Walt G

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

Very happy to see the female gender takes an interest in the older commercial vehicles as well. Not just an SUV etc. but a "real " pickup .

What is the steering wheel rim like? it is covered, so that makes me assume that it has a lot of cracking or chunks missing.

John Beautifully stated, we think alike in so many ways. You can't put a $ price on inspiration nor what we see that sets the direction we need to go with. To many people surge forward at lightning speed in over drive and then don't really appreciate what is around them ( or the people around them) . I always seemed to and then even more so after my life/death experience with surgery 6 years ago. Life is very very short , the years disappear so fast, tomorrow is not a given, no guarantee. Your last paragraph says it all. thank you. To end on a Happy note - My very best wishes to all for a Merry Christmas , Happy holidays and great new year. Walt

To meet and talk to the artists who did the work was a wonderful experience, I had this opportunity several times. The first time was in 1965 when I was still in my teens. Robert Feeley was a member of the Franklin Club and at the club's annual week long meet then held in down town Syracuse, I had a long talk with Bob Feeley - he realized I was interested in art and mentioned how he did the art work for a Franklin sales catalog in the series 10 era ( early to mid 1920s) - all of it. Her lived in Syracuse and was a commercial artist and owned a Franklin when new ( 7 passenger 1931 sedan) and his son Bob Feeley Jr. got to be a great friend of mine as well and lived in Ct. . It was interesting to discuss art and how things were painted/created with the commercial artist of the pre WII era who all worked with paint, brushes, air brushes etc. way before the computer generated media existed. I had several long discussions with Peter Helck as well at his home in Boston Corners, NY when I would visit him with Austin Clark. It was neat to see the environment Peter had created with objects to inspire his work for back grounds etc. One I took notice of and then pursued myself was that he had a Buddy L train set . It was a huge scale and modeled after a Baldwin locomotive. It was mounted above eye level and on a very strong wall shelf ( due to the extreme weight - these cars of the train set were 20 inches long or larger , about 8 inches high and 7 inches wide - all steel) Peter used that for inspiration and detail of the trains he painted in the back ground of his car portraits. I immediately knew what the "toy" was and mentioned it to him. He took great pleasure in the fact I knew what it was ( as the train set was from my grandfathers age era why on earth would I know about it) and he went on further to show me things that were an inspiration since he knew I was into art and studied to teach it. I haven't thought of this in 50 years. And yes, I have my own large scale Buddy L train set just like the one he had mounted securely on a long shelf above eye level.

Seeing the nose art in person is an experience once never forgets. Decades ago I was a member of the Long Island Early Fliers Club and we had a visit to Republic Airport in Farmingdale area to see a WWII airplane with nose art. Amazing to see , just the vastness of the plane and the artwork on there. It was in an era when although some members were my age now ( this was 40+ years ago) they were indeed "early fliers" including Elinor Smith ( Sullivan) - look her name up. She was a good fiend, and the first and only person to fly underneath all the 4 bridges on the East River ! this in 1928 when she was 17. ( no that was not legal and Mayor Jimmy Walker stepped up to get her free of any federal charges) .

George Small nitpicks BUT so important to get the facts straight and accurate so many decades later. Small inaccuracies may not seem important then those "myths" become fact if around long enough where someone can point to them and state " see it says so here" on the AACA forums so has to be correct. Diligent research and then comments are most important and that is what to all of us reading this here it is all about . Some people just like to voice their opinion about all subjects............. Not putting anyone down or complaining but just want to keep it all true. Walt

Perfect for display at a fancy elite concours ( Patina Beach???) in the unrestored class. Hey the car has "PATINA" , although never in a barn could be a barn find in many peoples minds who are story fabricators for the his-tree and provenance of vehicles .

Briggs was a pioneer to use the big presses to stamp out body panels, I have a 4 inch stack of linen backed 8 x 10 photographs of Briggs operations doing this in the 1935-42 era that were in their factory archives.

Memories are made of this - yours and now your girls - PRICELESS. Thanks for sharing this. I taught kids ages 5 to 12 for decades and this is what I remember - smiling faces they can eventually look back on.

Chrysler Corporation started to use all stamped steel bodies in the early 1930s as you mention. My 1931 Plymouth model PA was an all steel body except for the floor boards.

Outstanding art work - all hand done, no computer generated images . Original artwork done in a water based "tempra" paint ( the stuff kids pant with in elementary school) and an air brush as well. A "lost art" for images once the computer took over. I studied and was friends with several fellows who were commercial artists pre WWII era when in college and they were masters of their craft/art. Hands on first person learning and they were happy to share their knowledge that even 40 years ago was fast disappearing. They found a very willing and enthusiastic person in me who really desired to know how to do what they did. One asked me "Why your interest? " My reply was " think about the cars I love and own" He just smiled and laughed.

Warren Kraft was "ok" as a mechanic, but most all of Austin's cars and trucks that were located out at his museum in Southampton were worked on and maintained by a great fellow named Eddie Aldrich who lived out there. Warren was a salesman and could tell a good story , usually with a bit of embellishment . Austin, myself, Warren and about 25 other people were members of the Long Island Old Car Club. That independent club used to host celebrations/anniversaries of the Vanderbilt Cup Races ( 50th, 55th, 60th etc etc ) and have 100 cars on a tour that tried to take in the original route of the races - newest car on the last anniversary run in 1988 was a 1938 Packard convertible. We had the public roads blocked off so the modern cars would not get in the way - Old 16 took part in that as well as it was the anniversary of the 1908 race. The country police were very nice and cooperative. The LIOCC eventually became a chapter of the NY Region of the Veteran Motor Car Club of America. Austin was the head of the NY Region VMCCA.

this is what life is about - as the song lyrics once wisely stated "make someone happy just one someone happy , and you will be happy too". This applies to so many things in life. And yes, I am a sentimental sap.....................

Look beyond the immediate subject at hand. see the building in the back ground and note the neat "bump" out in the facade above the windows and door covered in the same shingles. Pretty cool indeed - and a feature I have not seen on any "modern" buildings with that subtle affect. All the small details in the period photos in all aspects of what is seen really are important to me and tell the broad story well beyond the focus of what may be going on.

Most all of us, as collectors want a car that has something "special" about it to make it distinctive and different from all the rest. Not to show off just to be a bit different . The "plain janes" perhaps saw a survival rate and weren't used up or driven to oblivion because of just that - they were mundane. SO now to have or find one the low miles and mostly original condition is great but the "not so special" factor will be there and thus when trying to sell may not have the vitality that people seek. But of course the "special" equipped cars will always command bigger prices . Most people who have a plain jane are proud of the condition but eventually may weaken in interest because it doesn't receive the attention that something else may that is a bit more equipped with options.

The Olds shared the same body stampings as the Cadillac model 62 and the Buick model 71-c ( like the car I own) this for both 1940 and 1941. SO far as production numbers Olds was the least amount to use the body, then Buick , then Cadillac - not popular due mainly to cost. Take into account the annual wage people were earning at the time and what other cars /body styles were available. That factor of wages paid is not often considered by historians,collectors, writers when they view the history and then wonder - why? Used cars in very very good condition only a year or more old were not expensive compared to the new car. Heck a decent size house in a great neighborhood was only several thousand dollars. I look at things from the perspective beyond auto history - have been involved in state and local history as I have mentioned here before for decades.

What is the name of the manufacturer of the lamps - 933?

Craig It is amazing what technology can do 20+ years later, the Lincoln Continental the same year as my Buick ( 1940) shared the technology that Buick used - hand, arm. and back power.

I am guessing the year. Chrome plating is very very good some light blistering is starting. measures 5 1/2 long by 3 wide number under base is 5774823 4 . Has DODGE cast into front edge. Is this a parking cap? Price is $130.00 which includes postage to the lower 48 states via USPS mailing box small package. No returns what you see is what you get , is unrestored and original . This came in a collection of caps and motor meters I bought from a hoarders collection and was delivered to me at Hershey this year.

INDEED this is true! Can testify to that. All comments here are well stated especially John S. - will add that 2 - man with long arms and substantial strength to accommodate the weight. Like putting down the top on a touring car you need several knowledgeable friends to help so that they do not loose a finger in the process between the top irons. The tops are very heavy - irons, cloth etc. The sedans that are shown here with the side windows removed - the Franklin called this a "demi sedan" neat idea but where do you store the rigid framed windows that were the "side curtains"? Convertible sedans were expensive to manufacture. All doors had roll up windows, so have to be more substantial then the touring cars to carry the weight of the glass, frames for the glass, wind up mechanism etc. I have both a touring car and a conv sedan parked next to each other in the garage here. a decade apart, one a 1930 the other a 1940. The convertible sedan is a Buick Roadmaster models 71-C. It shared the body with Cadillac series 62 in 1940 and 1941 as well. The conv. sedan can be very much like a touring car with the windows rolled down and the b pillar post removed and the rear window unzipped and laid down. I totally agree that this body style was not just created for parade use - no financial gain in that and car manufacturers made cars to sell to make money not loose $ on a particular body style. Many of the conv. sedans that survive can be a bit "creaky" due to wear in the top irons, door hinges etc. If you happen to have one that is lower miles from new , they are as quiet and tight as a 4 door sedan. My 40 Buick has about 53,000 miles on it from new and is quiet; Marty Roth has a magnificent 37 Buick conv sedan that is low miles as well ( was a local car here to me and was the reason I sought a conv sedan to own eventually) and these cars are outstanding to own. I think I had the top completely down once on mine - enough work to not to do again.

Encouraging to read this, hope other legislators from other states take heed ( they will have to be informed to do so since most all of them are clueless about old cars and their use and preservation) Take the time to let your elected officials know about this. DO Not complain is a law gets passed that you could have done something about.............

So very sad to read this, Frank was a great great enthusiast and appreciated and loved the cars he had . It was a great pleasure to have him as a friend. God Speed Frank, RIP.

Neat topic - as I mentioned in the summer of last year here under this topic, I have at least a half dozen or more b & w period photographs of Delahayes taken in Europe when new by professional photographers of that era . More to be found in the annual show number issue magazine of L'Illustration, issues of Omnia, and La Carrossiere magazine all pre war. But we are in the section of CCCA and I do not participate in that club nor contribute to it any longer after decades of membership and contributions. I was asked to leave because I was not healthy enough to attend events in person some years ago. So indeed did.