James-Wahl Motors

Yes! I did not mean anything against motorcycles, just that the topic was wandering off "shortly after purchasing." I have two antique motorcycles!

I am into Chrysler 300 lettercars. There are at least a few still around that were owned by celebrities. I had a '61 300-G that was sold new at Harger-Haldeman, which was the premier Chrysler dealership in Los Angeles. It has a documented factory black leather interior whereas the standard color was beige-only. I found two matchbooks under the seats from T.T.G. Inc. Sunset-Highland Studios in Hollywood. This was a somewhat obscure but pretty heavy-duty rock and roll recording outfit. Doors, Hendrix, Velvet Underground, Linda Rondstadt, etc. Tried but never could dig anything specific up; sold it to a high-end collector last year who is now finishing up the resto.

You all have wandered off topic, sorta. I'll bring this back to antique automobiles. I didn't buy it or wreck it, but i was in the car. This was mid-late 80s in Florida, my friend had talked to a guy with a runner '65 Barracuda, 273 automatic, rust-free car from Nevada. Some year or so later, the guy called him and sold him the car cheap. He bought it on a Friday, on Saturday he and his girlfriend and I piled into the car to go show a friend on the other side of town. We were crossing over an Interstate and a guy in a Camaro came off the highway and blew the light: we ended up t-boning him. Both cars were toast; I think I still have a light scar on my scalp. The upside was my buddy bought a nice old-lady's '64 Valiant 2-door with a blown slant-6 and transplanted the 273 and running gear into it and made a sweet car out of it.

I was about to publish a club member's research on how to interpret numbers on the data plate/fender tag of a particular year/model in our club newsletter. This is information not readily available from factory publications, but rather compiled by looking at a number of cars' data plates and extrapolating what numbers on the plate represent by cross-checking options on the cars with existing lists of option codes, etc. Other people have likely done the same thing, but there is no "one-stop" source for it. Now I am getting pushback from the "old guard" of the club, who fear this information could be used to create counterfeit cars. On the one hand, this has happened (though not necessarily with this particular year/model) and the club has been involved as an authority in some cases. I don't know how helpful having this would be to a counterfeiter since the factory build records are available from a couple sources, so if a car showed up with options or colors that didn't match the build record that can be checked. I guess you build a car from just a VIN tag and then get a "correct" data tag for it, though you can tell an original from the readily available repros. To be fair, the club will release this type of information to individual club members in order to authenticate a particular vehicle. So, how does your club handle this sort of information? Thanks

The club helped me out, thanks.

I brought an antique American made car in from Ontario about 20 years ago. Had to fill out a couple forms at the border. There was no fee. I heard that imported cars are treated differently. After I applied for the title in a normal fashion, the state sent all the papers back and said to resubmit with the customs importation documents. Received a title after that.

Thanks for that information and for the lead on that story.

Who is credited with the design of the 1934 Airman 6-cylinder Club Sedan? I read Ray Dietrich did some designs for them, but he would have been at Chrysler by then. Also saw an article that said Ralph Roberts/LeBaron did the 12-cylinder Airman. It seems kind of hard to find comprehensive info on these cars! Even the Standard Catalog of American Cars has less detail on Franklins than other makes. Thanks!

Thanks, the 61 coupe is close but not quite. Here's a photo of the actual car. It's a Series 39-90. I'm making a show sign for it.

Does anyone have a sales brochure rendering, magazine ad or similar for a 1939 Cadillac V-16 5-passenger coupe? Looking for a decent quality scan. Tried AACA and Detroit libraries and found nothing. Thanks.

Thanks for the reply. This may not be the same car. I am writing about these cars for the owner. Files show it was purchased in 1993 at Barrett Jackson. Seller is indicated as the Blackhawk Collection. Also, there's an appraisal from 1998 which describes it as an older restoration with a lot of wear and tear. Some correspondence and some scans from The Arrow suggest this car was rescued from a Long Island junkyard by Jane English (one references a story in issue 61-1, which I don't have.) It appears the club should have some records on it.

Thanks for the reply. Here's the '32

Trying to figure out who were the exterior designers of some Pierce-Arrows and there doesn't seem to be much information out there. Specifically: 1927 Model 80 Runabout (possibly Leon Rubay or James Way?) 1931 Model 42 Dual Cowl Sport Phaeton (have a notation of John S. Burdick?) 1932 Model 54 Convertible Sedan Can anybody point me in the right direction on these? Also looking for a period sales brochure or advertising image on the '32, but with bracket headlamps. Saw one in an old P-A club newsletter but reproduction was poor. Thanks.

Does anybody know this 1929 640 convertible sedan by Larkins & Co? There's some info and another photo here: http://www.chicagovintage.com/gallery/packard/1929-packard-model-640-convertible/ The accompanying text says the car is mentioned in The Coachbuilt Packard, but I didn't see it in there. Now I read there are two editions, so I have to check back on which one I saw - if there would be a difference. coachbuilt mentions it on their Larkins page: http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/l/larkins/larkins.htm Says this: "...Hugo Pfau was familiar with the car and believed that in reality it bears a re-badged Murphy body as it featured the Pasadena coachbuilder’s distinctive cast aluminum door posts and clear vision styling. Although it’s possible that Murphy supplied Larkins with the cast-aluminum hardware or in fact supplied them with a body-in-the-white, Pfau stated that it was much more likely that Larkins later refinished the body, applying their nameplate at that time…" August H. Pape is referred to as Larkins & Co.'s designer, but all I see so far is his name on patents for convertible tops. Wondering if he designed bodies? Also, I am looking for any period photos of or artwork that pertains to this car. Thanks.