current technology we are short of this mineral and there are very few sources out there. Unless they find more and quickly this is only going to drive the cost of batteries even higher.

The environmentalists might not like it but I just don't see any rapid death to gasoline engines without some huge and unforseen leaps in battery technology.

I'd love to have an electric car in my garage but I just don't see that its feasible at present.

01/16/2022

Sorry it's been a while since my last post. I'll try to get my comments out there a little more regularly this winter.

I regularly get asked when doing appraisals if the Muscle Car hobby is going to last or whether since most collector car owners are getting older, and the next generation may not be interested in these cars, will values go down. I wish I new the answer. It is true that many owners, like their cars are showing their age, but I still do a lot of appraisals for younger clients who want something different. Consider too, that although the number of owners may be declining, so too are the number of collector cars, as every year a few more are lost due to rust, accidents and natural catastrophe. As long as the dwindling supply balances with a declining interest, then the hobby may shrink a bit but values should be stable. Consider too that we live in an ever increasing regulatory world with politicians controlling what we can do and how we can do it. The next generation will probably see only electric battery powered muscle cars and sports cars and the internal combustion engine will be gone along with the ability to significantly modify the car beyond buying a bigger battery pack. Old cars from the 50's - '70's will be very unique and comparatively simply to operate and making them truly unique and of interest.

Maybe my next post might be my thoughts on electric cars and how they might affect the hobby.
Norm Flanders
Vintage Vehicle Appraisals

08/02/2021

So I stumbled across a car show last weekend. I had no idea it was going on but was driving by and thought I'd stop in. First car show I've been to in over a year due to Covid. It was well attended with several vendors and a couple hundred cars, mostly import cars. Several things impressed me about the show. The attendees were younger which I think is a good sign as the hobby continues to evolve. The show vibe if there is such a thing was different. I'm used to shows where the cars are predominantly hot rods and muscle cars from the '60's. That's my thing I guess. At these older car shows almost everyone opens the hood so you can see the engine. Everything else is secondary. At this car show most hoods were closed, and it all seemed to be about "bling." There were some really nice paint jobs, chrome wraps, oversized wheels. I know I am generalising here and there are always exceptions of course but the emphasis was on the exterior and not on the power trains. I found that interesting and wonder if attitudes are changing. Are we getting more aware of the environment and HP is old fashioned but custom exteriors is the current trend? With advances in computer management, fuel injection, turbocharging etc., some of these cars were putting out far more HP than any of my old muscle cars but you'd never know that from this show. I found that interesting, but have to say I missed the V8's and chrome and deep lumpy idles they produce.

06/07/2021

Tire Scam Alert!!!
I went to some tire shops looking for some newer tires. In my discussions with the managers / sales reps they all assured me that tires should be changed when they:
Are 10 Years old or older
Show any sidewall or tread groove cracking
Show wear down to the wear indicators

At this point if any of the above is true, then "they are unsafe to drive at any speed and they should be replaced immediately."

Although I agree with some of the points in general I think their information and sales promotion is getting in the way of science. I hate it when that happens.

First of all, the age of the tire generally has nothing to do with safety. The rubber does age and get harder, if used, it will show some wear and possibly some aging (faded white walls and maybe some cracking) but that does not mean that they are unsafe. They may ride a little harder and traction as a result might be reduced compared to a new tire but I question the age-safety relationship. It is not automatically true.

As far as sidewall or tread cracking is concerned, this too is not a safety issue unless the cracking is deep enough to reach the cord structure. At that point, the cords are exposed to the environment, corrosion, wear and safety / reliability is definitely an issue. Minor surface cracks are inconsequential because the rubber itself is not part of the structural strength of the tire. The strength comes from the inner structure of the tire and how the cords / belts are configured. The rubber is there to protect the cords / belts and to provide traction not so much strength. Minor cracks not going as deep as the cords are a warning to keep an eye on the situation as it will never improve but contrary to what these manager are saying are not necessarily a reason to immediately replace the tire.

Showing wear down to the indicators is a problem, traction may be severely reduced, especially in wet driving conditions and although you do not have to replace the tires immediately they should be of concern especially under adverse driving conditions when care and caution should be taken. They should be replaced soon.

Back to the tire age question, some years ago I purchased a new set of tires. When they were installed on the car, I later checked the DOT date codes. All four tires were manufactured between 7 to 9 years prior to installation. I questioned the tire shop manager at the time as to why they were selling tires that were rapidly approaching their supposed end of operating life and was told that the year limitation was only a guideline. My tires were safe and I should be able to use them for many years. Exactly the opposite of what I was told before I bought the tires. Hmmmmmmmm ............something is screwy with that logic.

No wonder my wife and daughter hate dealing shop managers. They create panic and sell stuff that really does not always need replacing. Another pet peeve of mine.

05/16/2021

A pet peeve I have is going to a shop to have something repaired, replaced or changed and having them advise me that there are several additional things I should have done. They know nothing about how I maintain my vehicles and don't ask what I've done lately, so how can they possibly recommend that I need my rear end oil or transfer case oil changed, my transmission flushed or my fuel injection system cleaned, without checking first? Same applies to oil change intervals, they always recommend a 5,000 km interval when with the type of driving I do, and my my engine condition, even the manufacturer recommends 8 - 10,000 km intervals. I wish fast oil change vendors would stop trying to sell stuff I don't need. Same applies to tire shops, they recommended having all my tires balanced, and the alignment done when I went in to fix a slow leak on one tire. No reason, just the strongly advised suggestion, without checking tire wear to see if alignment might be a problem or driving the car to see if there is any sign of unbalance. .... sorry to vent but I'm going to go to a different shop next time. No wonder my wife and daughter hate going to these shops when they are made to feel guilty for not doing this unnecessary work and exposing their families to an "unsafe" vehicle. Rubbish!!! There, I said it and feel better now. I just wish that service people would tell me what really needs to be done based on evidence rather than try to sell me work or materials that I don't really need just to improve their bottom line.

04/17/2021

Well .... it's inching closer to springtime in Calgary, but there are still a few patches of snow in the shadows and lots of gravel on the streets. Do you have any special procedure for starting the old cars up after a 6 month hibernation? I can't say that I do. I check tire pressure, (usually I pump them up to 40 psi when I park them in the fall,) and adjust accordingly. Check the oil and coolant levels, look for any drips on the floor from winter storage, check the battery and battery connections (I leave the cars on trickle charge all winter,) and that's about it. When starting I let the car turn over till I have oil pressure on the gauge and then begin my starting procedure. It's different for each car as it seems that each one has it's own quirks and what it likes or dislikes to get it running. Once running I let it warm up thoroughly and if possible, take it for a gentle drive. I like to use up the old gas as soon as possible and that's usually fairly quick as I park them in the fall (in a heated garage) with nearly empty tanks. I sometimes put in some gas line antifreeze in the tank just in case there is any water in the gas from condensation but since I park them in a heated garage this is generally not a problem. Can't wait to get going this summer. Once they clean up the streets I'll be there. Let's hope we have some car shows this summer as the Covid cancellations last summer were a bit of a bummer.

03/13/2021

I've been asked how much mileage on a vehicle affects value. For a given vehicle the overwhelming factor affecting value is condition. The better the condition the better the mileage. In a very general sense, condition may be proportional to mileage. This is not a hard and fast rule, just a general assumption that the more you drive the car the poorer the condition (due to wear and tear.) This is really a false assumption because you can drive the car "gently" and maintain it meticulously and it will stay in excellent condition. On the other hand you can drive the car "hard" and not take care of it and its condition will deteriorate very quickly. There is a correlation between mileage / condition (value) sometimes but it is not a reliable indicator and for every mile you drive the condition doesn't drop by a given factor. Perhaps for every 10 - 20,000 miles or kilometres, there might be a change in condition (value) but one would be silly to overlook an excellent condition high mileage car in favour of a possibly more expensive low mileage car that has maintenance issues and is in poor condition. In short, there may be a relationship between mileage and value but it is very general with lots of exceptions and one can really not say that it is a rule. Forget looking at mileage and concentrate on looking at maintenance and condition if you are buying a car. At the extreme, if the car has zero miles or a million miles you might make it a rule but for most cars within that range there are too many other factors to consider before you can say that mileage is important.

01/28/2021

I regularly get comments about the effect of high octane fuel in their collector cars and challenge my statement when I say that higher octane fuels give their cars "More Power" or "Better Mileage." That could be true, but it isn't because high octane fuels are more powerful. The energy per unit volume for high octane fuels is not higher than regular grade fuels and could easily be slightly less because higher octane fuels tend to have a slightly different additive package in that same volume of fuel, leaving less room for gasoline which generates the power. This may decrease engine power for higher octane fuels and definitely does not increase it. What higher octane fuels do, is reduce or eliminate detonation. Detonation can rob your engine of some power. If your engine tune is prone to detonation and a higher octane fuel will reduce the problem, you will see a performance gain. If your engine's tune can handle advancing the timing slightly without getting detonation with high octane fuel then you might see a performance gain by adjusting the timing with higher octane fuel. If your engine is newer and computer controlled that is one of the functions of the computer, to look for the presence or absence of detonation and adjust the timing according. Keep in mind that as a general rule, engine computers are programmed not to maximise power but to maximise economy and reliability. On older engines tuning / timing has to be set manually. Many engines already run at their maximum optimum performance and timing limits without detonation and running a higher octane fuel will not change performance. Other (older) engines that are running without detonation will not benefit from higher octane fuel unless you also adjust the timing, even then it is not a guarantee for more performance. Racing engines are tuned for a rather small range of operating conditions and load. They can be tuned to the very edge of optimum performance and usually respond to timing changes. Normal street engines that have to operate under a wide range of load and performance conditions can not be so finely tuned and may not respond as well to timing changes. So, hopefully that explanation helps. Higher Octane fuels do not automatically give you better performance or gas mileage but they do widen the range of tuning possibilities and that may improve performance and gas mileage. Computer controlled engines will run quite nicely for most people on lower octane fuels and if you aren't racing the engine you will not notice much if any difference.

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