Service Specialists in 1931

[Walt G]

Some people in the first few years of the Great Depression did not know how long it would last, most expected it to last only a month or so, not years.

Fellows who worked for car companies in the service areas, would go into business for themselves or with a partner , hoping to perhaps see some of their former customers follow them and have them work on their cars not the factory dealerships. This is so with the Franklin cars in the early 1930s. I am putting the date on this as 1931 as the newest Franklin referred to is a series 14 - that was the models of cars for 1930 the earliest is the series 10 and that dates from a decade earlier.

This is an interesting view of history/service - note that to "reline and adjust foot brake"  brakes for 4 wheel brakes ( that started in 1928) as opposed to the earlier transmission band brake was a huge difference. Try to view this from the perspective of what $1.00 would buy in 1931 - a full course meal, soup to dessert may have been 60 cents at a good restaurant.

A few people who worked for Brewster & Co. in Long Island City also opened shops to service the Springfield built R-R cars as well, I spoke to the son of a man who did this 45-50 years ago and bought some interior door handles from him that fit those cars.

More facts from the golden age of motor cars in the pre WWII era.

I have way to much stuff.

[rocketraider]

I don't worry that you have too much stuff. I worry who'll be the next caretaker and preserve all this knowledge!🙂

[edinmass]

My grandparents were paying 10 dollars a month for a five room cold water flat on Main Street three miles down the road from the Rolls Royce Springfield plant........and they had a hard time making rent and food.

[TerryB]

A few from my collection, one is a dealer and the other an independent shop in the Lititz PA area.

 

 

 

[edinmass]

Labor rate in Worcester Mass at the Pierce Arrow dealership in 1932 was 1.50 an hour, the mechanic was making .55 cents of that...........

[Walt G]

5 hours ago, rocketraider said:

I don't worry that you have too much stuff. I worry who'll be the next caretaker and preserve all this knowledge!🙂

I have thought about where my archives/library would wind up nearly 4 years ago. It was all settled and paperwork drawn up by my attorney but the club I was going to leave it to now is not deserving of any of it, their loss. I was urged recently to write down all of the memories of conversations I had with people who worked for the auto industry in some capacity that I have interviewed or spoken to and will do that this winter. People like Rudy Creteur of Rollston/Rollson, a whole group of former employees of the Franklin Motor Car Co. - I used to help host an annual luncheon for them 40+ years ago . ( included chief engineer, chief draftsman, test drivers, Mr. Franklin's chauffeur) - the test drivers stories were amazing - rolling a car 360 degrees on a curve about once a month. Even the number of trips I took to Syracuse to walk through the abandon Franklin factory before it was torn down, some amazing construction and design there. As I have mentioned here on the forums before - first person information , primary research material and information from people who were there "then" .

[hidden_hunter]

Drain water from carburettor?

[m-mman]

The Chevrolet receipt has two differnt times billed 

 

HBW at 80 cents an hour

ER at at 70 cents an hour 

 

What is HBW and ER??

[CHuDWah]

9 minutes ago, m-mman said:

The Chevrolet receipt has two differnt times billed 

 

HBW at 80 cents an hour

ER at at 70 cents an hour 

 

What is HBW and ER??

Maybe different mechanics?  One more senior/experienced than the other?

[hidden_hunter]

The other interesting thing when looking at historical pricing is how things have changed relatively

 

In 1922 a Cadillac was nearly ten times the price of a model T which obviously has changed a fair bit

[CHuDWah]

I find it adds perspective to convert historical costs to current values - there are several online calculators.  For example, the $1 meal in 1931 costs about $18.50 now.  One of the OP points is the different cost of brake work between older and newer models.  I know nothing about Franklin brakes but presumably the 4-wheel brakes entailed more parts and labor.  Anyway, the $20.50 brake job converts to $380, about what it costs now.

[TerryB]

39 minutes ago, m-mman said:

The Chevrolet receipt has two differnt times billed 

 

HBW at 80 cents an hour

ER at at 70 cents an hour 

 

What is HBW and ER??

I think it is a labor rate charge for different mechanics and their skill set as was mentioned earlier.  Many of the bill receipts I have were hand written which makes it difficult to decipher at times.  Who keeps old receipts?  These came from a friend who it was obvious never threw anything away including electric bills, home repairs, you name it.  About the only thing they did not keep were cars.

Edited November 23, 2021 by TerryB (see edit history)

[CHuDWah]

11 minutes ago, TerryB said:

I think it is a labor rate charge for different mechanics and their skill set as was mentioned earlier.  Many of the bill receipts I have were hand written which makes it difficult to decipher at times.  Who keeps old receipts?  These came from a friend who it was obvious never threw anything away including electric bills, home repairs, you name it.  About the only thing they did not keep were cars.

It's interesting there's a separate charge for "Use of Grinder & Compact" (whatever a compact is) - I'd think that's usually built into the hourly rate.

[TerryB]

4 minutes ago, CHuDWah said:

It's interesting there's a separate charge for "Use of Grinder & Compact" (whatever a compact is) - I'd think that's usually built into the hourly rate.

Perhaps the mechanic who might have used his own tools for everything else had to “rent” this tool from the dealer’s inventory.  Never miss a chance to add a little more to the bill. In today’s prices it seems silly to pay 0.25 for something but back then it was a significant charge.

[TerryB]

Accessories prices are fun to look at too…

 

[CHuDWah]

28 minutes ago, TerryB said:

Perhaps the mechanic who might have used his own tools for everything else had to “rent” this tool from the dealer’s inventory.  Never miss a chance to add a little more to the bill. In today’s prices it seems silly to pay 0.25 for something but back then it was a significant charge.

Yeah, I think that's what it was - just seems a little odd it was listed separately instead of rolling it into the mechanic charge.  Like I said, converting historical cost to current value adds perspective - that quarter is about $3.75 now.  The $35.55 accessories total is about $550.  😲

[Frank DuVal]

The .25 charge on the invoice was to get ROI* on the shop's purchase of the grinder and compact (whatever that is). It was not shared with the mechanic.

 

*ROI, Return On Investment

 

You make me want to see where I put the ledger I found in the attic of the shop I owned in Richmond. It listed all the repairs it did for a while in the 20s. 

[Walt G]

There were a number of publications published every month about cars, some specific to a certain type ( taxi's , auto trim and paint etc) and many had some really interesting advertisements for locations for service work. Here are two more in October of 1931, the same year and general location as the Franklin item I started this thread with but for other makes of cars.

I hope the threads I start give some of you a wider perspective of what was going on 75 - 100 years ago and beyond your specific interest in a certain make of vehicle.

Thanks again to our wonderful AACA for making this forum available for all ( members and non members alike) and for continuing to tolerate my somewhat focused interest of material I have to share . I am probably putting all of you post WWII era guys to sleep!

 

[TerryB]

14 hours ago, Frank DuVal said:

The .25 charge on the invoice was to get ROI* on the shop's purchase of the grinder and compact (whatever that is). It was not shared with the mechanic.

 

*ROI, Return On Investment

 

You make me want to see where I put the ledger I found in the attic of the shop I owned in Richmond. It listed all the repairs it did for a while in the 20s. 

Collecting papers related to old cars is addictive Frank!  I’ve enjoyed it for years and continue even today as storage is a lot easier than some other collectibles.  When I was selling at auto flea markets, literature was a big part of my wares.  As Walt says it adds depth to the stories about the cars and the people who maintained them.  

[m-mman]

The electric dynamic brake machine makes me think of all the gadgets and devices that were sold to service centers over the years.  

 

Certainly some improved diagnosis and testing (and would really help with a restoration today) but so much else was little more than gadgets that were for selling extra parts or services to car owners.

 

Closely related to the JC Whitney/Western Auto junk they were selling to car owners (Ex: miracle gas mileage and tire balance) 

 

ROI is more important to a shop than a car owner. They are in business to make a profit.

I cant imagine that the electric brake tester is really any better than a test drive around the block. What did that thing cost?? Sure it might have look impressive to a customer but was it more impressive than a lower cost brake relining in a shop that didnt have to amortize the machine. Then you have to factor in maintenance on the thing. 

 

I have several headlight adjusters. I actually use them and a well adjusted headlight makes a big difference. (I think too few restorers adjust their lights) In a couple of the adjuster kits is a "brightness meter"

You hold a funnel shaped cover over the headlight and a light sensing device sends power to a gauge to test whether the sealed beam is bright enough.  EVERY BULB I have ever tested is "too dim". 

I have pointed it at the sun and even then the needle doesnt move to "normal". 

I have never seen a dim sealed beam, except one that was moments from burning out. They are either working or not. Obviously just a sales gadget. 

[TerryB]

Sales trade enhancers have been around forever.  The air filter tester that used a light bulb to show how blocked your filter is comes to mind along with the shock absorbers tester where you compare a worn shock to a new one.  Oil drops on white paper to show dirt, spark enhancers on the coil tower, the list goes on and on.  Old hot rod and popular mechanics magazines had ads for lots of snake oil that are fun reading today.

[TerryB]

For Hudson-Essex fans

 

[TerryB]

And for Ford fans.  Garage was located in Manheim PA.  This one has better handwriting.

 

Edited November 23, 2021 by TerryB (see edit history)

[wayne sheldon]

When I was doing high-tech service work for a living, we had a piece of equipment that we charged $25 for using. The "TDR", short for "Time Domain Reflectometer". When we bought it in 1979, one of the first offered outside the military, the thing cost over $5000. But we could pinpoint problems with it in minutes that without it you might never find. The early versions were special, extra care had to be used not to damage a tiny component inside that cost nearly a thousand dollars to replace. I never blew that "tunnel diode", but a couple of our guys did, a few times. But the early versions actually were more accurate than the ones made later. The early ones also took greater skill to read, but someone like me could find things with it that the newer machines could not see.

Customers would occasionally complain about the $25 fee for using the TDR, until we asked if they would prefer to pay the fee and an hour or two shop rate to find and fix the problem? Or maybe they would like to pay for six to eight hours of shop rate and maybe not find the problem?

 

Just a minor thread drift.

Back to interesting history. And thank you Walt et al for sharing these things.