Gunsmoke
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Posts posted by Gunsmoke
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In many respects, cars as they age are like baseball cards. Sooner or later the "commons" are so plentiful they plateau at a "supply/demand" spot low enough to allow many to enter the collector card market and enjoy the hobby inexpensively. However the "MVP's, Elite players, Stars, HOFer's, and rare real oldies", perhaps less than 1% of the players, maintain their exclusivity, and typically only increase in value. I see Tri-5's and Mustangs and such in the same category, as well as most pre-war sedans, etc. All "common" cars, are collectible but not highly sought after. The cars that will always be sought after are the stars that were recognized as such from the outset but sold in small numbers because of price, limited production or some provenance issue. As someone mentioned, each generation's idea of a great model "ages out", and the next generation has a different lust. As such the older generation's collections will tail off with only the real gems/stars/exclusive ones retaining their cachet. Twas always such.
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Nice "survivor" even if it has a later GM engine. Personally I would limit work to getting it mechanically good for driving, such as having a mechanic do a careful refurbish of engine (clean, flush, compression test, points, plugs/wires, new oil flush rad new coolant, etc) transmission/rearend, attention to brakes, attention to wheels and tires, lights/horn working (maybe a $5K-$10K rebuild). Then enjoy the attention you'll get every time you confidently back it out of the garage. If you start a full restoration, add another $30K. Of course a good wash and tidyup is allowed!!
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I grew up in the area this bus would have operated, certainly no rail system. I don't expect any clues from front view will shed light on what lies beneath. Body/lights/bumper etc seem sorta homemade (some metal work shop). The grill is only curious piece, appearing to have a crank hole at lower center, but coming up too high (to bottom of windshield) to service a radiator (radiator would have to be in driver's compartment). So my thinking is that even the grille was either made up, or purloined from a truck like vehicle and simply "stuck" on the front and built around, or is the only visible piece of the rolling chassis lying underneath this crude body. So if we could find a grille that looks like that in some truck/tractor like vehicle that may be a close as we get.
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Great looking car, will be such an attraction where ever it goes, just the way I like'em! It is so much more enjoyable owning a car when all you need to worry about is keeping them mechanically fit and in a good garage (free of the 4M's, moisture, mice, mold, and moneypit).
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And it was a coupe, a pretty rare model! I remember in the mid 50's as a 8-10 year old sitting on the end our rural driveway watching cars go by and any coupe was rare, let alone a Plymouth.
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The OP question was "What year/s would general automotive production have peaked and declined during the very late 20's through the start of the war?" Automobile Quarterly\s book " The American Car since 1876", has a good summary of auto production by make (Ford, Chev, Buick, Dodge, Plymouth, Studebaker etc) and by year 1905-1970. For a rough year to year comparison, here are annual totals (rounded off) for the top 14 produced models in each year 1920-1949. For some years there would likely be another 50K-300K autos in other (small production) models not counted here. With a little over 1M in 1920, the first peak was in 1929 at over 4M cars and biggest initial dip was 3 years later in 1932 at 1M, essentially back to the 1920 level. The depression dip stretched 1931-1934 and the rebound from the depression peaked at 3.75M in 1937, and remained somewhat steady for 5 years with 1941 production at 3.55M. Post WWII, it took until 1949 for production among the top 14 models to pass the 1929 level, with production at 5M. Hope this answers the initial question. As for the reasons for any significant year to year increases or decreases (depression and WWII aside)(1937-1938 for example), most likely supply/demand related, with a lot of pent up demand in 1936/37 having been satisfied and so 1938 was an off year. AQ has same numbers for 1950-1970, but that will be for someone else to do the math!
1920 - 1.2M
1921 - 1.4M
1922 - 2.25M
1923 - 3.6M
1924 - 3.15M
1925 - 3.65M
1926 - 3.55M
1927 -3.8M
1928 - 3.4M
1929 - 4.2M HIGH
1930 - 3.6M
1931 - 1.8M
1932 - 1.0M LOW
1933 - 1.25M
1934 - 2.15M
1935 - 3.3M
1936 - 3.7M
1937 - 3.75M
1938 - 2.0M
1939 - 2.8M
1940 - 3.6M
1941 - 3.6M
1942 - 0.22M LOW
1945 - 0.075M LOW
1946 - 2.05M
1947 - 3.2M
1948 - 3.6M
1949 - 5.0M HIGH
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All the best Walt to someone I see as a pillar of this forum and a joy to read each time, as your passion comes through and you legacy grows. As a celebration, over past 2 days I read cover to cover AQ Vol 30#4 of summer 1992 which provides a comprehensive history of Fred and Augie Duesenberg and their great contributions to engine development, early racing, and stunning automobiles (with articles by Randy Ema, George Moore, Fred Roe, David Holls, Dwight Schooling, Freeman, Okeefe and Snyder). As many may realize the D brothers struggled financially throughout their lives but left an immeasurable legacy. Passion can do that.
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Mike said "When turning to the left the tire hits the drag link". Most late 20's/30's era steering linkages I've seen had a stop on the axle on both sides (referred to as lock to lock) which the steering arm on both sides came up against when at full turn, (and before steering box was at it's limit) preventing the wheel from striking the drag link (which would not be good). Many drag links had a specific built in curvature to prevent wheel contact. So I'm not sure Mike what you may have encountered, perhaps over-sized tires/wheels, or incorrect drag link. In designing these very simple systems i cannot imagine why any company would allow wheel/drag link interference.
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Recently had a request to draw a pattern for a friend who does very nice scroll saw work. He needed a TR6 pattern to fill an order. Nothing online, so this is what I made. I had a spanking new dark blue TR6 in 1970 (I was fresh out of university), and it was a great car for a few years until corrosion began to creep in. Thought I'd post the pattern here perchance anyone is interested in having copy. I always though the 3/4 rear view was its nicest perspective.
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hmmm... curious to hear some answers. Most 30's era steering boxes for cars are set up so that worm gear in box is dead center with sector gear in straight ahead position, and there are equal rotations of steering wheel in both directions lock to lock. So I would assume turning radius would be same for left or right. But, what do I know! Trucks may be different setup.
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I want to thank Matt Harwood for carrying so much of our mail on this important topic without picking fights. EV's WILL BE the primary mode of transport within 10-20 years, and the sky will not fall. It will be interesting to save these posts and look back on them in 2030-2035, I expect a lot of posters will be eating crow.
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What a great loking car for the period, reminds me of the earliest Ferrari/Cisitalia stuff. It is always interesting to look back on stunning designs like this from 1948 and wonder why Packard (or any of the then Big 3) didn't learn anything from it. Instead, in the following 10 year period American manufacturers went to BIG (overhangs, bulbous), strange shapes (jet age, toothy grills,) chrome, fins, and lipstick/makeup of all shades. The rationale was simple: The buying public were not into tasteful and thoughtful design, but rather thirsted for something different every year, and eventually the more ostentatious the better (by late 50's). By comparison, the European consumer was much more into refined design, and thus many European marques followed this " less is more" design philosophy. The skin on a car should just neatly wrap the bones and muscle, no more, no less.
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I understand the new owner is planning a new tourist attraction, Cadillac Ranch II.
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The sharply creased cowl and the rounded radiator shell suggest a mis-match. If rad is REO (along with chassis, headlights, fenders etc), then it is only cowl and tub that needs identifying. However, from front closeup view, frame, fenders and rad shell, headlights seem from one vehicle, but I don't see a REO with that rad shell dip on top? Dash picture should get us there shortly for main body. I'm stumped on what we have here.
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I could suggest this post is taking on the flavor of the next episode of Jurassic Park, but won't! The WSJ is a known & notorious Climate Change Denier, and while the article may be more or less accurate, my thoughts are that the trip was undertaken for the sole purpose of undermining the EV vehicle movement by recording every negative and underplaying any positives, classic one-sided journalism, so common to WSJ.
My advice, don't fall for biased reporting. The USA in particular has a huge stake in the success of the EV evolution. As Climate Change response continues over the next 20-40 years, the country that develops the vehicles and technology (batteries, charging stations, manufacturing, computerization, service capacity, marketing, recycling/reuse etc) will have a dominating role in meeting the worlds needs. I ask: do you want China, Japan or India playing that role?
1960's era thinking will be of no help. The business and technology leaders who can clearly see the future and plot a road to get there will be the Henry Fords of the future. The Government leaders who understand the balance needed to both support the development/marketing of EV's and also the need to maintain ICE usage in the transition period should be appreciated and not excoriated as grifters.
For once I would like to see someone on here (if they think it is so simple) set out what they would do for transport in view of what we are facing Climate Change wise, as opposed to howling like some brontosaurus.
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Anyone who considers themselves an automotive history enthusiast must have a full AQ set. I have them all, about 204 books including indices (sorry West!). They require about 10' of shelf space but no better use of shelf space IMHO. From 1962 thru last edition in 2012 the quality remained very high, the articles excellent, and the photography and illustrations among the finest. At $5-$7 an issue you will never find a better old car resource.
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Got the sunroof glass reinstalled today, Superior Glass locally did the job, $65Can(about $45USD), as someone suggested I dodged a bullet here. Although the glass was darkly tinted, I suspect UV rays thru the glass over time broke down the adhesive. No adhesive remained on the glass and what remained on the frame was hard as rock but firmly attached to the frame. So anyone with a similar setup (no mechanical fastening) and past 15 years old, should consider having theirs inspected. Likely any glass shop could carefully pry it off and re-afffix for less than $100.
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Nice one all around Peter, maybe "The One I Loved Back Then (The Corvette Song)" by George Jones could be played as well!
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Good to hear, keep us in the loop on your plans for it.
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Thanks John, Doug and Jack, and Pete for giving us a glimpse of the trove. As mentioned, hopefully some vehicles will at least partially fill someone's needs list, and down the road the what's left will get cleaned up and the potential of this nice property returned to some useful purpose.
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Thank you Peter for trying your best to herd the cats on this seemingly straightforward "non-car-related" issue (would it be on here if it was boats, furniture, construction debris, etc). Maybe we need a cat bylaw on here!! If it gets to page 2 might be time to euthanize!
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These G35 Coupes are a great driving car, plenty of grunt from the 3.6L six, and road handle (corner)very well. Although the car is 18/19 years old now, it is low mileage (less than 100K miles), my son owned it and when he traded up in 2020 I bought it from him. It is a 6 speed manual RWD and fun to drive, never driven in winter. They are very popular with the local tuner crowd, hardly a week goes by without some young guy asking me if it's for sale.
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Yes there is a fairly heavy interior sliding gizmo same look as headliner, tight-fitting, and it normally opens automatically with the sunroof (slides back into roof). I've never heard of a sunroof glass popping off, but learn something every day. Apparently they only secure with 2 sided tape of some sort. BTW Tom I was considering just what I could do if a new glass was not available, did the wire, padding, long grain on my '31 Chevy back in 2013, not that hard!
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Unusual NASH Wrench
in What is it?
Posted
Would be one way to avoid patent infringement!