My next radiator emblem display

[TheMoneyPit]

With a lot of us there’s a backstory in regards to certain things we obtain for our collection, and sharing this is going to be interesting I hope.

 

I have wanted this shell for close to 35 years for one of my displays. It was purchased by someone I knew “for a friend” restoring a Lexington and from what I know of the story it ended the friendship when he wasn’t interested in the shell. So when I asked about it and described my plan the guy thought he just might do that himself declining that cash offer. Flash forward 35 years and the only work done was removing the light brackets from the shell, and the destruction of a pair of commercial lights by drilling the back and removing their brackets. I got a call and $75.00 later It’s piled in my car. It is by no means a restoration, but I banged out the few dents, shook my head at the stress cracks from the light brackets, and rattle-can painted it all. There’s a lot more time involved than you might think, but it’s good enough for a picture frame.

 

Here’s where the you-know-what might hit the fan… So as discretion is the better part of valor, I have been able to hide this completely from my wife until I moved it into the house today. I wonder if flowers are in order?

[TheMoneyPit]

I have not fully decided the layout, but here’s a preview of what it will have on it. More backstory: The White script was supposed to be from my great grandfather’s car which went from the farm to the war effort, it didn’t run and there was an Apperson “pickup” that did. I have no idea what happened to the Apperson…

[Jim Skelly]

5 hours ago, TheMoneyPit said:

With a lot of us there’s a backstory in regards to certain things we obtain for our collection, and sharing this is going to be interesting I hope.

 

I have wanted this shell for close to 35 years for one of my displays. It was purchased by someone I knew “for a friend” restoring a Lexington and from what I know of the story it ended the friendship when he wasn’t interested in the shell. So when I asked about it and described my plan the guy thought he just might do that himself declining that cash offer. Flash forward 35 years and the only work done was removing the light brackets from the shell, and the destruction of a pair of commercial lights by drilling the back and removing their brackets. I got a call and $75.00 later It’s piled in my car. It is by no means a restoration, but I banged out the few dents, shook my head at the stress cracks from the light brackets, and rattle-can painted it all. There’s a lot more time involved than you might think, but it’s good enough for a picture frame.

 

Here’s where the you-know-what might hit the fan… So as discretion is the better part of valor, I have been able to hide this completely from my wife until I moved it into the house today. I wonder if flowers are in order?

If it's not in the living room or family room or master bedroom, hopefully you found a "palatable" spot for it.  Regarding the paint, you could take it to a collision shop to do a professional paint job if it doesn't look good enough.  I think it's cool. 

 

I plan to display '70 and '71 Eldorado grilles, and am thinking of framing them in wooden display boxes to protect them from dirt.  It's wall art, after all.  More challenging is how do I display old, threaded hubcaps from the teens through early 1930s? 

[f.f.jones]

Try building or buying a shadow box of the required size and depth. Use dowels, nails, hardware store brackets, or even cabinet knobs attached to the back panel to hang the hub caps on. 

Edited September 18, 2021 by f.f.jones
punctuation edit (see edit history)

[TheMoneyPit]

Hubcaps would be tough but I like the cabinet idea. Making wood discs from the center of a hole saw and belt sanding them until the hubcaps fits snugly without damaging it would be my solution. I have done similar to mount a cap to my displays and it does the job. A few years ago I was lucky enough to find a handful of radiator necks in a dollar pile and that is what I did for the Lexington instead of wood.

[Jim Skelly]

6 hours ago, f.f.jones said:

Try building or buying a shadow box of the required size and depth. Use dowels, nails, hardware store brackets, or even cabinet knobs attached to the back panel to hang the hub caps on. 

Thanks for the great suggestions!

[Robert G. Smits]

19 hours ago, TheMoneyPit said:

. I wonder if flowers are in order?

I always tell my wife the alternatives to my hobbies involve "bar hopping".  How about a photo of it's final placement?

[TheMoneyPit]

It’s going to be a while before it’s done, but I will share pictures then too. I know there’s a lot of quiet collectors who might appreciate seeing them.

 

My next step, which is somewhat nerving, is soldering on the brass screws for mounting and taking your time is very much suggested. A few of them are NOS and I might try JB Weld rather than risk damage. Going to fast can make the enamel explode!

[TexRiv_63]

15 hours ago, Jim Skelly said:

  More challenging is how do I display old, threaded hubcaps from the teens through early 1930s? 

Hubcaps are easy, just use pushpins.

[Jim Skelly]

Don,

 

Where would I get pushpins strong enough to hold some of the heavy hubcaps?

 

That is quite an impressive collection!  What are:

 

W in top row

E in next row

double arrow within an oval in the next row, and the large brass one in the same row

in the next row, the black triangle is probably a Hudson, but what about the ones to the right of it other than the Chalmers

next to the Willys Knight is one that appears to say Grand, and the one to the right of it

what year is the Chevy in the bottom row

and what is the G in the bottom row

 

Thanks..

 

 

  

[keiser31]

24 minutes ago, Jim Skelly said:

Don,

 

Where would I get pushpins strong enough to hold some of the heavy hubcaps?

 

That is quite an impressive collection!  What are:

 

W in top row

E in next row

double arrow within an oval in the next row, and the large brass one in the same row

in the next row, the black triangle is probably a Hudson, but what about the ones to the right of it other than the Chalmers

next to the Willys Knight is one that appears to say Grand, and the one to the right of it

what year is the Chevy in the bottom row

and what is the G in the bottom row

 

Thanks..

 

 

  

Double arrow in oval is Citroen. The one that appears to say Grand is probably Grant. 5th row black center with two rings is Graham.

[Walt G]

Push pins come with cast aluminum ends besides the plastic ones. Used to order the aluminum ones when I taught art as they are much stronger. For heavier hubcaps you may need to use two of them and perhaps add a rolled over piece of duct tape to the top to act as an adhesive between the hubcap and the push pin. Try a art supply store., not just a store that has an art supply section - like a pharmacy may, discount store etc.

[scalptrader]

Going to be selling most or all of these if someone feels like tackling there own display, here’s an excellent start! Feel free to reach out with any interest 

[TexRiv_63]

2 hours ago, Jim Skelly said:

Don,

 

Where would I get pushpins strong enough to hold some of the heavy hubcaps?

 

 

 

  

I use the regular pins with clear plastic heads for almost all of my caps, some heavy ones have the aluminum headed pins which are a bit longer. Haven't lost one yet!

[TexRiv_63]

2 hours ago, Jim Skelly said:

Don,

 

Where would I get pushpins strong enough to hold some of the heavy hubcaps?

 

That is quite an impressive collection!  What are:

 

W in top row

E in next row

double arrow within an oval in the next row, and the large brass one in the same row

in the next row, the black triangle is probably a Hudson, but what about the ones to the right of it other than the Chalmers

next to the Willys Knight is one that appears to say Grand, and the one to the right of it

what year is the Chevy in the bottom row

and what is the G in the bottom row

 

Thanks..

 

 

  

The W is Whippet, E is Erskine, Citroen already answered, large brass is Cole 8, next to Hudson is International, Graham and Haynes, next to WK is Grant and early Cadillac, not sure of chevy year, G is Gray.

[Walt G]

I do not focus on collecting car emblems/badges but have found a few over the years ( bought the ones Austin Clark had in storage in the basement of his house in the early 1970s and some from Les Cutting as well) that I found attractive as well as having a great history . Yes I have a collection of collections but I think many here viewing the forums do as well. The wood box I mounted them to came from a 1919 Reo Speed wagon fire truck , was a storage box for that truck for brass water nozzles etc.  . Les had dismantled the fire truck in his auto junk yard in South Huntington, NY back in the mid 1950s. Lotsa weird stuff here in my collection to gaze at and keep me interested and happy.

[Walt G]

One last post and I will leave this and all of you  alone, but since some hubcap guys have placed some of their examples on view I will contribute one. This is a knock off ( you used a brass headed mallet ) cast steel threaded hubcap for a ca. 1927-32 Isotta Fraschini. The diameter of the body is 6 3/4 inches the diameter from one end of the ear to the other is 10 1/2 inches. It weighs about 4 lbs or more. I forgot I had it but found it again while looking for something in my library room. Stubbed my toe on it. It has to live on the floor because if it lived on a shelf and fell off and landed on my foot it would break bones. Bought it from a guy in San Francisco about 25 + years ago . The ends are a different color as some people over the years used a steel headed hammer to tighten and loosen the cap ( DUH!!!) which bent up the edges, took me some hours but I reformed it to eliminate the battered edges and had to loose some plating in the process.

No I never tried push pins to hand it from the wall to look at, Am even skeptical about a nail working well ( or two or...........).

[TexRiv_63]

19 hours ago, Walt G said:

One last post and I will leave this and all of you  alone, but since some hubcap guys have placed some of their examples on view I will contribute one. This is a knock off ( you used a brass headed mallet ) cast steel threaded hubcap for a ca. 1927-32 Isotta Fraschini. The diameter of the body is 6 3/4 inches the diameter from one end of the ear to the other is 10 1/2 inches. It weighs about 4 lbs or more. I forgot I had it but found it again while looking for something in my library room. Stubbed my toe on it. It has to live on the floor because if it lived on a shelf and fell off and landed on my foot it would break bones. Bought it from a guy in San Francisco about 25 + years ago . The ends are a different color as some people over the years used a steel headed hammer to tighten and loosen the cap ( DUH!!!) which bent up the edges, took me some hours but I reformed it to eliminate the battered edges and had to loose some plating in the process.

No I never tried push pins to hand it from the wall to look at, Am even skeptical about a nail working well ( or two or...........).

That is a beauty! Hang that with a drywall screw like I use in my garage.

[Terry Bond]

On 9/19/2021 at 4:27 PM, Walt G said:

I do not focus on collecting car emblems/badges but have found a few over the years ( bought the ones Austin Clark had in storage in the basement of his house in the early 1970s and some from Les Cutting as well) that I found attractive as well as having a great history . Yes I have a collection of collections but I think many here viewing the forums do as well. The wood box I mounted them to came from a 1919 Reo Speed wagon fire truck , was a storage box for that truck for brass water nozzles etc.  . Les had dismantled the fire truck in his auto junk yard in South Huntington, NY back in the mid 1950s. Lotsa weird stuff here in my collection to gaze at and keep me interested and happy.

Nice stuff Walt. I see some very familiar emblems there, especially some of the UK items. The Austin winged wheel has always been a favorite. The Swift is another neat one.  See you at Hershey.

Terry

Edited September 21, 2021 by Terry Bond (see edit history)

[Walt G]

Thanks Terry,

Looking forward to Hershey, will be great to see you again as well.

Walt

[TheMoneyPit]

That is a very nice collection Walt! I’m not sure when, but I decided early on to limit my collection to American emblems in an attempt to keep it under control and am not as knowledgeable with many of yours but still appreciate the rarity.

 

As far as keeping it in control, I have more displays than space for them which only shows it wasn’t…

[Hubcap-collector]

I hung a peg board on my shop wall and I use the appropriate sized lag bolt that screws into the hole to hang my hubcaps. I’ll put a thin washer on the bolt as well to give the threads something to hold on to but I keep all my heavy brass ones in display cases because if they fell they would probably damage the floor! 

[TheMoneyPit]

Here’s the finished version, it’s now in the family room which we call the “Junk room” because it is well filled with my collection.

[MetroPetro]

Came out nicely. My kind of junk room.

[Walt G]

Since this thread has many emblems I will post this edition here. The Packard emblem is 6 inches long at the center. Perhaps was only used (?) on the tail gate of the Hercules bodied woody station wagons. My 1941 Packard 120 woody had one the same exact style/size there and I have not seen enough Packard's of that era in the past two years to look to see if the other body styles used them as well. Excellent late art deco styling and a favorite of mine. The Renault body badge is 3 inches wide and dates from the 1927-32 era.

[TexRiv_63]

The Packard trunk emblem was used in 1940 and 41 on 110, 120, and 160 cars WITHOUT a trunk rack.

[Walt G]

Great to see this! Thanks.  I know the one I pictured I got with the 1941 120 station wagon I had as some spare parts . Drove that wagon 80 miles per day round trip when I had my first teaching job in 1972, and that was before I installed the factory overdrive.  People where I taught thought I was nuts. It did not get used in bad weather , I used my parents car then as my Dad was in outside construction and didn't work in poor weather.