[Can you name this car?]

12 minutes ago, JamesR said:

 

 

Not trying to get you to reveal your plot, but will the trunk have to be big enough for a dead body to fit in it? 😄

Sorry. No dead body. Yet. This is a love story. 😉 

[Can you name this car?]

47 minutes ago, TerryB said:

As a former RCA employee it was Camden NJ.  GE only owned RCA long enough to dismantle it in the late 1980s.  The dog is Nipper and the company was the Victor Talking Machine Company later to become part of RCA.

 

Here is my wife’s grandfather at his garage in PA.  Looks like a model T

Awesome photo. This is exactly the type of shop I'm envisioning. Do you know what year the photo was taken? Also, anyone know whey they started adding pits to garages? My grandfather had a garage on LI in the 1940s, and my mother tells me that's how they used to work on the cars. 

[Can you name this car?]

21 minutes ago, Locomobile said:

I've worked in garages and machine shops my whole life, never recall anyone throwing wrenches, if they had they would have been fired, it's highly unprofessional and dangerous, they could injure someone or damage property. No one wants to work with a loose cannon, and too, it's real easy to get a derogatory nickname, so people tend to behave themselves. If a man were that distraught he would most likely not be at work. It would make more sense if the guy owned the shop and he was ticked at an employee. I've seen that freakout a few times. (observer only)

 

Ron

Yeah, he does own the shop, and he's alone at the time. So the only victim (and witness) is the window

 

[Can you name this car?]

5 minutes ago, Locomobile said:

Virtually all of family are/were mechanics all the way back to the model T (T-model). My Grandfather and his two brothers worked in a Garage, and they had a 15 year old kid that worked there too - my Dad. One of my Great Uncles - Grandfathers' brothers was completely blind. They worked on so many Model T's (T-models) and Model A's that the blind brother could work on them and do virtually anything with them.

 

Not many mechanics would throw a temper tantrum as they usually enjoyed their work and tend to be a bit more professional despite all the tattered clothing and grease up to the elbows - and dirty jokes. If one did, he's probably not a very good mechanic. i.e. would likely be selling shoes etc.

 

Ron

Great story, Ron. And agreed, mechanics are some of the smartest and kindest people in the universe. In defense of my character, the day that he's working on the car he's also dealing with a lot of other stuff and being unable to get it going (as I said, he's not really a good mechanic) is just one thing to many on a bad day.  

[Can you name this car?]

9 minutes ago, keiser31 said:

Nipper is sitting on his butt. The small Victrola is next to him. I suppose the small version may fit in a Model T trunk.

That's exactly what I was thinking. They weren't all big. Still doing research into exactly what kind of phonograph was in the car (and I may have misspoke in saying "Victrola") but I'd sort of like it to be a portable model ... and I believe those were just starting to come out in the 1920s (photo below). But unless any of you also collect old phonographs, that may be a question for another forum!!

 

[Can you name this car?]

41 minutes ago, Akstraw said:

Just to give you an idea of how ubiquitous the Fords were; in 1919, Ford produced more cars (Model T's) than the next 10 manufacturers combined.  Maxwell, in 7th place, made only one car for every 16 Fords produced that year.

Ah, but here's my thought ... maybe my mechanic has gotten pretty good at fixing Fords because he's seen them before. But then he's got to get this Maxwell going and next thing you know, he's flinging wrenches out the window (he's got something of a temper). Credible?

[Can you name this car?]

This is great, thanks. I'm liking the Maxwell. The trunk doesn't have to be big enough for a body (sorry, guys!) just big enough for a Victrola and a stash of records. I was thinking Model T, but if I have the opportunity to bring in a car that fewer people are familiar with, I think that's a plus. Although authenticity is the goal here ... and as I understand it, Model Ts were the most common at the time. True?

[Can you name this car?]

Hey guys -- I'm hoping you all can help me figure this out.
I'm working on a novel set in the early 20th century in which one of the characters is a (novice and not very good) auto mechanic. He's working on a car in 1923, one that belongs to a traveling salesman and has an integrated trunk. So I'm trying to ID a model that was built a few years before that, maybe has a reputation for breakdowns, and has a trunk. Back in July (I think) Graham Man referenced a business coupe -- which sounds like the perfect fit -- but were they made prior to 1920? Appreciate your help!