June 10th, 2023: Bay Area "Carmageddon."

Several years ago Interstate 405 in the LA area was going to be completely closed for some vital repair work. I was down south with my Wife and we heard, and saw news stories and advisements of the impending traffic nightmare. It was popularly dubbed by the media as "Carmeggedon." 

This was the complete closure of a section of the 405 from West LA, over the pass to the San Fernando Valley. This was going to occur on two separate weekends. 

It turned out to be less dramatic than had been feared. A lot of drivers must have stayed home. 

Our version was going to be a closure of s/b I680 at Sunol Rd. I would guess that traffic would be diverted off of I680 at Bernal Rd. There had been advisory signs posted on I680 for several weeks. The closure was not a surprise, and it could be easily navigated around by traffic that was passing through the South Bay. 

The idea was to get off of s/b I680 at the major intersection with I580, well north of the closure, then head west and then south again on I880.  Vehicles could re enter s/b I 680 at Mission Blvd in Fremont. The advice was to avoid the area, or stay home. 

I did neither.

There was a car show up in Rio Linda just e/o Sacramento that sounded interesting. The "Night of the Revving Dead." By the flyer, it figured to be a Rat Rod/ Rockabilly type of event. I attended the West Koast Kustoms show in Paso Robles and Santa Maria for many years. I even went to the Rockabilly Route 66 Reunion put on by Bo Huff. I thought the Rat Rod phenom was a refreshing change from the uptight Street Rod shows that had been the norm for years. It was for a while, then it became it's own extreme thing. But that was just the fringe, the majority of the cars were just more traditional cars built in a reasonable manner. 

But I like traditional Hot Rods and Kustoms as well as Rockabilly music. Though I could easily be mistaken for almost anybody's "Pappy," I  thought that I'd still be welcome there. I was curious to see how the scene had changed over the last several years.

The venue was very nice, an old country house with a very large grassy field with numerous trees. The spectator parking lot was also grassy and it was a relief not to have my car covered with dust after the event. I arrived at the show shortly after it opened at noon. The grounds were still pretty empty but were filling up steadily. 

There were a lot of interesting cars and everyone was very open and friendly. There was a real good Rockabilly band. It was a good show and it was worth driving the distance. At least on the way up.

It was returning home where the problem was waiting. 

I 680 s/b closed at Sunol Rd. On a Saturday afternoon.

I had been gripped by the idea of an alternate non freeway route from San Jose to the Sacramento area for a long time.  So I had been checking the map and making plans. I was tired of driving the same old route and wanted to try something different. I should have known better, the last time I tried that, I took a longer roundabout route to Sacramento, that began with me backtracking from Dublin all the way to I580 west to   I 5 north. That didn't turn out so well. 

I know the following account won't make much sense unless the reader is familiar with Bay Area roadways, but this is my opportunity to vent a little bit. I admit that any pain was self inflicted!

After the show I took I80 south, then cut off at 133 to Dixon, the plan was to cut through the fields, veer east to Rio Vista, take the river route south to Antioch, then take Vasco Rd. to Livermore, Where I would skate freeway traffic by taking surface streets from Livermore to  84 where it would connect with s/b I680 s/o the Sunol closure. 

I thought that I was being very clever but I didn't realize two things. First, a lot of other people had the same idea. Second, every back road way out of Livermore ended at s/b I680! In the vicinity of the closure.

Things went smoothly as I went through Dixon, miles of open farmland, but things came a halt as I entered Rio Vista. There was a huge back up before I could cross the bridge over the Sacramento River. After crossing the river, the road was busy, but flowing well. 

I should have taken highway 4 west from Antioch, but I decided that I wanted to go through Brentwood and use Vasco Road to end up in Livermore. Traffic wasn't bad, and using my Garmin Navigation I was soon on Vasco Rd, on my way to Livermore.

I had my last decision to make when I approached I580, I passed the W/B entrance and drove into the nightmare that was Livermore surface streets. Luckily I had wisely bought gas before I entered the city. 

Things were going well through Livermore until I had to turn left on Concannon from Holmes. Cars at a total stop for miles! I waited and crept slowly until I reached a place where I could bail with a u turn, and started following some cars on alternate routes, eventually I found myself passing Del Valle Shadow Cliffs. I turned right on Palmer, and  got all the way to Bernal Rd. which would intersect with I680. I went through Old Town and traffic stopped to a creep for 15 mins. Then I thought I'd just backtrack and take n/b 680 to w/b 580 when I reached the freeway.  I'm sure that s/b traffic on I680 was being turned around at Bernal Rd. So all surface street traffic was at a stand still. Nope. But I was able to make a left turn, then a U turn and headed back into Livermore, I saw Isabella, and turned towards I680. Big mistake! Traffic ahead was completely stopped. I made an illegal u turn through a wide painted divider, and headed to w/b I 580. I breathed a sigh of relief as I entered the freeway. Traffic was very heavy, but moving towards I880. At 5-10 mph. But at least I was making progress, I'd get home... sometime! I was so relieved to pass through Castro Valley. Once I reached  s/b I880 I could see that traffic was also very heavy and slow. I stayed in the right lanes so that I had an option to bail, which I did at A St. in Hayward.

I was pretty familiar with Hayward surface streets, and was confident that I'd make it home eventually!

I went east on A st. until I reached Mission Blvd, where I turned south, and encountered more stop and go traffic. Lot's of drivers  must have been coming from Crow Canyon Rd. but traffic lightened up after Jackson Ave. where many drivers were heading down to I880. I stayed on Mission Blvd, until it hit I680 in Fremont. S/B traffic on I680 was lighter than usual, and fast. 

I left the car show at a bit after 3:00, and was at my front door at a bit before 9:00!  I had make a quick stop for a burger in Rio Linda and for gas when I reached Livermore.

So much for clever ideas!

But it wasn't so bad, I was by myself, so I didn't have to listen to any criticism or commentary. I also had my collection of CDs with me, so I had plenty of my favorite music with me. I treated the whole thing as a lark, and was travelling in good spirits. I didn't have anywhere that I had to be, at least not right away!

I didn't get much sympathy from my Wife when I finally got home and explained my travails. She asked me why I didn't just do the smart thing. The answer I offered up was pretty lame. "Doing stupid things makes me feel young."

There was no sympathy after that! 

 "Into each Life some rain must fall." That's according to Henry W. Longfellow

Not what you want to discover.
photo source: Tirerack

Or, "Into everyone's tire, a screw or nail must find a home." That's according to this fellow!

Lately I've had a run of screws embedded in my treads. I went almost fifteen years without a flat tire, or a nail or screw stuck in my tread. 

The last time I was in Pismo Beach I got a screw stuck in the tread of my Navigator.

This time it was a screw in the front tire of my '06 Mustang. I noticed it while I was in Cambria, not far from Pismo Beach. I had just backed into a parking spot. After exiting the car I checked to see how closely it was positioned to the curb. That's when I saw it!

That definitely put a bummer on the day.

It used to be that tire shops would not patch a tire over ten years old. Now that age has been reduced to six years. 

At least both of these vehicles had a good spare.

The last time, I found a neighborhood garage willing to plug the tire, this time I bought a plug kit at an Autozone. 

The tire wasn't losing any air, yet. I checked it with some soapy water. I really don't know when I picked the screw up, but I think that it was during my Carmageddon experience in Livermore. I had made a U turn through a wide painted median divider. Driving off the main travel path of traffic or cutting through painted gore points is a good way to pick up something pointy. 

It's not hard to use these kits, but you do need immediate access to a source of compressed air. You are bound to lose some air during the process. I found a gas station with a working air machine and a spacious area to do the job. 

The soft rubber plug is forced into the tire below the tread.
photo source; Walmart

I prepped the plug installation tool, loading a plug then coating it with sealant and laid that aside. Then I unscrewed the offending screw using a screwdriver, and air immediately started to escape. It was a pretty thin, small screw. I inserted the reamer and worked it back and forth a few times then inserted the installation tool. It was harder to push it in than I had anticipated, but I twisted it back and forth a bit and crouched next to the wheel, and used both hands to force it in. 

I trimmed the ends, then used some soapy water to check for leaks. There were none. 

I had considered doing this in the parking lot of the motel where I was staying. It's a good thing that I didn't, the air pressure went down to about fifteen pounds. Without an air pump it wouldn't have been easy to drive to a gas station afterwards.

The last time I used a plug, I did a lot of internet research afterwards to see what the common thinking was about this type of repair. 

The proper method to do a repair like this is to dismount the wheel, break the bead, and apply a patch to the inside of the tire casing. The patch is similar to those we used to patch up our bike's inner tubes when we were kids. I'd done these repairs when I worked at a gas station when I was in high school. This is not something that you can do on your own, on the side of the road, and as I mentioned, tire shops won't fix a tire that is now considered "too" old.

After quite a bit of reading I surmised that most people felt that this was a permanent repair. Some articles insisted that it would be good for 10,000 miles, or the life of the remaining tread. I know that I've put over 2,000 miles on the repaired tire on the Navigator. Could this affect the balance of the wheel? Maybe, if you are driving at a high speed. Conventional wisdom says that a repaired tire is downgraded one speed rating. For example a Z rated tire is now considered to be H rated. 

A lot depends on where the tire was punctured. If it's within the main tread, that's in the strongest part of the tire, and using a plug or patch is okay. If it's near the sidewall, forget it. Except in an emergency.

The tires on the Navigator had a lot more tread on them than the tires on the Mustang. They also look a little weathered and you can see they are almost down to the wear bars. I knew that they were due for replacement pretty soon. The tread was shallow enough that I wouldn't have wanted to do a lot of rainy weather driving on them.

In reality tires with shallow tread are more likely to suffer from screw and nail punctures. The offending object is more likely to bury itself deep enough into the casing to cause a leak. A tire with more tread might prevent the object from penetrating that deeply, or the deeper tread might hold the object further away from the base of the tread, with more of a chance of it being spun off. It's been my experience that when tires are thin on tread, the possibility of picking up a screw increases. 

On the back of the plug repair kit, besides the instructions, there is a disclaimer that states that this is an emergency temporary repair and the tire should be repaired or replaced promptly. I don't disagree with this. If I punctured a sidewall and was far from help, with a bad (or no) spare, I'd stick a plug in it and proceed carefully.

In this case, it was a very short, (but obviously long enough!) thin screw that penetrated the tread. A larger screw or a jagged piece of metal makes a hole that can't, and shouldn't be repaired. Either way, it makes sense that you refrain from top speed runs with a repaired tire. Just drive the car at legal speeds and it should last long enough to save up the money for a new set of tires. 

My Mustang has a low tire pressure monitoring system that would alert me if the tire started to lose air. It is very unlikely that the plug would be spit out, causing a rapid loss of air, chances are that it would lose air gradually. In reality, many people drive their cars unaware that there is anything stuck in the tire for many thousands of miles. A small flat headed screw could be driven enough that the head would be worn completely off and never be noticed or repaired until the tires were replaced. 

I'm thinking that I'll start carrying a plug repair kit in my cars for insurance. It's an easy repair. I also will carry a small tool kit, that's also good insurance. I have a battery jumper box that includes an air pump that will accompany me on longer trips.

A new set of tires would just be a bit more insurance. 

 Last month,  I experienced an interesting juxtaposition.

This image from Motor Trend is merely representational.
'Though the car in question was almost as nice.

I was approaching Guru Electronics, a stereo store that is located in an industrial area of San Jose. Coming towards me was a '65 Chevy Impala convertible, and it turned left  into the driveway. I also turned into the driveway and came to a stop behind the Chevy, which was a Low Rider. I didn't know if he was stopped airing up his bags to deal with the speed bumps. I waited for a bit then went around him. 

I parked in a space and he continued a bit down the line. 

After I had finished my business I went outside and took a look at his car. It was very nicely finished. Straight body work, smooth dark metallic purple paint, shiny chrome that was set off with what looked like gold plating on the bumper guards and wire wheels. The interior had been redone and it was obviously a show level car. As I circled the car I noted the 396 call outs on the front fenders. Big blocks are rare in Impalas of this period. Being a Low Rider it had the expected small tires and it was either lifted, or more likely the suspension sported air bags. 

I'm familiar with '60's Chevys as well as Low Riders, a good buddy of mine, as well some of my coworkers at GM Fremont were into them back in the mid '70's. 

My older Brother had bought a '64 Impala Super Sport coupe and fixed it up. New paint, new interior, cut springs, but with wide oval tires and Cragars. I had owned a couple of old Cadillacs that I'd put custom wheels on, but always with regular sized tires. 

In fact, I'd had my own '65 Impala SS convertible around this time. It had either a 283 or a 327, I can't properly recall at this time. My plan was to fix it up into a real Low Rider. 

Unfortunately I didn't get too far, I'd replaced the top, but I just couldn't get that emotionally invested in a Chevy, I was a die hard Cadillac guy. I sold it and bought a '70 Coupe de Ville instead.  My intersection with the Low Rider movement faded away, though I still do appreciate low cars, but not on such tiny tires. 

As I was checking out the Chevy I kept glancing over at my Vista blue Mustang, resplendent in the afternoon sun. 

It became apparent to me that I'd turned a corner some time ago. This Chevy is certainly an expensive car, it is worth much more than I would be willing to pay for it. If I had a car like this, I would have lowered the front end and would be running some wide whites on Moon rims or some other type of vintage hub cap. I actually have a set of vintage Buick hub caps squirreled away just in case I buy another old car. 

Not to denigrate this car, but it just doesn't appeal to me any more. A cheap beater that is slammed with wide whites still holds some appeal, but when it comes to spending real money, well, there are other things that I want more. 

If the guy had asked, "Why don't we trade straight across?" I'd have said no, the Mustang is one of the places where I'm at right now, I don't see myself heading in that other direction. It's not because the Mustang is a performance car, I don't really care how fast it is, or how slow it is compared to a new Mustang or Hell Cat.  I find myself quite satisfied by how my '96 runs. It's not about speed.

My old buddy Roger once chided me for never sticking with anything, or holding onto a certain car. In his opinion I was all over the place. To tell the truth, he was right, I am all over the place! 

But that's my Prerogative, isn't it? 

Lately I've attended a few shows, looking for examples of the kind of cars that I might be interested in. Maybe the kind that I'd like to own? 

One of the tenets of my car hobby philosophy is that everyone should participate in this hobby on their own terms. There is no right or wrong way, our individual approaches depend on our individual desires, needs, and predilections. It depends on how far we are along in our personal car hobby journey and the current situations in our lives. 

So why don't I cut myself some slack? I like what I like and that's it. I've had plenty of old cars, and they just don't offer me the satisfaction that I'm looking for.

I'm probably never going to own a really old car again. I can think about it, I can dream about it, but it's not ever going to happen again. The reason? It's because I really don't want to own a really old car again. That's what it all comes down to. I'm not willing, determined, or prepared, to make the sacrifices and to pay the price. I've had many already, and I don't think that I want to go down that path again. 

Does that mean that I'm really not a car guy?

What makes a car guy, a car guy anyway? Liking cars right? Is it specified anywhere what kind of cars they have to be?

My move away from traditional old cars started with my involvement with Datsuns. Then I got detoured to the Euro Car thing and my time with Jaguar. At one time I really thought that I might even buy an older Aston Martin.

Luckily that flame burnt itself out!

I think that I'm just going to do what I've been doing, and enjoy what I currently have.

Where have I heard that before?

 How much is that old Doggie in the Window?

1938 REO

'56 Olds

'51 GMC

'60 Chevy

'81 Trans Am

'74 camaro

'69 Olds Cutlass

'30 Model A

'77 Riviera

Or perhaps, "How much should that old Dog be?"

Is there some kind of reasoning or logic applied to the prices that are being asked for old project cars?

What bugs me is the price that is being asked for beat up, run down, unpopular old cars on formats like CraigsList.

Especially some plain vanilla, base model, six cylinder, four door that was never considered to have been cool or desirable- ever! 

Another post bemoaning the high price of buying into the old car hobby. 

For example; Impala coupes and convertibles have been desirable cars for a long time. They are high trim models that usually have optional equipment as well as V8 engines.

Is a beat up old Biscayne four door sedan even close to the Impala's value? A seller was asking 13,000 dollars for a car like that! It seems like a lot of sellers seem to think so!

Who sets the prices anyway?

The sellers of course.

I firmly believe that the seller has the right to ask as much as they want, for anything that they put up for sale. 

Likewise, the buyer is free to pay any price that they wish, whether or not it's a fair deal or not. The buyer has the ultimate say, there isn't anyone out there forcing them, or you, to buy any old car.

I always wonder what these cars ultimately sell for. If they sell at all. That's the question that my Wife always asks me. I usually don't have that answer.

The listed cars disappear after a while, sometimes they are sold, sometimes the seller will relist them later. They often end up in the hands of a flipper.  How are we to know?

However, I don't think that unrealistic pricing is doing the "hobby" any good.

An unrealistically high price will keep many buyers away, especially those that are just browsing the classifieds, waiting to see if anything "pops up" and catches their eye. 

Casual buyers usually have a price range in the back of their mind, if something shows up that is close to do-able, their interest perks up. If the price is too high, even on something that they would really like to own, they're not likely to contact the seller. It's possible that the buyer and seller might be closer on a realistic price than first appears. I think it's better for everyone if the seller advertises their car closer to a price that they would be willing to accept.

It's hard  to judge the value of old cars. 

Some sellers have lots of paperwork and receipts for repair and maintenance. They have evidence that there was money spent on mechanical and cosmetic improvements. The cost of the refurbishment or restoration  usually won't be completely recouped by the seller, but it does help establish the value. As does the current condition of the vehicle. Despite price guides there is no reliable way to know if the asking price is fair or inflated. The car could be professionally appraised, I suppose. I might do that if I was ever to buy an expensive car.

On the other hand, used cars depreciate at a consistent level, unless there was an unusual situation where new cars are in short supply, which occurred during the pandemic. The original sales price is a known factor and generally the value drops every year. If I have my eye on a car that is currently selling for 20K, I just have to wait until time and depreciation will drag the value down to my level. 

This is why it's recent cars that have gotten my attention lately. 

For old guys like me, it's pretty hard to see asking prices for 50's, 60's and '70's cars shoot upwards in recent years. We used to pay 500-1,500 dollars for these cars back in the Day! 

However I have to accept the reality that a lot of the increase is just due to inflation in general, and the passing of multiple decades. 

I bought my first car, a '66 Mustang V8/four speed coupe in fair shape for 300.00 in the early '70's, I probably could have found a fastback or convertible for a couple of hundred bucks more! I was probably only making 2.00-3.00 dollars an hour then. Gas was 35 cents a gallon!

Okay, you get the idea. My mind has frozen on those values. I bought that Mustang almost 50 years ago! Get Real Boomer!  If I really want to buy an old car Today, it's time for a reality check. 

I spend a lot of time on the classified listings on the AACA (Antique Automobile Club of America) forum. I find the asking prices to be more realistic, and most of the cars are in pretty good shape. They do cost more however.

Most serious sellers have a realistic bottom line. If they don't have a pressing need to sell the car, they can hold out for a better price. As a buyer, I'm always hoping for a desperate seller who really needs the money!  

While I don't want to take advantage of some guy that's really down on their luck, a price can be negotiated that should satisfy both parties. That's capitalism. 

I had read an article in a motorcycle magazine written by a bike flipper. He wrote that if you don't see the buyer wince when you make your final offer, that means that you left some money on the table!

When I was buying Datsun Zs to part out, I finally got to experience what it's like to have the power on my side of the transaction. After inspecting the car I made my offer. I knew how much I wanted to make off the parts at a minimum. I wasn't going to pay more than I had to. I was always prepared to walk away. I had no emotional skin in the game. I got some pretty good deals back then. As always, cash in hand will prevail.

So, how much should that doggie be? It depends. "How much do you really want it?" That's a big part of the equation with vintage cars, It's not like they're making any more '63 Cadillacs. If the buyer is getting on in years, the window of opportunity to enjoy the car is certainly getting smaller. That provides a lot of motivation to the buyer.

There's a car lot in Santa Clara, American Classics and Customs, that sells collector cars in very nice condition. They are not cheap, but if you reasonably consider how much money and time it  would take to restore an old, tired, worn out car, it doesn't seem unreasonable. At my age, I probably have more money, or at least access to credit, than I've got time left!

I used to tell my Wife that my super power was that I just didn't really need or want ANY car that much, anymore, so I can resist buying anything. What goes along with that power is that I don't have much money to spend. This is a potent combination. I'm not likely to buy a car on a whim.

Have you done your due diligence to determine what the car should be priced at? 

All you can go on is comparable sales values. Actually, you can only see what comparable cars are priced at. If you are looking to buy a certain old car, chances are that you spend hours on the Net looking at the listings. There are price guides but I don't know how accurate they are. 

Those old project cars that I posted earlier are all for sale at a realistic price, some negotiable.

What's not negotiable is how much money each of them will need to become a usable vehicle. The CL ad for the oldest cars shows that the interiors look just as awful as the exteriors. They don't run and they will all need a complete mechanical refurbishment. The cheapest paint job I can get would start close to 1,000 dollars. Rebuilding the engine, transmission, and chassis will run well over ten thousand dollars, even if you do a lot of the work yourself. 

Suddenly a 10,000 dollar runner doesn't look so bad, and a nice original or partially restored car for 15-20,000, doesn't seem so ridiculous. You could easily spend twenty grand fixing up that old REO coupe and still not have a really nice car.

That's a lesson that the guys on the AACA forum have learned. Pay more upfront for a car that you can enjoy now, instead of many years from now. 

However things are not as bleak as I've been thinking. As I went through recent, active CL listings looking for examples of overpriced cars to prove my point, I found many that were available at attractive prices.  Some of these are true builder projects that will need a ton of work, others are up and running and could easily be a drivable project.

'38 REO 2,200  

'51 GMC 2,200

'56 Olds 2,200

'81 Trans Am 7,000

'74 Camaro 7,500

'69 Olds Cutlass 3,850 This was the best deal, it's a runner with a decent interior, and best of all, PRE SMOG. I'd jump on this one.

Model A roadster  5,300 Needs everything, but it runs and everything is available from the aftermarket. And it is an instant classic hot rod, just add money!

'77 Buick Riviera 4,500 This is close to my Vintage Lite ideal.

I might have been proven wrong, but that's okay. Actually I'm glad that I was. Muscle cars, classic hot rods, and Kustom fodder is still out there.  It's good to know that affordable, attainable project car candidates are still out there. You just have to have the cash on hand, keep your eyes open, make a firm decision, and be ready to move on it.  But be realistic, if you want to enjoy the car in the near future, buy something that is running, or close to it. That will be your best chance for success. 

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!