gwells

And I think it is a 1930 or 31 model town car. This picture was found in a group of glass negatives in the attic of my wife's family home in Buffalo, NY. My question about the image, other than the exact model and year, is in regards to the crown emblem seen above the LH headlamp. Family recollection is that the Queen visited Canada, and specifically Crystal Beach, Ontario, where the family had a summer home, at some point before WWII. There is a suggestion that this Pierce might have been used during the Royal Visit. I hope the numerous folks in the background will be visible to viewers and their presence suggests some sort of public events to me. Anyone have any further info or educated guesses?

I'll add a further story Don related to me yesterday. When he had George at Pebble Beach (I dunno exactly when, but it has to be within the last couple of years), the car was parked beside a Duesenberg and as I suspect is always the case, Jay Leno (who owns a couple of the cars himself) appeared several times to check out the Duesey. Don had not met Leno and after a time, noticed that the crowd that usually surrrounds him had thinned and that Leno was in conversation with another collector that Don did know. So he walked over to join the two men. Don's friend introduced him to Jay as "Don Peterson" and Jay replied, "Hey, I know you: you're Westley Peterson's father, aren't you?" LOL!!!

His name is George. No, not the car's owner, the CAR's name is George. Has been for nearly 35 years. He's named for a former owner, George Jepson, one of the charter members of the Classic Car Club of America in 1952. My friend, and George's current conservator, is Don Peterson, who graciously invited me to accompany him to a meeting of the New South Region of the CCCA yesterday, in place of his wife Edie, who isn't fond of BBQ, the meal that was being catered. Don and I are old friends, even though he has kids my age (six boys!). He was our best man in November, 1977. In 1978, Don and I were the editorial staff of <span style="font-style: italic">Car Collector</span> magazine and I was lucky enough to accompany Don on the week-long 1978 Revival Glidden Tour in the Poconos. And in this very car, then unrestored since the early '50s. That tour was in September, 1978. Now, thirty years later almost to the day, I got to take only my second ride in George, now fully restored and probably worth in excess of seven figures. I believe this car, with its provenance, is one of the top three or five desirable Packards of all time. It certainly is for me. How Don came to own this car is a great story. Don joined the CCCA in 1954 and in 1958 at some car meet (a CCCA Caravan tour?) first saw this 1930 Packard Speedster boattail. He was smitten immediately, the proverbial love at first sight (something I have experienced firsthand, though involving a person not a car). He simply had to own the car. For years he hounded owner Jepson in the nicest possible way to sell him the car. Finally, George told Don that he would grant him first refusal on the car when he was ready to sell it. So Don stopped hounding and began gently reminding... In 1974, George called and said he was ready to sell, as he was retiring from the Shell station he had run in Hillsdale, NJ, for many years. He actually gave Don his choice of TWO 1930 Packard Speedster series cars, the boattail and a Speedster Phaeton. Don says, "Ten years earlier, I probably would have selected the Phaeton, as some of the kids still were around. But in 1974, we were empty nest so I choose the boattail." Don also indicates that, uncharacteristically, he didn't make a counter offer when George named his price. The plaque propped up on George's windshield in the picture above reads: "Between June 6 and July 9, 1995, this 1930 Packard 734 boat-tail speedster was driven 9,638 miles through all 48 continguous states by Donald R. Peterson. He was accompanied through portions of the trip by his sons Wyatt and Ryan Peterson, and his wife Edie. Engine: 385cid/145hp Straight 8 Wheelbase: 134" Fuel Economy: 12.6mpg Total mileage on the car is over 300,000." So Don drives George, though admittedly a bit less since he was restored a decade ago. But starting next week, Don and a son or two will be putting 3,000 miles on the car in about three weeks, going from Dayton, OH, to Hershey, PA, and THEN on a week-long CCCA Caravan tour. Gotta love it. Don's the guy who surprised me at a fast food restaurant I was running many years ago by appearing in the drive-thru one morning in a 99-3/4 point Duesenberg sedan asking for me. As I said, he drives his classics! The radiator mascot is quite unusual. It is a Schneider Trophy seaplane, if you know your aviation history. As the car goes down the road, the propeller spins, at least at anything over 15 mph. Don says it makes a racket and at speed is like the clock ticking in the Rolls-Royce: the loudest noise one hears! The car wears a Don Sommer repro mascot, as the originals are sterling silver. Don has a original one gracing his mantle and says that the going price for a real one seems to be $4,500 at the present time! About the gathering itself, the local New South Region of the CCCA met annually in recent years at a theme restaurant at a small local airport. The restaurant recently went out of business so a new meet location had to be found. The site selected was pretty unusual. There is a parking deck attached to a high-end (read: posh) office tower situated on the highest point in the Atlanta area, well, inside I-285, if that means anything to you. One single lane on one level is uncovered, facing downtown Atlanta about five stories up. The view was terrific, as my hazy picture will hopefully show. And that's where the meet was held. Not a bunch of cars, but some nice, nice stuff. 1930 Pierce-Arrow that was a Broadmoor Hotel car. 1948 Jaguar Mk IV (LHD!) originally sold in Morroco. 1948 Packard limo with less than 16,000 miles. 1932 Packard shovel-nose. 1924 Lincoln V8. And several others. In case I haven't made it clear, this was a fun, fun day, all the more so because it involved both old cars and old friends. For me, the two are absolutely inseparable.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: charlier</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Now, get back to proof reading!</div></div> As a former magazine editor, I can assure you that there has never been a magazine that didn't have a few typos in it. What I emailed West to rag him about was the Gary Hoonsbeen letter where Selden was misspelled as "Seldon". LOL!! But I also told him the magazine is getting better every issue... because it is!

You might also try a quality lighter fluid, like used in Zippos. One brand readily available is Ronsonol.

Well, my vote for the ugliest production car is the Daimler SP250 Dart.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Shop Rat</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: West Peterson</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> 6th, actually, but whose counting? </div></div> You mean there's a half dozen Peterson boys??? If (W)Ryan was number six, what was number five's name?</div></div> Mea culpa. I had forgotten that West had a brother named Whitney who passed away as a child, I believe. He was son 3, according to father Don.

Susan, check your PMs.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Shop Rat</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> gwells must be a Yankee transplant.</div></div> Ouch, Susan, you have wounded me grievously! I'm a Tennessee hillbilly and proud of it (born in Tullahoma, TN, spent my teen years in Nashville, and have resided in the Atlanta area since high school). I will admit to have been charmed by a Buffalo-born Yankee over 30 years ago but even she would never be able to convince me to leave God's country. BTW, to me whitewalls don't go far enough. I prefer all-whites, though they're only appropriate on cars much older than the lovely Franklin that started this discussion. Bet you didn't know that West's father wanted to name his last (5th) son Wryan to keep the streak going, but the current missus put her foot down... LOL!!!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ChrisSummers</div><div class="ubbcode-body">West learns the hard truth... that he was named after a tire-cleaning product.</div></div> Could be, but I doubt it. My theory is that West's father or mother was scared (and scarred) by the "Big W" featured in the comedy movie "It's a Mad (4x) World." His brothers from the same two parents are Wyatt, Winston, and Webster (and no, they weren't named for Western marshalls, cigarettes, or dictionaries). And I, too, prefer the blackwalls on the Franklin...

Dave, the car does seem to have a custom body, and in fact, there looks to be a coachbuilder's plate behind the fender and in front of the door. It could certainly be a modern creation. I'm no Graham expert but seem to recall that Graham chassis were used for custom coachwork during this time period in England and possibly other European countries. Barry, where'd you snag this picture? Looks like some kind of organized tour, based on the banner between the front bumper guards on the Graham (as well as on the following car, as best I can tell).

And me. Weird.

Barry, I think that's a 1937 Graham, possibly with a European-built body, as indicated by the trafficators. Those hood louvers are pretty distinctive, aren't they? And yes, I'd say that's a very rare car!!

Well, I'm not too crazy about that Reo's color and I know I'm not the only one . . . 8-) Barry, please check your PMs.

Thanks, West. I didn't know the Murphy body was the most popular Model J.

Barry, the little I know comes from reading "The Splendid Stutz" published by the Stutz Club, which contains a pretty detailed description of the Series AA model introduced in mid-January 1926. FWIW, that reference does not indicate that the term "Vertical Eight" was the model name; that was Series AA. Quoting the book, "The new car, labeled Series AA, . . ." and "The motor, called 'The Vertical Eight' . . ." I can find no reference to "X350" in the book. Serial numbers and engine numbers for 1926-27 Series AA cars are combined in the book, with the notation that "Demarcation between 1926 and 1927 AA is not sharp. Do you have access to the car's serial and/or engine numbers? The book does contain a small photo of a roadster that looks very similar, if not identical, to the car pictured in your post; it even has the wide contrasting-color belt molding. Its caption reads "1926 Series AA 2-Passenger Speedster".

Ivan, I'll admit that I was thinking the same thing, but I was able to find a photo of this exact car on the Internet somewhere and it was identified as a 1928 BB. But I couldn't find it again when I went back to check, so I can't refer you to it. Edit: Ivan, you were right. I found the picture again and the car is ID'd as a "1926 Stutz Model AA Indy Speedster".

If I must! 8-) 1942 Packard One-Eighty Darrin Convertible Victoria. One source gives 1941 production as 35 cars and 1942 was way less, I'm certain. My best Packard references are packed away. 1929-1932 Duesenberg Model J Murphy roadster. Don't recall seeing the production figures for this body style, but with 481 Model Js, I'm guessing 5-10. 1932 Reo Royale Convertible Coupe (license place gives it away; it could be a 1931 too, I think). One source says 49 built in 1931-32, with nine known to survive. 1928 Stutz Model BB, an "Indy Roadster", according to one source. Can't see the rear of the body well but it has running boards so I don't think it's a Blackhawk. I don't know of a reliable source of production figures for Stutz in 1928.

Packard Darrin, Duesenberg, Reo Royale, Stutz. Or are you gonna insist on years and models, too? 8-)

3Jakes, check your PMs . . .

For more in-depth information on this Auto-Union D-Type, click here.

Just on a lark, I Googled "Holley D-3 carb" and got a couple of hits in the "marine applications" listings at www.thecarburetorshop.com. Chrysler 6 Crown K 75 HP Holley D-3 Chrysler 1931 6 Crown CM 75 HP Holley E-10101- D-3 Gray 1930 6 6-70 70 HP Holley D-3 Searching the same source, it doesn't look like Chrysler used Holley carbs on their autos, which suggests that D-3 carb might be from a marine engine. Hope this helps.

Good link, Randy. For those who might not notice, Randy's link goes to page two of the three-page article. Here's a link to the beginning page: Cam Article, page 1

I'm thinking Ford tractor, but that's not my "field" so I am not at all certain. A WAG it is . . .

I'm pretty certain Ralph Stein is no longer with us, although I admit I was unable to Google up an obituary for him. I do seem to recall seeing the notices of his death some time in the past. If so, it was almost certainly noted in the AA. West, or someone at the library, can you confirm?