SAM ADELMAN'S CLASSIC SALVAGE YARD

[Guest Silverghost]

Does anyone else remember visiting Sam Adelman's Salvage yard in NY in the 50s ?

Sam had a scrap/parts yard for Full Classics only !

As a tot I remember Dad dragging me along on a trip from Phila. to NY to find a big Westingouse generator for my Grandmother's Springfield Rolls~Royce Phantom I that was sitting unused in her carriage house for years. The generator was long since mssing !

We arrived at Sam's place where a fenced-in yard contained dozens of Rolls~Royce Springfields, Packards, Pierce~Arrows and other big high-end towncars !

Sam was a short stockey man who spoke with an eastern european accent, possibly Russian.

We went inside the dark building and were stopped at the door.

We could move no further inside as it was packed to the rafters with all manner of removed parts.

Sam sat at a small desk almost in the dark. The building was dank & damp with a small wood stove. You could smell the burning wood as well as cigar smoke and #90 weight gear lube.

Dad asked about the Westinghouse P I generator and Sam rummaged around and finally produced the big dynamo in hand.

It became clear that thease Classics were Sam's true love.

He asked about the Phantom I that needed the generator.

He threw a price at Dad which I think was high for the times but Dad bought it anyway !

Dad found out about Sam Adelman's Emporium from H Austin Clark. a famous early collector .

I believe Sam was also an AACA & CCCA member.

I shall never forget that visit !

Does anyone else remember Sam Adelman's Classic Salvage yard in NY ?

Do any AACA members remember Sam ?

When did it close ?

I often wonder what happened to alll those great Full Classics and all of Sam's Parts.

Do any of Sam's cars exist today ?

BRAD HUNTER

215 947 4676

Edited September 22, 2010 by Silverghost (see edit history)

[bruffsup]

Great imagery there. Thanks for the anecdote. Now if I can just get that time machine working properly. Was that the yard that had the Bugatti Royale that was bought by the head of GM ? and is now in the Ford museum?

[Clincher]

In the 'Fifties we made many trips to Sam Adelman's "Auto Wrecking In All Its Branches" at 635 South Columbus Ave., Mount Vernon, N.Y. The yard was loaded with restorable classic cars; and cars and parts were sold for prices so cheap that most collectors today don't believe them. In 1955 received a Post Card from Sam: "Have a 1930 Cadillac V-16, Seven Passenger Sedan, slightly shabby, $80.00". It was a bit scruffy, but all there and running sweetly. Bought it, drove it home up the Post Road to Boston, and used it for several years thereafter to tow the low bed trailer. One cannot help but to pine for The Sunny Long Ago.

[1937hd45]

Brad, Thank you again for starting another great thread! I never got to see the Adelman yard, but it was a topic of discussion when I first got into the hobby. I'm sure he was a member of the Westchester Region of AACA. It must have been great to be outside a big city in the 1940's-1950's collecting cars, people with money always had top end cars, and all cities had them.

Edited September 26, 2010 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[Guest BJM]

Yes,

I find these posts highly entertaining. Also re: Barney Pollard Collection and others. I am also a nostalgic person. Born in 1964 in the midwest so can not add comment. Had I been there, I would be the type to have the same recollection.

So anybody else?

V16 Cadillacs for giveaway prices.

Edited September 26, 2010 by BJM (see edit history)

[Guest cben09]

Sam respondid to an ad I had placed for a 1928 Judkins Pierce,,36 landeau coupe',Prof Clarke's NYC show car,,,it STILL stands as the most precise and short business letter I have ever received,,will try to find it,,,Has anyone photos of the yard,,OR recolections of his humor and priceless jokes,,,,,oh I hope so,,worth as much as the parts,I think,,Blessings to Sam for giving us priceless memories,,and rare parts too,,Ben,,/ ps,,any one need Pierce '25 doors,,see P-A thread,,hah,,CB

[edinmass]

I remember Bill's junk yard in Rhode Island in the late 60's. We drove in the yard in a brand new Cadillac my father had picked up a few days earlier. Drove right in the yard and started pulling parts off of several early thirties Caddy's for his 31 Fleetwood convertible coupe. Still have some of those parts on a shelf in my barn! We also had Pierce Arrow's at the time but I don't remember taking any parts off those. Now here is the kicker! Photos posted below are of a 1936 Pierce Arrow from Bill's junk yard that just came through the door of our shop last summer. It was purchased from Bills at the closing auction. By a remarkable chance of fate, a friend of mine pulled off a bunch of parts off this car in the early 70's and sold them to me in the early 90's for a restoration of my 1936 V-12. So some of the parts off this car removed 30 years earlier ended up on my finished car in 1995 and in 2009 the entire car comes my way! :eek:

Edited September 24, 2010 by edinmass (see edit history)

[Guest Silverghost]

Sam Adelman and Dad took me into the yard to show me those Great Classcs and to explain the great mechanical features of these machines.

Sam was a tough guy with a heart of gold.

It was obvious that he really loved these big Classics .

They were his pets !

He went on to describe the graceful sweeping lines of the cars.

Many looked to be cosmetically in great shape .

There were some that he would not part out ~

He was looking for new "Homes for them"

He quizzed dad on my Grandmother's R~R Phantom I .

"Does she have pretty lines ? "

" Is her face and body holding up well ?"

He loved to talk of that "Grand Golden Autombile Era"

Sam seemed to have no regard for the 1950's new cars.

"They have no soul ! "

I believe Sam at one time worked at a high-end New York City repair shop maintaining these great cars for the well to do . He knew many of the great New York City familys.

Sam loved to talk !

He bent my dad's ear for quite some time .

He seemed to like to re-live past times & a long gone grand era.

He talked of some great cars that were still in use as of that time after things got better.

These cars became almost worthless overnight.

Many were just abandoned on NY city streets or in yards.

Sam said that he had a big customer parts base in Atlantic City NJ. He sold many parts to customers there in the 40-50s

For some reason Atlantic City NJ was not hit very hard by the depression.

This then High-End resort seemed immune to te depression money issues.

The many large hotels in Atlantic City NJ began buying up these grand old Classics for hotel use for little or no money . The hotels would use the grand old cars to pick-up customers at the train station & give them the "Red Carpet Treatment"

The cars could also take folks out around the resort town for dinner or rides to the many neighboring resort islands.

Sam said that at one time there were more Rolls~Royces and other grand cars in Atlantic City NJ than any other city of this time period ! They all seemed to end their lives there doing high-end taxi fleet service.

Sam had many customers in Atlantic City for parts as well as preserved cars !

It is also interesting to note that he had a Rolls~Royce Phantom I converted into a cobbled together tow truck !

What a fantastic monster that was !

Complete with the great radiator & flying lady Spirit !

His Office/shop was cold dark and dank with an old pot belly wood stove. You could smell burning wood, cigar smoke, and the raw smell of transmission & gear lube.

Sam told us an interesting story.

After the depression hit it was no longer wise to be seen in these big grand old cars.

People would throw rocks at a person riding in a big towncar that cost $16,000 in the late 20s while they were out of work !

Many of these grand cars were put in the garage or carriage house and retired to hopefully be used at a later time~

That time never came as Time had passed these cars by~

His place was very dark. He had but a few drop-bulb lights. The removed parts were piled everywhere~

When you went into the office door you literally could not move for all the piles of parts !

But he appeared to be able to put his hands on anything needed !

We later went back for more "Goodies" for the R~R P I

As a kid who collected matchbox antique cars & built models of old cars I could not believe what great cars he had on that fantastic lot !

I could not believe how impressive these cars were close-up.

To me as a kid seeing these cars in person was a thrill beyond belief.

Those visits made a big impression on me as a young kid.

I never forgot them~

I could not believe that they were being junked !

I had been in local PA junk/scrap yards as a kid before with Dad~

But I never saw anythng like Sam Adelman's Classic Salvage yard!

I never forgot those few visits .

There must be some of Sam's old finds still around ~ now restored today .

We can thank Sam Adelman & others like him for saving some of them for future generations to enjoy!

BRAD HUNTER

215 947 4676

Edited September 25, 2010 by Silverghost (see edit history)

[1937hd45]

The Westchester Region of AACA has a Sam Adelman Award that they give out every year. The Ray Keeler Award is another award that is given out yearly. I remember my Dad taking me to the meet he held in his back yard, I was 8 years old. There was a 1903 Cadillac that the local Caddy dealer owned, James Melton had his 1907 Rolls Royce, and Austin Clark had a White or Cadillac Coupe at the meet, I remember the auto games that ran there as clear as it was yesterday. I bet Sam Adleman was there that day as well. AACA 2002 Special Eastern Fall Meet --- WRAACA History

[Harold]

A number of years ago, Matt Joseph wrote about Sam and the yard in his Skinned Knuckles Magazine columns. Sam sounds like quite a character!