Walt G

Two days ago when the question was asked I immediate;y questioned the cars location - to try to help/suggest a competent shop , not to pry or be nosey just to make sense of this. Nothing yet, so all of us who took the time to answer sit here waiting for an answer. Makes you think - why bother answering question ? Sure it is a New Years weekend- but for all of us we may also have other things to do. Wayne questions this too and has some excellent questions as well - how extensive will the car be used? Mike Ward show us some courtesy as we are showing you please.

Writing - being a storyteller is something that should be done, but most do not do . It is "first person history" about the subject. Most important, even if just to give you a sense of being for what you feel gives you great pleasure. IT TAKES TIME. Endless amounts of time and if you are going to go into the history of what you are writing about even more so. Have patience, take the time. It is not a simple and instant thing to do. the majority of people think articles/stories especially on the history of something just "happens". NOT. There are people who can put the story, the facts etc into a form that can be easily understood and some can "put you there" as part of it the way they phrase things. They can then be there with you , share the joy. Have been there , done that, still do that and always will.

Thanks Tom Most of us ( including me) had never heard of this magazine- outstanding! There are just so many publications that we are not aware of , nor would we have any reason to be , they were aimed at the market in the country they were produced. The interesting thing is to see a vehicle made in one country be for sale in another part of the world and then know the story behind it and the different and exciting way they were presented for sale. USA cars in Europe etc and European car for sale here. All taking place nearly a century ago. Walt

This is absolutely wonderful! thank you. All graphics were hand rendered - no computers, no generation of ideas and graphics on a screen ( screens in this era were for movies or on doors to let fresh air in) HAPPY NEW YEAR and sincere best wishes to all for 2014. Think of how fortunate we all are at the tap of a button to see these amazing photographs, images and renderings all courtesy of AACA . the cost of the annual dues pays for all of this , start the year off right and step up and join if you enjoy this . How often do you visit here? once a week? once a day? several times a day?

let us know your location so that possibly someone close by to you can be suggested please. Also your time line as to when you want the car completed, Good shops are not lacking in work. What needs to be rebuilt? Engine, Transmission, steering, brakes ? More Information...............

I have not attended many auctions of cars. the two or three I did attend - two were by Austin Clark of cars at his museum when he was motivated to down size. I helped on that - made the bidding paddles!🙃 At one auction in Ct. run by antique car dealers I did buy a car ( the only time i bought one at auction - I don't buy/sell cars often , maybe once every 20+ years) There were only two of us bidding on a very nice well restored ( AACA tag for 1st place on the stone guard) car - reason only two of us? well it was a 7 passenger car, and no one likes 7 passenger cars even if they are open body style with all the period toys. Well I like 7 passenger cars - can take friends along in comfort. Yes, that is the car you see next to my name. ( no I don't like the color of the wheels or the shiny spokes) It was a no reserve - sell it listing. I didn't "$teal" it but if I owned a exact same car already , what I paid for the car i bought would not have covered the restoration cost. Yes, after buying it I had a great fellow go through the car and make sure everything was adjusted, sorted ( needed new manifold studs/bolts, brakes adjusted and certain period accessories removed i just don't like). Yes, auctions can be horror stories , but there are sometimes they are good, close to home, and one can wind up with a car that just makes you smile.

Great to see this, thanks for sharing and also thanks for restoring/preserving some great lights. It is all good. Winter months are here and I too will be getting back to projects that were in progress but were placed on hold when the weather got better last Spring. To many projects, interests, etc. and I am very much a hands on type of person , and inherited trait. Once again - great to see all of this............ Walt

Note the vehicles in the back ground - all of that 1937-39 era. SO the side pipes were added when the car was near new. Someone had some $ to do this considering the convertible is nearly new. Think of the hourly wage, cost of living etc in that era. The lady posing is fairly well dressed too. I like Jack M's comment as well but in that era cheese burgers weren't as popular as they are today - everyone ate Frankfutters - (not hot dogs)! When was the last time you heard the term frankfutter? 😜

Every day I read the comments /complaints about how AACA operates - be it membership renewal, events , etc. NOW my opinion - I think that AACA is doing the very best it can to make everyone happy but also be as efficient as possible. They ask questions and seek answers before any change is made or new innovation on how to do something is added. I don't see to many COMPLIMENTS when things go right because people expect that - Hey they are paying their dues for it. Perhaps in the new year as a personal resolution - have more patience, don't be so quick to criticize, be sure you do know what you are talking about . Is AACA always right? No no one can be and they are open to help - but are you ALWAYS right ? For every complaint try to place a compliment for what has been done correctly and efficiently , it is not hard to do. Happy New Year to all . WEG

Disteel wheels came in the early 1920s - can't be specific to exact year, someplace here I have a sales catalog they issued promoting their wheels that is well illustrated I will try to find it , but I am in the middle of reorganizing and sorting my library which will be going on for the winter months ( 50 years of collecting WWI to WWII era) so contributing an answer will not happen immediately.

the Automobile Salons were held at the Hotel Commodore until the last show in Dec. 1931. It was a "by invitation" only show and only featured custom bodied cars. So the general public was not invited. There was an Automobile Show that did see the general public allowed to attend. Not trying to nit pick but the salons and shows do get confused! In Europe ( Berlin, Brussels, London and Paris) were called motor shows and sometimes salons and had both custom bodied cars as well as the factory produced vehicles. All were invited to attend with no specific invitations.

Interesting to read the views expressed here. I can agree with many of them. I too got my first car at age 14 - an old car not necessarily wanting to drive immediately, a 1931 Plymouth Pa sedan. I did want to drive, but the thought about owning a car like I saw on TV - The Untouchables and The Roaring 20s. Was my real attraction. Then the movie Some Like It Hot came out and it was great , because of the cars not Jack Lemon, Tony Curtis or even Marilyn Monroe who were in it . I loved traditional jazz music, then and still do. I still like to work on my old cars but some serious health issues/surgery that took place 6 years ago have slowed that down - no more heavy lifting. I always loved to ride/drive my cars , with absolutely no interest in awards or trophies of any kind. SO my interest, desire, enthusiasm will always be there just at a slower pace for "hands on" heavy mechanical work. Most of my "hands on" work is now focused on the pressed steel toys of the 1920s I restore, not quite as heavy as the full size cars but look like them .

Merry Christmas to all , count your blessings, remember your friends (those still here and those departed) and be thankful for what you have. Make someone happy and you will be happy too. And please be thankful for these forums that is provided by AACA , where were we before they came into being? How many new friends do we now have even though most have not been met in person. Walt Gosden

I agree completely

And there won't be , a club can't cater to every whim, need, way a particular person may view ( no pun intended) what they feel is right or good for them or the people who feel like they do. Thing is everyone has their own idea and choice of what is offered, take it or leave it, the powers that be have looked at this more often then anyone can realize. Many people looking at these forums are taking a "free" ride and do not belong to AACA - so all of us who do pay dues annually are picking up the tab to have this here. Some members do not look at the forums, I didn't for years, only really started to when the pandemic happened. Want to see a change to your way of thinking - then run for the national board member seat and start to make the decisions for all of us.

Some years ( decades?) ago when in Indianapolis for a board meeting of SAH we had a bus tour and drove by the building that Weymann used for its HQ and shops and it still looked very much like it did "in the day" with newer entrance doors. I wanted to take the time to go ask if we could walk around inside the building but got "the look" from the rest of the SAH board of " no we won't do that" with raised eyebrows. Some thought I was joking and one member of the board just rolled his eyes and said " no he is not"............... He knew that I had spent the better part of a day walking the empty floors of the former Franklin factory in Syracuse NY not long before . Of course it was all in the name of seeking to see the architecture - yep it really was .....................

Very wise words and advice here , especially from The Handleman - I knew his Dad as well back in the 1960s as we both were in the Plymouth 4 Cylinder Owners Club ( yes it evolved into the 4 & 6 Cylinder Owners Club then the Plymouth Club and now they accept cars that were new in the showroom when I was in the club in my teens)

I do not know how much things cost to have the space, security etc needed for an event like that nor does anyone comprehend all the "free" labor/time etc. that goes into making the event happen at all. Regarding the cost of dues for AACA I TOTALLY agree with Peter's comment and what Steve said. Just the magazine alone is worth the cost of the dues , AACA is not getting "rich" on the dues they collect. Production costs alone for cost of paper, mailing, printing, are outrageous. There are some of us here that take great satisfaction in holding a quality publication in our hands to read and look at the pictures. We each have our preferences - mine of course is period material and photographs - can't get enough so started the "Period Images" thread nearly 4 years ago. That is what I write about in periodicals in the stories I tell as well now and in the past for SAH and CCCA. I have renewed/increased my involvement in SAH and totally left CCCA in the past several years. We all have our choices. No organization, club etc will always be of total interest to everyone to their particular pleasure. Make the most of what you can while you can........................

Thanks Bernie. My issue with some of the period material is that it is so tightly bound at one edge and that the covers are oversize over that.

Looking at the condition of the radiator shell - could be that it is beyond plating with the deep rust pitting .

It is amazing how these forums connect the dots to history in so many ways. All using the old vehicles we love as a starting point - the history lesson we all are learning is priceless. I hadn't thought about what I stated in decades , then when Tom, my son Trevor and I went to the SAH/AACA event at Hershey it all started to flood back into me memory wise like a tidal wave. I hope all of you reading this have patience for those of us with never ending memories on a wide variety of subjects . Also remember if it wasn't for AACA these forums would not exist.

No, I have never written down any details of those conversations that sometimes lasted longer then the Spanish language class I was taking with the man. He was an outstanding gentleman , not pompous at all, never bragging about his stature and experience. He found it somewhat amusing that at my age i knew in detail about cars that had ceased production prior to WWII and especially the obscure ones. He was proud to share what he knew and the history he was first person involved with. I totally enjoyed hearing about that era, the life style, attitude etc. The whole aura of the people in Cuba that could afford the luxury cars he saw when he was growing up. The wealth from the cane sugar plantations that saw prosperous times for that country. I had and still have great respect for him so many decades later. I have a few ( very few) issues of the magazine that was issued by the Auto Club of Cuba in the early 1930s and looking at those read/see things that Mr. Uruttia mentioned. I have been very very fortunate to have met and had conversations with some amazing people , nothing planned to do so, just happened and I had the right questions for the talks/exchange.

Although I am a contributor to Crankshaft I do not know what the entire content of each issue will be before hand, I really love the article by Tom Gibson on cars in Cuba. I heard all about car activity there from two people when I was in my 20s, Austin Clark - his father was the treasurer for the Cuban American Sugar Company ( Jack Frost Sugar) so he had some time there in his younger years due to the sugar cane operation , also Manuel Uruttia a former President of Cuba who lived close by me ( he resided in Flushing ,NY) who happened to be my Spanish teacher in college. I would stay after class and talk about the pre war, pre Castro era with him as he had been a Supreme Court judge in Havana, and of course with my intense ( to put it mildly) interest in cars wanted to hear all about the dealerships there. Most interesting conversations not done specifically for any reason just general conversation, now decades later giving such a great perception of that era . Steve's Monte Carlo is a knock out ! so happy to see it in a feature story.

Take an inventory of missing or broken parts. Headlamp lens are wrong or broken on the car availability?? I had a 31 Pa Plymouth 45 years ago and headlamps lens were not plentiful then. Hubcaps - condition of face - dented/torn? To replate this car ( bumpers, shell, headlamps and bar will not be cheap. minimum I am guessing 6 to 7 grand. the car has cast rubber engine mounts one at the front one at the rear, these have to be replaced with new rubber that is cast to their mounting brackets. If the rear one has flattened out ( which it has) you will find the car hard to shift. Great cars! but also see if you can fit comfortably behind the wheel - not built for people with long legs! Big difference between a Chrysler and a Plymouth - Plymouth was a 4 cylinder.................

John Once again your sage words say it all in what you wrote in the last sentence. I have had some similar situations but not about a car I owned but by someone who contacted me because they felt I may have some parts left over that they wanted. I had a few and let them know what the $ was, got a low ball counter offer with an "I know what they are worth" attitude ( and you don't) which I have no time for so didn't sell them the parts. They kept coming back but I just ignored them , wrote them off. This happened with historical information I had as well on a fellow in the teens circa WWI , who was a pioneer somewhat in automotive activity. I had a very very demanding fellow contact me and insist that I share what I have and then argue that I wasn't giving him all I knew. I do not do well with the demanding type of personality ( poisonality??) so told hm NO you will get nothing from me. I think he eventually realized how rude he had been....................... Walt