Period images to relieve some of the stress

[twin6]

[twin6]

[twin6]

[1937hd45]

Link to the more famous So Cal Plating tow car and the history behind them. Bob https://www.customcarchronicle.com/early-custom-cars/socalif-plating-truck/#.XrxVyUBFyow

[keiser31]

Brand new 1931 Dodge Brothers DH6 coupe....

Edited May 13, 2020 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[TG57Roadmaster]

1909 Thomas-Flyer 6-70K 7-Passenger Touring Car, found on a Mansions of the Gilded Age Facebook post featuring the former home of Grace Goodyear Depew.

The Goodyears (Lumber & Railroads - not Tires & Rubber) were from Buffalo... 

 

" 'El Pomar' in Colorado Springs was originally designed as a one story pavilion with classical entrance, by Horace Trumbauer in 1909 for Grace Goodyear Depew,

a lumber heiress from Buffalo, New York."

https://www.facebook.com/groups/mansionsofthegildedage/permalink/1053876194633421/

 

There is no telling if this is the same Thomas-Flyer 6-70, but what a magnificent, impressive automobile, then and now!

http://theoldmotor.com/?p=133731

 

TG

 

Edited May 15, 2020 by TG57Roadmaster (see edit history)

[1937hd45]

Looks like a Marmon to me. 

[1937hd45]

Found one of these the day before Hershey, and sold it there. Bob 

[Doozer]

Looks like it may have, “Spanky”, painted on the tank. Do you remember if anything was on the tank of the one you had? If it did you may need nurse Darla to give you some sedatives.....ouch....😬

[drwatson]

1907 Stevens Duryea - Factory Fresh.

[1937hd45]

1 hour ago, Doozer said:

Looks like it may have, “Spanky”, painted on the tank. Do you remember if anything was on the tank of the you had? If it did you may need nurse Darla to give you some sedatives.....ouch....😬

 

 

 

It had an even coat of rust all over it, saw it later four rows over with a price tag double of what I got for it. 🙄

 

Bob 

[1937hd45]

I've always liked this Stevens - Duryea photo. 

 

 

Bob 

[keiser31]

My great aunt and my grandmother on their dad's Chrysler. Essex in the background.

[Walt G]

The Rolls-Royce is a 1939 Wraith with Brewster body, the Packard is a 1926  2nd series Eight club sedan.

[John_Mereness]

26 minutes ago, Walt G said:

 the Packard is a 1926  2nd series Eight club sedan.

A really good looking car with the mile long hood and rear mounted spare tire, plus accessory trunk - I doubt more than a handful survived (probably less than a handful). 

[John_Mereness]

[Walt G]

John,

I agree, a really well balanced design. the height of the trunk and spare all taken into consideration that make them just a little lower then the hood/cowl and sitting below the belt line which with its dark color insert draws your eye back from the hood to the rear of the car. If the car had wood or wire wheels you would loose the over all affect that you see here. The same color on the roof area to match the belt molding insert brings the roof profile down too.

Sorry for the lesson in visual design and impact but my whole life I was involved in art and training people to look at and see what they are looking at - then know why something just "works" visually.  I was showing friends how to draw something when I was in 1st grade so that they could see, then understand why /how to do it a certain way. People look but they don't see and listen but they don't hear - I have always tried to guide them to do that and then it would develop that they could see and hear without any help. I do the same with what I research and write - you have to know where and how to look then interpret what you learn from the viewpoint of when it took place - be that 10 or 100 years ago. It is all a matter of perspective.

WG

[twin6]

Long hoods and rear spares make for a fantastic look (even when one combines parts made by different manufacturers!).

[twin6]

[StanleyRegister]

I love the look of that thing.  The later ones were pretty OK, too.

[58L-Y8]

The Packard Eight 2nd Series club sedan is by Dietrich, note the coachbuilder plate and thin A-Pillars.

[John_Mereness]

1 hour ago, Walt G said:

John,

I agree, a really well balanced design. the height of the trunk and spare all taken into consideration that make them just a little lower then the hood/cowl and sitting below the belt line which with its dark color insert draws your eye back from the hood to the rear of the car. If the car had wood or wire wheels you would loose the over all affect that you see here. The same color on the roof area to match the belt molding insert brings the roof profile down too.

Sorry for the lesson in visual design and impact but my whole life I was involved in art and training people to look at and see what they are looking at - then know why something just "works" visually.  I was showing friends how to draw something when I was in 1st grade so that they could see, then understand why /how to do it a certain way. People look but they don't see and listen but they don't hear - I have always tried to guide them to do that and then it would develop that they could see and hear without any help. I do the same with what I research and write - you have to know where and how to look then interpret what you learn from the viewpoint of when it took place - be that 10 or 100 years ago. It is all a matter of perspective.

WG

What I have noticed via the two Auburn's (a 1935 851 Salon Phaeton with sidemounts and an 1936 852 Salon Phaeton without sidemounts, but with built on trunk and tire inside on trunk floor) is that the 1935, with sidemounts is a much more formal car and people are very attracted to all the glitz/stuff hanging on it, while the people with a more stylized eye will lean to the 1936, with tire in trunk via the look/"lengthening" the car and being what direction  manufacturers tended to be going in building a "modern" car for the period.  Unfortunately, there are literally not 4 surviving 8 cyl Phaetons with the trunk on rear and the spare inside it and surprisingly few sedans as well  (Auburn tended to build cars without the trunk  with spare handing on rear tub or built cars with sidemounts).

[John_Mereness]

32 minutes ago, 58L-Y8 said:

The Packard Eight 2nd Series club sedan is by Dietrich, note the coachbuilder plate and thin A-Pillars.

Agreed - that was my thought as well.

[John_Mereness]

1 hour ago, twin6 said:

I hate to say it, though I really do believe that formal cars should have sidemounts and disk or wire wheels are fine, but 1927-1932ish CCCA formal cars with wood wheels are pretty antiquated looking.  

 

In the practicality department - 1927 to say 1934 CCCA cars do well with luggage racks (and trunks on them) as they tend to be huge cars with little to no storage space. 

[BuicksBuicks]

Some of those beasts look like they had 12-in-line engines.  Maybe 16.

[LCK81403]

Interesting excess.  Looks like it has a Straight-16 under the hood, and has a turning radius of North Dakota.

[twin6]

[Walt G]

Personal opinion, nothing to do with styling : Cars 1934 and earlier have no room inside for anything. If the body is "short coupled"  and has a trunk mounted behind it that usually takes up the back part of the fender area on a platform and a rear spare you have room for something. I found this on my 31 Franklin Derham bodied Victoria Brougham. Lots of room in the trunk, no room inside for anything but the trunk at the back worked well.  

A trunk rack at the back with a trunk mounted on it solves the problem as mentioned. Even on a 7 passenger car , if you have 7 people sitting in the car you have no room for anything and to cart around even something like a tissue box you need to have a trunk at the back and the spare tire in a front fender.

Regarding styling of wheels, the short spoke wood wheels that started to be popular about 1930-35 era look good, but if you have a tall car in the 1920s with a lot of window space and long spoke wood wheels  it starts to resemble a Conestoga wagon . Some cars look good with that but it all depends upon fender, hood, cowl, styling. Easiest way to see what works and what doesn't for you personally is to put your finger over the wheel to cover it up then look at the car in the images,photo and you loose that sphere shape with whatever featured wheel it has to decide what the car really looks like. The wheel / sphere shape acts as a bulls eye visually .  Art lesson # 756 now over! 😌

[alsancle]

2 hours ago, LCK81403 said:

Interesting excess.  Looks like it has a Straight-16 under the hood, and has a turning radius of North Dakota.

everybody recognizes the Packard touring body?

[keiser31]

3 hours ago, BuicksBuicks said:

Some of those beasts look like they had 12-in-line engines.  Maybe 16.

"We always love learning about what inspired Ettore Bugatti to build the world’s best cars. Europe was enjoying the roaring 20’s after rebuilding from the first World War. Affluent motorists had money to spend, so Mr. Bugatti was obligated to show them the future. With no expenses spared, he and his team delivered something that put all other cars to shame. So lets look at the big & beautiful 1926 Bugatti Royale.

Starting with the strongest chassis to-date, it was needed to support the largest body and engine the world had seen. The wheelbase is just over 14 feet, and the car is 20′ long. Moving 3.5 tons of opulence was made easy by a 12.8 liter straight-8. The tachometer showed an engine redline at only 1,800 rpm. Engines of this size don’t need to rev. With pistons the size of coffee cans it offered a top speed of 125 mph.

Other notable features include a dry-sump oiling system to spray 6 gallons of oil at all the right places. A dozen gallons of water was circulated to keep the beast cool. A triple-plate clutch sent tons of torque to a fully synchronized 3-speed, both of which were revolutionary. The Royale was a smack in face to all other luxury cars, and it was undoubtedly an inspiration for the power and prestige for all late-model Bugattis."

Edited May 14, 2020 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[58L-Y8]

Walt makes a good point, designers in that period wanted rid of side-mounted spares as soon as possible, the circular form/bulls eye interrupts the movement of the eye as it assesses a design.  Its particularly disruptive when they sought to emphasize long hood length.  Rear-mounted spares are a different matter, their jaunty mounting angle can add to the verve of a design.

 

On the lack of storage space, it was declasse to be concerned with such trivialities in your custom coach-built luxury transport....simply send the accoutrements and paraphernalia ahead of your arrival with the domestics in their automobile...  

Edited May 14, 2020 by 58L-Y8
The triviality of storage space in luxury cars (see edit history)

[LCK81403]

IMHO side mount fenders is a design feature that should be on an automobile.  I know this is a different strokes for different folks thing, but my preference and vote is for side mounted fenders.  Two cars, the same general configuration and year, one with and one without side mounts, in my opinion the car without side mounts looks less complete and less interesting.  I think my impression is both visual and subliminal because the side mounted tires are beside the engine compartment.  Often a car is about the engine, how large, how much horse power, and for a V-8 how it sounds.  My mind focuses on the front of the car, and perhaps the presence of more "stuff" in the form of side mount spares increases the largeness of the engine and power of the car.  It is no secret that much of the glitz is in the front of a vehicle, such as the radiator shroud, radiator ornament, hood louvers, head lights and driving lights, bumpers.  There isn't much glitz on the cars from the cowl back to the rear.  Except for a well crafted boat tail.  There are a few boat tails that make my heart race, but a number that also look pathetic and amateurish.  I appreciate flowing lines and blending contours, but there is also a place for bold architecture blended in to make an overall statement.

 

For me the attached '34 Buick 60, '33 Buick 90, and the 31 Cadillac 355A are beautiful, stately and with timeless design.

 

[nzcarnerd]

1 hour ago, edinmass said:

Well.........I think for the first time I will disagree with Walt. There are some early cars pre 1935 that are very comfortable.......problem is MOST of them are expensive. Rule of thumb, 142 inch wheel base minimum. Certain factory and custom body builders are better than most. We often cheat a divider fixed bulkhead back 2,3, or even 4 inches in some cases. Problem is it is expensive to do the work. Almost every car Bill RugerJr had the seat was moved back to fit his very large frame.....I think he was 6’5” or 6’6”. I’m 6’1” and would sit in his cars and have to move the seat forwards. For me my size 14/15 feet are an issue. Often I hit the brake and the throttle at the same time. Certain cars I remove my shoes so I can safely drive them. Franklin, Buick, Stude, Auburn........are all great classics.......but they tend to be on the very short end of the spectrum. The only Stutz I have ever fit in comfortably is a bucket seat Convertible Victoria. Example: In 1931 Pierce made 137, 142, and 147 inch chassis. The closed cars all sell for ALMOST the same price, but the two larger chassis have the big engines, and almost all the extra space is in the front and rear doors. It just takes discipline to due diligence to figure it out and buy the right car. Our York Roadster P1 is on a 143 inch chassis, and the door is so tiny it’s like trying to climb in one of those little red kiddie cars you see for sale at Walmart for 40 dollars. Once your in it, you feel like a million dollars. Getting in and out can be a difficult and almost humiliating experience. With proper research, almost anyone can get a comfortable car without going broke. It’s a lot of work, but it can be done. Photo is a V-16 Phaeton with room for anyone up to 6’4” without any issues. Only issue is it’s not a starter car. I would describe the front and rear cockpit area as roomy, even for two large people both over 6’.

 

Yes, in comparison a long weekend away in a 1929 Plymouth, or any other regular sedan of the era, means the one rear seat passenger there is room for gets to share the space with bags, coats and various spare parts and tools. At least fuel can goes on the running board.  Yes we have found a replacement for the lost hubcap.

[nzcarnerd]

1 minute ago, nzcarnerd said:

 

Yes, in comparison a long weekend away in a 1929 Plymouth, or any other regular sedan of the era, means the one rear seat passenger there is room for gets to share the space with bags, coats and various spare parts and tools. At least fuel can goes on the running board.  Yes we have found a replacement for the lost hubcap.

 

Mind you some are forced to travel light. A shot from the 2019 event - which of course is not happening in 2020 for the first time in the history of the event which has run every year since 1955.

 

 

[keiser31]

Posted on a different thread, but here is my grandmother....

[keiser31]

My other grandmother with her Daddy's Dodge Brothers.

[twin6]

[John_Mereness]

18 hours ago, twin6 said:

Very attractive !  Do we know the body builder - it is pretty thin in the door posts/pillars and I would lean toward Murphy, but the belt molding strikes me as something otherwise. 

[John_Mereness]

This is a fabulous shot that just sort of popped up on the internet -  This is part of the Salt Flats Speed Record Run with Ab Jenkins - 

1935 Auburn 851 in America in Color, Documentary, 2017-2020  Ep. 2.2

 

 

 

Edited May 15, 2020 by John_Mereness (see edit history)

[John_Mereness]

 

Edited May 15, 2020 by John_Mereness (see edit history)