Ron42Dodge
-
Posts
310 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Forums
Gallery
Events
Posts posted by Ron42Dodge
-
-
I think the $85 check and the power struggle started the ball rolling. Legal battles froze the assets so they could not sell any cars. And about the time they were getting those resolved, Omaha was nailed by a massive tornado on Easter Sunday of 1913. The one article suggested that Iowa and Nebraska's economies would be hit harder from the storms than states that had industrial based economies. The next few months were probably focusing on repair of homes and businesses. I suspect the Omaha Motor Car could not pay their bills due to the 1, 2 punch and ended up un bankruptcy a few months later.
I did a little more looking and W.L. Huffman was a auto dealership in Lincoln, Nebraska. He sold Hupmobile, Chandler and Detroit Electric cars and probably others. (a couple of pictures from the Townsend Studio) As I recall he was listed as investing $8000 to the Omaha Motor Car Company, probably for the purchase of some of the first cars. Maybe he took the cars because he had the means to sell them.
There was an ad in the American Contractor magazine for the W.L. Huffman Automobile Company looking for bids to Remodel a 75' x 132', 2 story plus a basement Garage located at 1814 to 1818 Farnam Street in Omaha. The Ad was in the January 25, 1913 edition so they were trying to get established in Omaha. So whether the cars stayed in Omaha or went to Lincoln or both is still up in the air. This building has been long gone.
In 1917 A Hupmobile Sales building was established 7 blocks west at 2523 Farnam which is where auto row developed. I don't know if W.L. Huffman built this or not. This building is still there.
I also noticed W. L. Huffman of Omaha purchased the old Sun Motor Car Plant and started the Huffman Brothers Motor Company in Elkhart Indiana in 1919.
-
Quick summary
February 26, 1912 the company was introduced to the world.
An ad for the car in April
By July there is already a power struggle going on and this summary was put out on Sept 26, 1912
Then on March 23, 1913, Easter Sunday, a large tornado swept through Omaha leaving death and destruction. The storm reeked havoc on much of the Midwest. The path of the storm came within a few blocks of the Omaha Motor Company. Although it appears that the business was not directly hit, based on this article, the economies of Nebraska and Iowa were going to get hit the hardest due to the few industries in those states.
But in the bankruptcy Asset summary printed in October of 1913 the cars were listed as an asset and W.L. Huffman was one of the creditors.
Between the legal proceedings which froze the sale of cars and the damage to the economy from the storms (people were focused on rebuilding their homes and businesses, not buying cars), the company did not survive. It looks as though W. L. Huffman may have taken the cars as payment in June of 1914.
The quest to find their building continues.
-
I found this short summary in an October 2, 1913 Motor World Publication. It does show the address as 4311 N 20th. The building picture I uploaded is 4411 N 20th on the corner of 20th & Ames. Interesting, there is no 4300 block in that area on todays Assessor's site. Goes from 4200 numbers to 4400 numbers. The Omaha Auto Top Company was one of the creditors as well as Walter Moise. Maybe the Auto Top Company was paid in cars. I have tried talking with some of the Historical Society folks in Omaha but nobody seems to know.
I found this second short summary in an Oct 1, 1913 The Horseless Age Publication. It shows the address as 4211 N 20th which is 2 blocks from Ames. Aerials from the 40s show established houses at that spot. The closest building is 4225 which is said to be built in 1926. Time for more research.
-
This order form probably came with the announcement packet but wasn't in mine. It is an order form for the movie "Keeping Faith" which is the movie I have already linked in an earlier post here.
Then I came across this November 1945 Ad for the 1942 Dodge. The war was winding down but no new cars were available yet. I guess if you do the roll of death in your car and you can't get a replacement car, due to rationing, you remove the body from the car and show how it works. They have a gasometer mounted to the top of the dash. He must have previously broke the original steering wheel because that looks like a 41 wheel. It is a 42 dash though.
-
1
-
-
I recently found the oldest bottle of Marvel Mystery Oil that I have ever seen. The one gallon bottle was manufactured by the Owens-Illinois Glass Company at the Clarksburg, WV plant in 1942. What is interesting is the Label on the bottle still has the old address which they moved out of in 1941. They may have continued to use the old labels because of "make do for the war effort", attitude. Printing new labels would have been wasteful.
-
So I did some more looking. The Omaha Motor Car Company was temporarily operating in the Stoud Machine Company Building, also known as Stound Machine Works of Omaha, while they were going to build their new 2 story building next door. This Stoud Machine Building was said to be at 20th & Ames. The bankruptcy summary does not list a building as an asset and there are no 2 story buildings in this area, so the building probably never happened.
The building on the SE corner of 20th and Ames is Addressed 2411 N 20th (Florence Blvd) The bankruptcy summary in the automobile magazines lists the Omaha Motor Car Company address as 2311. Could be a typo.
The Omaha Assessors office indicates the existing building was built in 1935 although it resembles an earlier age building. After the Omaha Motor Car Company closed, the Nichols-Rice Company seems to have come to life at 20th & Ames. Nichols-Rice Motor Co. Incorporated in 1917 with Neal W. Nichols, Charles H. Rice and R. E. Hemming at the helm. The C.E. Paulson Motor Company Bought the Nichols-Rice Motor Co. in July of 1919. C.E. Paulson was a Ford Dealer.
The building that is there resembles an old dealership with a small showroom. The property was replatted in 1923 into smaller lots although the lot on the corner remain a decent size.
This might be the building the Omaha Motor Car Company used and the remaining inventory may have been taken over by Nichols-Rice. Its a reach.
-
I found some legal reports on the demise of the Omaha Motor Car Company. Their business was located at 4311 N 20th. North 20th is now Florence Boulevard. There is no building at that address and according to the Assessor's site the buildings around were built at later dates. There is a railroad siding where the address would be. I looked at a 1941 aerial of the area and the building seem to be the same now as back then. I don't know if the numbering system was ever adjusted as the city grew so I could be off with the location. When the company closed they had 6 finished cars and several unfinished cars in inventory. Not sure what ever happened to the cars from there.
-
I found the Building!!!!
This was taken on the South side of the Union Pacific Building Between 15th & 14th on Dodge Street (The Lincoln Highway). The building was demolished in 2008. I found a postcard that resembled the picture and further research confirms it. Especially the details of the old entrance on Dodge Street.
15th And Dodge St. View looking NE
15th & Dodge View before demolition
The South Entry during demolition
-
The letters in the window say "Omaha Electric Light & Power Co.". I have not been able to find an address for them back in 1912-13.
-
-
Rick, I've attached a picture of a chrome and a blackout complete hood ornament for comparison.
-
My car had a Marvel Mystery Inverse Oiler mounted to it when I got it. It was put on by the previous owner who was a mechanic. It is my understanding that the older engines were not that good at lubricating the top side of the engine and that is what this oil does. Whether added to the gas tank or dripped into the gas with an inverse oiler, it provides a little extra lubrication where the engines need it most. My car sat for 32 years and everything was free and it started right up. Was that the MMO or just luck, who knows. The first tank afterward I accidentally bumped the drip rate screw and I went through a quart in about 12 gallons. Smoked pretty good but I swear we did not have mosquitos in the neighborhood that summer. Now I go through a quart every few years and the car does not smoke unless I sit idling for a real long time, then one small puff.
-
Rich, That is a 1942 dodge hood ornament with a broken tail end. Should be almost 4" longer. The part number should be deep inside the underside of the base. probably 972678. Only the 42 has the 3 stripes above the ass of the ram. Not sure if they represents a noise.
-
I have found a coil that was manufactured in the early 50s by Prefered Perfect Products. It appears to be a firewall mount coil with a Primary connection screw in the bottom and a single screw post on top in addition to the center tower which is not threaded. The treaded top post is labeled timer. Any thoughts as to what that is about?
-
There was a write-up in 2013 in Old Cars about a junk yard tour where one of the cars they had was a 1942 Desoto business coupe next to a club coupe. French Lake Auto Parts (FLAP) in Annandale, Minn
-
Many if not most 1942 cars had "blackout" trim (painted rather than plated) in order to conserve chromium for the war effort. '46's were basically the same as '42's with trim differences. It may be a '42 with a subsequent upgrade to a '46-'48 grille. I know of no advantage to titling a '46 as a '42. The serial number should tell it all.
Actually most were not blackout. The 42s were introduce in October of 41 and blackouts started in January of 42. Production stopped around the end of January. The parts manual hints that blackouts started around serial number 30636724 so roughly 7,653 were blackouts. Prior to blackout regs Dodge started putting Deluxe fenders on their custom cars omitting the need to paint those pieces of trim. I attached pictures of a 1942 Dodge Convertible blackout. All the "Custom" fender skirt moulding and skirts are missing. That is how mine came and it was delivered on December 26th according to the build ticket, but mine wasn't a blackout.
-
I have had several communications with the seller. We concluded that it is a 1947. Someone probably misread the year when when transfering the title. The down side to that car is the title is actually registered to the engine instead of the body serial number and the engine is now out of the car. He was considering pulling the auction until he got it straightened out.
-
John, Did you ever find your hood hinge?
-
I am trying to tie down the years and brands this convertible rear window was used in. It is 27 3/8" wide and 7 1/2" tall. The outside finish is chrome and the inside is painted. The faces of the frame have a curved surface rather than a flat surface. I have am impression that is was used on Chevrolet convertibles possibly from 1940 1941 1942 1946 1947 1948 1949 and 1950, but I'm not sure. It may have been used on other GM products such as Pontiac, Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile or others.
-
Tim, I am on a similar mission. My 42 Convertible came with turn signals however now that I have taken a better look, the switch housing looks home made. I have not dug in to see what all is original yet. I found one for my 4 door off of a donor car. If you find a donor car, be sure to get the high beam indicator and the light bracket behind it that is supported off the top of the speedometer. The high beam indicator has the right and left arrow lights. Attached is a B&W picture of a 1942 Dodge Blackout where you can see a hint of the turn signal switch as well as the turn signal/high beam indicator. Ron
-
Everyone is correct. You can access it through the trunk. It should be a 2 wire sender. Joe described it pretty good. Just follow the wires in from the drivers side rear fender.
-
I tend to agree with Rusty. Either the plug wires got switched around or possibly the bolt at the bottom of the distributor, that you loosen to do a major adjustment on you timing is not tight and the distributor has rotated to one extreme.
-
This is a continuation of the above post with the dealership announcement kit and advertising order package.
A salesman's name tag with the early steering wheel style. This wasn't in the kit when I got it but certainly belongs with it.
An order form for a nice size Neon Sign for your window saying "DEPENDABILITY"
An order form for the new style GASOMETER that mounts to the demonstrator car dash. No need for the steel housing around the glass gasoline container. My cigar won't break it.
A promo for the Sound Slide Film Service Program
And a Sound Slide Film Order form
A Ross Roy Literature order Form
Other literature order form.
And 8 pages of how to make a subject (Customer) a prospect (Buyer)
I didn't have room for the radio promos.
These aren't factory photos but I sure find them interesting. I'm amazed something like this didn't get chucked long ago.-
1
-
-
Since no one as added to this post for a while, I thought I would add an Anouncement Kit that was sent to the dealerships. I stumbled onto this packet of information that would have been sent out to the dealers in order to gear up for the introduction of the new models, in this case, the 1942 Dodge models. I don't know if this is a complete packet but there is a ton of papers for ordering advertising products. It is hard to display something like this so I may as well share it online.
The main packet was a 3 wide folder that had a center section that held the host of order forms. There was a back cover that folded in over the center with printing on the inside and back. There was also a front cover that folded over the center with printing on the front and inside.
Next there was a 4 page Retail Salesman's Service filled with information and answers for the New 1942 Dodge.
Then there were a bunch of order forms for various advertising.
3' x 20 Outside Rayon Banners.
Customer Invitations to see the new Dodge.
Order forms for invitations.
An order form for 5 different Rayon Wall Banners.
An order form for License Plate Toppers, key cases and Balloons.
An order form for Pennants and Price Tag Holders.
An order form for Key Cases, Parked car tags and overseas hats.
An order form for Balloons and Match Books.
An order form for a stick out flag and my favorite, the electric waving flag. (has anyone seen one?)
A General order form with all the above.
An order form for Rayon Truck wall Banners.
More in next post-
1
-
Omaha Motor Car Company 1912 - 1913
in Period Photos - Pre WWII
Posted · Edited by Ron42Dodge (see edit history)
Small coincidence, I found this ad for W. L. Huffman in the May 31st, 1914 Omaha Sunday Bee Newspaper. It shows they did occupy the garage they advertised for remodel bids.
One the same page was a tiny article indicating the Omaha Motor Cars were finally being released to W. L. Huffman after being tied up in litigation. So June 1st, 1914 was the first day they were available for sale.
Another ad that day