Terry Bond

Not to be confused of course with the Austin Automobile Company which started in Grand Rapids, Michigan in about 1901... The Colorado Tour sounds like it was great fun Wayne, wished I'd been able to join in. Terry

Gary, I'm just now finishing up some wheels for a Model T. I've done them before and had great results from West System. It goes on easy (but work quickly!) and flows out nicely. Best of all, it sands like a dream! I gave it one good coat, sanded with 240 to level it, smoothed with 400, then primed w/conventional automotive primer. After another sanding and some touch up with fine paper, topcoated with black acrylic and a hardner. Looks beautiful right out of the gun and is very durable. In reference to the question above re "swelling" of the wood, it won't happen as the wood used in making wheels is very dense with tight grain. Bill Calimer did my wheels and I know he kiln dries them to a specific moisture content that is pretty stable once topcoated. I won't have to worry about recoating them in my life-time unless I let a tire iron slip and chip something. I know of several folks who have also used this resin/hardner coating on wood bodies with good results. It's used extensively in marine repair, boat-building, etc. Drop in at your local marine supply business and talk with them about it, or get their users/tech manual for info. Terry

I always enjoyed spending visiting time with Bruce. Last time was up at New Kent for the British Car Show where his Rolls Royce was proudly displayed right up front. He did so much to help with the old car hobby here in Va in the early days and was such a gentleman. Thank goodness his family carries forward the tradition as they are all involved in old cars here in the Old Dominion and across the country. Rest in peace Bruce, your memory will live on a long time here. Terry & Susan Bond

I have known Matt for a number of years and had the pleasure of visiting a T bird he was restoring recently. He is doing some fantastic work and still smiling so he must have it figured out. I think for anyone in the restoration business, word-of-mouth advertising can't be beat! Terry

I recently added this nice piece of music to my collection. I've got a number of music sheets with songs about specific cars, and some others that just show an auto image drawn by an artist who had nothing particular in mind except a generic rendering of an early auto. This one is different. It uses a photo type image of an early speedster type car - Simplex? Mercer? I'm not sure - not a chain drive car, interesting demountable wheels. Any thoughts on what it is? Date on the music is 1909 and it's published by a company in Springfield Mass. Terry

Hi Gary, sure would like to find a Moyer pin. Have you ever seen one? I have no idea of what was manufactured. Looking forward to seeing a Hershey! Terry

Steve made a good point about the signs - we've got a couple and are getting ready to order a few more to cover the rest of the collection that we show. They are great and a nice thing about them is they are standardized is size and general appearance. I like to try to photo the sign along with the car so I have the detail. I highly recommend them! Terry

Nice post Pat. Sorry we didn't get more time to visit at Carlisle. Several of us did partake of a suitable adult beverage in honor of Howard and so many of us have entire books we could write about our time with AACA and Howard. For us it goes back to the early 70s when Susan and I arrived in Baltimore courtest of the US Navy. We immediately sought out Chesapeake Region AACA and attended an event at Black Rock with Art and June Rutledge. Howard was there, along with Earl and Judy, Murrel Smith, and so many others that were instrumental in making us feel welcome and a part of AACA and the club there in Baltimore. Howard was quite a guy and made a big impression on us immediately. Later when he became National Training Director for judging I presented him with a slight delima - I was going to be sent overseas and didn't want to loose my judging credits (all 5 of them) while I was away, so I wrote him a letter explaining that. He quickly replied, and was the first person I ever heard thank me for my service! Of course I kept my credits and over the years, although we went separate ways and saw less of each other we always managed a few minutes to catch up whenever we could. I had the pleasure of serving briefly with him on the Board and never will forget the sense of pride that was obvious in him. He was certainly opinionated and not unwilling to express himself, but he respected that in return. I know I'll miss him but like you said Pat, there is going to be one heck of a tour at the end of our road and we'll be pleased to be in company with those you mention. Terry

I'm almost positive the horn in the pic is a reproduction item made as a fantasy piece. I've handled a lot of original brass car horns and have a few nice ones in my collection, and the one pictures looks like a typical "made in India" piece. One good way to tell is by the weight of the brass itself. The reproductions are much thinner and lighter. Additionally, I'm looking at the brackets and they look like just simple metal tabs soldered onto the born. Real period horns have much more substantial mounting bracketry. If there is no makers name, serial number or country of origion stamped on it somewhere it's another pretty good clue that it's a modern "taxi horn." I have also collected early auto accessory catalogs for years that depict brass lamps, horns, etc. and there isn't anything there similar to what is pictured. It's a nice "tooter" for the purpose it's been used for but I don't believe it's an antique auto part. Glad to see Marty blowing his horn! He is AACA's best trumpet player by far. I tried to keep up with him a while back during an impromptu jam session in Moline but years of inactivity quickly showed. Terry

Right on Chris-these things were very popular at one time. I have one in my collection that was reprinted in the 1950s by an auto insurance company as a novelty item. They were also used as log-books for motoring trips, and I've got one very early one that has blank pages with columns titled "# of people injured; # of animals killed, Repairs made, etc.etc. I've got the one you pictured and like yours, it's in wonderful condition and the illustrations are great. Terry

Sure wish I could be there. Used to attend at Cowtown market when my Son lived over in Mt.Holly as it was a a good spot to come visit the day before and then swoop in for some bargains. Found a lot of great stuff there over the years and remember always coming home with a nice sign a few good old spark plugs and some other memorabilia. I remember it was always jam packed with people, even on the coldest days. Sure would like to see some photos and get a report following the event. Maybe I can get back again next year? Darned too few good old fashioned swap meets anymore. By the way, I'm overdue in providing a report on our own small swap meet here in Tidewater Va. Terry

I'm enjoying the AACA magazine articles on Barney Pollard - was he a hoarder or a collector? Whatever he was, thank goodness. Steve is right on - thanks also to LeRoy Hartung for what he did-and didn't he sure enjoy it while he was alive. The article obviously served it's purpose, stimulating conversation. Now back to ebay...and American Pickers comes on later... Terry

It's a pattern for a casting that's been turned into a sign. Can't find anything on the company searching Google so it must no longer exist.

Thats neat - I've got a wall full of dash plaques and will need to get out to the barn and take some pics. Thanks for posting about the Glidden Tour pin. I've seen those turn up in antique shops and on ebay and everyone seems to think they are really old and worth a mint. So, how does everyone mount and display their dash plaques? Terry

I posted something quite a while ago about these radiator script style pins. Since then, I've added a few to the collection, and recently added a super rare one - Firestone Columbus. I've also learned the majority of these pins were made by a company in Allentown PA called Grammes. They closed up more than 25 years ago and I understand a small assortment of pins was discovered still in storage somewhere within the factory. Anyone with information on the company, the variety produced and what became of those that remained please chime in here or email me. I've attached a couple of pics with a few pieces from my collection. I also continue to add names as I encounter them in other collections, museums, and wherever I can find them. So far, I believe pins were made for: <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id=ieooui></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026"/> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapelayout v:ext="edit"> <o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1"/> </o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--> Packard, Pierce Arrow, Studebaker, Rambler, EMF, Glide, Cadillac, Speedwell, Simplex, Chadwick, Corbin Jackson, Buick, Ford, Halladay, Veilie, Hudson, Cutting, Maxwell, IHC, Franklin, National, Overland, Mitchell, Cole. I've seen both bicycle and car pins advertising Pierce and those made for the car actually say Pierce Arrow on them. The Rambler pin is not the same as the more commonly found Rambler script with a clasp on the back. The pin made for Case although stamped brass, is the eagle on the globe logo so I've not listed it as a "script" pin. I display the pins by using these early pin cushions that look like early cars. The turn up fairly often in antique shops and flea markets.

Town car refers to a chauffeur driven vehicle used to transport people into or around town. The style is a carry-over from the horse and buggy days. Not only were they owned by the wealthy, many were used as taxi cabs in London, Paris, New York and other large cities. One of the first makers to offer that type of vehicle was Daimler. Here is a pic of their 1896 "taxi."

Yes, the color is striking. I'll never forget the first time we saw it pull into a car show around here. Jaws dropped. Glad to have the chance to get one we've admired so long and it does illustrate the great thing about AACA, so many fantastic cars change hands between members who just want to give them a good home knowing they will be preserved and enjoyed by many folks. We have been long term fans of the MG experience forums and have posted quite a bit there, mostly about our MGBGT. Now we are indeed venturing out. Susan has already joined a couple of TC specific groups and we are looking at some of their discussion forums. It'll help greatly. One nice thing about these cars is the tremendous following they have. I guess enough have survived that it keeps interest up and that means parts availability isn't too bad, if you are willing to pay the price. Unlike the MGB there were fewer of the made so original stuff isn't that easy to come by though, and while find a good supply of good original stuff, even NOS for the MGB, the TC is a different animal. I'm amazed at the similarity between this car and our 1935 Morris 8. The TC of course was reissue of pre-war just after the war ended. It took them a few years to retool and bring out a series of newer and updated cars. To us the TC represents a real piece of history - sort of the last off the pre-war styiling and mechanics. I'm finding out a lot of them are now being restored for the second (maybe third) time so there are a bunch of folks out there trying to solve technical issues, etc. I'm sure we'll learn a lot as time progresses, meantime we can enjoy it. Yes Marty - we're all smiles here, and Wayne, have you ever seen me in my genuine Scotland wool driving cap with bulldog pipe smoking away? I even have a little silver hip Terry

I'm sure a lot of folks have gone through this before, but we've not often acquired a vehicle so ready to use as our new 1948 MGTC. It was an acquisition from a fellow club member so we knew it was a great runner and a sweet looking car. Before that, we knew the previous owner from the MG club. We've also got a ton of documentation, receipts, letters, photos, etc. from it's restoration and enjoyment over the years. Still, we need to get to know more about the car and the "personality" of the MGTC. It's a lot different from our B, which we ground-up restored. This one really doesn't need much restoration, just some tinkering and cleaning. We're giving it some time and not tearing things apart as it's just too nice and we want to drive it (a lot!). It's Susan's car and we've already got one of hers currently in midst of restoration so not anxious to start flinging parts all over the garage. I guess we will just get to know the car, which is a lot of fun and a great education. Had a good TC friend over yesterday and we went for a ride, listened to some of his stories about how to fix some of the more common problems one can expect to encounter, and learned a bit about what needs replacing and how to do it. Lots right on this car, but we do want to start a flea market shopping list of stuff to look for. Spotted a few things like missing rubber cushions between rear fenders and fuel tank panels, proper clips for crank (and the crank itself, which fortunately is a repro item), etc. Got some items circled in the Moss catalog but I know we'll be on the lookout for some other bits and pieces and it'll be like a lot of driven vehicles - enjoy while we tinker. For those in similar situations, what has been the process you used with a new acquisition? We're having fun, and are confident we're not going to do anything wrong with so many friends close at hand who have and know these cars well. Tell us about your experiences with "new acquisitons"

What impressive detail work! Makes me want to do another. Have not had much time to build these past few years, but wanted to get a pic of this one I constructed a few years back. We didn't have a MGTC at the time but now have the real thing, thankfully in much better shape that the model. Terry

What a great opportunity to tell my "MG Story" again! At a car show, young lady walks up to our MG and asks "What is MG?" Thought for a minute and responded - "it's GM spelled backwards." Response: "Huhh?" Reply: "Well they drive on the wrong side of the road over there so that's why it's spelled backwards." Response: "Ohh - I see!" After a minute, then we had a great laugh - and let her sit in the car. Terry

Thanks for posting the pics - I'm very familiar with these maps having spent some time in Europe. Yours are in great condition and are scarce, but they do occasionally show up on Ebay, and if you follow Ebay France you'll seem them fairly often. They did not come supplied with cars to the best of my knowledge but were available from a variety of sources including garages, etc. A collector of De Dion Bouton memorabilia might be after them, then there are general road map collectors. I've found that most road map collectors are very "territorial" or are after brand-specific items like gas and oil company maps. Your set might appeal more to collectors of general early automobilia. They are early but not the first of the kind - I have a wonderful leather cased set of circa 1902 maps produced by Barthalameow in England. There are eight individual leather covered maps showing segments of the UK including Scotland. Each map contains some additional advertising for hotels, garages, and autos. It's a great set and in the original leather case I'd value them at $500+. Yours came in a less elaborate slip case originally, and if I'm looking at your pics correctly your slipcase is in really nice condition. That makes it a complete set worth top dollar. As individual maps they would be worth less of course. These maps were made for a lot of European countries including the UK. A set in less condition than yours sold at auction in 2008 for a bit over $200 (against a $200-400 pre-sale estimate). Considering the condition, todays market for early automobilia, and interest in De Dion Bouton I think youre value guestimate is pretty close. In the right auction venue-who knows?

There's more than one of us once behind the wheel of a 54 ElDorado Convert Marty. I remember in 1967 I got one as a "loaner" from the used car lot at our local Battle Creek Michigan Pontiac/Cadillac dealer. When our 1966 Pontiac went into the body shop for some minor repair we needed wheels for a couple of days mid-winter and the Caddy was provided because it was the oldest, crappiest thing on the lot. It ran like a tractor, handled like a tank and smelled like an outhouse - but it didn't get stuck and even plowed out some snow drifts by just ramming through them. I could probably have taken it away for near nothing but eagerly returned it so as not to be seen driving it to school. Hindsight is always 20-20. Terry

Check under the memorabilia section also Don. Happy collecting and Merry Christmas! Terry

And a very Merry Christmas and great New Year to all!!! Enjoying an early morning coffee, waiting for the rest of the family to smell it and wake up so we can start the day with gifts, great food, and visiting with friends who will be drifting over later this evening. We have a regular car club circuit around here and it's always great fun. In a while we will be finding the treasures under the tree but most of all enjoying having our Son here this year. The Coast Guard let him off for a few days so he came north and brought his girlfriend with him. He had a chance to drive Susan's new MGTC yesterday. We're having a great time, and whatever the time of year means for you, we hope you have a great time too. Celebrate! Terry

Yes indeed - Spark Plug Collectors of America You'll want to join and receive the "Ignitor" showing ads and providing info for antique plugs, articles with plug company history, reports of events and get-togethers of members, where to buy, sell, trade and just enjoy collecting together. It's much more fun in a group! We always meet at some of the major events each year like at Hershey. You'll want to be part of it. Here are a couple more plug pics to enjoy on a Christmas morn (while I'm waiting for the rest of the family to smell the coffee and get up! First pic shows some brass beauties - plug of the left is called "Electra" and it's a dark blue insulator with gold lettering on it that's really a beautiful early plug. The center plug is an early "All-in-One" priming type plug. It's an all brass beauty with a cup built i so you can pour a few drops of gas in to help get the car started on a cold morning. Plug on the right is called "Elk" and it has a built in window feature. Pic on top right shows a "Bulls Eye" with glass windows built into the base, then a great looking plug called "Blitz." Next is "Certified" where a hole in the insulator has a glass tube in it so you can watch the spark jump while it's firing. Lower left pic shows an "E-Z Kleen" made in Pennsylvania, then an "E-Z" which is a quick take apart plug. A quarter turn twist of the handles and the center core comes out so you can clean it or print through the base, which remains screwed into the cylinder. Plug on the right is an "Automat" with a neat spring loaded top that you can press down to prime through. Lower right picture shows two more of the very desirable Quick Detachable plugs. They are called "Mayo" and "Brown." Both of these plugs were part of a tire pump set designed to let you pump up a flat tire using engine compression. The center core of these plugs was removed, then a special tire pump was inserted so you could air up a tire. The entire kt was packed in a neat wooden box. Of course you could also remove the center core to quick-clean it or prime through it. These are some of my favorites and are the result of many years of enthusiastic collecting. Merry Christmas!