[Dealership Emblem - Brooklyn NY]

This was the earliest form of dealer emblem I have seen- was on a model T dash up

here in Saskatchewan 

[Reunited with an Old Friend]

My 6’6 inch frame would be a definitely tight fit for the Russell- but I think it’s probably do-able. My girls did indeed like the car- they likes all 3 actually ( 1912 Reo was the third) and enjoyed seeing them. I own a model T roadster pickup - with a Ruckstell- and it is just as small or smaller.  I have driven a 1911 T touring and found it much roomier than my 27 pickup for sure. Thankfully both of my girls are not built like me and would have no problem fitting in the driver’s seat - and they already are adept at double clutching. 

[Reunited with an Old Friend]

While growing up I wa surrounded by cars. Dad was a car guy, as were most of our family friends. When I was 5 or so, over at my grandparents house in Moose Jaw, SK, I discovered that just accross the alley from their house was the home of Harold Loney and his lovely wife. In his garage, in addition to a Morris Minor convertible and a Morris minor traveller, accross the front of the garage was the most magnificent touring car. I was enamoured with it immediately. I’d been around model ts and model as, but this car was bigger and it was different. Harold welcomed 5 year old me in, and for years I would visit his garage when at my grandparent, and he would let men play in that car , as well as give me little jobs helping him on the garage. This went on for many years. 
The car was a very rare 1915 Russell Touring. Canadian-only made by the Ccm bicycle company. He had found it and restored it himself over the course of many years. He rarely drove it, but it was always covered up in the front of the garage where he was always tinkering on it. Harold’s health declined, and his daughter took both Harold and his wife to be near her in Ontario.  None of us were aware of what happened to any of the cars. Years later I saw the Morris convertible in a nearby town, but the rumour was that the Russell had gone to a museum in Ontario. 
Fast forward 30 years, and I was dropping off a Model T part with a fellow in Calgary, touring his collection and there was Harold’s Russell! I was so happy to see it again. 
that was a few years ago, and I was in contact with its current owner, Peter Findlay in Vancouver. He has recently acquired the car- the only 1915 known to exist, and has spent the last couple of years sorting it out and getting it into touring condition again. 
on Saturday I was pleased to get a tour of Peter’s collection and get a ride in the 15. Peter told me that the car is very easy to drive and reliable- he uses it as a daily driver to run errands. It’s a six cyl continental engine and is smooth and powerful. We took it for a ride around Burnaby ( a suburb of Vancouver, BC). I was so happy it has a good home and is seeing regular use. Peter is a fine gentleman who keeps old vehicles running in excellent condition. The Russell is in good company, sharing the garage with a 1910 Russell as well- that one has the 4 cyl Knight engine. I was lucky enough to get a ride in that one too- the sleeve-valve engine was so quiet. 

[Old Snow Vehicle adaptions & otherwise]

[Happy St. Patrick's Day]

[Vintage Tractor Sold for More Than $1 Million]

9 minutes ago, Walt G said:

Well at that kind of money then it deserves its own class at all the concours - "Pebble", "Amelia" ,  all the hi(ball)  class affairs that now go by a single name because it is so popular with the blue blazer, tan slacks set. If you attended in one of these tractors you would be above all the rest  a real heavy weight.  Ok, had my vent of Monday afternoon sarcasm for this month.

Can you imagine how those lugs and steel front wheels would tear up the lawn at Pebble? I'd Love to see that...

[Boca At Nova Concours - 24 Feb]

23 hours ago, Walt G said:

George,

The reason I guess Cantrell or at least Cantrell inspired is as I said I have illustrated flyers showing the commercial chassis of Dodge and International ( per war they used Dodge passenger cars starting in the early 1920s mostly but their history is in stories that have been published and in a small book on station wagons published here on long island 50 years ago. The reason I say Cantrell is the horizontal  trim on the doors and possibly the tail gate. With no vertical trim to accent that. That was Cantrell's favorite way to do things.

Wood station wagons by assorted manufacturers is another story that needs to be penned with some details of construction , how it was done, etc. Yet another discussion ........... to answer questions like : who supplied the hardware, the wood, the varnish, seats, - did they use patterns to get a number of bodies to all look alike on a "run" production wise ? ( answer is YES they did, I have seen the Cantrell patterns used , they were made out of thin plywood or masonite and marked as to what chassis they would accommodate).

Walt

Walt,

An article online says it was Mid-State Body company, Waterloo, NY- contracted to build three of those for the Army corps of Engineers. 

[Duesenberg J-346, old photo]

[Anyone Here Buy This 1961 Chevy Biscayne In Florida ?]

1 hour ago, Frank DuVal said:

So, good luck because they chose a hauler whose expertise is in hauling totals?

 

Because it is an open haul, and possible to get a windshield rock chip being the front car? (happened to my own Greenbrier being hauled just 100 miles by a friend)

 

Because the tires are low, and if they loose more air the straps will be loose?

 

It's Love Bug season? (That is late April and again late August)

 

What else?❓

 

 

Glenn, I agree, the stock '61 wheel covers would be sooooo  much nicer. And this is from a guy who has bought two Corvairs with Rally Wheels.  Can't wait to put stock 13" back on the newest one, as soon as weather holds out so I can sandblast and paint the set. A lot of Corvairs got 14" Rallies when 13" tires became unobtainium around 2008.

 

Yes, Bel Air.

I believe he said Good Luck because:

1. He believes that the vehicle is being hauled in a substandard way that he doesn't agree with

2. He believes that he would have been a better choice no matter what price

3. He uses what he sees as the failures or shortcomings of others to reinforce his own superior value and quality. ( This can be backed up by his use of pictures of a 20's car hauled through an Ice storm on an open trailer in his ads to show the "wrong" way to do things as opposed to the way he does them). 

 

[Early Mack truck with crane]

I agree!  That thing is an amazing piece!

 

[Bucket List - Dark Horse Pick]

My Dark Horse pick- 

 

[Do you have an Bucket list of Cars you'd like to own?]

I was thinking about this last night- I have been very fortunate thus far to have a varied collection of cars to play with. As I get older, I'm thinning them down, upgrading, refining, but I kind of made a list in my head of cars i'd really like to own in my lifetime. Of course there are cars that will most likely ( unless i win the lottery) be out of reach like a Tucker or a Duesenburg, but I was trying to list 2 or 3 that i'd really like to own. What are on your list?

A 30's touring or closed car that is sorted and ready for the road- preferrably something big- Studebaker president, Buick, Packard etc- that I can hop in and drive anywhere 

60's Dodge Custom Sport special big block half ton

Early 50's Step Down Hudson

 

[Looking at two 1938 McLaughlins in -33]

That looks like a nice coupe and parts car!! Very cool find!

[1960s Alaska Highway Dawson Creek B.C.]

That is an extremely reliable, extremely well-travelled 1947 Canadian Dodge

[Here’s a fun one — Who bought a car for under $ 100 ???]

I’ve had several free or nearly free parts cars over the years, but my under 100 vehicle was different . Our small town fire department had an old Mack pumper that I hadn’t seen for a few years, so I asked one of the town councillors about it and what its status was. He called me the next day and told me to bring him a loonie( Canadian 1 dollar coin) . I did and he signed me a bill of sale. I took a battery and one of the techs from the garage I worked at over to check it out. It wa in an old storage barn just west of town. I installed the battery and we did a cursory check of fluids, hit the starter and it was running! Next we checked if it would move, it did, and it had brakes, so he drove it out and headed back for our shop. We checked it over better, bled the brakes and changed fluids. A couple of months later I drove it the 300 miles to where it is now stored and used regularly. 1961 Mack C125 pumper. This was 10 years ago

[Powell Pickup spotting- 2005]

I was just looking at some old photos and came across some shots that I took just east of Kalispell, MT in the summer of 2005. This was out front of an auto wrecker, and at the time I wasn't sure even what i was looking at. I often wonder where it went, google street view shows it isn't there now. 

[Cars of Christmas past 23]

Gorgeous!

[Cars of Christmas future? 25]

It looks like forum maintenance may interrupt my days so I will post this last one tonight. I want to thank everyone who has commented and followed along- hopefully it was at least mildly entertaining. I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and happy holiday season. I titled this last one as future because it is currently our project in progress. Several years ago at a Museum event I was driving a friend’s 49 Crosley Sedan Delivery, a fellow approached me and said he had another Crosley that was going to be crushed in a farm cleanup later that month. So we rescued this  week later. 1947 Crosley Roundside pickup. It hasn’t had an easy life, at some point someone had hacked a Dodge colt engine in it, many parts were missing, but it was too cute not to rescue. I am in need of lots of parts- but dad has started body work on it this winter. 

[Cars of Christmas past 24]

It was just a garbage truck. A friend bought it to use at his cabin for garbage and to haul water. It was shabby, but it ran well and always started, summer and winter. He used it for many years, the paint got shabbier and weather took its toll. Then, he found a low mileage 52 Fargo 1 ton to replace this truck. So Dad bought it. 1948 Dodge 1 ton, flathead six with 4 speed. It has an electric box hoist on it, driven by a flathead ford 6v starter. Dad puttered away at it, while using it for hauling branches, etc to the dump occasionally. His friend who owned a body shop borrowed it a couple times a year to clean up scrap metal and garbage from behind the shop. When that friend decided it was time to sell the body shop and retire, he told dad to bring him the truck for a bit to use it to clean up. What we didn’t know was that he was going to paint the truck for us. This truck is such a sweet runner and it’s so quiet when it’s running you can’t even tell. I’m 1948 Dodge and Fargo advertised an optional comfort ride seat. When we had this one reupholstered after the paint job, we discovered that the seat is made completely of high density foam, absolutely no springs. Thus far, this is the only truck I have come across that is equipped with the optional seat. 

[Cars of Christmas past 23]

Part of our fleet of Fargo trucks is my 63 Fargo 300- it’s my acreage chore truck- it hauls water every spring, garbage to the dump, firewood in the fall, and almost anything else I ask it to do. 225 slant six with a 4 speed transmission, this thing is bulletproof. It has 32,000 original miles and it’s not shiny like my other vehicles, but it gets plenty of compliments when I use it. 

[Cars of Christmas past 22]

66 Fargo 1/2 ton- 318 poly(wide block) 3 speed manual transmission . Sold new in Outlook, sk, equipped with custom cab trim. I purchased in 2000 and replaced the rusty rockers and cab mounts. Fargo was a badge-engineered truck sold at Plymouth dealers in Canada from the 30s until 1972. 

[Cars of Christmas Past 21]

1 hour ago, JACK M said:

Ditto Fargoguy.

To bad there are only a few days left.

I appreciate the comments guys- but we will run out of vehicles that we own on Christmas day. Thanks for following along!

[Cars of Christmas Past 21]

My long- time friend and Ford guy, Ralph found this car in a garage in 1957. It was a very good, solid car that he restored over the next year, finishing in 1958. It was his pride and joy, that he kept for the next 60 years. I am proud to be its next caretaker. 1928 Model A Roadster, with a picture of Ralph the last time he drove it. He no longer had a license and his memory was failing him at that point, but he knew exactly how to start and drive the car that day and our ride was flawless. He passed the following winter. 

[How easy does your Mopar flat 6 start?]

First start of the day takes a couple seconds of cranking with the choke on.  Once it has warmed up, it barely turns and it's running. 1948 Dodge 1 Ton

 

[Cars of Christmas past 20]

1967 Dodge A100 pickup. My grandpa acquired this truck from relatives in the mid 80s, and restored it with my dad. Slant six, automatic. As a kid I thought it resembled a Tonka toy truck I had, so it became nicknamed the Tonka Toy.