Potter boxes on buicks.......

[bestpaint1949]

OK we have the shelf and all the brackets on the car(32 buick 57S). How were they(boxes) held to the shelf?

Also does anyone redo/reproduce the chrome corners and taches for these boxes?

Also what is a potter box worth these days? We have the one for the 32 buick but also have a gray square style box that the boss ownes. Not sure what that one was for.

Thanks

corey

[Barney Eaton]

Ok, I give up. What is a Potter box?

Is that the brand name for a removable rear trunk?

[Guest WEB 38]

Sounds like something that you would plant in potters field. Bill WEB

[jscheib]

Corey,

If I understand the word most used is "trunk" rather then "box" and "trunk rack" rather then "shelf". I think you will get many comments which way as there were apparently several menthods used. Many are just bolts through the bottom, while some were just strapped onto the rack, as best I understand.

Regarding the trunks, could you send some photos? That might help to determine the means to attach.

John

[Barney Eaton]

Corey may originally be from England or elsewhere that has different names than we recognise.

I have started a collection of pictures for folding trunk racks and the trunks themselves.

Some racks are very simple while others are more complex in their folding/storage position.

Attached is a photo of a supurb trunk with fitted luggage on a Packard.

[Guest outlaw car man]

Corey-

The term Potter sometimes gets confused as the " type" of trunk, whereas Potter was the manufacturer of trunks from Jackson, MI.

There were quite a few manufactures of trunks for different cars, GM, Ford, Hudson on & on.

You my in fact have a Potters trunk , but if researching parts for it , make sure you know this, especially if you get into the body formed trunks.

Potter usually has an oval logo somewhere inside the trunk.

There are a couple different ways to secure the trunk, to the rack, depending on what you have. A common way, as John says here, was to use 4 carriage type bolts and bolt the trunk to the trunk rack.

Can't give a value, I've restored 4 different type of trunks, but all sold with the car. Did pay $1000.00 for a complete NOS Potter Trunk for a 1934 Ford back in 1997.

I just completed restoring a trunk for a 1933 Buick 90 and have a Taylor trunk on the other one-

Good luck.

Sandy

[50jetback]

Nice answer Sandy, covered all the questions raised by Corey and we are all a little more knowledgeable now - thanks.

[Guest Teamsterdug]

Sandy! Very interesting information. I doubt I will ever grow tired of looking at pictures of funky old tired stuff that someone has brought back to life. Thanks for posting them.

Doug

[bestpaint1949]

Thanks for all the great info. I wish I could post pics of it but the shop computer is slow. It is an actual potter box. The decal on the inside of the top is still there. We worked around it and left it intact. The question I have about the carrage bolts through the box and into the shelf bracket on the car is how did they get gas into the car? We are waiting for the bumpers to come back from chroming so nothing is bolted on there but just looking at it and trying to imagine where it all goes to me it looks like it will cover the gas tank neck. Am I over thinking this?

corey

[bestpaint1949]

Corey may originally be from England or elsewhere that has different names than we recognise.

I have started a collection of pictures for folding trunk racks and the trunks themselves.

Some racks are very simple while others are more complex in their folding/storage position.

Attached is a photo of a supurb trunk with fitted luggage on a Packard.

On a side note I am from south dakota. Never left here......why with the wonderful winters who could leave? I was just having a brain fart and couldn't think of what to call the bracket that the box sits on if that is what you were referring to. :)

[jscheib]

Corey,

I think part of the filling problem is that the gas nozzles in 1932 were of a different shape and also a slower pump. I have several times studied the provision of a trunk on my rack, but have also thought it a problem wil filling the tank; hence, no trunk at this time.

John

[Barney Eaton]

I have compiled pictures of maybe 70 different cars with trunk racks. My goal is to have a picture of the car, a picture of the trunk rack, and a mechnical drawing of how the rack folds.

The basic racks have a one piece shelf that folds out of the way when not in use. There are two piece rack that fold like a book and they get more elaborate. Many custom bodied cars have custom made racks that can get much more complicated.

I would welcome copies or photos of rack and rack catalogs to add to my collection. I am also willing to share photos with people working on getting a rack mounted on their car.

I have photos of both US and foreign cars with racks, but do not claim to have one of everything..... I still collecting.

[Guest outlaw car man]

The question I have about the carrage bolts through the box and into the shelf bracket on the car is how did they get gas into the car?

I'm not sure I understand the question here, but as far as getting gas into the filler, I went to Ace, maybe Home Depot, and got a plastic flexible filler tube that has a bowl on one end. It's probably 2-3 feet long.

With the trunk on my 90, it's impossible to fill at a local gas station without removing the trunk. SO, I keep this simple device in the trunk. Same with the Taylor trunk.

Some gear-head friends of mine thought that the 1930s Service Stations attendants either removed the trunk for you ( doubtful) , or used a long filler tube, just for people with trunks. ( probable) Just the way it was.

OCM

[Barney Eaton]

I'm pretty sure this is a '32 Buick that was to the Great Lakes Regional in Columbus last August. Note the location of the gas cap. It appears there is just enough room to remove the cap.

Also note this car has the platform for the trunk mounted improperly, it is upside down, the trunk should fit inside the stamped platform. The owner probably mounted it that way because the trunk is is using does not fit the platform.

The green trunk is a '29 LaSalle note the attachment method,

Edited December 16, 2010 by Barney Eaton (see edit history)

[Guest outlaw car man]

Some of you might find this interesting and related to the trunk discussion .

This is John Dillinger's 1933 Essex Terraplane 8 , that was caught up in a two car shoot-out in Chicago. The guy is pointing to a shotgun blast that was aimed at Mr. Dillinger while traveling down a Chicago street going 70 MPH or so. Wasn't a bank robbery, he was just spotted coming out of a Doctors office with his moll.

If you notice the Bellview trunk on the car ( I think it was Bellview) with the bumper extender. This particular trunk had an accessory filler tub that came up through a cut-out on the trunk. Simple.

Sandy

[Graham Man]

You might want to consider one more thing on the gas filler locations. A lot of these cars were rear mount spare tire cars from the factory, before they “magically” became dual side mount cars. Unless you are looking at a documented original car, I would not trust anything you see.

Can you see a salesman trying to sell the top of the line Packard (insert your make here), and telling the prospective new owner he had to pull out a special gas soaked pipe so he could fill her up with fuel?