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Post by Leviathan on Jan 15, 2019 12:39:05 GMT -5
Hi Everyone,
(First off, love the site and the pics! Thanks for posting!!)
I’m looking at moving to Ottawa, Kanata area.
Most people want to know about schools, shopping, busses…but my wife and I are gearheads. We NEED to know about the car culture in Ottawa before we uproot and make a home here. I'm currently in AB.
I used to live out by Cornwall, loved driving the St lawrence run, out to lakes and rivers. Was hoping to test my fleet on them. I’ve got a 69 Charger resto-mod, Ferrari 355 (modified), Jag XKR, Magnum, and a pair of very unique Buicks.
General thoughts??
Some car questions:
How does Classic car insurance work out in ON? I pay about 200 a year per vehicle right now.
Cruises, meetups? Things by Make/nameplate or more general?
I mostly do my own work, but for parts, paint, and machine work…are there good repair/resto shops?
Thanks in advance for any help!
Having a front plate is the downside, as is the smog testing (only affects the 355, magnum, and XKR??). Anything else I should worry about?
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Post by brianandhisbad55 on Jan 16, 2019 11:01:14 GMT -5
Hello! Welcome in advance for your arrival in Ottawa! The car hobby in Ottawa and eastern Ontario/West Quebec is very very strong. From May to September there are events happening virtually every weekend in our region. There are cruise nights almost every night of the week in the region also. If you move to Kanata for example, there is a cruise night that happens there every Tuesday night at the Hazeledean Mall. There is actually a calendar put together every year by a group of local enthusiasts the summarizes all the events, car clubs and cruises for the coming season. It is being worked on now and should be ready to be distributed in middle to late February. I would say the probably the largest group in terms of popularity is the vintage muscle car, hot rod, and classics genre that your 69 Charger will fit right in with. There is a British car following as well but it is smaller, for your Jag. There are Ferrari's here in Ottawa but the number is very small compared to say Montreal or Toronto. There is an annual Ferrari parade that takes place each year in the part of Ottawa known as little Italy. It is a popular event! As for insurance, many of us insure our old cars through Hagerty Insurance. I insure my 55 Belair with them and it is agreed value coverage. Many use the same companies that they insure their houses etc with. It's a matter of shopping around to get the best deal. I suspect you will pay quite a bit more than the $200 per vehicle you are paying now. Ontario does have two license plates. We do have the ability to buy custom vanity plates (subject to availability) and we are allowed to use plates from the year of manufacture for our cars. So for example I have a set of original 1955 license plates on my 55 Chev. Newer vehicles are subject to periodic emissions testing. Your 69 Charger will be exempt from that. Since Ottawa is 30 minute drive from the border, a lot of parts are bought in the US and then picked up at the US border town nearby. UPS for example has a depot there that is used quite a lot. So that is a quick summary of what's happening here! Don't worry one bit that there are no gearheads in Ottawa and the area because rest assured there are plenty!!! I will add one last plug....there is a show in July in Syracuse, New York (three hour drive from Ottawa) that hosts roughly 8,000 cars 1985 and older over a three day weekend. It's the largest show in the Northeast and among the largest in the US. it is well worth attending, and again, your 69 Charger will fit right in! www.syracusenationals.com for more about it. Safe travels when you make the move to Ottawa! Brian
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Post by Leviathan on Jan 19, 2019 15:32:25 GMT -5
Hi Brian,
T H A N K S ! ! ! That really does help. I managed to find a house that has 7 garage spaces + a workshop so we took the plunge and accepted the job!
Weekly cruise-in would be awesome. I'll plan to attend the Syracuse drive - that sounds like a lot of fun. My 355 is a 95 so I'll have to put the cats back on it....and find some creative way to put a front plate on. The rest...well, I still have my old Ontario plates so those should be cool to use again (thanks for the tip!)
The US parts advantage WILL be nice. I've been paying a fortune in brokerage and exchange rip-offs. A local depot will be cool.
BTW - love the 55, easily one of my favorite cars.
One last question - does the driving season start around May or is it a bit earlier?
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Post by brianandhisbad55 on Jan 21, 2019 8:50:18 GMT -5
Typically in Ottawa the snow is gone by mid-April and old cars and bikes start to appear again on the roads. It just depends on mother nature and how fast the snow melts away! The organized events like the cruise nights get going the first week of May.
Best of luck with your move to Ottawa! We look forward to meeting you and seeing your fleet!
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Post by map87gn on Feb 3, 2019 17:42:13 GMT -5
Welcome Leviathan, A new face in the car community...and best of all you own Buicks....can't wait to see them since I am a bit biased on the Buicks Hope to see you in the new "cruising year" !!!!
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Post by cardesigner on Feb 12, 2019 20:25:53 GMT -5
Hi Brian, T H A N K S ! ! ! That really does help. I managed to find a house that has 7 garage spaces + a workshop so we took the plunge and accepted the job! Weekly cruise-in would be awesome. I'll plan to attend the Syracuse drive - that sounds like a lot of fun. My 355 is a 95 so I'll have to put the cats back on it....and find some creative way to put a front plate on. The rest...well, I still have my old Ontario plates so those should be cool to use again (thanks for the tip!) The US parts advantage WILL be nice. I've been paying a fortune in brokerage and exchange rip-offs. A local depot will be cool. BTW - love the 55, easily one of my favorite cars. One last question - does the driving season start around May or is it a bit earlier? I'll echo what others have said. Ottawa has a great car community! Lots of local shows and close to big shows in the US like Syracuse.
As for putting a front plate on some of your newer cars, there are some removable plate mounts you could consider. I know they are popular with Mustangs but they are often model specific. Might be worth researching if there are options for your cars.
Welcome to Ottawa!
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Post by Leviathan on Feb 18, 2019 21:54:50 GMT -5
Whew - thanks guys!
My house deal fell through (bad septic system), but the job starts in 2 weeks so I'm renting. Will have to bring the fleet out slowly but the dodge Magnum is out for the winter drives.
Hope to see you folks at the shows!
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