1955 Antique Auto Meet NY-Connecticut

[31plymouth]

https://youtu.be/jQhJMuW8wDU

 

The son of a founding member of the Westchester NY region gave us a copy of this film which was transferred to VHS tape and then DVD.  

I posted on youtube.

It says Connecticut but I think Travers Island is in New Rochelle NY.  It may have been a joint meet

I know that James Melton(past AACA National president) is in it.

Can you identify any others.  How about the cars?

[John_S_in_Penna]

Thank you for sharing that 1955 film.

I noticed:

 

---Most of the participants weren't well up in years.

There were plenty of families with children.

---The cars, too, were younger:  Many were no more

than 30 years old.  Cars became obsolete sooner then,

but would people appreciate a show today where most

cars were from the 1980's?

[auburnseeker]

10 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

but would people appreciate a show today where most

cars were from the 1980's?

If you think about the difference between a 1925 car and a 1955 car.  They were vastly different inside and out with lots of styling difference.  Think on the outside how much different a 1987 Minivan would look from a 2017 Minivan.  Sure they are a little more rounded and loaded with tech gadgets inside but really can you see a huge difference from 100 feet away besides the Boxiness, like you can between a 25 and 55 car? 

People also seemed to be more connected to the Auto back in the day.  Think of all the family photos that featured the car.  Think of how many family photos you see now with the car as the focal point. 

[John348]

11 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

Thank you for sharing that 1955 film.

I noticed:

 

---Most of the participants weren't well up in years.

There were plenty of families with children.

---The cars, too, were younger:  Many were no more

than 30 years old.  Cars became obsolete sooner then,

but would people appreciate a show today where most

cars were from the 1980's?

 

I was thinking the same thing........

[Guest]

Yes, great film. Thanks for the share. Many beautiful old cars. Makes one wonder how many of them survived to this day.

Interesting competitions but I cannot figure out the string tied between two cars with, what appears to be a balloon, in between?

[auburnseeker]

32 minutes ago, GregLaR said:

Yes, great film. Thanks for the share. Many beautiful old cars. Makes one wonder how many of them survived to this day.

Interesting competitions but I cannot figure out the string tied between two cars with, what appears to be a balloon, in between?

I think the balloon string thing was that you had to maintain an exact distance if you fell too far back you would pop the balloon.  Kind of a crude test to show off your driving skill. would get more interesting if you had to get through 2nd gear.  Starting though is probably a tad tricky to try to keep the line tight but not pop the balloon. 

[58L-Y8]

Weren't those automotive fun and games refer to as "gymkhanas" then?  Only the young children might still be living to remember that day.    Looks like folks just enjoying themselves with old cars they appreciated for what they were,  survivors from the earlier years of motoring.  Those fellows with the large luxury cars were fulfilling their long-held desires for ownership since they first saw such cars as kids.  Their time had come to buy and enjoy the experience they had long dreamed about. 

[John348]

2 hours ago, 58L-Y8 said:

Weren't those automotive fun and games refer to as "gymkhanas" then?  Only the young children might still be living to remember that day.    Looks like folks just enjoying themselves with old cars they appreciated for what they were,  survivors from the earlier years of motoring.  Those fellows with the large luxury cars were fulfilling their long-held desires for ownership since they first saw such cars as kids.  Their time had come to buy and enjoy the experience they had long dreamed about. 

 

I remember participating in similar events in the late 60's or early 70's at a Model A event on Long Island with my parents

[1937hd45]

Thank you! Great look at the hobby in 1955, not all that far from were I am. First time through I noticed Henry Austin Clark's Stevens -  Duryea, Gardner King's 1910 XXX Stevens - Duryea and the grand entrance of James Melton in his 1907 Rolls Royce. I'm sure every car arrived under its own power. Bob 

 

 

On my second time trough that Locomobile Sportive may have been, or was soon to be Dr. Davenports, now in Texas I believe owned by a Forum member. 

Edited December 4, 2019 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[31plymouth]

Glad everyone is enjoying this.  James Melton's daughter has a website about his music and cars.

I sent her a copy of the link

[Billy Kingsley]

Look up Radwood. It's an all 80s and 90s car show...also encourages people to dress in period style. 

 

They get hundreds to thousands of cars at each show. Hope to get to one of them myself soon. There was one localish (New Jersey Motorsports Park, not really local but close enough to be in my range)to me last year but I didn't know about it until it was done and I saw pictures on Facebook. 

 

Those of us born in the 80s have a lot of nostalgia for the things we grew up with and are now mostly disappeared. I imagine it's the same for everyone. 

[avantey]

I just watched the video and it was a great watch!  Liked the amount and variety of cars, looks like a very popular meet.  I saw one thing that I have to ask all the experts here about please.  Near the very end, 5:47 time mark, a large thirties car drove across the field and it appeared the windshield was split in the middle and swung open off the A pillar/stanchion like wind wings.  I have never seen anything like that and was curious about the make and year of that car.

 

Thanks for all the education I get here,

[auburnseeker]

I've seen rear tonneau windshield like that but not front ones.  Curious if someone modified a rear tonneau windshield to use up front,  maybe after not being able to get a correct windshield.  Hard to see if it matched the cowl very well the way they are folded out of the way. 

[jrbartlett]

The car at 1:06 appears to be my 1919 Locomobile Sportif, which at the time was in original condition and owned by a collector in Connecticut named Miley Heimbuch (spelling may be off). The photo below shows it today, restored in the original colors. I added Locomobile drum headlights and the outside horn. The car had been pulled out of an estate carriage house in Ridgefield, CT in 1954 and sold at auction, after setting up for decades. It had a slanted windshield at the time.  

[edinmass]

James, there were several fantastic Loco’s that showed up at Ridgefield over the years. I never saw your car at a show or meet in New England, and I was attending in the very early 70’s, including HCCA. Last Loco I saw at the show there was a turret gunboat that looked like it was five years old.I think it is the one Jack Patsy ended up owning. That show had some crazy stuff show up, brass and Classic. Every single time I went over the years, there was something new and impressive.

[jrbartlett]

After Heimbuch my car was owned by Lee Davenport of Greenwich, starting in the early 1960s, and extensively driven on area tours in original condition. Coming back from the Glidden Tour I think in 1968 (maybe Finger Lakes?) the still-original top blew off during an early snowstorm, and Lee decided to have it restored by Bill Oxley in 1971-1972. From then until I bought the car 35 years later it only accumulated about 750 miles, so it wasn't out much, though it did pick up AACA junior & senior awards. I was never lucky enough to meet Lee but did have a couple of telephone conversations with him. The car was originally owned by Sanford Freund, a New York lawyer, and kept at his summer home in Ridgefield. It and other cars were sold at auction following Freund's death in approximately 1954. Freund's home is now a school, and the original carriage house still stands on the grounds. As for the Ridgefield shows, I remember seeing photos in the AACA magazines in the '60s and '70s. If that show is ever resurrected, I would bring the car up for it.