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The phone rang... and then the next car adventure starts


edinmass

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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.

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Some WAI White truck photos, 1 1/2 ton transports. White built 10,000 trucks for the war. Enjoy.

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11 minutes ago, edinmass said:

Here is a off subject photo, but too good not to share. General Pershing’s car.

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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.

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I have some information indicating that they had 20 White cars assigned to the headquarters staff. 

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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?

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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 by edinmass (see edit history)
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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 .

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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 by 1935Packard (see edit history)
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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 by edinmass (see edit history)
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Keep guessing boys..........and I now have the original owners name! I just love hunting down automobile provenance. 

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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. 

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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.

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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. 

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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....

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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

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