StillOutThere

Its a beautiful survivor and reference car. Correct year identification is 1936.

Who sells the best quality patch panels for my '57 Ranchero? I'm not looking for the cheapest. Quarter panels and rocker panels need repaired. Floors done by previous owner. What was your experience? Thanks

My interest in the Spohn Customs built 1950-57 on primarily US (and a few foreign) chassis continues. If you have any knowledge of these cars historical or present day, please post here or message me. THANKS.

Thought I would bring this back to the top for the new AACA members and the few that read the Woody section. Any news on Terraplane woodies? I personally still only know of that one green '37 that still actually exists. Thanks. "Terraplane SEVEN" page on Facebook.

When a Hudson product tag says "Car No." that is your VIN. It is simply a serial number. The only info it will offer is the model for the year. "70..." is a commercial car. "71..." is standard Terraplane. "72..." is a Terraplane Deluxe all for 1937. There would only be a body number tag on a convertible body. The law enforcement back-up VIN is stamped into the frame above the riear hanger of the right front leaf spring. Might be coated over with paint, under coat, or deteriorated from surface rust. Go for it with a scraper and wire brush and coarse steel wool. Visit "Terraplane SEVEN" on Facebook.

Perhaps this time my photo will attach?

When new, the '33 Essex-Terraplane 8 cyl. cars had the highest horsepower to weight ratio of any car built in the WORLD. That means they were the fastest accelerating car in the world in 1933. I have owned the same car in LHD version fully restored and I can tell you it is an exciting car to own and experience driving. I'd like to experience a Pierce Arrow some day. Photo attached of the '33 ET8 convertible coupe (cabrio) I had.

They are 1960 tail lamps. The '61s are totally different.

The so-called "hog troughs" which are the frame members under the door sills are the first area to rust out on an Avanti. Many have been repaired. Critical structurally. Get the car up on a lift for inspection if at all possible. If there are rust problems, the fiberglass starts flexing so look for cracks at the corners of the good, especially towards the windshield. Also look for stress cracks at the corners of the trunk lid near the back window. And body damage anywhere in fiberglass speaks to past accidents. Run your hand inside the edge of all the wheel wells. Mechanically, the body of an Avanti is wrapped TIGHTLY around the Lark convertible underpinnings and can be difficult in several areas to work on. Bringing one 'back to life' may be a challenge. I'd personally recommend buying a running driving car that someone else has been maintaining as there may be no end in sight once you start on a car that was parked for unknown reasons decades ago. I loved my Avanti for its styling and enjoyed the driving despite poor front /rear weight distribution.. Good luck!

Want to buy 1951 Kaiser Deluxe "torpedo" type bumper guard. Need for left rear of my '51 K Deluxe coupe. Right front guard is the same. NOS are out there or excellent used is fine. When I have the pair I will be replating the set of rear bumper and its guards. Photo shows the right rear torpedo guard on my car. I need the other, left side guard. Thanks!

Fantastic fender trims carrying the grille motif around the car. ENJOY your great purchase.

RBK, thanks for posting! So pleased to hear of another Stude vendor and stash and that the building is STILL automotive.

Jack M. You may have seen my avatar car, the '52 Spohn Palos at the Petersen Museum some time during 2013 while in the "FINS" display. It was coachbuilt by the Spohn Carosserie in Ravensburg, Germany, probably for a USAF pilot and was based on the 1940 Ford he drove in for customizing. I won't hijack the thread here by posting pics of it. It has its own page at Kustomrama, is mentioned at Forgotten Fiberglass (it is steel) and I administer a Facebook page called Spohn Custom Enthusiasts. Spohn Customs vary greatly based on the customer's orders but many including mine share the rear styling elements of Harley Earl's GM LeSabre concept car. Also see Spohn at the Coachbuild.com web site. Thanks.

Anyone care to comment on the "custom" which is my avatar?

Rat rods (a very broad term) are generally constructed from pieces left over from restorations. Parts that restorers replaced with better parts. I've seen equally TERRIBLE looking restorations and you surely have too where a good car was destroyed by someone with inadequate skills, knowledgte or too tight a checkbook. How many times have you seen rare valuable pot metal destroyed by the "restorer" who wouldn't pay for proper chrome plating?

So what are you saying? ONLY the restorers should get the easy cars to work on? Bit selfish. The cars are out there, advertised for sale. Generally the restorers will NOT pay the asking price and if the rodder steps up, he deserves the car to do with as he wishes. That's capitalism. The American way.

To which I would tell you there isn't a day that goes by that I don't hear of yet another INTENDED RESTORATION that has either never been begun and is deteriorating further in storage or that was partley disassembled before money or health ran out. The car hobby is a continuum and we all are dreamers whether restorers or rodders.

The car hobby is a continuum, not a polarization. There are restorers who are rodders as well as there are rodders who are restorers. There are hundreds of posts on the HAMB regarding cars being so nice and authentic or so rare that they should not and will not modify them. There should be more posts in AACA from restorers saying this or that barn find common four door sedan or two door is so deteriorated that it would be better off hot rodded or customized than sinking tens of thousands of family dollars into it with no hope of ever getting it back. We ALL need weatherstripping and reproduction lenses and mechanical parts for rodding OR restoring. It is the very breath of this total hobby that makes these projects economically feasible because ALL cars need these items.

Whatever the latest Dexron-Mercon ATF formula is is fine and best for your seals and hoses. I haven't seen any discussion anywhere by anyone that anything out of the very ordinary is needed. I understand your concern but it is unnecessary to my knowledge.

Are you looking for the full set inside the car or one particular frame for one window? Which?

Got a VIN for this Italia?

Be careful of George Laurie. Makes beautiful parts but he is A THIEF. Constant posts about him in the Forward Look group forum. Most recent a guy that sent him over $800 a year ago and got NOTHING. Been this way for over a decade. He needs to be run out of business so someone else can learn the trade who is HONEST.

There are some two dozen trailers storing the cars which are quickly loaded when they get in from touring as the weather has been problematical.

Some two dozen trailers in the parking lot of the YO Hotel right off IH-10 60 miles west of San Antonio. A few cars out testing in a light drizzle as we leave the last couple days poor weather. Hope to meet some folks and see all the cars in the evenings when returned from tours.

Best evidence I've been able to find suggest about two dozen Spohn Customs were built in the '50-57 era. Spohn closed in mid-57 and did innumerable cars concurrently but still not a sufficient number to retain their craftsmen. As contracts and employees dwindled, the end was inevitable, as it had been for most prewar coachbuilders. I have a database listing the Spohn Custom cars (defined as American chassis with coachbuilt bodies to owner preferences). Most Spohn Customs received the LeSabre tail treatment but not all of them. I'm also very fond of the attached '50 Oldsmobile done by Spohn very much as an American-style custom of the time with chop and section work.