Grimy Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 14 minutes ago, SC38DLS said: Like a character we all know from this forum “drive it like you stole it” ! That now has a new meaning for a friend and neighbor: His 1970 Cutlass convertible was locked overnight in a local shop of excellent reputation for a major tuneup. Thieves broke in, stole many tools from the mechanics' boxes, and chose the Cutlass as the getaway car. It was found three days later with a rod knock and low on oil. The poor thing must have been really flogged--like they stole it.... Fortunately, between the shop's insurance policy and my friend's collector car insurance policy, he'll get an engine rebuild out of it, but loses the use of the convertible during prime driving season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 11, 2021 Author Share Posted July 11, 2021 As standard procedure, we disable ALL cars in our shop to prevent the above. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 Grimy - that’s a bummer maybe that character should change his saying to “ drive it like you stole it but treat it with the respect these old rigs deserve “. dave s 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 20 hours ago, SC38DLS said: “ drive it like you stole it but treat it with the respect these old rigs deserve “. The thieves have no scruples, its all about themselves. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 18, 2021 Author Share Posted July 18, 2021 Some WAI White truck photos, 1 1/2 ton transports. White built 10,000 trucks for the war. Enjoy. 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 18, 2021 Author Share Posted July 18, 2021 Here is a off subject photo, but too good not to share. General Pershing’s car. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 11 minutes ago, edinmass said: Here is a off subject photo, but too good not to share. General Pershing’s car. Note no sidemounts, only rear-mounted spares. From the background, I'll guess that the location is an Army post in the DC area--note what looks like a local license plate AND an Army number. May have been fitted with sidemounted spares before being shipped overseas--see the photos of the car from the Bacon Collection recently posted. It is said (I can't prove) that two of these cars were built. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 18, 2021 Author Share Posted July 18, 2021 I have some information indicating that they had 20 White cars assigned to the headquarters staff. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 8 minutes ago, edinmass said: I have some information indicating that they had 20 White cars assigned to the headquarters staff. Ed: Does the Army have any inventory lists of the vehicles shipped to Europe for WWI? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JV Puleo Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 I seem to remember that Pershing's original chauffeur was Eddie Rickenbacker - who pressured the general into letting him transfer to the aviation service... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 19, 2021 Author Share Posted July 19, 2021 1 hour ago, 58L-Y8 said: Ed: Does the Army have any inventory lists of the vehicles shipped to Europe for WWI? Yes........they do. Extensive documentation. Finding it is the hard part. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 3 hours ago, edinmass said: Yes........they do. Extensive documentation. Finding it is the hard part. Uh, yes, and I say that after 32 years in the Army, active and reserve. The service in finding that will be, shall we say, substantially slower and less efficient than that of the AACA Library! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 13 hours ago, edinmass said: Yes........they do. Extensive documentation. Finding it is the hard part. I recently needed some images from a certain archive at the Smithsonian. Contacted a person, who told me to contact a person, who had me contact another person. Sure, glad to help, just tell me the file numbers you need. Well, the archive is actually on the Internet, no images, just a slight description and the file number. What's the problem? This particular archive listing is about 800 pages long, and the order doesn't make much sense. So, contacted the first person mentioned above, and lo and behold, he sent me the exact file numbers I needed. So, contacted Smithsonian again, got a form I had to fill out with a request for money. How much money? Well, we won't know that until you fill out the form. But the form says I have to send money with the form? Yes, when you fill out the form you need to send money, once we know what you want we can price it for you. Huh? Well, I was told, that's for high definition scans, we can send PDF files for free. DO IT! Waited a few days, no response. Got back with them, and told them I was under a deadline. Next day had the PDF files, so at least they listened to me. It's great that the information is out there, but sometimes dealing with such an institution can be interesting to the point of frustration. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 21, 2021 Author Share Posted July 21, 2021 (edited) Interesting day doing automotive archeology. The best part, it’s about the White. I made a bunch of calls and email messages to the family of the gentleman who owned the White for 65 years. Finally after six months, we made contact, exchanged a few emails, and today I was able to have a long phone conversation with his youngest child. She told me it was nothing left of paperwork or files, and they had two photos of my White in the barn from the mid 60’s. A few weeks go by, and BINGO! A treasure trove of files, photos, and correspondence was located. They actually had the bill of sale for the White from 1940, tax bills for the car, registrations, and most interesting of all......the ration book for gasoline for the car during the war. Quite the find.......I’m all smiles. So now we play...........the reverse “selling price” game. Instead of guessing the auction hammer price for “all in”. You need to guess the actual sale price that he paid for the car in 1940. It was taken off the road in 1928 by the original owner......who’s name is currently not known........but we have an address to work with......so there may be some hope there. We know the first Initial of the last name. So......how much was a 23 year old White with 12,000 miles worth as a used car in 1940? Take your best guess.............and the two people who know the answer better not even make one comment. It will be interesting to see who hits it on the head. Edited July 21, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history) 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 $1200 is my guess 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 $65 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt G Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 Most interesting to read Dave and Ed's comments regarding research and the sharing , discovery of information. This is great! some times the stars in the sky align and perhaps a rainbow may develop too at the end. It seems we all want to share what we know, have access to etc. but unfortunately I have run into some here who think because their favorite make of car has unseen period treasures in someones collection it instantly becomes theirs if it is shared. I have had that happen here - will no longer share anything with that person and I now cast a wary/cautious eye towards requests for help. I am not bitter , just learned a lesson . 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericmac Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 Sounds like a $50 car to me. I'm only saying that because that's what my dad paid for my '26 Model T in 1953. Just a wild guess. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 $400. It’s a big car. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1935Packard Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, edinmass said: Interesting day doing automotive archeology. The best part, it’s about the White. I made a bunch of calls and email messages to the family of the gentleman who owned the White for 65 years. Finally after six months, we made contact, exchanged a few emails, and today I was able to have a long phone conversation with his youngest child. She told me it was nothing left of paperwork or files, and they had two photos of my White in the barn from the mid 60’s. A few weeks go by, and BINGO! A treasure trove of files, photos, and correspondence was located. They actually had the bill of sale for the White from 1940, tax bills for the car, registrations, and most interesting of all......the ration book for gasoline for the car during the war. Quite the find.......I’m all smiles. So now we play...........the reverse “selling price” game. Instead of guessing the auction hammer price for “all in”. You need to guess the actual sale price that he paid for the car in 1940. It was taken off the road in 1928 by the original owner......who’s name is currently not known........but we have an address to work with......so there may be some hope there. We know the first Initial of the last name. So......how much was a 11 year old White with 12,000 miles worth as a used car in 1940? Take your best guess.............and the two people who know the answer better not even make one comment. It will be interesting to see who hits it on the head. So cool! I'd guess $25. (But if it's a 1917 car, in 1940 it's a 23 year old car, not 11 year old car, right?) Edited July 21, 2021 by 1935Packard (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 21, 2021 Author Share Posted July 21, 2021 (edited) On 7/20/2021 at 10:01 PM, 1935Packard said: So cool! I'd guess $25. (But if it's a 1917 car, in 1940 it's a 23 year old car, not 11 year old car, right?) I have no clue how I screwed that one up........I was sober. 🤭 Also, before I was told the amount, I too gave a guess as to the price. On a percentage basis, I was rather far off..........not saying in which direction. Edited July 22, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Fan Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 $35 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borough Essex Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 3 hours ago, Matt Harwood said: $65 I'll gazzump Matt, who knows his vintage car prices as well as anyone, and say $70:) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 $75. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozstatman Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 $200 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bush Mechanic Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 $950 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 21, 2021 Author Share Posted July 21, 2021 Keep guessing boys..........and I now have the original owners name! I just love hunting down automobile provenance. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prewarnut Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 $125. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 $15, only because Big Max was standing by with 10 bucks to make it into a tow truck...his Locomobile rig was getting tired. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reicholzheimer Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 $250. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ch1929 Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 $175 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1912Staver Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 (edited) $155.00 Edited July 21, 2021 by 1912Staver (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkhammer Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 $100 in 1940 would be worth just under $2,000 in today's dollars. $100 is my guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 21, 2021 Author Share Posted July 21, 2021 Story keeps getting better...........the original owner was a cool guy, working in the aircraft industry. Had a home on the oceanside in Long Island, the lot was about 2/3 of a city block. I also found out he drove the car from New York City to Mississippi and back in 1942 to work at an assignment for the Army Air Corps, with special tax stamps and gasoline coupon allotment. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 I would say $25. as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
md murray Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 I have a pic of a 1942 sales receipt from a New Jersey car lot for a Murphy Model J conv/coupe for $105 and an photo of the car at the time of sale showing it to be pretty decent. Apples and Oranges comparison but I would wager $45 for the White based on this. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KVP Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 $85.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC38dls Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 38 minutes ago, edinmass said: Story keeps getting better...........the original owner was a cool guy, working in the aircraft industry. Had a home on the oceanside in Long Island, the lot was about 2/3 of a city block. I also found out he drove the car from New York City to Mississippi and back in 1942 to work at an assignment for the Army Air Corps, with special tax stamps and gasoline coupon allotment. Ed, if the sale receipt is 1940 the original owner couldn’t have driven it in 1942. Not trying to be picky just want your story to be documented correctly as it’s just a great story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 47 minutes ago, edinmass said: I also found out he drove the car from New York City to Mississippi and back in 1942 to work at an assignment for the Army Air Corps, with special tax stamps and gasoline coupon allotment. Yeah, right, he drove a 5 mpg car that distance at 35 mph max wartime speeds rather than take a train... Remind me to sell you a "fully rebuilt" engine and no you can't look inside.... 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trulyvintage Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 12 minutes ago, SC38DLS said: Ed, if the sale receipt is 1940 the original owner couldn’t have driven it in 1942. Not trying to be picky just want your story to be documented correctly as it’s just a great story. “ Most likely could not have “ … Anything is possible. He could have borrowed - rented - leased the car back for the trip. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now