Dan Hiebert

Ditto. There are several publications that can provide a good estimate of an antique car's value, and not the Barrett-Jackson value, either. I used to go to Barnes & Noble's automotive section to look them up, so I wouldn't have to buy the book. Rather cheap of me, I know, but that was back when I had to be. Nowadays, I don't care so much about the value, unless it's for insurance purposes. Like most here, it bugs me when one of the first questions I get asked when someone is checking out our car is "what's it worth?"

So true, but that tactic doesn't seem to work very well in my case...

I had one of the Savage-Stevens of those in 20 gauge for years. It's what I learned to hunt birds "on the wing" with in high school. Well balanced, rugged, and easy to maintain. You're gonna like it!

I think climate and soil conditions contribute a bit, too. The Niagara frontier, between Youngstown and Lewiston, NY, on the US side of the Niagara River from Niagara-on-the-Lake have an annual peach festival, (I forget the exact location) wherein we had some of the peachiest tasting peaches I've ever had.

That sounds to me like he/she could have been intoxicated, probably a good thing they got stuck.

First day of Spring on I-95 north from Bangor. (Traffic was heavy...) Then Monday we had 6" of the white stuff, and some scattered flurries this morning. Gotta love it!

Those cable barriers are supposed to be the cat's pajamas, supposed to hold a vehicle, rather than bounce it back into traffic, or let it through to the other lane. But I think they have speed limitations. That car didn't look like it had slowed down much before it hit the barrier. That was definitely high on the pucker factor, glad you'uns were unscathed.

That's the only part that's ever broken on our D24, once on a front, once on a back. Both times while out and about. No warning, or way to tell its gonna happen, it just does. One was on the car when we got it, but unsure if it was original. The other was a replacement, but don't remember where I got it. Replaced all of them with parts from CARQUEST when I completely rebuilt the brakes 9 years or so ago. Car will still stop, but makes a heckuva noise going down the road, and drags that wheel really hard. "Exciting" when it's one of the front wheels.

Another tree related....."factoid" (sorry, couldn't help it). In the 1700's, all Eastern White Pine trees with a circumference of 1 foot or more, within 1 mile of any navigable waterway in "Massachusetts" - which at the time included what became Maine in 1820, were reserved and marked for the Royal Navy to use as masts, due to the lack of suitable trees in Europe (Eastern White Pine grows tall and straight). That meant most of the trees at the time, which severely impacted colonial lumber production, the revolt against which is credited to be one of the first acts against the Crown that led to the American Revolution.

That's how to tell where we've been in the ol' D24, too! The less the wind, the longer you can follow our "trail". In rural Maine, a burn permit is required for all open outdoor fires, but not when there is snow on the ground. There are a few exceptions. They're really careful about the woods here. If you're not in the city, there's a 90% chance you're in forest, and even in the city there's a good chance you're in forest. Not a lot of enforcement capability in the rural areas (gotta watch out for them "North Woods Law" guys, tho )

Well, it was 48 in Portland - that's short sleeve weather for us....

Ach! Went to a meeting in Portland today. Blowing snow here in Aroostook County, changed to "wintery mix" around Bangor, then plain old rain closer to Portland. Only snow in southern Maine is the piles in the parking lots, while we still have a foot or so here in Ludlow. Clear drive back until Aroostook County, and back into the slush. Got back to the office to find a quarter inch of ice on my truck, no biggie, except it floods my garage when it melts - silver lining - at least it keeps the dust down... Still another month or two of winter here. Groundhog Day is the epitome of anticlimactic around here - there's ALWAYS another 6 weeks of winter here on GH Day. Thanks for the well wishes, Bob!

I got them downloaded no problem. I had completely forgotten that our cars even had those, a good project for the rest of winter (we still have two months of it here, at least, plenty of time for my procrastinating self). Thank you very much for making this effort, and especially for sharing with us.

I'm fortunate to have learned from virtually every one of my stupid mistakes, but that doesn't mean I don't regularly come up with new ones. I'm also getting to where there's a chance I won't remember some of those older lessons, and I'm in a new environment providing new "learning opportunities". None car related so far, but ask my fourth-point-of-contact ("butt" - for you non-paratroopers out there) about being my first-point-of-contact when I ventured onto my ice-packed yard to get some tools from the shop for a brake-job in the garage (so, sort of car related) last night: Wife - "You should probably put your ice cleats on, I busted my a** a little while ago." Me - "Nah, I'm only making one trip, I know where it's slippery." Shortly there after I watched from a splayed-eagle reclining position as my brake-bleeding jar gracefully twirled and slid down our 200' ice packed driveway to the street. Luckily, no neighbors out to witness, and my wife didn't see it either. So I put my ice cleats on and fetched the jar...as well as the rest of the tools I needed from the shop.

Our D24 does not have door jamb switches for the dome light on either of the driver's side doors, but there is a slide switch on the driver's side B-pillar for the dome light, which does not turn on the map light under the dash. Both passenger side doors have a jamb switch, the front turns on the map light, too, the rear only the dome light. The holes for those jamb switches are round. But it does have a key lock on both front doors - the "extra" one due to it being a Custom, I think.

Unfortunately, horns are essential equipment in many places now, never seen anyone use their horn as much as in D.C. Around here it's needed more to urge the wildlife off the road, except for moose during the rut, then it's a challenge that brings a look of disdain from the critter, right before it staves in your grill....

...a nice collection of pictures, then. I learned how to shoot pistols with my Dad's Ruger MK-3, for the longest time I thought it was a "Luger". Good call on the 10-22. You'uns will have a lot of fun with that one.

Been there, the place is a hoot. I thought folks were kidding when I was first told about it. One of my nephews asked me just a couple days ago if there are rednecks in Maine (he's born and bred in New Jersey). I told him it's beginning to look to me like that was invented here.... (It's only about 30 miles from where the WPC meet will be, too)

"Cowboy Action" shooting is a hoot! Kind of like modern IPSCC (I don't remember what the acronym stands for, but its "combat" shooting, as opposed to bulls-eye) but restricted to double barrel shotguns, single-action six-shooters, and lever action rifles. Carlsbad, NM used to have an annual shoot (may still) that we'd go watch for fun. I've got a pre-'70 Winchester 1894 ("pre 1970" being a "real" Winchester, American Repeating Arms bought it out in 1970) (maybe a "learn something new every day" moment for some) that I tried out on the rife course one year, didn't do so well. Hit everything, but that loop handle really speeds it up - which mine doesn't have - so I bombed the time. You've got a nice Ruger collection there, Sharps40. I'm rather partial to Ruger myself.

Excellent, that's only three hours down the road (a drop in the bucket compared to what you'uns would be driving). It's on my calendar. Barring intervention from work, we'll plan on being there!

We had a 2012 Dodge Durango for a few years. Never did find where they put the battery. Owner's manual only said where to attach cables to jump start it if needed. Probably in the same place as that '12 Grand Cherokee, since they're the same platform. Now we have one of those Jeep Patriots, battery is right up front where it's "supposed to be".

Check your clutch free play. The overcenter spring is only there to reduce clutch effort. There should be 3/4 inch (check the manual, going by memory here) throw (noticeably lighter pressure) in the clutch pedal before you feel it start to disengage (grab) the clutch.

That's my method - and there should be a fairly even pressure all the way through the pedal throw.

Mopars to Maine?

Most of the attendees are not from DC, but our HQ component personnel, of course, are, and they're the ones running the show. I'm the only one out of 20 from "the field" that has to go through an east coast connection to get anywhere, this time it was DC. BUT - the meeting has been postponed. Not only can our HQ folks not fly out, they can't even get to the airport, or out of their neighborhoods for that matter. Federal Govt. in DC will be closed tomorrow. The fellow I was talking to lives in Manassas, they've got 35 inches on the ground, said its doubtful DC will be open for business Tuesday, too. I just hope everyone plays it safe, heed warnings, stay off the roads, etc.