JamesDane.Com Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Can anyone tell me (tried a Google search to no avail) how one get's into a rumble seat? Is there a step or pad on the rear fender to help or do you climb in from behind the seats in the enclosed part of the car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&J Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Most have two steps. One on fender top and one at the bumper, or low on the fender. Some fancy big cars had 3, Two on the fender, and one at bumper. and one model of big Chrysler and perhaps others, had a tiny side door to help get in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesDane.Com Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 Thank you. It must have been interesting for flappers in those pencil skirts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesDane.Com Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 OK, now I see why they were invented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Left foot on lower step. right foot on fender step. left foot on rumble seat cushion, slide on down. The fun is in getting back down on the ground.... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 It helped to be young and athletic. Roadsters with rumble seats were for the 'fast' crowd of sports and flappers. They made sedans and limousines for the middle aged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3makes Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Hey Bob, Are you now related to that girl? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brass is Best Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Here are some rumble seats. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Few cars had doors to access a rumble seat, here is a RR Phantom II with a door. It's easy to fall and go ass over tea kettle getting in and out of a "dickey" aka rumble seat. I enjoy riding in them often. Ed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 (edited) I have always loved this style Imperial with the side door on the rumble seat. Body by Locke....Rats....edinmass beat me to it. Edited April 8, 2017 by keiser31 (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Back when rumble seats were in regular use, did any shoes scratch the paint on the fender? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Just now, John_S_in_Penna said: Back when rumble seats were in regular use, did any shoes scratch the paint on the fender? I am pretty sure it was unavoidable. Imagine high heels on the rumble seat cushion.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 1 minute ago, John_S_in_Penna said: Back when rumble seats were in regular use, did any shoes scratch the paint on the fender? I **insist** that hard sole shoes must be removed before entering my 1930 Pierce rumble seat.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 Since we are so many decades removed from that part of history, many people today probably don't realize: The first rumble seats did not fold. Today, people might call those rear bucket seats "mother-in-law seats," but I have seen in an article more than 100 years old that they were referred to as rumble seats. In fact, one of our local AACA members has a 1908 EMF Model 30 double-rumble roadster. He wondered why the factory had so named the body style, but based on what I had found, I could tell him that the name came from the two rear bucket seats-- two "rumble seats" as they were known then. (See picture of black car.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 (edited) And, of course you GOTTA love these KisselKars....THAT would be an exciting ride....if that doesn't blow yer hair back, NOTHING will.... Edited April 9, 2017 by keiser31 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 Some cars such as this Packard had a step in front of the rear fender.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 On the Watkins Glen track at the Pierce-Arrow Society meet in 2011. I think edinmass lapped me four times in his 1936 V-12.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 I can't drive fifty five! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesDane.Com Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 1 hour ago, Grimy said: On the Watkins Glen track at the Pierce-Arrow Society meet in 2011. I think edinmass lapped me four times in his 1936 V-12.... They look cold back there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brass is Best Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 21 hours ago, keiser31 said: And, of course you GOTTA love these KisselKars....THAT would be an exciting ride....if that doesn't blow yer hair back, NOTHING will.... Isn't this called a "Dickey Seat"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarNucopia Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 When I was a kid, I'd crawl in through the golf club door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, Brass is Best said: Isn't this called a "Dickey Seat"? I think dickey seat is the English version of rumble seat. The Kissel items are more like Mother-in-law seats. Edited April 9, 2017 by keiser31 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 10 hours ago, JamesDane.Com said: They look cold back there. Later that day, they got WET, too! The geezer memory fails as to the location, but after lunch at an historic farm, it was unmistakable that a drenching of Biblical proportions was inevitable for the afternoon. Top and side curtains went up (even on Pierce-Arrows, side curtains leak), but the ladies in the rumble seat survived a thorough drenching on the 20 miles back to the host hotel in Fairport, NY. Talk about good sports!! All part of the fun! At least there was NO flat tire or other malfunction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 If you like roller coasters you'd love a ride in the front rumble seat on a 1901 Stanley Steamer. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victorialynn2 Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 My father had a Buick with a rumble seat when I was in High School. He took a friend and me to a game in our Cheerleading outfits as we sat in the back. I actually hunched down where your feet go as we went through town. I was so embarrassed. LOL I don't remember it being hard to get in and out and luckily we had sneakers on so they didn't pose any damage to the seat we had to step on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 Has anyone seen an accessory windshield for a folding rumble seat? The following is from a 1930 Packard catalogue. I've never seen one myself. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron hausmann Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 All, Strictly speaking, Kissel Kars had rumble seats from 1925 thru 1929 when they went bust. From 1919 to mid 1923, they had "outrigger seats" which swiftly became known also as "suicide seats" or "mother-in-law seats". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron hausmann Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 Here are pics of the Kissel Gold Bug "suicide seats". These cars will go 70 MPH and since most roads back then were gravel, one can see why the name "suicide" is appropriate. Ron Hausmann P.E. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ipeeforward Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Hi All, You need to find a willing volunteer for a start and it always causes a laugh. I drove for a wedding last autumn where the Bride and Groom were happy to hitch up and climb in. And yes we call it a Dickey seat this side of the pond. Yours John F Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dei Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 As others have described, step plates are used to get in and out but.... At six four, my Whippet isn't easy to cram myself into it under that rear deck! My good neighbour insisted in trying but.... It almost took a shoe horn to get him back out! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Dobbin Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Notice that all the steps are almost exclusively on the right hand side, except the Packard. Like door locks being on the right side, it was a safety feature to enter & exit to the curb side. I see a lot of restored cars add the left side step to balance the trim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest spooker Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 I carry a short step ladder behind the seat of my 1936 Ford Deluxe 5 window coupe.. The ladder placed beside the right rear fender will assist any of our older Church ladies to climb right into the rumble seat. Spooker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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