A GDYNETS

PUBLICATION
2015, G. DAVID
YAROS. ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED.

Car Collector
Chronicles

Volume VIII, Issue 7

Exploring:

Ca

Car Collecting Today

High RPMs

Classic Rides
Reports From the Field
Oldsmobile (1897-2004)
Cadillac (1902- )
Allant (1987-1993)

Corvair (1960-1969)

= Clickable Link

IN THIS ISSUE:
High RPMs

GDY Nets
On the Web

Sale Saga

The Party is Over!

The show field is empty.

The cars have departed. The
2015 Cadillac-LaSalle Club
Grand National is now in the
books.
This month we shall take a
look at that event from the
perspective of a first timer,
who commuted to and from
daily, worked as a lot attendant and served as a judge.
The site of the Cad-LaSalle
Grand National, Brookfield
Sheraton, will also host the
OCA Nationals at the end of
this month. We shall commute daily for it also. However, we shall actually have a
car at that event, unlike at
the CLC Grand National. It
will be interesting to compare these two events.
July Automotive Milestones
7/1/1956 Pontiac names
Simon "Bunkie" Knudsen GM
7/2/1992 1,000,000th Cor-

CCC Forum
EMail:

OldsD88@gmail.com

vette built
7/3/1945 1st post-war car
produced; a white Ford Super
DeLuxe Tudor sedan that
goes to Pres. Harry Truman
7/3/1952 Crosley production
ends
7/8/1909 1st Hudson built
7/10 National Collector Car
Appreciation Day-6th Annual
7/12/1982 Last Checker built
(1st Checker built in 1922)
7/15/1903 Ford Motor Company takes its first order
7/16/1935 Oklahoma City
gets 1st parking meter in U.S.
7/23/1901 Ransom E. Olds
issued design patent for his
Curved-Dash Olds
7/23/1903 Ford sells its first
car, a two-cylinder Model A,
to Dr. Ernest Pfenning of Chicago for $850.
7/26/1945 Kaiser-Frazer
Corp. organized
7/29/1909 Buick acquires
Cadillac
7/29/1916 Nash Motors Co.
formed
7/30/1863 Henry Ford born,

Greenfield Village, Michigan

7/30/1898 1st Automobile ad in
magazine (Winton Motor Co.)
7/31/1928 Chrysler buys Dodge

July 21-June 25 OCA Meet

- Wash em, polish em
and drive em!

GDYNets on the Web

Find GDYNets on the web:

CLC GN Photos

July 2015

CCC -THE FORUM -A web

site to discuss the newsletter,
the hobby and our cars.
Car Collector Chronicles
Saved 62 -Our 1962 Olds
convertible, Ransom Eli Olds
and things Oldsmobile related
web site.
The Gray Lady -1955 Cadillac
Coup de Ville web site.

SAVED 62: A website devoted

to our 1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 convertible. The site

also has a lot of information on
Oldsmobile cars and the company founder, Ransom Eli Olds.

THE GRAY LADY: This website features our 1955 Cadillac

Coup de Ville, lots of Caddy
information and an extensive
repair library.

DAVES DEN: -A site devoted to a myriad of interests.

Foremost is extensive information 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 Oldsmobile, and the tragic story of the
murder of Gary, IN Police Lt.
George Yaros.

Car Collector Chronicles

Page 2

Sale Saga
The Gray Lady waits patiently. She has been
so waiting since mid-May. Hopefully, her expected date has not stood her up? I am certain
that is not the case. While I do not have a confirmed pick up date from the transporter, I expect it shall be within the next week or so. I do
have an email out to the transport company, but
have yet to receive a reply.
I did not take her to the Cadillac-LaSalle Club
Grand National meet which concluded on 27
Jun. Having been paid in full for the car, I sure
did not want to risk the possibility of anything untoward happening. Such an event
would have produced two unhappy campers, to say the least!

My volunteer
status got me
a ribbon to be
displayed on
my meet
credentials. It
also entitled
me to wear a
dayglo yellow
highway
construction
worker safety
vest whenever
I was present
on the
grounds.

The Party is Over!

The 2015 Cadillac-LaSalle Club Grand National meet is now history. The people and
cars did come to the Brew City. They are now gone.
This was my first Grand National. I became involved with the event beyond the level
of a mere attendee, as I saw it as a means of marketing and selling The Gray Lady. In
fact, my For Sale ad published in the CLC magazine, the Self Starter, stated specifically the car could be seen at the Grand National in Milwaukee. Little did I know at the
time of placing the ad in late March that the car would be sold more than a month before Day 1 of the Grand National.
Being involved with the GN meant attending more than a few planning meetings.
These things dont just happen overnight. A lot of people did a whole lot of work over a
long period of time to pull it off. My role was miniscule in comparison to the efforts of a
core cadre of CLC-Badger Region members. I listened a lot. Only when I had something I thought worthy of contributing did I speak. When grunt work was needed, I
stepped up to the plate and volunteered.
When attendees registered their cars for the meet they were assigned a numbered
parking space. The host hotel has a very large parking area. What is does not have
are numbered parking spaces. Here was grunt work of which I was capable of handling. The Saturday before the meet a few of us met at the hotel for the express purpose of numbering the parking spaces. That entailed making the number labels, blowing the asphalt clean and putting the numbers down. The number labels were made
from reflective highway lane marking tape. Paint pens were used to write the numbers
on the tape, the labels were cut off the roll, the adhesive backing removed and each
number was pressed into place. All tolled 250 parking spaces were numbered by us.
It will be interesting to see if the space numbers are still in place and readable for the
Olds convention at the end of this month? What I do know is that we did not remove
them after the CLC Grand National concluded. We shall see?
I also volunteered to serve as a lot attendant. My volunteer status got me a ribbon to
be displayed on my meet credentials. It also
entitled me to wear a dayglo yellow highway
construction worker safety vest whenever I
was present on the grounds.
As a lot attendant I greeted attendees on
their arrival, answered their questions as best
I could and directed them to their assigned
parking spaces. To accomplish that I was
given a list of attendees that had their name,
vehicle and space number. On Day 1 I was

Page 3

Car Collector Chronicles

The Party is Over!Contd.

tending to my duties when a gent pulled up and asked where he should park his car. I
inquired as to his name and referred to my trusty list. I did not see the name on it, anywhere. I checked and double checked, to no avail. At that point I had to call in the man in
charge. He pulled out his list, found the name and directed him to his assigned space. I
asked to see his list to try and figure out why he had the name and I did not. It turned out
the name in question was on page 3 of his list. It also turned out that my list was missing
pages 3 and 4 of the ten total pages?
While working the lot on Day 1 someone from hotel management approached me and
asked if I was being kept supplied with water. I said no, didnt really need any but would
love to have a cup of coffee. He asked how I took my coffee. He departed, only to return
with a large coffee, two bottles of water and 4 cookies. Kudos to the folks at the Sheraton!
My tour of duty on Day 1 was one of four hours, from 1 to 5. I was next due to report
back on Day 2. Unfortunately, it was to be a l o n g day; from 11 to 6. Knowing it would
be a long day, I came prepared. I packed a cooler with soda, water, a sandwich and some
chips. I also had a large thermos filled with coffee. At one point late in the day I decided
to sit for the first time. When I had to get up from the chair it became obvious that due to
stiffness sitting was more trouble than it was worth, so I gave up on that idea.
Day 2 concluded with a welcoming reception
and a silent auction. We donated a pewter 1/48th
scale Allant for the auction. I do not know how
much it hammered at, as after having our fill of a
wide variety of delicious hors d'oeuvres and a
bloody mary I was too tired to hang around.
While standing from 11 to 6 made for a long day,
it also made for a good nights sleep. I slept like a
rock! Fortunately, I had off on Day 3 of the meet.
On Day 4 I had to attend a judges training session. This training session consisted of the very
same video, Power Point presentation and Q &
A we saw at the training session I attended in Chicago in April of this year. Perhaps the
powers that be thought that in 2 short months we had forgotten what we had been taught?
Day 5, Saturday, was judgment day. It began with a judges breakfast at the ungodly
hour of 7 a.m. I will say the food was pretty good and there was plenty of it. What I found
most irritating was that when the breakfast concluded at 7:30 we were told to meet back at
the assembly point at 9. Why did we have to be there at 7? We could just as easily have
slept in until 8 or so! Dont these folks know that retirees do not have to get up early?
A GN highlight, for me, was the judging. Our team consisted of 4 persons. Only 1 had
any experience at judging. As he was the past president of the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, we
naturally followed his lead. He did all the communicating with the owners of the cars we
judged.
The judging process is pretty sophisticated in that we had a scantron card for each vehicle. That card required us to render a judgment with respect to forty (40) different items.
The items judged dealt with appearance, operation and authenticity. The standard applied
was one of as delivered new by the manufacturer to the first owner.
The cars we judged were all of the 50s era and in the senior class. Senior cars have all
previously taken home a first place trophy in their primary class. Consequently, we were
only dealing with the crme de la crme. It also meant one had to work hard to find flaws
in the cars. I had to focus on fit, gaps and alignment to find areas that could use attention.
Here are some of my personal observations concerning the judging. Points are deducted for having radial tires when the car did not come with them. To me this is a bit
picayunish. At the same time I can understand the reasoning. Radials do not comply with
the as delivered new by the manufacturer to the first owner standard. They also produce
changes in the both the stance and appearance of the car. That being said, changes are
in the works to permit their use without having to suffer a point deduction. That is a good

Day 5,
Saturday,
was judging
day. It began
with a judges
breakfast at
the ungodly
hour of 7
a.m.

Car Collector Chronicles

Page 4;;

The Party is Over!Contd.

thing, in my opinion.
Quartz clock movements should result in a points deduction. Cadillac did not deliver cars with quartz
clocks in the 1950 decade. If one is obsessed with the stance of a car because it is sporting radial tires,
what about the appearance in the cabin of the continuous sweep of second hand on a quartz clock? Our
team captain did not agree with my point of view regarding this.
While I abhor them, there are many fans of continental kits. This holds true among Cadillac owners.
Cadillac never provided continental kits. All are aftermarket products. Being such, they earn an
authenticity points deduction for all who choose to sport them. Addditionally, the kits I saw installed
required drilling holes in the deck lid for the latch. I would have to think long and hard about making that
kind of alteration to my ride?
The senior cars I judged were magnificent specimens, no doubt. At the same time, it was more than
obvious that the longest distance they have ever traveled was from the trailer parking lot to the show field.
The fender wells of these cars have never, ever, seen dust, dirt or water thrown up on them. The
undercarriages of these cars would easlily pass a white glove test. The fact is, these cars are in better
than new condition. That folk take the time, trouble, expense and pain to restore a car to this level is
commendable. It is just a pity that they are not also able to experience the pleasure of driving these fine
specimens of automobile engineering.
To the CLCs credit it recognizes that cars which are actually driven by their owners should be treated a
bit differently. To that end it has a touring class. While touring cars are judged in the same 40 categories
in terms of appearance, operation and authenticity, signs of wear and tear are expected. Evidence of use
does not mandate points be deducted in this class. Coming from a working class/blue collar background,
this is my kind of class.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS Tuesday through Friday I kept asking myself when the parking spaces
were going to be filled? Little did I know they would not be filled until Saturday morning, when the trailer
queens were first exposed to the light of day. Well before sundown on Saturday these queens, having
formally held court, were now safely back in their enclosed trailers. That needs to change!
I was surprised to see a professional detailer at the meet. He was knocking down the sum of $160 per
car to detail it prior to judgment day. I never expected that. Nave me, I presumed people prepped and
detailed their own cars. I thought of those who had paid to have their car detailed grimacing when we had
a light rain one afternoon.
I dealt with a couple who had two cars at the meet. Each drove one up to Milwaukee. They had sent in
their meet registration minutes before expiration of the stated deadline. In anticipation of possible
problems they brought documentation of the mailing. Even though the registration was sent timely, it was
not received on time. At first they were not even allowed to park their cars on the show field with the
others. Nor were they allowed to have their cars judged. Ultimately they were permitted to display their
cars on the field as show only cars.
It seems to me if they did all that was required of them and had proof of such, an exception should have
been made and a way found to fit them in? As the couple were first time attendees, I doubt they went
home with a warm and fuzzy feeling about either the Cadillac-LaSalle Club or the Grand National meet?
I am not able to opine on the awards banquet. As we did not have a car there to be judged, we did not
attend the dinner. What I can say is that the cost of the dinner at the same hotel, with similar menu
options, will be $12 less for the Oldsmobile folk than it was for the Cadillac crowd. What is that all about?
When one goes home every night their perspective of the meet is far different from those who traveled
from afar to be there and have booked a room at the host hotel. A lot of the camaraderie and conviviality
inherent is these type of gatherings is lost by retiring to ones abode every evening.
Two concept cars were on display at the meet. They are from the Joe Bortz collection and were the
1956 Die Valkyrie and a 1955 LaSalle Roadster . Maybe it is just me, but neither of these cars did
much for me. The Valkyrie looks as though it has seen better days. Also, it looks like a 1953 Studebaker,
not like anything Cadillac. That it does is somewhat understandable when one realizes it was designed by
Milwaukees own, Brooks Stevens. Stevens also designed the 1962 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk.
The image of the LaSalle Roadster was diminished in my eyes when one heard the whine of its electric
motor.
One would expect to see pictures from a national meet, right! A sampling is presented on the page
following. There are far too many pics to put in any single edition of the newsletter. Instead, the photos I
took have been uploaded to, and are available for viewing by you on, Photobucket .

Car Collector Chronicles

Page 5;;

CLC GN Photos

Ok, Ive had my say for the month. Now its 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 OldsD88@gmail.com.
Now that you have finished reading this months issue of the newsletter, if so inclined,
like CCC on Facebook by going here
______________________________________

-- RESTORE 'EM, AND DRIVE 'EM!

COMING NEXT ISSUE:
Oldsmobile Club of America Nationals, Milwaukee