Pollard ...fable or fact

[Brad in Wisconsin]

Way back in the early seventies when I was young, I read of a auction in Chicago of autos owned by Barney Pollard (sp?)and things did not sell. Through the years, I have heard rumors ,truths, lies, stories, fables of antique & classic machines stored standing on their tails in warehouses,and tin shacks along railroad sidings in downtown Chicago. Does anyone know of this mythical sightings or should they be classified with 100$ Corvettes and Elvis' Harley? Was told once of a one off Hupmobile with frontwheel drive that is in great shape from the rear window s up and gone there back. was supposed to be one of these car that stood on their tail for 50 years in mud? Loved to hear or see pictures or lists of car owned by this fella

[cmj]

I think all of those cars that were hung from the rafters are long gone. It was a true story. As for the front wheel drive Hupmobile I saw it about 12 or 13 years ago in Oklahoma. It was in excellent restorable shape front to rear,was running and if memory serves me correctly it went to WI, or MN or somewhere up north

[1937hd45]

True story. Barney Pollard saved a lot of cars during WWII, to save on space they were stored on end in buildings he constructed. One building cought fire and many cars were damaged. There was a feature story on the collection in Car & Driver I believe. I've only see two cars that were once in the collection, both restored now. A 1910 era Moon with overhead cam engine and the Packard "Gray Wolf" racer.

[Steve Moskowitz]

To my knowledge many of the cars still exist. I have visited them! Part of the collection was divided bewteen Barney Pollard, Jr, and his sister. The have sold-off parts of their collections over the years. <P>I was in the hunt for what I believed was a 1910 Oldsmobile and was given permission to come to Michigan to view the car. The collection was located in an industrial park and it was a sight I will never forget. As the lights grew brighter I saw what I believed to be around 100 cars. Many were just piled on top each other and were unrestored. There was a large crane in the middle. To my right were several large brass cars that were "originals" or older restorations, such as American Underslung, Lozier, Eagle etc. There were lots and lots of big Cadillacs from the brass era or in the 30's. The car I was looking for was there and I spent hours trying to determine what it was and could not prove whether it was a '12 or '13. It was later sold to a well known collector.<P>The story does not end there, however, since in the corner I found a "straight front" Olds. It was originally a Curved Dash (1904) but the add-on repair kit was later installed. I had my trailer there and did not want to go home empty-handed so I BOUGHT IT! It later became my AACA Cup winning Curved Dash. <P>I have not given you more details as I made a promise a long time ago to the sister that I would not divulge the location or give out her phone number. She was a very, very private person in dealing with me and a non-negotiator to boot!<p>[ 07-30-2002: Message edited by: oldscarnut ]

[Guest c.johnson]

Wow!! What year was that?<P>cj

[1937hd45]

Oldscarnut, Thanks for sharing that visit. I was lucky enough to get into a collection of 50 or more pre 1935 automobiles once. Sure was a time warp experiance. I too was told not to divulge the location. I often wonder how many of these collections exist?

[Peter J.Heizmann]

Wow, interesting post. Thanks to all of you for your input. This has to be one of the all time intriquing topics I have read here.<P>Regards, Peter J.

[Steve Moskowitz]

I believe it was in 1988 or 1989 that I was there. By coincidence, a restorer friend of mine talking to Barney's grandson today! If I get to tell the story of their conversation it will be a better story than this!<P>There's more to tell on this subject but I am overdue to be in Lansing, Mich. tonight to start our 105th meet...about 1200 cars, etc. Join us if you can...I'm the guy with the 1908...stop by and say hi!

[Chris Paulsen]

I just bought a 1907 Premier that was from the Pollard collection years ago. It was standing on its front end because the frame horns stuck out further in the front than the rear. It was in one of the buildings that burned. It is a project... does anyone have any info, photos, parts, etc?

[Brad in Wisconsin]

Guys, words can't express how much I appreciate you fellas telling your stories about things like this. I use to read about Henry Austin Clarks adventures finding and retrieving early autos out of old buildngs in big cities. I've always wondered what is in all those old boarded-up buildings in Chicago when I had to drive thru the Loop down there for business. Once I had the chance to ask a sales clerk in downtown Milwaukee on Wisconsin Ave. what was above his record store. He looked at me like I was a nut and,said he had owned the store for 15 years and had no idea what was above him.I can imagine what a dusty floor full of old cars must look like! You guys make it sound like Mr. Pollard had hundreds of cars.I am so thankful that guys like him had the forsight to collect and save them for us. Anyone have pictures or lists of his cars? Again THANKS for your effort and His!

[1937hd45]

Brad, Thank you for asking the question in the first place! I think the Pollard collection was close to 1000 cars at one time. My favorite Pollard story is about saving the cars from WWII scrap metal drives. At the time it was not considered patriotic to hold back scrap metal. To keep goverment collectors off his back all the tires were removed from Pollards cars and turned into the war effort.<p>[ 07-30-2002: Message edited by: 1937hd45 ]

[The Old Guy]

I had a chance to visit the collection when Barney was still alive, and another interesting story he told is also about the scrap drives during the war. When the scrap collectors got too demanding, he would load a scrap freight car with old construction equipment and then strategically scatter a Model T or rwo over the top to make them think he had complied with their wishes. he had two buildings full of either restored or nice originals, and the rest of the cars were sprayed with oil and grease and stood on the bumpers. When he had a fairly large stack, he would enclose them in corrugated metal and throw more on top for a roof

[Guest]

I know of a guy that bought a 1917 truck from someone in New York that had drove around and just bought up old cars and trucks and put them in storage in old warehouses. I thought that was interesting but I would give anything to see something like the Pollard collection. WOW!

[Guest]

"GUS" Hobart collected alot of early 1900's cars from the locals here and eventually opened a museum with them all on display. I got to know him while working on the construction crew building the museum. He never touched them, they were in the condition they were drove there in. Before the museum came along, there was alot of talk of all the cars he had "stashed" away in several barns. A small placard on each told their story. He passed on a few years ago and people from far and wide came to the auction.

[Steve Moskowitz]

Just got back from our meet in Lansing, Michigan and it was a great one.<P>The picture I remember most about Barney was one at his company and showed him with two bulltet belts strapped across his chest and a shotgun. It was supposedly a time where they were trying to come and scrap more of his vehicles and he refused to let him in the yard! <P>While the war effort and neet for scrap was probably more important, I still thank God that men like Barney saved so many vehicles for us. Our automotive heritage is a precious commodity. My "Pollard" Curved Dash was extra special as his daughter told me he drove it at Greenfield Village in the early 50's.

[ronbarn]

According to previous owners of my 1911 Hudson, it was pulled aside by Pollard, Jr. when the collection was broken up. It then went through several owners. So apparently (no documentation) I own a "Pollard" car.

[Guest]

several years ago at carlisle a guy had 8 or 10 old motorcycles that he said came from this collection. they were all from teens or 20's. he said there was a pile, heaped up pile, of about 75 that he bought from one of these warehouses.

[Tubize]

I am a nephew of Barney Pollard and am not as secretive as my cousins. I have sort of inherited some old newspaper and magazine articles about Barney and have set them up on the Internet where you can find them at B.J. Pollard site. If there is interest from old car enthusiasts and I suspect that there might be based on this forum, I would like to set up an interactive section where folks can write about any experiences they might have had with him. You can e-mail me at jpollard@skynet.be

[Steve Moskowitz]

Great site! Thanks for finding us and posting!

[Restorer32]

To put into perspective what B. Pollard did to preserve automotive history for all of us. These cars were virtually worthless when he began saving them. The father of a customer of mine was in the scrap iron smelting business. In 1937 he bought 1000 cars for scrap, paying .75 (that's 75 cents for the decimally challenged ) each. Took him several years to pay off the debt.

[1937hd45]

Tubize, Thank you for posting the website info. I've seen a few cars that Barney Pollard saved after they were restored by others. The hobby owes him a big Thank You!

[K8096]

Here is a picture of an L-29 Cord that was originally from the Pollard collection. This car was stored "up on end" during WW II.

[K8096]

Here is a 1929 Stutz Model M sedan that was also from the Pollard collection. Entirely original. Also was stored "up on end" during the war.

[Stanley735]

I think my Stanley was from the Pollard collection. It was stored on end in a barn in Michigan. We had to splice a rear of another Stanley on the body and locate another fuel tank. The car was relatively complete. The guages were all broken by vandals. I haven't found it as yet, but Barney was supposed to have stamped his name on either the front axle or on the frame near the front of the car. whether it is a Pollard car or not, I am fortunate to have a Nickel Era Car.

Jim Showers

1921 Stanley 735B Touring