Very few club members share with our group the story of how they acquired their old car(s).
Even fewer (I would venture none) have written a poem that expresses their pleasure in riding through town and putting smiles on the faces of pedestrians and other motorists.
We are fortunate that Barbara Coon has shared her memories with us in the following article. The story is told in the first person from the point of view of the 1937 Ford that we all know so well.
                                               Editor
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------- Lost in the woods at Saranac Lake, New York until George found me. Hoisted me up on a tow truck and took me to my new home in Connecticut.
 
Oh my - he stripped me down, overhauled me, oiled and greased my parts while putting me back together. I looked so darn good I received several trophies at the car shows.
 
I had fun flirting with other cars and owners. My master has given me lots of loving care. I might be old but my rings and bearings still work and all my joints are well greased. My surface is well dusted and polished to a brilliant shine.
 
 Actually I'm in better shape than Barb and George! I might be old at the age of 81 but still traveling along the highways and byways.
 
Signed,  Old ‘37
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​Driving to church one sunny summer morning in the antique car we were getting horns and hand signals and voices yelling at us ;  “Like that car!!” I got inspired and wrote my one and only poem! ~ Titled - The Antique Car.
 

The Antique Car
 A pair of antiques in an antique car
Cruising along having fun so far.
Hi there, hello there
From the antique car
You wish you were where we are
just cruising along in the antique car.

If you read part I of this story you would know that my overall goal is to make my Buick safer and better looking. It is getting there, slowly. I will try to make this episode a bit shorter than usual because as one friend has said “You use too many words”. He is right.
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 After removing the instrument panel I just let all the gauges suspend by their very substantial wires while I addressed various issues.  The ammeter was removed with the intention of replacing it with a NOS unit that came with the car (box and all). I found that the needle on the old meter was fused to the meter face where the face had warped. Rather than mess with repairing that I decided to just put in the new one. While removing the gauges I had the battery disconnected. Each time I wanted to test something I reconnected the battery for the duration of the test only. I installed the new ammeter, again attached the battery ground lead, and tested the ammeter. It worked great! When I started the car the meter moved to the plus side indicating that it was charging. Then it slowly returned to center position as the battery was fully charged. After the test I turned off the engine and began to remove the temperature gauge. Unfortunately I forgot to disconnect the battery. As soon as I moved the instrument panel sparks flew all over the place from the area of the ammeter. I was startled so badly that my hands immediately flew upward and in the process I knocked the needle right off the new ammeter. After hours of trying to solder or glue the needle back on I gave up. I got out the old meter and pried its needle away from the face so it could move freely and then reinstalled it. At least it looked better. To my surprise I found that the old meter now worked showing a little charging on startup and quickly going back to center.
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The speedometer was next. The old cable unscrewed easily from behind the speedometer head. Unfortunately this was not the case for the end attached to the transmission. I could not even see it, never mind remove it. As I slid under the left side of the car to get at the transmission I quickly became wedged in place before getting close to my goal. I had to jack up the car and crawl under again. I used 3 heavy duty stands and blocks under the front left wheel. This time I traced the cable with my hand and found it attached high up on the left side. ​

I put the instrument panel back in place. Rather than putting the nuts back on the studs of the panel I used small grommets. They hold it pretty good for now and will just pop off when I am ready to continue. Before putting back the radio I installed the fresh air vent and gasket. Unfortunately  I made a mess of the gasket. Bob Degoursey helped me remove the old gasket. He properly prepared and glued everything in place and used blue masking tape to hold the vent down while the seal cured. He did a great job! It is so good to have friends who know what they are doing around a car. There are plenty of them in this club!

What about the “One Thing Leads To Another” part? Well I broke one pushbutton on the radio while reinstalling it. A complete set of new knobs will cost $100 unless I can find some nice used ones. The heater hose under the dash fell apart when I moved it. I need to order that since it is a specialty item (not at your local NAPA store). Now that the instruments (except the clock) are sorted out I needed a new wiring harness.  I ordered the harness from RI Wire and received it in about 3 weeks time.  I have not installed it, though. Why? My engine compartment is looking a little messy with all that green paint worn away. The plan is to mask the engine parts and spray paint the firewall and other areas in the engine bay. That means I have to get some paint mixed and put in rattle cans (there is an auto paint shop in Coventry that will do this) and apply it in the springtime when it gets warm again. The usual morning temperature when I started this project was about 75°. Now it is 25° F.
 
I have labeled the wiring harness and have a good idea where everything goes. Springtime is going to be very busy.
 
Too many words? Oh well.
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