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Period images to relieve some of the stress


Walt G

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I have no idea, this is probably the only reference I have seen for one, have no period sales literature or periodical reference for any mention at all. I do have some sales folders for Checker of that era but there is no mention of passenger cars with other body types then taxi cabs.  It is one of the reasons I presented the image here to see if we can get a reaction from anyone anyplace about it. I don't know if or where the Checker Cab archives went or if they survive at all.

There is just so much material that exists on pre WWII era cars that raises so many questions . Recent history is sometimes harder to track down then centuries old history . Even events that happened within, say , our grandparents lifetime (WWI to WWII era) .  My recent activity in research has been on motor shows and salons in Europe pre WWII - some great reference material to give answers BUT you need to know where to look and what literature, publications, programs, etc. existed to seek them out if they can be found. Then put together the factual story , not just guess at what likely happened and write something. I am a bit confident I just did that on the motor shows across the pond which may perhaps appear in print by July.

My research goes well beyond vehicles for local history, architectural history - buildings use etc. There is a long standing saying that " fiction becomes fact if it lasts long enough" This I have found is especially true in the written word.  End of today's rant!

Walt

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Walt:

My conjecture about those Checker roadsters is they were built in collaboration with the Automobile Blue Books outfit to supply roadsters for their traveling representative while promoting Checker Cabs as the choice for urban transport when needed.   As such, there never was any plan to add private sale roadsters to the line.  The bodies, if we could see them in better detail, were likely sourced from a regional production body company such as Hayes, Wilson or Robbins,; perhaps the same as those supplied to another automaker such as Elcar, Gardner or Velie.   We'll just have to be happy to mark it up to another automotive history unsolvable mystery.   

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3 hours ago, 58L-Y8 said:

Here's the best I can get it, looks like a 1914-'16 Oakland.  I defer to the experts in WWI Era speedsters:

'14-'16 Oakland speedster.jpg

 

A search for 1915 Oakland speedster will also find this one which was built up in New Zealand about 50 years ago by a local car club member who liked the idea of a Mercer but was unable to afford one. I have corresponded with him, and at the time - pre internet - he was under the misapprehension that the Mercer was a much larger car. The Oakland has a 112" wheelbase but the Mercer is only 108". The speedster found its way to the US some years ago and is now with Tom Laferriere. 

 

See the source image

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On 3/17/2021 at 6:55 PM, John_Mereness said:

161822031_10159617862082189_2797285323530564707_n.jpg

This is a French Panhard et Levassor, most likely a 4 cylinder model. They also built massive 6 and 8 cylinder cars and many had impressive coachwork that were displayed at the annual Paris Salon ( motor show) . My archives contain a good number of b & w photographs taken at those annual shows.

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1 hour ago, edinmass said:

Here is a new one to me.......first time in twenty years........

9EDA10DC-8B2D-4927-A828-3192CBEFA9BF.png

Ed:  That surprises me!   Do you have a copy of the book Pierce-Arrow 'First among America's Finest' by Maurice D. Hendry, Ballantine's Illustrated History of the Car, marque book No. 4?  This car is shown on page 98.  The coachbuilder has been credited to Willoughby, though the styling looks too flamboyant for that firm.  I would opine Brunn.  I would sure like to know for certain, its a knockout!

 

BTW, This little book was a $1.00 in 1971...

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38 minutes ago, 58L-Y8 said:

Ed:  That surprises me!   Do you have a copy of the book Pierce-Arrow 'First among America's Finest' by Maurice D. Hendry, Ballantine's Illustrated History of the Car, marque book No. 4?  This car is shown on page 98.  The coachbuilder has been credited to Willoughby, though the styling looks too flamboyant for that firm.  I would opine Brunn.  I would sure like to know for certain, its a knockout!

 

BTW, This little book was a $1.00 in 1971...


 

I know of the book, but never seen this photo. The car is Rollston coachwork. Proven by AJ using another car as reference. Door handles and windshield frame and header are the tells.

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1 minute ago, alsancle said:

I just paid 5 bucks for this.   It looks to me like a AJS/AMS series PII Rolls Royce.    Anybody wanna guess which car for me?

RollsRoyceAJS-PII.jpg


 

I would guess, it’s the one I was driving last week. In the storage room at the Henry Ford Museum?

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2 hours ago, alsancle said:

J547.    Rollston.   Same Windshield?  Door hinges?

A.J.  I concur, those appear to be in common.  I concentrated more on the unusual molding, beltline and window treatment.  Where the Willoughby attribution arose is from Fred Roe's Duesenberg text, page 152, center photo, the J-#### is unknown.  It appears to have a V-windshield and header of similar style, though photographed angle makes it hard to tell for certain.   Roe noted: "Hollywood actor Frank Morgan was photographed with the car for tire company endorsements."   We will have to find those advertisements to compare.

Duesenber J-547-2527 Rollston Prince of Wales.jpg

'31 Pierce-Arrow sport sedan by Rollston.png

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This is the head of a brochure issued by the PMCC of NY (Packard Motor Car Company of New York) in 1937. The building is gone unfortunately, probably in the name of "progress".

Location was just north of Columbus Circle on the west side of Central Park. Huge building.

More weird stuff from my library/collection. I could double the number of pages and images here and have tons of stuff left over, all pre WWII. Most likely that much of it never viewed in the last 70+ years or since it was new. Hope it is holding all of your interest , and I know some of you must be thinking - hummmm Walt is crazier then we are.......

PACKARDNYshowroom001.jpg

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Two brothers had converted a Dodge truck into a RV and Arizona Wonderbus Tours was born in 1924. Charles and Warren McArthur convinced their older brother, architect Albert McArthur that this would someday be a tourist destination. With the funding of majority investor William Wrigley the Biltmore became a reality and the Phoenix metropolis would follow.

 

Photo of the area in the 1920s 

 

8512549497_3212ee8521_b.jpg

 

Recent view of the area

 

See the source image

 

Some of the early fleet success 

Biltmore-Wonderbus-Tours.jpg

 

Arizona+Wonder+Tours+Wonderbus.jpg

Edited by 30DodgePanel (see edit history)
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Here are a couple of pictures that are about 30 years old. It is Fred Berkley's car being serviced, maybe 1992. The big event of the day was taking it out for a test drive and having lunch at Brueger's, fairly new in our area at the time. We were coerced in ordering bagels with humus spread. A couple of us with Plumbous  knowledge resisted quite vocally.

FBerkley-1.thumb.jpg.16e079f0569f7d4a384993df2f83fe68.jpg

FBerkley-2.thumb.jpg.6e05fc29797f6b1b573b1bc6361f763d.jpg

 

Today these would be called likely suspects.

001.thumb.JPG.01bcfb9eaf251e0bdf17c9c9c0e12420.JPG

Roy Bertch, fuel, and me, electric on 201RY. Picture by John Utz, long time editor of The Flying Lady, his last article.

002.thumb.JPG.ed9c07d1a18c1eda551bdaa84b45e3bb.JPG

 

And a German body job from Scotland.

003.thumb.JPG.f189dc5964c80be253d7624de963e465.JPG

 

20-30 year old stuff.

 

 

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11 minutes ago, GARY F said:

Dugan's delivered to our house in the 1940s in N.J. when I was a kid.

Dugan's delivered here on western long island ( border of Nassau and Queens Counties) up into at least the mid to late 1950s. Everything from bread to cake etc.

During the same era milk in quarts was another delivery on a regular basis , glass bottles, some with a bulge at the top that held the cream.  The milk was first put in a wood milk box, later upgraded to a metal insulated one, all supplied by the milk company. Houses built in the pre WWII era especially in the 1920s had a trap door near the rear or side entrance door that was where the delivery guy would place the milk into a box inside the house!

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The milk man lived next door to us. Mom and dad would go off to work early and Mr Smith would deliver milk right into the fridge then yell out “Ok boys time to get up for school”. With 4 boys in the house we would go thru a lot of milk. 

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1 hour ago, Walt G said:

Houses built in the pre WWII era especially in the 1920s had a trap door near the rear or side entrance door that was where the delivery guy would place the milk into a box inside the house!

My house still has the milk chute in place.   (built in 1965)

 

Very common in most homes here until the late 1960's.

 

Craig

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