Shipping Question????

[undertaker]

Greetings All,

I am new to this forum and have recently purchased a 1954 Fleetwood in Billings, Montana and need to get the car here to Tennessee, The car may be up to the 1800 mile trip but I'm not sure I am. I am looking for someone to get the car here in a reasonable amount of time for a reasonable fee. Montana is apparently "off the regular route" of the normal shippers and they all say it could be quite some time before they get to it. Any suggestions would be greatly valued at this point.

Regards,
James

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

G'day James,

Congratulations on your purchase, and Billings is a lovely place to visit.

We drove through there in '02, and everyone said it wasn't worth stopping at, but we found it nice.

Sorry I cannot assist you in the transporting, but have you thought of finding a couple of friends to go with you and making it a fun trip?

Bruce.

[jeff1956]

How close is the closest normal route from billings?  Also, is the previous owner capable/willing to take the car there to meet the shipping company(even for a reasonable fee).  I would see if that is a possibility..otherwise you may be waiting until someone in the Billings Montana area gets a car shipped to them, before yours gets picked up.  It would save you the headache of having to either 1.go get the car and drive it all the way back, which i would not recommend with a new unfamiliar purchase( buy a AAA membership or some sort of roadside assistance, just in case you need it) 2. Have the seller/previous owner take the car to the closest city near Billings that is a normal route and have it picked up there, which would be my choice.  3. Fly out and personally drive the car to meet the shipper in the closest town and then fly back and wait for the car.  The last being probably the most expensive option.  I guess this would all depend on how close the normal route comes to Billings, Montana.  I think driving it the 1800 miles would be my LAST option....with an unfamiliar purchase, unless it was a brand new car, I would not trust it to take you the 1800 miles....plus with a car of this vintage parts are sometimes several days to weeks away.  Just my opinion.  If you knew the car and all, it wouldn't be as much of a concern, but that's just me.

Jeff

Edit:  Where in Tennessee are you located?  I'm not that far from Tennessee myself...

[undertaker]

Thanks for the thoughts.
   I have considered most of them as well. I am not comfortable driving that car that far yet, when we get better acquainted, then I might try a longer trip. I am just off of I-75 between Knoxville and Chattanooga and would gladly meet a shipper somewhere around the Interstate, even if it were Knoxville, Nashville..... Memphis... I'm begining to get desperate .

Thanks Again,
James

[Fred Zwicker #23106]

Just recently, I almost bought a 56 Pontiac Safari in Montana and after getting close to making the purchase, started to check about shipping and ran into the same situation.  I was in process of securing a flight from Pittsburgh to Denver and then renting a car to drive north to the center of Wyoming to take a good look at the car.  However on that weekend, there was 24" of snow in Denver and 36" north, so I gave up on the purchase.  Too bad as it was a really nice car and the owner was very honest with his description and was also a nice "old car guy".  He finally sold the car to a used car dealer who was also from Wyoming, only four hours away. 

At work, I have access to our heavy duty diesel truck and closed car hauler trailer, but the center of Wyoming is just too far off the beaten track and the trip back and forth would take a good part of a week and at a huge cost, considering fuel costs, hotel, meals, etc.  It turned out for the best, as I later located an even nicer 1955 Safari in Iowa and we picked it up in our trailer last week (10-12 hour drive each way, which makes for a nice trip).

You may be able to arrange shipping through a new car dealer, as they ship cars all the time.  In remote areas, the delivering trucks are probably returning empty, so might be able to haul your car part way to a centralized area for pickup by another carrier. 

Fred

[Walter Youshock]

Can't help you with the shipping problem, but welcome to the club!  As a fellow Funeral Director, it's good to see more of us have an interest in vintage Cadillacs!!!  After all, if you want a perfect, low-mile car, look to your friendly neighborhood undertaker...

[undertaker]

Can't help you with the shipping problem, but welcome to the club!  As a fellow Funeral Director, it's good to see more of us have an interest in vintage Cadillacs!!!  After all, if you want a perfect, low-mile car, look to your friendly neighborhood undertaker...

Yes, I have a 1992 Fleetwood, 6 door limo at home. It has 72,0000 miles on it and was a funeral home car...... almost a new car.

[76eldo]

Look in Hemmings Motor News, or go to Hemmings.com and look under auto transport (services offered).  There used to be a bunch of smaller Mom and Pop type folks with trucks and trailers for hire that did custom runs like what you need.  I would stay away from DAS and other open carrier transport that will treat your precious old car like a 92 Carolla.  Also watch out for "brokers" that sell your load to someone else, and then you4r car ends up getting loaded on and off a few times, overnights in parking lots/terminals, etc.

The more the car changes hands during the trip and gets loaded and unloaded, the more possibility of damage.

Another idea is to have a CLC member go and look at the car and see if they think it's safe to drive back, and just drive it.  Could be a fun trip!

Brian

[undertaker]

Another idea is to have a CLC member go and look at the car and see if they think it's safe to drive back, and just drive it.  Could be a fun trip!

Brian

The seller tells me there is nothing he knows of that would keep it from making the trip. I have checked in to flying out and driving back. A second look by another member would make me feel better, but how would I find someone in the area that could and would do that?

Thanks Again,
James

[Otto Skorzeny]

Post a request here or look at the membership roster to find someone in Billings and contact him.

[undertaker]

Post a request here or look at the membership roster to find someone in Billings and contact him.

As I said I am new to this forum and club. How would I go about doing the above mentioned? Is there a roster online? I have joined the CLC, but have not recieved a # or any other information yet, but it has not even been a week yet.

Thanks,
James

[jeff1956]

before setting off on your 1800 mi journey i would def do a couple things. i would change all the belts and hoses( heater and rad) unless the guy can produce a receipt showing theyve recently been done. hoses deteriorate from the inside out.   check the carb....most that are rarely driven can cause issues. mine drove fine no leaks....when i got to my destination i heard sizzling....gas pouring out of the carb due to stuck valve....lucky it didnt catch fire...also buy a new fuel pump just in case u need it....they can still be ordered from reg parts houses. have the rearend checked and check the trans also. if tires are old replace them as most likely theythey will fail somewhere on the 1800 mi journey. chk the spare and jack....have the brakes checked as well if it hasnt been recently done and also service the gal.....i know this is redundant info but sometimes we forget all these things and shes not a new car.......

jeff

[Jim Thompson]

Use someone you know who has a diesel truck and trailer. I have done it both ways and will not use a carrier again.

[undertaker]

Use someone you know who has a diesel truck and trailer. I have done it both ways and will not use a carrier again.

I tried a carrier. I could tell right off it was not going to work. They brokered it out, the driver took the job, had other things to do and put it off. I didn't have a problem waiting a couple more days but he told me one thing, the seller another, and his dipatcher another...and on and on so I just said forget it and here I am. I had read all of the sites saying not to let a broker handle it and so on but I was so thrilled when he hold me how quickly it would be picked up and delivered that I " leaped with out looking".

Thanks,
James

[undertaker]

  Thanks for all the thoughts. I have the shipping in the works. The gent doing it is also a CLC member out of GA. and he is gonna put her in an enclosed trailer and get home. I can't wait!!!!!!

Thanks Again All,
James

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Great news.

I thought it would come to fruition.

Gotta love this Club.

Bruce.

[grinch]

Fruition?  I had to look that one up.  Someone bought 'word of the day' toilet paper!

[caddy_carazy]

Fruition?  I had to look that one up.  Someone bought 'word of the day' toilet paper!

This is a common term here in Great Britain and all her Commonwealth countries.

[Otto Skorzeny]

It's common in the USA, too.

[undertaker]

I worked with a man who used that word often. That's the only way I knew what it meant.

Regards,
James