Encouraging driving

[TC Chris]

Hagerty Insurance, a major vendor of classic car and boat insurance, is headquartered here in TC. They don't just peddle insurance--they also support car-related activities. One of their employees drove a Model A Ford as his only powered transportation for a full year; they built a Model A on-site during Hersey from parts they bought there; they always have a cool car on display in their big display window downtown; they sell "Three Pedals, No Problem" t-shirts. Their quarterly magazine has lots of great car coverage, all kinds--old Americans, pricey Europeans, race cars. They insure my Mustang and Chevy (way cheaper than standard insurance and for better results if damaged). Here's an article on their head guy:

https://mynorth.com/2022/11/preserving- ... cf7812e914

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

I have Condon and Skelly insurance on the Buick. I have used them since 1995, when State Farm went out of the classic car insurance business. I am seriously thinking about changing to Hagerty. Hagerty is more expensive than C&S, but the customer service we have gotten lately is less than stellar. It takes them three months to send our insurance cards. I had one claim, when the bug people sprayed the Buick with bug killer and spotted the paint. They handled the claim promptly enough and I was well-satisfied with that deal. They are hard to get ahold of on the phone and they change underwriters almost every time we renew our insurance. I appreciate the information on Hagerty.

Restoration techniques are as personal as cooking was to mom and grandma. Nobody did it right except them, to their way of thinking. I'm like that with restoring cars, restoring anything, really. I watch some of Hagerty's articles on car restoration and find some of their methodology rather unique. That said, it is gratifying to see a company that makes a living off the old car hobby that is actively participating in said hobby.

[TC Chris]

That said, it is gratifying to see a company that makes a living off the old car hobby that is actively participating in said hobby.

Not just participating, but making it sound like fun. Lots of activities have their guardians, who take it Very Seriously and tend to discourage newbies. Hagerty holds classes on using a manual transmission. What, you say? Doesn't everybody know that? Well, no, not any more. Their magazine has lots of articles on regular people who restored their cars. Yeah, there are some on exotic Europeans too, but they are very inclusive. Porsches and Pontiacs, Fords and Ferraris.

I've only had one claim, a tow when the Chevy's fuel pump failed. It was all handled easily.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

I had to drive "three on the tree" in Driver's Ed class in high school. We had a '66 Chevy Bel-Air four door sedan, Astro Blue with a white top, 327, Powerglide and factory air for one car, a '65 Biscayne with six and three on the tree for the other one. Even the girls had to drive a stick to pass the class. I read the other day you have to special order a Mack Pinnacle to get a manual transmission, and that the resale value would be less with a standard shift drivetrain. All of Walmart's trucks are automatics. Driver fatigue is now the issue. Nothing to do if you don't have to stir the gears. With all the cars I've owned and worked on, I have never driven a Ford Model A or a Model T. I have no idea why. Finding one still original is not easy around here. Driving a truck, shifting gears and talking on the CB all at the same time was an art form, now lost I reckon to history.

Hagerty is to be appreciated for their contributions to the automotive hobby, no doubt.

[walyfd]

I've been with American Collectors for years. Really need to change as I've never really had a claim, premium increases and its time to start looking. Agreed value has been very generous.

I can understand them encouraging driving. Same as your doctor telling you to get off your behind. You last longer, are worth MORE (insurable risk decreases for health. Cars that are driven and people who move don't break down like those that don't move...)

Chances of an ACCIDENT are less than the known death of an idle car...

[TC Chris]

I had to drive "three on the tree" in Driver's Ed class in high school. We had a '66 Chevy Bel-Air four door sedan, Astro Blue with a white top, 327, Powerglide and factory air for one car, a '65 Biscayne with six and three on the tree for the other one. Even the girls had to drive a stick to pass the class.

We had several current-model automatics in driver's ed, and one '61 Plymouth 6-cyl. with the 3-on-the-tree.

In 1974 my Dad bought Mom a Volvo station wagon to replace the '69 4-4-2 she had been driving (automatic). She had been driving automatics since about 1951. But the Volvo was no problem. She started driving in hilly Birmingham, AL in the 30s, when they were all manuals, and coordinating the clutch and shift lever came naturally again.

When I had to haul semitrailers around, I was very happy to have an automatic. I could fake competence at it. Faking competence is a valuable skill in adult life, as i have learned.

Chris Campbell

[Firedome]

We've had Hagerty for years, great company of real car enthusiasts.

My later uncle here had 3 running Model As and 2 Model Ts. The As were no problem except to get into, for me a least, at 6"1" and 230 lbs...they're very small inside. The T is a different story, also small, but everything is done with 3 floor pedals, no gearshift, and a hand throttle, very different but you do get the hang of it quickly. I love Ts, especially the pre-'15 brass radiator ones, so machine-y.

[hermitcrab]

I switched from State farm to Haggarty ... best thing I ever did... get full year coverage on the same amount of $$$$ that state farm charged for 6 months .... plus haggerty guarantees the payoff amount if something happens to your classic... only caveat is you are limited in mileage as they figure classics only get driven to shows or cruises ... In other words it can't be a daily driver ...when ever I am in TC , I drive by their showroom to see what they have on display ...

[TC Chris]

I switched from State farm to Haggarty ... best thing I ever did... get full year coverage on the same amount of $$$$ that state farm charged for 6 months .... plus haggerty guarantees the payoff amount if something happens to your classic... only caveat is you are limited in mileage as they figure classics only get driven to shows or cruises ... In other words it can't be a daily driver ...when ever I am in TC , I drive by their showroom to see what they have on display ...

That was my experience too. Last night I was pruning old files full of paper--health treatment bills, car insurance policies. It reminded me that when I had the Mustang on AAA, I had to cancel the policy every fall when it went into hibernation. Hagerty was year-round for less than half the cost, plus it was agreed-value policy, which meant that if a drunk hit me, I'd get what it was worth, not some depreciated value. Been there, done that with the insurance adjusters.

Winter started early this year and I still need to roll the Mustang out one more time for a fill-up of rec gas. Can't recall of this is a year for oil change or not, or maybe coolant. We'll see what the weather does. This is a highway car so I don't worry so much about acid in the oil, but the rec gas is a necessity for a car that sits all winter.

Chris Campbell

[hermitcrab]

Never have used rec gas for my car ... I only leave about a 1/8 of a tank and use fuel stabilizer....

[Ken Doyle]

The more full you leave the tank, the less condensation (water) you'll get in the tank.

[TC Chris]

The more full you leave the tank, the less condensation (water) you'll get in the tank.

That's my understanding too. A full tank has less room for air and the moisture it contains. And rec gas has none of the evil ethanol to absorb the moisture. In the Mustang, which gets driven a lot in the summer, I use regular gas but then switch to a full tank of rec gas for winter storage. It cured the problem of springtime burps--sudden losses of power that always made my heart sing and stomach flip. Apparently the alcohol-laden water was passing through at those moments. My Chevy is carbureted and the carburetor has dissimilar metals (aluminum, brass, steel). That makes a battery in the presence of moisture, and it corrodes. The Chevy sits more, so it is now all rec gas, all the time.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

We can,t get rec gas here. Best I can do is put in premium gas and fuel stabilizer. A full tank is better to prevent condensation. So far, so good.

[Firedome]

Many gas stations in areas close to marinas will have no-ethanol Premium, boats have to have it. We use it in ours, and also always in the Cutlass, Mustang, and all mowers and any other small gas engines, especially the 2 stroke weed-wacker, chain saws etc, it keeps the carbs from clogging up in storage. The add'l cost over a year's time is minimal, given how little total gas we burn in those toys and tools.