Dave Henderson

My ones that got away.... As a school boy in the late '40's, I was driving a '37 Olds sedan that I had cobbled together from a sad 2 1/2-fendered heap. (I bought the missing parts for it from a character running a small junk business who would always say "that's the onliest one I got"). I aspired to something better, and along came a nice '39 Lasalle convertible. Its owner needed a family car and liked the Olds. A deal made in heaven? The LaSalle appraised out at around $450, while the Olds was $300. Ugh, no dough, no deal. Some years later, a friend was caring for a '37 Lincoln LeBaron Convertible sedan belonging to a guy who was off in the army. The front stuck out of the garage about 5 feet because it was so long, but it hadn't suffered much deterioration. When he returned home from the service he decided to go to law school, and not keep the Lincoln, so it was to be put up for sale. I had the inside track, it hadn't been advertized and no one else knew about it! However, I was living in an apartment and despite all efforts, I couldn't find a place to keep it. Reluctantly I passed on it. Price; $250.

A body style it is not for is the '30-'31 coupe. As pictured, it is shown upside down, or with the bottom up. Embossed in the bottom you should be able to locate the "A-????" part number. It may not show through the paint. With that, identity can be determined.

Is the hood from the same vehicle? If so, a picture of it migfht help. The hood's doors point to a '31-'33 something.

May be Dodge, ca. '46-'48

The Wagner Lockheed FD 4887 and the 1FD 2640 are interchangeable, both fit and function, if originality isn't an issue. ( the width and shape of the reservoir differs) Just for the heck of it give NAPA a try. Studebaker part suppliers, or the Cord part vendor, auburncordparts@yahoo.com, may also be able to help.

Maybe a steering u joint coupling.

The 16" 6 lug Chevy wheels, as well as some similar looking 5 lug Plymouth wheels were also used on '36-'37 Mullins trailers. It's likely that the manufacturer's idea was to enable the owner to have a trailer that could use the same spare as the towing car.

Barry, am sending you a PM

Barry, The MAK-4027 starter is for Crosley, '46-'47, and probably subsequent. Per 1947 Auto-Lite Service Parts Catalog.

A positive identifiction would probably be more possible if pictures were provided of details such as bumpers, dash, hubs or wheels, hood mating surface at the firewall, etc., you get the idea.

How about getting back the car you came home from he hospital in, 50 YEARS AFTER IT WAS GONE, GONE, GONE.. It happend to a friend, and I was involved unknowingly. John's father bought a disabled '36 Cord cheap in the early '40's. John got the ride from the hospital in it when he was born. The car was sold to a race driver/mechanic who In the early '50's created a lead sled rod called the "Cord-o-Matic" out of it. At the time it got some note by the automotive press. It had an Olds Rocket engine with hydramatic, and was converted to rear wheel drive with a Columbia 2 speed rear. The front sheet metal was stretched and converted to 47 LINCOLN! Over the years it became a derelict. A last attempt by a UPS driver at making something from it ended with all removeable sheet metal rusting away because the parts weren't primed after being sand blasted. I found it for sale in Olney, Md. and bought it because it still had some very desireable Cord parts, i.e. radio, instruments, windshield frames, you get the idea. All this while I had no knowlege at all of the provenance of this hulk. After picking it clean of Cord goodies (and melting 32 pounds of lead off it) I went about trying to decide what to do with the decrepit Cord body shell. I called John, now in Georgia, who had restored a Cord and stripped another, a derelict too, himself earlier. As I was describing the remains to him, I almost heard his jaw drop (as if you could over the phone), when I told him about a placque on the dash that said "custom Built by Walter Wenger". He said THAT WAS MY FATHER'S CORD! It all checked out, and it was. John got it, spent a ton of time on it, and look what he made out of it.

Another tow dolly catastrophy: Not many years ago a restored '36-'37 Cord sedan was being tow dollied. Due to some unspecified failure, the right rear wheel came loose. Instead of rolling free, it became entrapped in the fender, bearing full body weight. Major damage resulted to the entire r r body section. It was questionable at the time that the body could be saved.

Speaking of V16 Cadillacs.... back in the dark ages, say the late '50's, a hybridized flathead V16 was owned in Falls Church, Va. It had a ca. 1931 Cadillac phaeton body, very nicely grafted onto a '38-'40 V16 chassis and front end. All black. I only saw it once, and talked to the owner who obviously was a pretty handy guy. Any sightings in recent times? Is this car known of today?

Dynaflash8: Small world, yes I grew up in Arlington, Va. but didn't know the other guy with my name. Send me a pm.

I think the '35 Pontiac cabriolet is pretty cool, my first car was one, but not a conv, just a grocery getter sedan. I was 14 in '45, cars for sale were scarce, (and so were my dollars). I found it in an alley with no wheels or windows, right in my price range, $15.

There were actually 3 different Model B cranks, the plain un-counterweighted crank like a beefed up Model A one, the forged counterbalanced crank, and a third one with swedged on weights that was only installed in factory rebuilt engines and not available otherwise. It has been common practice to refer to the one piece forged counterweighted crank as a "C" crank to distinguish it, and needless to say it is the preferred crank. No C appears in its number, which is the same as the unweighted crank's number, except it has a "B" suffix. The C appearing on all Model B heads does not imply that there's necessarily a C crank inside, until after November 29' 1932 and thereafter. The B block continued to be the same. To correct and clarify my previous message, (before some sharp eyed Ford fan pounces on me!) the standard plain Model A head was numbered A-6050-A, the Police Head with an "A" on it was A-6050-B, and the sole Model B head with a "C" on it was B-6050. No C prefix. Clear as mud?

It is a common misconception that Ford made a model "C", but none such existed, except in 1904-5. The letter C appeared on ALL Model B heads, '32 thru '34, and did not indicate a late engine. The "C" letter came about because the standard Model A head part number had an "A" prefix, the Model A "Police head" had a "B" prefix, and "C" was assigned to the Model B head. Except for the letter prefix, the numbers were all the same for all 3 heads. This per the indisputable George De Angelis, writing about this in Antique Automobile, May/June 1977 and Secrets of Speed, Oct. 1996.

Weren't those the days or what? I usually arrived early on, parked along the right side of Hershey Park Drive, and "lived" in my blue '59 Peugeot 403 or '64 Comet Caliente a half dozen or so cars up from the intersection at the old Parkside Drive. From there it was just a few steps into the fleas. Invariably, someone had already cut through the snow fence along the road, making entry a cinch. The near proximity really paid off the time I had to carry a 70 pound vise I had bought!

Yes, '37. It's an aftermarket handle. Originals were stainless, not chrome plated, and had the Hurd lock cylinder and key, different from those shown.

Not to mention the 1/32 scale 1936 Cord miniatures, given to those who had not received their new Cords, promised for December 1935 delivery, in order to placate them and prevent cancellation of orders. Originals today are so highly coveted and few in number that the bronze model has been reproduced.

'38 Nash

These are for '35 and '36 Ford trunk-back 2dr. and 4 dr. sedans, and also were used on original '36 and '37 Mullins trailers.

They look like aftermarket sealed beam replacement lights, on brackets from whatever car they had been installed on.

Possibly a valve from a residential steam vapor heating system

Susan, Where I appear on the list of Hershey attendees, why not add to the paragraph something like "come by, kick tires, reminisce over a display of genuine antique Hershey mud from the good old days, and while you're there make a donation to the Jonathan Keiser fund that you have been reading about in this forum". Thanks Dave I fixed it for you, Dave! Wayne