Auto collectibles and paraphernalia...

boomchek

Very nice! Actually now that I remember, the one page brochure is for a N600.

I think most dealers do have old brochures stashed away in places. The few times I changed dealerships, I always found old literature, posters, and promotional material collecting dust in storage or in desks no longer used.

Best way to get to that is when dealerships close their doors for good. Most, if not all of it ends up in the garbage. But chances of anyone from the dealership letting an outsider snoop around and look for old brochures is pretty slim.

wevk

I found a can of MMO in the garage when we moved in our house in 1987. The garage was built in 1958 so It could be an old can.

It advises adding 10 to 20% to the crankcase in order to "Winter-proof
the other lubricants." What would Porsche think of a liter of MMO poured into a 911 turbo?

Here's the "Mystery"
"70% Light Aromatic Oil (Pale Oil)
- It is a Naphthenic Oil, so while it oxidizes faster than a Paraffinic oil, it does clean and dissolve sludge and carbon well and cleans up after itself from any oxidation. serves as base oil as well. [Naphthenic oils have more solvency and are more polar (they are attracted to metal more), but oxidize faster.

29% Mineral Spirits
- Cleans Varnish very well. General cleaner. Also acts as an antioxidant.

38 parts per million (ppm) Boron
- AW/EP agent, friction reducer, antioxidant

900 ppm Phosporous
- AW/EP agent

1/2% 1, 2 ortho-Dichlorobenzene
- EP agent as it interacts with Iron to form an Iron chloride barrier under any ZDDP or other AW additives. Also very good cleaner/solvent, and friction reducer

1/4% 1, 4 para-Dichlorobenzene
- EP agent as it interacts with Iron to form an Iron chloride barrier under any ZDDP or other AW additives. Also very good cleaner/solvent, and friction reducer

Oil of wintergreen - for the scent
- Not just for the cent, is also a cleaner. may aid lubricity.

Red Dye - for the color
- well this one just colors the stuff"
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1752042&- page=3

Mr_Shiftright

You could probably pour a shotglass full of Diet Coke into 100 car engines and 25 of the owners would swear it really helped.

andre1969

I think I poured a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil in my '79 5th Ave the first time I changed its oil, which was probably early 2002. Can't say if it did anything either way, good or bad. I never bothered to do it again, though.

fintail

I think my mother has an ancient can of that in her garage, too.

Back when I had the engine in my old car overhauled, an old time mechanic told me I should put a little of that stuff in the gasoline. Seemed kind of odd...I never did it.

fintail

Have you ever gone dumpster diving at a closed dealer? Might be interesting...

The local Caddy dealer here moved a few years ago after about 40 years in the same spot (lost the lease, the land was going to be developed into some overpriced high rise, then the recession hit, and the spot is still vacant)...I wonder what was stored away there.

boomchek

Have you ever gone dumpster diving at a closed dealer? Might be interesting...

Haha, too funny, I did that at the Honda dealer I worked at. They rented a dumpster for about a week and did spring cleaning, throwing away all sorts of brochures, showroom Honda stands, brochure stands etc. I was mildly upset when I arrived at work and proceeded to climb in while wearing my business suit.

Few colleagues had a laugh and I managed to "save" a few items.

fintail

I can just see you doing that too, and smiling when you recovered your treasure. I know the MB dealer in Seattle has been in the same building for over 50 years...I wonder what they have stored away.

boomchek

Probably quite a bit. In a run of the mill dealership it's easy to find brochures and promo material going back a decade. Many salespeople come and go, some aren't organzied and never clean out their desks, cabinets, offices, etc.. New sales people come and just pile their stuff on top of the old stuff.

Maybe in MB they're a bit moore organized, but I'm sure there's gotta be areas of forgotten materials.

texases

What do you think a widow should do with ~ 20,000 car ads from the '60s and '70s cut out of car mags. That's what, 10 BOXES of stuff! There sleeved, in notebooks by brand, very organized.

fintail

Probably go to a car show or look online for a vendor who sells those at car shows and swap meets. They seem to bring a few bucks each at those venues, of course the wholesale price must be low.

boomchek

20,000 ads, she should be able to get a $1000 or more out of it. She needs to find either a collector, or a reseller. Or if she wants more money and has the patience and time, she can take it a car swap meet as fintail suggested, or throw them all on ebay in groups or years.

texases

Thanks guys, that's kinda what I thought. She's asking this elsewhere, and I've tried to convince her to take her time, there's a market for it if she'll look around a bit.

genesaero

Have one for sale at:
http://dubuque.ebayclassifieds.com/classic-cars/mount-carroll/1952-willys-aero-w- ing-sedan/?ad=6074458

fintail

Boomchek hasn't been around lately...here's something for him...price is negotiable I'm sure

Mr_Shiftright

Good luck finding '52 Willys parts!

Maybe they could salvage the body shell for a vintage drag car? It's certainly not a car worth restoring as stock.

stever

Don't know why I can't find an old '38 Bugatti under a tarp like some guys. Just stumbled across this tonight:

euphonium

That rattle can was used on 1967 Ford Galaxie 500's that were painted "Frost Turquoise". Perhaps on other Ford products around that year as well. I think Mustang shared it as well.

stever

I bet you're right. The gentleman who purchased this can wound up with a '77ish LTD for his last car.

Mr_Shiftright

I once painted a motor scooter with about 20 cans of that stuff I found in an old garage (I was young, I was foolish...but actually, it didn't turn out too badly).

fintail

I saw this line of unusual mainly malaise-era models in a German catalog...I think there's a few cars here for Lemko, maybe some others

I've lately found a few nice 1:18 MB models fresh to hit the market, but at around $100 a pop, it's tough to defend, especially as I just scored a pile of 50s era Matchbox.

Mr_Shiftright

how long is a 1/43 model, in inches? Is that about the smallest you can buy readily?

fintail

1:43 is around 4", similar to old Dinky or Corgi toys, also pretty much the "O Gauge" of model railroading. There are nicely detailed cars down to 1:87 (HO scale), but 1:43 is the smallest popular diecast size.

Mr_Shiftright

What are common ways to a) display and b) organize one's collection?

fintail

Find a shelf and do whatever works, it can be pretty individual. Conventional bookshelves or smaller mostly wall mounted shelves made especially for cars. Some people store cars away and never look at them - seems wasteful to me. I have about 100 vintage diecast cars on the shelves around my TV.

Mr_Shiftright

do you organize them by year, or type or...just random?

fintail

I generally keep the Matchbox seperate from others, and the black wheel cars apart from grey wheel (this is also an age difference), that's about it.

euphonium

The wife in your life is very accomodating.

fintail

I've got 99 problems, but that aint one of them :shades:

I can drive what I want, buy the toys I want, travel where I want...woe is me

lemko

...my friend came though again with another nice scale model this year! This is the 1949 Oldsmobile 88 coupe from the Danbury Mint:

Mr_Shiftright

That was the first car I ever bought. I was too young to drive, and I kept it in a neighbor's back yard in Brooklyn. My plan was to turn 18 then escape to South America. :P

fintail

I finally got a mint/boxed version of an early Matchbox I'm sure Lemko will like:





It's a beauty, looks much better in person

lemko

Wow, that's like the "holy grail" of Matchboxes!

fintail

Late Christmas present to myself. I actually pieced it together - found the box and then a correct car. It's a fairly mint early "new model" on sides box, from 1960. Strangely, the box is worth more than the car if sold alone but as a marriage the combined value is a bit more. The toy car bug has bit me again :shades:

lemko

There's a couple other rare early Matchboxes out there I'd like to have. Don't they have a 1960 Pontiac?

fintail

Yep, a convertible. I have that one too, but with no box.



By 1959 or so, the American market was in love with the detailed little cars, and Lesney wisely started making American car models. Along with the Pontiac as you know is a 59 Impala and a 59 Ford wagon, among others.

The Caddy, Impala, Ford wagon, and earlier variants of the Pontiac are all at least $100 for mint in box now, and prices have weathered the economic malaise very well.

uplanderguy

I didn't get into Matchbox cars 'til the mid'60's, but my favorite (now and then) is the Studebaker Wagonaire, but I also liked the turquoise '64 or '65 Lincoln Continental sedan, maroon '64 Pontiac Grand Prix, and yellow '64 full-size Chevy taxi. Anybody remember those ones? I haven't seen one for years.

uplanderguy

I got one of these for Christmas in around '63, and my mother said I would sit in front of it for hours. I do remember it. I saw a beat-up one at Hershey a few years back, but haven't seen a nice one since...oh, the mid'60's! Anybody remember them, and did anybody else have one?

http://www.plan59.com/images/JPGs/playmobile.jpg

fintail

Those are all actually not terribly rare, and can be found affordably today. I think Lemko has that Impala. The Lincoln and Pontiac were also re-released when Matchbox went to "Superfast" wheels (free rolling wheels to compete with Hot Wheels) around 1970, the Superfast variants of those cars are much more sought after.

Here are a few of the models you mention:







And the Superfast varieties





I don't know about that exact dashboard simulator toy, but I think I have seen another one like that by maybe another maker.

Edit: I just found one for sale

http://hartford.craigslist.org/atq/2157559781.html

uplanderguy

Thanks for posting. Those are the exact three I remember!

I don't like the Hot Wheels-inspired wheels on the later Matchbox cars.

Even as a kid, I thought it was funny that they did a taxi out of an Impala Sport Sedan (four-door hardtop). You'd have never seen a real one like that!

fintail

I noticed the same thing about the Impala - a 4 door HT taxi. One could buy a beater for a few bucks and repaint it in normal colors however - restoring these old castings is a fairly developed hobby.

lemko

I remember the yellow 1964 Impala taxi. I believe there are two different versions of it: one with a white interior and another with a red one.





Of course, this one is my favorite:

fintail

Ah yes, the ambulance. Another relatively affordable model. There's a newer Matchbox Cadillac hearse as well, along with a Sedan DeVille, I am sure you've seen them. I had the Matchbox Allante when I was a kid, along with Hot Wheels and Tomy bustleback Sevilles, and a Majorette limo.

fintail

Bought a collection off a craigslist ad the other day:
-


These are newer than I prefer - collection likely assembled in 1967-68, but the price seemed decent and the condition is far nicer than most unboxed accumulations of cars that were played with. No dirt, no gunk, no rust, no smells, and several cars are completely mint, and many others nearly so. The 1965 issue case is also pretty clean. I'll end up flipping these, I don't have the space to start hoarding everything.

Many American cars in the bunch - Studebaker, a couple of Mustangs, Impala, Galaxie fire and police cars, American style fire trucks, Lincoln, Dodge truck, Greyhound buses, Jeeps.

lemko

Yes, but is there a fintail as depicted on the case?

fintail

There is actually a fintail ambulance in the lot (to the left of the VW camper) but it has a couple chips, so I won't keep it. I really prefer mint boxed models, and that one is a common car anyway - maybe $30 range mint in box.

The red coupe on the case is a 1962 issue car, I do have one, one of the first vintage models I bought when I was a kid. It's not perfectly mint though...eventually I will replace it with an early grey or silver wheel variant, neither of which are terribly rare.

stever

Two coffee mugs with a Detroit Area Oldsmobile Dealers logo on them.

I passed, even though they were free; too much stuff already.

fintail

Probably not a bad decision unless you needed mugs...not much collectible value there,

fintail

I made kind of a light box/soft box kind of thing, so I can show off some of my latest finds. These are models I had wanted for some time, finally found them at a good price.

Matchbox #20 ERF Ever Ready truck, issued in 1959



Matchbox #23 Berkley Cavalier, issued in 1956, made for only 2 years



And the Caddy again, issued in 1960

lemko

Love that Caddy! How hard is it to find and how much can one be expected to pay for a good example?