Jump to content

Anyone know Bert Huffman of Granite Falls, NC


Beltfed

Recommended Posts

When I originally designed the Zephyr Club's Website, I thought it would be a good idea to include pictures of all the model years and body styles. This would enable people unfamiliar with our cars to see what we were so interested in. I asked one of the club officers who might have the greatest variety of Zephyrs/Continentals in their collection and was told to contact Bert.

On my way to an event in North Carolina, I took a side trip to Granite Falls. Bert greeted me in the main building of the sock factory that had been in his family for generations. He was in a wheelchair and quite infirm at the time, so he introduced me to his son, Lee, who would take me on the "tour." Lee and I then proceeded to a separate, very large brick building in which the car collection was stored. As we went in and Lee turned on the lights I was blown away by the sight. There were rows and rows of cars (and trucks) of every marque, but mostly Ford, Mercury and Lincoln. They were arranged in chevron pattern organized by marque and year of manufacture. Lee said, "The Zephyrs and Continentals start here and pretty much fill up these two rows," pointing to perhaps 50-75 cars, all neatly arranged.

I took picture after picture with my first-generation Kodak digital camera. Many of the cars were unrestored originals. The restored ones were done to a very high level of quality. Bert, in his wheelchair, joined us after a while. He had a story for every car -- when he had acquired it, how he found it, who had owned it, etc. All the rarest models, those with low production numbers, were represented. Both he and Lee were magnificent hosts, continuously telling me to take my time and to enjoy the collection.

The pictures I took that day became the core of the "Photos" page on the Website. Over the years, I have tried to upgrade that page with higher quality imagery, but I've kept a few of Bert's and Lee's cars to remind me of their unbelievable collection. ...and their gracious hospitality.

post-30785-143142688753_thumb.jpg

post-30785-143142688758_thumb.jpg

post-30785-14314268876_thumb.jpg

Edited by ezdusit (see edit history)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

my car was one of Berts rejects. he must have found a better one, as his collection includes a 06h-76. it was rescued from

a lost interest restorer, in poor condition...missing parts from a failed restoration

.Nice gentleman...I think his son has some GTO's and muscle cars...

Huffman Finishing Co. was on the bill of sale, no titles for Carolina cars of that era...That made it fun for this here

yankee to license and insure...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks guys, sorry to learn of his passing. Living in East Tennessee, I don't know the whereabouts of a '37, '38, or '39 original Zephyr in my part of the world. Joined the WOTZ to get a directory of Zephyr owners but as yet (1-1/2 years) have not received one. Thanks for the info.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...