some interesting things you find in old cars

[Guest dgiorgi]

Anyone have some interesting things they've found in there old car or truck?

[Guest Paul Christ]

While restoring my 1955 Chevy Bel Air (originally owned by my grandparents), I found an ignition switch bezel (says Lock-Off-On-Start) under the carpeting. I thought this factory worker's slip-up was a neat souvenir, and still have it.

[Curti]

I found a small leather coin purse under the seat of a 36 Chevy. As I recall there was over a bucks worth of coins, all before the war. Nothing particularly valuable though.

[Guest Gary Hearn]

I have found a lot of stuff, but nothing too valuable. I am still trying to determine why a 1944 Montana truck license plate was in my '59 IH B-120 4x4 when it spent its entire life in NC and VA. I have found numerous tools (wrenches, sockets, files, screwdrivers, etc.), money, car parts, etc.

[Bhigdog]

Anyone have some interesting things they've found in there old car or truck?

Hershey kisses in every nook, cranny, and duct...........bob

[Guest Plymouthy]

the most interesting thing I found may still be actively searched for as we speak..

[Steve Braverman]

Under the back seat of a 1933 Franklin Olympic that I no longer own, I found a box of ancient condoms. The brand was Shiek and there was a 1931 copyright date on the box. I still have them. Hey you never know

[sambarn]

I recently found a very Art Deco looking thermometer in a 1927 Marmon Parts car. It measures about2 inches across, says Automobile Thermometer and has a wing and wheel based logo printed on the front. On the rear there are two stick pin like attachments so you can pin it to any part of your interior and know if it feels like 105 or it really is 105. I', going to put some paint on the rear (surface rusty) and add it to the 1927 Model L that the parts car was there for.

[F&J]

Under the back seat of a 1933 Franklin Olympic that I no longer own, I found a box of ancient condoms. The brand was Shiek and there was a 1931 copyright date on the box. I still have them. Hey you never know

Some had round metal tins embossed with the risque trade name of "merry widow" The folks who do metal detecting find these at old home sites.

I sold a 36 Austin taxi to a lawyer in Chicago and he needed a title but I had none. He called me during the restoration to say that he found the title inside one of the rear doors. I thought that was lucky.

[jaxops]

Under the back seat of my 70 Electra was a shopping list, and the whole floorpan was covered in spilled birdseed. I also found the original window sticker stuck up against the rear quarter panel inside the window control panel.

Under the back seat of my 56 Cadillac was a note from the funeral director who orignally owned the car for a funeral pickup with the man's name and date/time of the services.

[oldcarfudd]

In the late 60s, Dave Fackler and I unearthed a 1923 Packard from a moonshine still in Minnesota. There was a dried-out pack of Wings cigarettes in a door pouch and a recipe for sour mash whiskey in the still.

The MTFCA site has a recent discussion of a German Iron Cross medal from World War I that was found in a 1915 Model T being restored. Probably a souvenir from a returning doughboy.

Gil Fitzhugh, Morristown, NJ

[Richard Lichtfel]

In 1952 my parents gave me a 1916 Peerless for Christmas that they bought for $100 from a man in Dubuque. When we brought it home I was cleaning it out and found a type written manuscript in the door pocket, title Nine and One Half Cents. It had a lot of notations in it and I threw it out. A year later I found out my parents bought the Peerless from Dick Bissel who owned the pajama factory in Dubuque and he wrote a book titled Nine & one half cents, it became the Broadway Play and movie "Pajama Game"

That's why I became a pack rat.

[Guest richentee]

Under the front seat pedestal of my 1917 Franklin Cloverleaf, I found a 1924 quarter, probably lost when the car was refitted with new flooring and a California top. Also, inside the seat bottom was a spare ignition key, put there by the factory when the car was manufactured and shipped from Syracuse, New York to Calfornia in case the original key was lost?

[keiser31]

I was removing a door panel off of my 1968 Dodge Dart GTS 383 4-speed car and discovered the phrase "HELP ME" under the plastic covering. I guess the guy thought he was a prisoner at the Dodge assembly plant.

[R W Burgess]

We bought a mildly rodded '35 Ford years ago. While taking the headliner out we found the previous owner's "pack rat's" winter storage vault! I was peppered repeatedly with "acorns"!:eek:

This car also had a unique button-tuffed interior. While trying to sell the car not too long ago, a friend looked inside and remarked that it looked like the inside of a coffin to him! :confused::eek:

I drove home a little slower that day!

Wayne

[MCHinson]

OK, Thanks Wayne.... That is the perfect introduction to this one...

I found a casket key in my first car.

If you know that my first car was a 1961 Cadillac Hearse, it makes a lot more sense.

I still have the casket key, but the car is long gone.

[keiser31]

OK, Thanks Wayne.... That is the perfect introduction to this one...

I found a casket key in my first car.

If you know that my first car was a 1961 Cadillac Hearse, it makes a lot more sense.

I still have the casket key, but the car is long gone.

I never even knew caskets had keys.....were they afraid of an escape or grave robbers?

[MCHinson]

They are not really keys, they are sort of ornate handles with basically a large allen wrench on them. They are actually used to latch them closed, not lock them, but they keep them from popping open at an inoportune time like you occasionally see them do in movies.

[keiser31]

I bought a 1968 Plymouth Roadrunner from behind a gas station in Pine Valley, California quite a few years ago. When I started to strip the interior, I removed the rear seat to find a TON of small change and three of those nylon masks with the knot on top that robbers wear. Turns out the car was used in heists of liquor stores and Qwik-E-Marts. There were also some .22 caliber rounds laying under the seat.

[CarlLaFong]

They are not really keys, they are sort of ornate handles with basically a large allen wrench on them. They are actually used to latch them closed, not lock them, but they keep them from popping open at an inoportune time like you occasionally see them do in movies.

That was, no doubt, a key from a Batesville Monoseal casket. I used to work as an embalmer and remember them well. They came in a nice presentation box and you were expected to give it to the family at the end of the funeral. I always thought that was about as stupid an idea as anyone could conceive of. "Gee, lets go on down to the cemetery, dig Gramps up, use this lovely key to open his casket and take a little peek." Several of the mortuaries that I worked for threw them out since it seemed a bit macabre to them, also.

[Shop Rat]

Not found in a car but written on the inside edge of a gas cap we bought, most likely at the Charlotte Auto Fair, quite a few years back for our 1963 1/2 Ford Falcon Sprint convertible.

"Reward for return. David Messina (and his phone number)". Turns out he lives in Carrituck, N.C. according to a search I did on the internet. Now if Bill can only locate the cap again I want to take a photo of it and send it to him. Wonder how much he was willing to pay to get it back.

[Bill Harmatuk]

Speaking of condoms...........

I bought a Volkswagon a couple years after I got married.

Had problems with the battery under the back seat.

Well.... Someone,.... the previous owner,.... hid a couple of condoms in the springs of the back seat, (I didn't know), and my wife found one in the back floor board that had fallen out as I accessed the battery area.

Things weren't to good around the house for a while and thank God I had more problems with the battery cause I found another condom and a couple of receipts from the previous owner stuffed under the springs of the back seat cushion.

I took my wife out and showed her the evidence.

Man. Talking about a being in a tight spot for a while.

Bill

[Restorer32]

We brought a Healey 3000 into the shop which had been stored in a farmer's barn for years. When we opened the trunk a large and not too friendly rat jumped out and scampered into a far corner of the shop. Three days later an employee saw the rat run across the floor and instinctively tossed the large wrench he was carrying at it scoring a direct hit and killing it.

[TexRiv_63]

I've found a surprising amount of loose change and petrified Mcdonald's french fries - they look just like they are fresh, no decay, those preservatives work great! the most "interesting" find was a wasp's nest inside the frame rail of a Cadillac back in Illinois. I had the car in the garage for awhile before I discovered it while trying to remove a bumper, those guys were not happy with me clunking a big wrench next to their home. It was a small nest, luckily, and I soaked it with Raid. Wasps are tough, the Raid did not kill them, just slowed them down enough that I could swat them.

[Dandy Dave]

I've also found a lot of bees nests...:eek:..carburetor cleaner works well. The buggers don't even have a chance to scream and hit the ground dead.

I found all kinds of stuff in cars, tractors, trucks, and construction equipment. Tools, Change, Trash..Mice..Saint Peter be my guide clip on pin that is still in my 1962 Ford Truck. An occational pot pipe....the dude must have been so stoned that he forgot where he put it. In the trash with that.... LOL

I guess the thing that stands out the most was that the book with the original owners name, and address, was still in the glove box pocket of a 1971 Caddilac Eldorado convertible that I had. Dandy Dave!

[keiser31]

A buddy of mine and I used to tramp through junk yards to strip MoPars. Once, we came across this nice white 1964 Dodge Polara. Tom started stripping and I wanted to get into the trunk. I took the rear seat out and crawled through the "X" framing in the trunk and popped the deck lid open. The car must have belonged to a couple that had a little boy. The trunk was packed with household items such as dishes and pots & pans. There under all of that stuff were three big "Hotwheels" carrying cases with multi-tiers of nice, excellent condition Hotwheels cars! Since I collect toys, it was like a gold mine for me!! I could not help but feel horrible for the little guy who lost all of his toy cars. I still have them all.

[Guest asinger]

After I took possession of my 1967 Mercury Park Lane, I was cleaning the crap out of it and inside the glove compartment, I found a 1970s vintage McDonalds coffee stirrer "coke spoon."

I still have it in the garage; I read that I could sell it for $5. Maybe I should sell it. It's about time the car started earning its keep.

[Guest Stonefish]

found a case of Whip-its in my 66 VW bus...nice!

[Dick380185]

In 1984 I bought a beautiful original 1946 Olds 98 Club Sedan. About 2 yrs later, I decided to have the hood painted due to the old paint wearing thin causing the primer to show through in areas. Due to it being winter, I needed to get the hood to my painter without having to drive the car through the snow, so I removed the hood. On the underside of the hood, right behind the main crossmember was written the phrase: "Kilroy was here" in grease pencil. It was faint, but clearly distinguishable, but only noticable when I turned the hood upside down on the garage floor. That car had a very low-opening hood, and because of that, it was hidden from view behind the hood's wide crossmember when opened normally. I understand this was a fairly common practice among some assembly line workers during WWII.

[Guest windjamer]

:D I may have told this befor, but it fits here perfect. My older brother was a prep man for a local new car dealer.He cleaned an prepaired new cars to be picked up by new owners.One day a lady came back to the dealer and complaned of a rattle.Brother checked the trunk for anything loose, looked the car over and gave it back to the lady. She returned the next day with the same complant. Again brother searched for the rattle but found nothing.This went on for a few days untill the lady said find it fix it or I DONT WANT IT. In disperation brother started to literaly take things apart!!:eek: In back of a sail panel he found a coke can with a loose marble in it and a note. Congradulations, you finaly found me.:mad:

[rick60]

I experienced a similar situation. In 1977 I was working as a mechanic at an Oldsmobile dealer. I was assigned a brand new 98 four door. The right rear window was inop. I removed the trim panel. " &*%$ YOU LETS SEE YOU FIX THIS ONE! " was written on the vapor barrier. The inside of the door was filled with paper cups, pop cans and garbage. I showed it to my boss. He said "just fix it". It was an easy repair. It only needed a regulator. I wonder if that worker lost his job when people started buying imports?

[Guest abh3usn]

When I bought a '67 Fairlane from my friend John, it took me an entire day to unpack the trunk. We were in the Navy at the time and he used the large trunk for storage. The trunk was leaking so my intent was to replace the weather stripping and fix the leak. After taking all the junk out of the trunk I came away with the following: pair of EV tripod speaker stands borrowed from the ship, several CDs, almost the entire Led Zepplin discography, flight deck jerseys, spare Fairlane parts, spare tire, hubcaps, entire owners history since 1967 from Maridian, Mississippi, several gallons of water that had accumulated in the rear wheel wells, T-shirts, and Navy tech. manuals. I still have the speaker stands but everything else is gone. I did get the leak fixed after the water drained out for two days. -Steve

[Bob Zetnick]

I've posted this in the Dodge Brothers forum, but is fitting here. I bought my 1929 Dodge DA-6 in 1971 when I was 15. I had saved up enough paper route money to buy it for $750. I worked on the car with a neighborhood mechanic, took it to college and after many moves and career ( where it just sat) started to restore her last year. I took out my floorboards last summer and was cleaning out the space between the body and frame on the driver's side with a shop-vac. I saw something gold and used a screwdriver to fish it out. Turned out to be my dad's 1949 class ring. The last time he drove the car was when he was teaching me how to drive it in 1971...he must have lost the ring then and it just stayed lodged there over the years until now! He's gone now, but maybe it was a message for me to persevere on the the car when I felt overwhelmed at the start of the project.

[Bill Boudway]

We had our 19 Packard Twin Six delivered to Canandaigua, NY from the Texas panhandle.

I started removing parts and found a very much alive black widow spider under the running board.

I don't mind a few specimens of wildlife around the place, but this one had to go.

Regards,

Bill Boudway

PS: 32 days until Hershey

[Guest dgiorgi]

wOW , THESE WERE ALL GREAT STORIES TO READ... THX., Dave

[40phil41]

Our 1940 Dodge has been in the family since it was 6 months old. When I pulled it out of the family field in 1968 I found a small metal container of condoms under the back seat. No one in the family would own up to it

Phil

[Restorer32]

A small baggie of cocaine under the seat of a 1949 Volkswagen retrieved from a warehouse in Baltimore and my all time favorite...we brought a non running 1920 Kissel Gold Bug Speedster into the shop for complete restoration. Upon disassembling the carb we found the float to be misssing but in its place was a note "I'm sorry but I really needed this float".

[keiser31]

We had our 19 Packard Twin Six delivered to Canandaigua, NY from the Texas panhandle.

I started removing parts and found a very much alive black widow spider under the running board.

I don't mind a few specimens of wildlife around the place, but this one had to go.

Regards,

Bill Boudway

PS: 32 days until Hershey

Here in southern Oregon, it's very common to find a black widow or two or three under an old car....or in my garage! Sorry if there are spider lovers out there on this forum, but these bad girls never come out of it alive if I can help it. They are just plain nasty.

[Guest dgiorgi]

Well I found a real pearl under the seat of my 1932 Plymouth PB convertible coupe, so now she sports the name

"pearl", I also hung the pearl on the key ring...DAVE.

[Dave Henderson]

Condoms hidden in a hole in the headliner of a '35 Dodge coupe I once bought.