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Car group hosts
collector car parts sale
SELMA — Car enthusiasts
are circling March 7 on their calendars, so they won’t miss the third annual Selma Swap Collector Car Parts and Used
Big Boy Toy sale.
Hosted by the Reedley Blossom Trail A’s, the sale
will bring hundreds of people to the Selma Flea Market at Mountain View and Highway 99.
At the sale, people will not only be on the hunt for a variety of car parts to fully restore their coveted classic
cars, everything from 1928 Ford Model As to 1957 Chevrolet Bel Airs, they’ll also have the chance to restock the garage
with toys.
With everything from classic car parts to used big boy toys —
boats, recreational vehicles, go-carts, Sea-Doos, snowboards and wakeboards — people won’t have a hard time finding
what they are looking for, they’ll have a hard time deciding what to walk away with.
“This is exactly the type of event that our area needs,” said Alan Borba, co-owner of the Selma Flea
Market, who is organizing the event as a member of the Reedley Blossom Trail A’s.
The Reedley Blossom Trail A’s is a group of more than 30 local residents who share a love for Model A Ford
cars and can frequently be spotted touring the Central Valley in them.
The
event will be open to the public from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 7, while vendors will get the chance to check in and setup
from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. the day before.
Tickets are $5 for admission, parking
is free and food and drinks will be available for purchase throughout the event.
Opportunities
are still available for vendors.
A space at the event costs $15, while selling
either a car, boat or RV at the event costs $20.
For additional information
on the event, contact the Selma Swap at (559) 896-3243, e-mail selmaswap@aol.com or visit www.selmaswap. com.
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Still dealin': Savvy collector car dealers know how to survive
by Brian Earnest
No matter what segment of the old car hobby you want to discuss these days, the
same 800-pound gorilla always seems to be in the room.
Nope, we just can’t seem to get away from the economy –
that big, hairy, smelly beast that’s giving everybody chilly feet, sweaty foreheads and nervous stomachs these days.
Certainly, the new car segment is right in the middle of the quagmire. At press time, Uncle Sam was still debating the merits
of bailing out the Big 3 automakers, who were making a desperate plea for a multi-billion-dollar lifeboat they say is
the only thing that will keep them afloat.
It’s pretty ironic that jillion-dollar companies with a commodity –
new automobiles — that John Q. Public can’t live without are on the verge of collapse, and yet most “little
guy” collector car dealers that sell vehicles we can certainly exist without — antique and collector cars —
are apparently holding their own.
No bailouts needed in the collector car hobby, thank you. And more than a few of the
dealers are willing to hand out some free advice to the big boys in Detroit about how to run their business in the future.
If they even have a business to run.
“They just owe so much money and their overhead has gotten so out of control,”
lamented Russ Noel, the longtime owner of Country Classic Cars in Staunton, Illinois. “Everybody just has to learn
to live within their means, and that’s part of the problem with GM, Chrysler and Ford. If you want to buy a house, you
don’t want to go out and shop for a $200,000, [or] $250,000 house if you only make $30,000 a year … You need
to sit down and think, ‘Can I really afford this.’ And it’s like that with buying cars, too.”
Certainly,
it’s comparing big apples and small oranges when you talk new cars vs. collector cars, but even in these trying financial
times, savvy collector car dealers agree: If you play your cards right, buy the right cars and plan for the long haul, the
antique car business can be pretty darn good even while the word “recession” is being thrown around.
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2010 Shelby GT500 Gets Hotter
Perhaps the first thing on buyers’ minds
these days is the economy, not 540 horsepower. But Ford’s Special Vehicle Team (SVT) has pulled out the stops to make
the upcoming 2010 Shelby GT500 more powerful than ever. The top version of the iconic Mustang will deliver not only the aforementioned
540 horsepower, but also a staggering 510 foot-pounds of torque, while downforce has been increased and drag reduced.
On
the side of sanity, new gearbox enhancements plus a new rear axle ratio mean the 2010 Shelby GT500 will provide better highway
fuel efficiency, but at the same time, deliver improved acceleration performance. The twin-disc clutch on the six-speed manual
transmission has been significantly upgraded, improving drivability. The discs on the car are larger and made of copper and
fiberglass to make them more robust. Largely because of the improved transmission, the 2010 model is expected to offer customers
improved straight-line acceleration, plus fuel savings when cruising on the highway in the top gears. Gears one through
four remain the same, but the fifth and sixth gears are both revised so that the 2010 version will turn lower engine revolutions
in those gears to deliver improved fuel efficiency. The new final drive ratio enables the improved acceleration in lower gears
while complementing the revised fifth and sixth gear ratios.
The new model also offers aggressive new exterior design
features with new functional details, such as the hood extractor to remove heat from the engine and a so-called “Gurney
flap” spoiler to tune rear downforce. The 2010 Shelby GT500 will be in dealer showrooms this spring.
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