rgshafto

Unfortunately, no one makes repros for this car.

My cabriolet is on its way to looking like new, but the hupcaps I have for it are originals and not close to new looking after 70 years of dings and scratches. NOS caps are long gone at this point, but I've never seen an ad for someone who restores old caps. Does anyone know of someone who does that work? Mine are a chrome metal skin fit over a steel dome. It looks like someone with more skill than me ought to be able to take the skin off, straighten it and the metal body, replate the skin and put it all back together. How have other folks dealt with this problem?

I don't know what this means, but? Today I was at Maine's largest car show -- open to cars of all kinds, ages, modifications, etc. The oldest was an '09 Model T, the newest (at least that I saw) a 2003 Ferrari, all parked in groups according designated category. The weather wasn't great, so the show was one third of the size it normally is. By 12:30, half of the 600 or so cars had left the field as the weather turned wet, including the streetrods. The only group still fully present was the "European" class -- 1990s and newer cars like VW Jettas, Volvos, Mercedes and even a Honda or two -- most of which were personalized with fancy wheels, custom paint jobs, elaborate sound systems, etc. Admittedly, the last thing someone like me cares to see at a car show. But that's where the energy was. A lot of young people where there, looking at the cars, interacting with owners and each other, listening to music, etc. and generally showing a lot of enthusiasm and having a good time. There was more energy in that corner of the field than in the rest of the field combined. I don't know what it means for us vintage car owners and our clubs, but I had the feeling I was looking at the future of our hobby.

Anyone know of a supplier of Ditzler Concept paint that can mix original 1930s colors? My usual guy works with Sherwin Williams, but my restorer prefers Ditzler. Thanks for any leads you can provide. (sorry, I posted this to the wrong forum originally)

Oops, sorry, posted to the wrong forum!

Anyone know of a supplier of Ditzler Concept paint that can mix original 1930s colors? My usual guy works with Sherwin Williams, but my restorer prefers Ditzler. Thanks for any leads you can provide.

No, that's a technology I don't have, along with cable TV. Should'a played him along more I guess and tried to get some of that information. Sounds like someone somewhere is missing a '35 Olds coupe.

A couple of months ago I ran an ad in Hemmings under GM wanted for a deck lid latch for my Pontiac. Last night I get a call from a guy in Omaha asking me what parts I needed for my 35 Oldsmobile. When I pursued the conversation, he says "Oh, I must have gotten my information mixed up." Fair enough, I've done the same. Then he tells me he had bought out an estate in CA for the furniture ? he does that for a living ? and a 1935 Olds coupe happened to come with it all for an extra $500. "He's not an old car guy", so if I'm interested I can have the Olds, in good running condition, for his cost -- $500. He could even deliver it to Boston for a reasonable price (I'm 110 miles north). Huh I say? Why is he calling me about parts when he's got a complete running car? I've never dealt with a swindler in this hobby, so says me, Well I might be interested. Can you send me pictures and prove of a legal title? Well, now it turns out he's been given an ultimatum by the estate sellers to clear everything out asap. He could do it, but ? blah, blah, blah. He didn't sound Nigerian, but that's when I decided this had to be a crooked deal of some kind and ended the conversation. In retrospect, I probably should have played it out and gotten his name, address, etc. for the authorities. Anyone else had this experience? Or did I just miss the deal of a lifetime? As my momma used to say, if it sounds too good to be true, run the other way. That was over 40 yrs ago, but still seems like sound advice in this case. I'll tell the Hemmings folks about it, even though they certainly can't control this kind of thing.

I'm looking for a correct jack for my 36 Pontiac. Here's a picture of an original; anyone have one like it for sale? Or know someone who might?

So why are original jacks so hard to find for pre-war cars? I've found a number of rare convertible and body parts for my 1936 Pontiac cabriolet, but have had no luck finding a jack. When I run an ad for one, I get calls from other guys also looking for the same thing. I've talked to a lot of other owners, contacted parts car sellers, etc., but these things are rare as hen's teeth. Is this unique to Pontiac (poorly made, then broke?) or a common situation?

The best place to sell would be on eBay. Someone out there is probably looking for just that thing.

Try calling Ken Clark at Ken's Classic's. He specializes in Auburn and Cord restorations and knows as much about these cars as anyone. His number is 207-487-3622.

Thanks Henry! I also should have asked what total Olds production was that year.

Hello Oldsmobile friends, a Pontiac guy here with a question I hope you can help me with. Pre-ware Pontiac production records were lost in a fire, but I wonder if anyone on this forum has the production numbers for 6 & 8 Olds convertibles for 1936? My guess it that the percentage would be comparable to Pontiac and would therefore give me a good idea of how many Pontiac might built that year. I have learned that 2% of Buicks, or 3,555, were convertibles, including over 1,000 4-dr. models. I have a 36 Pontiac cabriolet coupe, hence my interest in this question. Thanks for any help you might provide.

Thanks Keith, that seems to indicate the 0.7% figure is too low, at least for GM.

Hello Buick friends, a Pontiac guy here with a question I hope you can help me with. In 1936, 0.7% of all models produced were convertibles. Pontiac built 178,496 cars, Buick 179,533. According to that formula, Pontiac and Buick should have built about 1,300 convertibles for all series, yet I have seen a Pontiac convertible ID tag with body # 1,650 for a Master series car, double what would be predicted. Pontiac production records were lost in a fire, but I wonder if anyone on this forum has the production numbers for the various Buick series for 1936? My guess it that it would be comparable to Pontiac. I have a 36 Pontiac cabriolet, hence my interest in this question. Thanks for any help you might provide.

Try this guy: JF Sullivan Company 12 Jacques St Worcester, MA 01603-1926 508-792-9500 I believe they rebuilt VRs. I have a 5-terminal one myself to be rebuilt.

Here's a way for everyone to document their restoration project at no cost. Go to www.blogger.com, a free service offered by Google, and create your own blog (an online journal you can post information to that is shared with other web users). You can easily add pictures, links to other sites, etc. I've started one to post the restoration work I'm doing on my cabriolet. See it at http://1936pontiac.blogspot.com/ -- and start your own. Wish someone else had done this before I started my project.

Nice site you've done there Goselle. I enjoyed reading about your Buick project. I'm in the process of restoring my 36 Pontiac cabriolet; you've inspired me to try creating a blog of my own.

Well said ex98th!

Well, Pontiac did as build 1936 cars in both California and Michigan. California cars apparently had serial #s that started with letter "C". Reportly, California-built Master series cars had serial numbers that ran from C-1001 to C-1400, so this car was built in Michigan. The body is a generic body, used by all GM marques that year. But the tag is specific for Pontiac Motor Division and includes things like the interior trim code and paint code and even a code "V" indicating it had the optional 2nd sunvisor , things that wouldn't have been known prior to it being built. Too bad some of the guys who actually worked on the line then aren't around to answer these kind of questions!

Here?s a question I have been wondering about: What do VIN and body numbers on 1930s GM cars tell you about its likely date of manufacture? For example, my 36 Pontiac convertible has chassis (VIN) #29,028, which I believe means it was the 28,032nd Master Six car produced that year. They made 93,475 Master Sixes (no one knows actual production number for the various (7) body styles because all of Pontiac?s records were lost in a fire). Assuming they started production in late August and ended in July, they made them for about ten months. (1936 was the first year for fall introductions: October 26th for Pontiac, late September for Buick). If they produced the same number of cars per month, that would be an average of 9,340 Master series cars built each month. According to that logic, this chassis would have been assembled about three months into the production cycle, or perhaps late November (32% of the way through the 10-month cycle). The body number is 765. No one knows for sure how many convertibles were made, but let?s assume that Pontiac produced the same proportion of ragtops as Buick or Oldsmobile (0.7%) in that year. Apply that percentage to 93,475 Master series cars and you get 654 Master Six convertibles produced, which is obviously low since I have Body #765. Body #765 would therefore be a very late production convertible, which does not jibe with the chassis number. (It doesn?t have an original engine, so its casting date is unknown.) My coupe is VIN #8494, body #1894. I know it is an early production car because of the many 35 parts they used up building it (tail lights, horn button, heater, oil breather, etc.). It also had glass dated August 1935 and its engine was cast on July 22, 1935. All those numbers are in agreement: it?s clearly an early production car. But how did my fairly early production convertible chassis get such a late convertible body number? It doesn?t seem likely they that would have built all the convertibles early in the run, although I suppose it is possible. Or maybe they just sold a lot more ragtops than their Buick or Olds cousins? I would think that production of various models varied according to customer demand, making average figures suspect, but not skewing it this much. Or did they assemble and number a bunch of bodies well ahead of production, then grabbed them in more or less random order when building them? I don?t know the history of this car, so I guess it is possible that body and frame don?t match (but it is a unique convertible frame), or the tag was changed (no evidence of that). Neither of those things seem likely. Anyone have any insight about how this numbering business actually worked? I welcome your speculation!

One main reason I own my pre-war cars is bit more complicated than just liking the distinctive style, although I certainly do. In some odd way, keeping them in good shape is my small way of honoring the generation of people who grew up with these cars. When I got my 36 coupe 40 yrs ago this month, my father and uncles ? not yet named the "greatest generation" but all WWII vets who came of age in the Great Depression ? told me lots of stories of the cars they had own back then, and their wish that they had kept them. I resolved to keep my coupe then and there. All but one of those important people in my life are gone now, but both '36s remind me of them and the historical era in which they lived. They also remind me that we are all standing on the shoulders of the people who have gone before us, that the cars and lives we have now are in many ways rooted in previous generations. I believe we have an obligation to keep these now antique vehicles "conserved", just like historical buildings or documents. As for my 66 Ford convertible, my Dad bought it new, the last of a line of Ford convertibles that began when he bought his 1928 Model roadster as a college student in 1932. He was sitting its front seat of the 66 the last time I saw him alive, my parents having dropped me off at Newark airport after a weekend visit from college here in Maine. He died just a few weeks later. My mother drove it for the next 30 years before it was handed down to me. Thanks for asking!

That's great Sal, so glad to hear it! Isn't it amazing what medical science can do? We complain about the cost, but how do you put a value on something like this??

Good article. Thanks for posting it Michael.