Just out of curiosity, was your vehicle ever used in a parade?

[STEVE POLLARD]

Just out of curiosity, was your vehicle ever used in a parade? None of my vehicles have, but here is a picture of '69 Chevrolet like mine....

 

Steve

 

 

[keiser31]

I have been on tours with my car, but not in a parade. I have driven other folks' cars at parades. Here is a friend's 1930 Plymouth U roadster with me driving Shamu from Sea World....

[Walt G]

I have used my cars (all pre WWII) in local parades over the years but only seldom. Left leg on and off the clutch pedal gets to be really tough on me and I am sure not to great for the car either. Mostly for village anniversaries every 25 years or so or on occasion for a Veterans Day or  4th of July Day parade. I can't recall when I last did one probably 2016?

Unfortunately no "mascots" like the ones shown resting their, shall I say assets like the one shown in the photo are never available. No further comment. 😇

Edited August 19, 2022 by Walt G (see edit history)

[STEVE POLLARD]

16 minutes ago, Walt G said:

Unfortunately no "mascots" like the ones shown resting their, shall I say assets like the one shown in the photo are ever available

Hey Walt, my first impression on that photo is " your scratching the paint ! "  A convertible would of been better suited. 🙂

[Crusty Trucker]

2 hours ago, STEVE POLLARD said:

Just out of curiosity, was your vehicle ever used in a parade? None of my vehicles have, but here is a picture of '69 Chevrolet like mine....

 

Steve

 

 

The style of attire and hair-do(s) dates this photo to when this car was new.

[Twisted Shifter]

Might be interesting to start a "parade vehicle"  thread...

 

[John_S_in_Penna]

Local antique-car owners in a small Pennsylvania

town have driven their cars in the Fourth of July

parade every year.  The parade is a big event, with

people several rows deep lining the street for a mile.

I've had my '57 Buick in the parade.

[SC38dls]

When we lived in Wayne Illinois We never had any old cars in the parades,  did have lots of horses and dogs. We also had to borrow a fire truck from the neighboring town as we didn’t have any. The parades were two blocks long. The town had a Post office, city hall, a one room police station, a hardware store that was converted to a real estate office, a general store and a gas station that didn’t sell gas!  Country living 30-35 miles west of Chicago. 
dave s 

Edited August 19, 2022 by SC38dls (see edit history)

[TerryB]

In the 1920s this Lititz PA dealer attracted attention with this parade car creation.

 

 

[oldford]

One of my collector cars is used regularly in parades. I'm like a kid when it comes to parades...

 

Frank

[JV Puleo]

No. I've done one parade...in 1971. I'd just bought my 1927 314 Cadillac and a good friend, who was organizing the cars for the parade, wanted my car in it. Unfortunately, I was playing with the pipe band that was leading the parade so I had one of our friends drive it. It overheated and stalled. The battery died and when he couldn't get it started he tried rolling it down hill, backwards, to jump start it. There was a loud "crack" when the reverse idler gear broke. We ended up towing the car home on a rope (actually to another friends house). I got it started (the fuel filter was clogged) and spent the next two weeks trying to find the gear I needed. I ended up buying a whole transmission ($50 at Bills Auto Parts) but in the meantime, since this was my only car, I had to be very careful where I parked it because I couldn't back up.

 

Since then, I'm very leary of parades. The fact is, idling along at 2 mph, constantly slipping the clutch, is not good for the car, especially an old car.

[Terry Bond]

Yes.

 

[John Byrd]

Yep, our 63 Mini,  55 T-Bird, and  52 Ford street rod truck, all at different times and places through the years.  Parades are WAY too hard on cars and pretty bad on drivers, so never again.

[Phillip Cole]

Yes on multiple occasions,  but mostly Veterans Day. 

[LI_BENTLEY]

My parade car is my 1913 White 45 hp. Can keep it at a walk in first and slow it up with the hand brake not touching the clutch and does not overheat on a 90  degree day. Then drive home at 50 mph.  Can't tell how many parades it's been in.   Yes Ed is right about Whites.

[Frank DuVal]

My 66 Corvair with Powerglide has been in 10+ Veteran's Day parades. Powerglide much better on my knee than the 64 Spyder 4 speed I used on many St. Patrick's Day parades.🤣

[John_S_in_Penna]

2 hours ago, John Byrd said:

Parades are WAY too hard on cars and pretty bad on drivers, so never again.

In the parades I mentioned, the antique-car owners

required of the organizers that the cars be first in the

parade.  That way, the starting and stopping was

minimized, as they were not being held up by others.

 

For example, a marching band might stop for a minute

to perform some special number;  or the twirling girls

might stop to do an act in formation.

 

Edited August 20, 2022 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[RogerPHX]

I've driven my '48 Chrysler New Yorker convert in many parades in Phoenix over the last 25 years.

[Oregon Desert model 45]

I drove my Model A in a small town parade in the early 80's and had to wait several times when the chain on the 1909 Schacht  in front of me kept jumping off its sprocket, forcing the driver to get out, put on his leather gloves and put the greasy chain back on.  I think that car was missing a chain tensioner. 

[Mark Gregush]

Both my Model T's have been in several parades. We could only go as fast as the slowest kid, so not real fast and lots of stop and go. Had a blast doing it every time. :)The 1925, vaper locked a couple of times and stalled. Had to get out and hand crank it, the crowd loved it. Me maybe not so much, it was over 90 degrees. But made it to the end. The 1921 had a Warford, so it could just creep along. 

[TAKerry]

We dont even have parades around my area that Im aware of. I have not had my car in one, however around 1970 my family rode in one. Our town was having a big celebration to recognize its founding. Dad had a buddy with a large Packard collection. Dad drove one of them and our family sat in the car, I remember being in the back seat and we dressed in our version of period clothing. I wish I knew what the car was. I do remember it being dark green, big touring car from the teens.

[CChinn]

Our Sandhills AACA chapter participated in this years 4th of July parade in Pinehurst, NC. I posted on it with some photos the same day. We had several cars from the 40s through 70s participating. Everyone had a good time. The crowd was tremendous and they appreciated our cars. I do agree that the low speeds and constant engaging the clutch was challenging at times. Also needed to be constantly vigilant for the small children and dogs lining the parade route. Overall an excellent experience. I’ll do it again next year 

[58L-Y8]

I drove my dark gray 1963 Lincoln Continental convertible I owned in the late 1980's twice in a local parade to transport politicos.  Both times they looked dismayed when they saw the Continental, immediately thought of Dallas 1963.  None were high profile enough to have had a concern...

[gossp]

In my younger years I did several parades in my fathers 1920 Dodge Brothers(4th of July parade in the late 90’s pictured).  Although a well sorted great running car, the dodge would get hot on a long parade in the July heat. I don’t think I ever failed to finish but the car was certainly ready for a nice easy low speed five or ten mile cool-off run immediately after.  One Christmas parade found me right behind the Shriners go-karts and they spent much of the time doing laps around me.  
 

By far the most fun car I ever took to a parade was a 1907 Cartercar… it had friction drive so you could set the “gear ratio” very slow with the hand throttle high enough to keep it running and get out of the car while it crawled along at a walking pace!  I did my own laps around that car!

[John_S_in_Penna]

A few decades ago, one of our local region's members

owned the 1940 Pontiac show car, made from transparent

plexiglass.  As I was later told, he drove it in his town's

Hallowe'en parade, with lighted pumpkins in the transparent

trunk.  It must have made quite a spectacle, looking like

a ghost car!

 

Here are pictures from long ago, before it was restored.

The plastic body was cloudy at that time, but perfectly

clear after the restoration (last photo):

 

Edited August 20, 2022 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[Brass is Best]

I had a 1915 Packard that was owned new by the Mayor of St. Louis. He drove Teddy Roosevelt in a parade with that car. I also had a 1953 GMC Fire Engine. It was and still is in a lot of parades.

[Pfeil]

Yes, once!

[zepher]

Both of my pre-war cars have been in a handful of parades over the years and other family member's pre-war cars have been as well.

This past 4th of July I drove a modern car in a multi day small town parade.

I drove my cousin's 2020 Maserati Quattroporte while he drove his 2022 Maserati MC20.

[TexRiv_63]

The only parade duty for one of my cars was this 1977 Cadillac, it was actually my son's high school car. It was in the Homecoming parade his senior year and that is me driving. The "Headhunters" was a spirit group he belonged to and they alternated between sitting on the car and running around it shouting. Almost terminal overheating for both me and the car, never again!

[Buffalowed Bill]

Yes one time, never again! During the 70's I restored my 1955 Studebaker Speedster. It was a labor of love since it had been used as my primary source of transportation over most of the previous decade, and I had really worn it out. The car was good enough to get some awards and turned out to be a great driver, with no mechanical issues at all.

 

In the early 80's a good friend was a volunteer for the West Seattle Hi Yu parade. He was also a car guy and he wanted me to use the car in the parade. The car had never been tested in stop and go traffic for more then about 20 min at a time, and I hedged not knowing how much it would have to endure. I asked him about the parade's duration. He told me probably not more then an hour. A little on the high side, but I said OK.

 

The day of the parade was unusually hot. Anything over 85 degrees is hot for us in Seattle. I was to transport three young middle aged women, in some kind of period dress, over the mile and a half parade route. After the first hour we had only covered about half of the route. By that time the temp gauge had just gone up over 180 degrees. From there it was mostly down hill, both literally and figuratively. The temperature continued to go up. By the time the T/G read 215 degrees, we were still two blocks from the end of the parade. I looked over at the woman next to me and said I was sorry, and turned on the heater. It took 15 mins to cover the last two blocks. When we finally got to a stopping point, without saying a word the front seat passenger bolted from the car, never to be seen again! I'll never know whether it was the heat or lack of a bathroom break that prompted her hasty departure, but we all survived. Never again!

 

I still own the car. Next year I will have owned it for 60 years. And it's still nice enough to show or go, but no more parades!

[Mikefit]

Drove my 1918 Dodge Brothers Touring Car in over 15 parades first gear very low idle no over heating just used the brake at times good old girl

 

[wayne sheldon]

I have never been the type to seek center stage attention. So when this thread was first started, my initial reaction (to myself) was that I had only been in a couple parades with my first model T speedster I had restored, as part of the local model T club's entry in the parade (supporting the club and the hobby). That speedster, like one of Mark G's model Ts, had an auxiliary transmission giving it a very low parade gear. I wasn't crazy enough (sorry guys!) to get out of the car while it idled along, but I did stand up in it several times and look at the crowds! (Did I say I didn't seek center stage attention????)

Then as the hours went by, and I checked to see other people's postings? I suddenly remembered I had (almost forty years ago!) gotten the Livermore Heritage Guild's 1917 model T fire truck running for them for the first time in decades. And I drove that in a Livermore Rodeo parade for them. Thinking about the Livermore parade, I suddenly recalled I also drove dignitaries in my 1925 series 80 Pierce Arrow for one of their parades some years later!

Then I remembered that when we moved out of Livermore to Humboldt county, I joined the local HCCA group there. Our first year there, I drove our 1915 Studebaker in Ferndale's Christmas parade as part of the club's entry!

 

I also one time, as a favor to one of my best friends, drove the Dryer's model T ice cream truck in a large local parade! My eldest son (about five at the time!) rode with me in a child's size striped ice cream man coveralls! (Best restored, best running/driving model T I ever drove!)

 

So I guess I have driven in more parades than I thought I had. Most were my cars, but a few times driving other people's cars. I never had a really bad experience in one. A few hot days I needed to work the car carefully to avoid overheating. I even shut the engine off, feigned trying to start it, then pushed for a hundred feet (the whole while clowning a bit) (did I say I didn't like seeking center stage attention?).

[CHuDWah]

I drove our Model A (long since sold) in a parade or two.  But it didn't like to go that slow without stalling and/or overheating - and the braking and clutching for the frequent stops got to be too much work.

[avgwarhawk]

Twice. 4th of July and Thanksgiving.

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

I have driven in many parades, for several years I carried the Grand Marshall in the Afton MN 4th of July parade. I drove my Model T runabout this year.

[TAKerry]

On 8/20/2022 at 9:58 AM, Brass is Best said:

I had a 1915 Packard that was owned new by the Mayor of St. Louis. He drove Teddy Roosevelt in a parade with that car. I also had a 1953 GMC Fire Engine. It was and still is in a lot of parades.

The Packard you show is what I remember the car I rode looked like.

[Paul Dobbin]

Is that one of those,  "Is the Pope Catholic?" questions?

[lump]

I been in literally dozens and dozens of parades in my family's antique cars over many years. My 1923 Hupp touring is one of those cars which is amazingly able to drive very, very slowly in hot-weather parades behind marching bands, etc, without overheat issues. 

[Larry Schramm]

Just a couple with the '15 Truck.  The GM 100th anniversary parade in Flint, The Buick 100th anniversary parade in Flint, and one local parade.  That one was not fun.  The other two where I was behind Dandy Dave and the Chartreuse Lady was fun.

[1957Birdman]

I have probably done over 75 parades in my 1966 Mustang Convertible and my 1957 T-bird. I have cut way back recently because it is hard on the car. My favorite rider was a WWII and Korean War veteran that I took in a local parade 5 years in a row. Worst experience was taking a local politician that weighed so much that the car bottomed out over every speed bump we had to traverse on the parade route. 

Lew Bachman

1957 Thunderbird