Rusty_OToole

I find it "interesting" that they waited 2 or 3 years to start their lawsuit, until Leno had spent a fortune restoring the car. They claim it is worth $1.7 million, maybe it is now but it sure wasn't when Leno bought it. According to this story $39,700 went to pay the storage bill, the rest was velvet for the company. Latest word is they got a settlement from the storage company. Leno is in the clear, he keeps the car and pays nothing. The heirs claimed the storage company finagled the bills to confuse the 88 year old owner. They charged him for storage of other cars he owned in a different garage while refusing to take payment on the Duesy and a 1930 Rolls sitting beside it. In this way they made it look like the storage bill was unpaid when it was a scam to steal the cars. Where the truth lies we will never know as the case never got to the judge. I know some claims the heirs are false, such as that the car was worth $1.7 million when Leno bought it.

20 or 30 years ago there was a column in Car and Driver about this car. At the time it was a mysterious thing known to a few New York car fans. The columnist heard about it and managed to get into the downtown parking garage to see it. The story was that the car was always parked on the top floor and at some time while it was up there the freight elevator was remodelled and was now too small to take the car down. Whether this was true or not I don't know. Maybe it was a story made up to discourage people from trying to buy it. Was interested to learn that the car had a lot of miles on it, 107,000 rather than 7,000 as originally thought. So the story that the car was parked in that garage since 1931 was probably true in the sense that that is where they stored it, but it was obviously on the road a lot too. The engine work may have been the work of Jim Hoe the Duesenberg expert who rebuilt the car back in the early 50s for the son of the original owner. Considering the rough condition of the car and the high mileage and the undesirable body $180,000 was probably a fair price.Any Duesenberg experts care to comment? As to whether the garage had the right to sell the car, that depends. If the storage bill went unpaid for a long enough time they would have the right to put a lien on the car. If they followed all the proper legal steps they would have the right to sell it. The value of the car would not enter into it.

Is it possible Peerless subcontracted engine work to Teetor Hartley as Ford did to the Dodge brothers in the early days? This could account for TH claiming to have "Furnished engines" when the engines were of Peerless design.

By the way... the center brake light mounted higher than the tail lights, just one more example of Chrysler engineering ahead of its time. In this case by about 45 years.

If you live in the city, look in the phone book for battery dealers. If you live in the country try a farm supply store. They stock 6 volt batteries for tractors. Including the long skinny ones. Or, the Optima is a better choice and worth the expense.

The rule of thumb is that your octane should look like your compression ratio. In your car, top HP engine was 9:1 comp so today's hi test of 91 or 92 octane should be ample. Naturally this is not a hard and fast rule, just a guide. You could try 89 or even 87 and see how it performs. If it runs smooth with no knocking or pinging it should be fine.

The Egyptians used such marks on their chariots. Old carriages and furniture often have marks in the form of Xs, circles, wavy lines etc to help match up parts where they fit together. Archaeologists recently discovered that the Egyptians built sea going trading ships that were meant to be taken apart and put back together again. No doubt the parts bore some kind of markings.

Friend of mine made a tool for polishing aluminum wheels. It was an old rear axle shaft mounted on a bench using pillow bearings. The wheel bolted on and hung over the end of the bench. Later he added an electric motor driving thru a Chev transmission from about 193O. He could have the wheel slowly turning while he used fine sandpaper or a buffer to polish it up. A lot of work but he did a lot of wheels on it. Would be nice for striping wheels too.

I know if I were buying something like that I would want it complete and untouched. If a buyer wants just the head you can take it off after the sale. That way you get the max return with the least work.

If it is a 57 Ford steering wheel I think Ford used ordinary paint. I know when the cars were new the paint wore off after a few years exposing the black plastic underneath.

Keiser31 walks into a bar with a wheel in one hand and a can of paint and a brush in the other...

Agreed, a lazy susan or a stool with a rotating seat makes the job easier if you have such a thing.

There should be pinstripers in your area who can do the job. If not you could paint them on yourself. All you need is a striping wheel or sign painters pinstriping brush. Use the front hub as a jig. With the front jacked up, slowly turn the wheel while holding the brush or striping wheel against the car wheel. You will need some sign painters One Shot paint. Regular paint is too hard to work with.

The lead compound used was tetraethyl lead. How they make it I dont know but it can be done with very simple equipment if you don't mind getting lead poisoning. When they first started making the stuff for gas a number of workers got sick from lead poisoning or painters colic. Carbonflo discs are in a steel mesh bag which goes in the the tank. Maybe the dissimilar metals start their own current flow without the battery.

I no longer bother trying to buy a car from anyone who has lots of them sitting around. Either he is a dealer who will want top dollar, or he is nuts and won't sell because he likes lots of old cars sitting around. What you want to find is a guy with one old car, and a wife who is nagging him to get rid of it. That is where you find the bargains. He can't turn you down no matter what you offer. I also found out, it is best to buy from someone well off. A guy with lots of dough who is tired of a car, doesn't care much what he gets for it in many cases. Because a few hundred bucks one way or another are not going to affect his lifestyle. While a poor person will try to squeeze every dime out of a real tenth hand junker.

It was sold at an auction of a defunct Chrysler collector and vintage car dealer named Bill Martin of Will Manor Motors. His family sold off all the best stuff privately then held an auction of leftover cars, parts, tools and "junk". The Coronet was among a lot of other unrestored junkers. Most went for $300 to $500 to scrap metal buyers. I happened to know the car because I used to own it. I sold it to a local enthusiast about 5 years ago partly restored. He never did anything to it but traded it to Bill on a 53 Chrysler 2 or 3 years ago. How I bought the car first is a funny story. I spotted it sitting in a suburban driveway in early 2001. I didn't need another car at the time but couldn't help noticing it every time I drove by. After about 3 months I stopped in one saturday morning and knocked on the door. A teenager with a Sideshow Bob haircut answered the door. When I asked if the car was for sale he said "I don't know. It belongs to my father but I know Mom is after him to get rid of it". At that moment I knew I could pretty much write my own ticket lol. I wound up buying the car for $50 bucks. Only after I bought it did I discover that it actually did have 34000 miles on it. The car was bought new by the grandfather of the guy I got it from. He inherited the car and put it on the road but only drove it for a few months then put it away in the garage for 13 years. When I spotted it he had just pushed it out of the garage so he could put his sailboat inside. I took it home, did a complete brake job, cleaned and sealed the gas tank and did a few other little jobs. At this point it was in perfect shape mechanically and just needed some bodywork. I never did get around to finishing it and eventually sold it for $2000 as described above. This was an unusual deal but not the first time I sold a car and later bought it back although, making a profit is highly unusual lol. There are some good buys out there if you keep looking and don't get impatient. I find more cars to buy than I could ever find the time or money for. I'm sure you could do a lot better in most parts of the US than you can around here. Here is the ad for the auction. The Coronet is mentioned under "Projects" and is pictured 12th row down, far right. http://sullivanauctions.com/auction-martin-estate-auction-vintage-vehicles-and-tools/ By the way the only reason the Coronet was not listed among the "running" was the battery was dead. I put jumper cables on it and it fired right up.

Well Biggy they can't all be gems. Next time hop in a little sooner and save me from making a fool of myself.

Legend has it that Studebaker Packard had hundreds of engines in the warehouse when they quit using them at the end of the 56 model year. Many were sold off cheap and used for marine engine conversions. This may account for some of the unusual features of the conversions. They were done by marine engine manufacturers but they knew they were only going to do a few hundred of them and no more were available so they did not spend a lot of money on tooling.

Lots of cars have the 3d brake light mounted around that height. Suggest you get some brighter bulbs such as LED bulbs made for 6 volt cars.

There are lots of aftermarket turn signal switches. Turn signals did not become law until 1951. A lot of cars from the 3Os and 4Os did not come with signals but had them added in the early 5Os. The kind you want clamps onto the steering column. It has a rubber wheel that turns against the steering wheel, this is the self cancelling mechanism. New signal switches are available, here is one but it is not self cancelling. The self cancelling model looks similar but has a rubber wheel. Chevs of the 40s: 985720E ALL - Chevrolet%20SWITCH -TURN SIGNAL (ECONOMY) You might also search on Ebay if you want an original 194Os model.

You may need to use hi test to get enough octane and something to protect the valves. Todays unleaded is nearly the same as what your car was made for octane wise but lacks the lead that cushions the valve from wear.

Look around the storage area for the missing stuff. The more complete the more they are worth. There is a good chance the other goodies are around if you can find them. And be careful about throwing anything away. The weird bit of metal that is obviously junk, usually turns out to be an impossible to find part. I wouldnt take anything apart. They are worth more money just as they are. I know my heart would sink at the news some rare motor had been taken apart by an amateur. This is not to knock you or your friends. It simply means that originality and patina are a big deal in the world of antiques. Your best chance at a fair sale might be an auction, either an old car auction or Ebay. Ebay might even be better, and they dont ding you for a big percentage of the money like antique car auctions.

As an example, just a few of weeks ago I bought a 1966 Dodge Coronet sedan, slant six auto, for $4OO. This is a local car with less than 35OOO miles on it. It needs some bodywork and the upholstery is starting to come apart at the seams but it is all complete and runs like a brand new car. The cost to go back on the road will be minimal and all needed repairs can be done by me in my back yard or garage. Not the most exciting car in the world but you can have a lot of fun at minimal cost, everything is easy to get at and simple to fix, and most everything you need is still available from local stores. With a six cylinder car, not only are they easier to fix but you can afford to buy gas for them. Some of the big motor cars will draw the attention at shows but you cant afford to drive them anywhere.

First suggestion is to look into natural health remedies for your illness. I didnt believe in them either until I tried some, and cured an illness that defied the doctors for years. You could start by reading Living Health by Harvey Diamond. He cured some heavy duty stomach trouble of his own, just by correct food combining. There is a lot of info on the web too. How can eating healthy do any harm Second, welcome to the old car hobby. For your needs I suggest you stick to a Chev or Ford from the early 6Os. They are the easiest to fix and the easiest and lowest cost to fix. The dark horse in the race is the Chrysler line. The slant 6 Dodge and Plymouth are my favorites, good cars and easy to fix but not as common as Ford and Chev . If you find a good one, they are usually better buys. Buy the best, most complete low mileage car you can afford. This will likely mean a 4 door sedan or similar boring car. However you never know your luck. You might find a Barracuda at a bargain, they are usually cheaper than a Camaro or Mustang. Or maybe a Nova or Falcon hardtop. Dont be afraid to ask questions and look at a lot of cars before you buy. Then get a repair manual and go by it. The ones the factory issued to dealers are the best and not too hard to find. They were sold to every dealer in the country and there are thousands of them around. Usually $2O to $5O at auto flea markets and on Ebay. Will definitely save more than they cost in time and money, sometimes on your first repair job. That is about enough for a start. You can have some fun and learn a lot of things by hanging around old car cruise nights. Some of the things you hear are even true lol.

Disconnect the fuel line at the pump. You dont want any old stale gas to get to your motor, it could gum it for good. Check there is oil in the crankcase. Take out the spark plugs and squirt some oil down the cylinders. Motor oil or transmission fluid. Marvel Mystery Oil is very good. When you take out the plugs break them loose and blow compressed air around them to insure no dirt falls in the cylinder. Take off the valve cover and oil the vale stems. Turn the engine with your hands by turning the fan. You will have to press down on the belt to make it grab. Take a hammer and give each valve a light tap. Watch the valves. They should move up and down. If any stick oil them again and pry gently. Turn the engine a few turns. If it turns easily by hand, try the starter. Lay a rag over the plug holes, oil will shoot out with some force. See if the oil gauge shows anything. It should if you turn the engine on the starter for 1O seconds or so. Do not turn the starter too much at one time if you are using a 12 volt battery. It can overheat. Once you have it turning over check the ignition. put the spark plugs back on the wires and see if they fire. If not you will need to clean the points. A shot of electronic cleaner and drag a business card between them. Once the engine turns freely and you have spark, you can feed some gas to the carb and try to start it. A motorboat gas tank or one off a small engine is good. That is the basic idea anyway. If it does not turn right away oil it u and let is sit for a few days. In some cases letting the oil soak in for a week or 2 does the trick.