SEEMS LIKE THE 2012 HOBBY KICKOFF IS HERE

Another busy couple of days coming up. Today I will be doing a remote radio broadcast on the Keith Larson show in Charlotte. I do this twice a year around the time of the Hornet’s Nest Swap meet down their. For several hours people will be calling in to talk about old cars. Most of them want to know what their old car is worth. I use the Old Cars Price Guide and my noggin to try to help them out.

Friday I’ll be heading to Muscle-Up Performance & Hot Rod Shop (www.muscleupperformance.com) in Janesville, Wis., to buy a V8-60 Ford engine for my MG hot rod. I already know what that is worth. The rebuilt engine is going to cost me $3,300. Ex-NASCAR driver Rich Bickle runs the shop and his dad Rich Sr., is a flathead expert.

After getting the engine I will head for the Jefferson Swap Meet run by Gary Esse’s Madison Classics (www.madisonclassics.com). This is one of the largest shows and swap meets in the country and has the best of all Car Corrals. The Car Corral is a great place to get a reading on what collector cars are really worth today — unless you want to go by every auction headline price you read. The prices at Jefferson are definitely more “real world.”

On Saturday its back to Manawa to do appraisals of cars and car stuff in the city’s first “Treasures of the Past” Appraisal Fair. My normal price on an appraisal is $300 a car, but the special price for a shorter appraisal during the Appraisal Fair only will be $15. So if you want a bargain on a good appraisal, stop by the Masonic Lodge in Manawa on Saturday. For details heck the Manawa Chamber of Commerce Website at www.manawachamber.org.